Until we get to a point where it isn’t open season on Black people, abolishing the police force will save more Black lives than an intact police force.

If community issues such as autistic patients straying away from their caretakers trigger police officers to fire their weapons, there’s a major problem.

To defund the police is to protect Black lives like caretaker Charles Kinsey and his autistic patient Arnolda Soto, who survived an unjustified police shooting; Breonna Taylor, who was murdered by police in her sleep; George Floyd, who was suffocated by police; Black COVID-19 victims, whose poor access to healthcare made them more vulnerable; and those seven students who fought for the right to literacy in Detroit.

Channeling money into a system that profits off the disenfranchisement of people of color sends a direct message that Black (and brown) lives do not matter.

As it stands, defunding the police is the necessary step in preserving communities of color who are on the receiving end of this harsh system and its repressive policies.