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Defund: Conversations Toward Abolition
A collection of illuminating interviews with leading abolitionist organizers and thinkers, reflecting on the uprisings of summer 2020, the rise of #defund, and the work ahead of bridging the divide between reform and abolition.
The 2020 uprisings against police violence launched a nation conversation about defunding the police and prisons, propelling the #defund movement into the spotlight. The backlash has been swift, beating back efforts to reallocate public funds away from police and other punitive carceral systems and into social welfare programs that provide care, stability, and community.
But as Calvin John Smiley reveals through pointed conversations with academics, activists, and system-impacted individuals, #defund was always more than a brief moment; it is part of an ongoing struggle against white supremacy, capitalism, police state-sanctioned violence, and mass incarceration.
Through interviews with Marisol LeBrón, Dan Berger, Zellie Imani, and Olayemi Olurin, among others, Smiley considers how #defund can bridge the divide between reform and abolition, becoming a catalyst to help organizers realize abolitionist visions. Along the way, these rich conversations illuminate the long histories of systems of repression and protests against them; how policing serves as a colonial project in Puerto Rico and beyond; why creativity and music-making are essential to movement-building; and much more.
Giving voice to those committed to abolitionist praxis, Defund is an essential tool for organizers as we imagine how defund goes from a hashtag to a movement to a reality.
The 2020 uprisings against police violence launched a nation conversation about defunding the police and prisons, propelling the #defund movement into the spotlight. The backlash has been swift, beating back efforts to reallocate public funds away from police and other punitive carceral systems and into social welfare programs that provide care, stability, and community.
But as Calvin John Smiley reveals through pointed conversations with academics, activists, and system-impacted individuals, #defund was always more than a brief moment; it is part of an ongoing struggle against white supremacy, capitalism, police state-sanctioned violence, and mass incarceration.
Through interviews with Marisol LeBrón, Dan Berger, Zellie Imani, and Olayemi Olurin, among others, Smiley considers how #defund can bridge the divide between reform and abolition, becoming a catalyst to help organizers realize abolitionist visions. Along the way, these rich conversations illuminate the long histories of systems of repression and protests against them; how policing serves as a colonial project in Puerto Rico and beyond; why creativity and music-making are essential to movement-building; and much more.
Giving voice to those committed to abolitionist praxis, Defund is an essential tool for organizers as we imagine how defund goes from a hashtag to a movement to a reality.
- GenresNonfiction
168 pages, Paperback
Published May 21, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 28, 2024
So good!! Very thought provoking and had a number of great lines I could think about a lot!
I loved the conversation of defund as a movement vs a moment and I loved all of the different perspectives of experts in the field.
A much more casual and “easy to read” book about police abolition but can be as deep or surface level as you’d like to take it.
Definitely recommend!!
I loved the conversation of defund as a movement vs a moment and I loved all of the different perspectives of experts in the field.
A much more casual and “easy to read” book about police abolition but can be as deep or surface level as you’d like to take it.
Definitely recommend!!
April 26, 2025
The second selection for our "Good Humans Read Good Books" book club and every bit as potent, impactful, challenging, and inspiring as our first selection.
Centered on a collection of conversations with people who know far more about these topics than the average human, alongside a notably helpful introduction and conclusion by Smiley, I really can't recommend this book enough.
This book is so good for so many reasons, and especially for providing a helpful framework to think about the defund movement and all it entails, while also providing language, courage, and hope toward having these (admittedly quite difficult) conversations with friends and family and The Status Quo Powers That Be.
More than that, though, this book discusses "copaganda" in such a helpful and extensive way that I would recommend it for those insights alone.
[Did your kids watch Paw Patrol? Have you noticed the intentional absence of police in Abbott Elementary? Can you acknowledge how so many shows we all grew up watching / that are still on air today normalize rooting for police against everyone else? How many shows and politicians and real-world policies allow police to have absolute power (and endless funding) with almost zero accountability?]
Some of my favorite lines:
"The radical imagination has consistently envisioned a world without police."
"In each interview, the through line is clear: together, we can build a better world. Indeed, each chapter highlights that we have the tools, resources, and theory to provide for all beings, care for the planet, and envision space that prioritize care over harm. While change may take time, motivated and inspired struggle moves us collectively toward abolitionist futures and defund becomes an important catalyst for the process."
"Violence is celebrated as revolutionary for everybody but Black folks. There is no context in America when White folks' response to injustice peacefully. Yet for Black folks it must be peaceful and nonviolent, even in the wake of extreme violence. ... People are being murdered in the street and we see this rush to protect property, which is given higher value than Black lives."
I was admittedly hesitant to choose this one for our book club, but I'm so glad I (trusted Matt, yes, and) got over myself long enough to see how important it was for all of us to read and engage with; I'm glad I got over my fear that this couldn't be a hopeful topic to discuss so that I could help facilitate one of the best book club conversations of my life.
This book, like so many books talking about imagining a truly brave new world, are worth every bit of discomfort they unearth. Changing the status quo won't ever be easy, but it's forever worth every effort.
[Five infinitely hopeful stars for the inherent power of imagining a world where we rely on each other, where we rely on community care (and not cops) to keep us truly safe.]
Centered on a collection of conversations with people who know far more about these topics than the average human, alongside a notably helpful introduction and conclusion by Smiley, I really can't recommend this book enough.
This book is so good for so many reasons, and especially for providing a helpful framework to think about the defund movement and all it entails, while also providing language, courage, and hope toward having these (admittedly quite difficult) conversations with friends and family and The Status Quo Powers That Be.
More than that, though, this book discusses "copaganda" in such a helpful and extensive way that I would recommend it for those insights alone.
[Did your kids watch Paw Patrol? Have you noticed the intentional absence of police in Abbott Elementary? Can you acknowledge how so many shows we all grew up watching / that are still on air today normalize rooting for police against everyone else? How many shows and politicians and real-world policies allow police to have absolute power (and endless funding) with almost zero accountability?]
Some of my favorite lines:
"The radical imagination has consistently envisioned a world without police."
"In each interview, the through line is clear: together, we can build a better world. Indeed, each chapter highlights that we have the tools, resources, and theory to provide for all beings, care for the planet, and envision space that prioritize care over harm. While change may take time, motivated and inspired struggle moves us collectively toward abolitionist futures and defund becomes an important catalyst for the process."
"Violence is celebrated as revolutionary for everybody but Black folks. There is no context in America when White folks' response to injustice peacefully. Yet for Black folks it must be peaceful and nonviolent, even in the wake of extreme violence. ... People are being murdered in the street and we see this rush to protect property, which is given higher value than Black lives."
I was admittedly hesitant to choose this one for our book club, but I'm so glad I (trusted Matt, yes, and) got over myself long enough to see how important it was for all of us to read and engage with; I'm glad I got over my fear that this couldn't be a hopeful topic to discuss so that I could help facilitate one of the best book club conversations of my life.
This book, like so many books talking about imagining a truly brave new world, are worth every bit of discomfort they unearth. Changing the status quo won't ever be easy, but it's forever worth every effort.
[Five infinitely hopeful stars for the inherent power of imagining a world where we rely on each other, where we rely on community care (and not cops) to keep us truly safe.]
June 16, 2024
Came to read this because I follow Olay on YouTube. I guess I was expecting the energy she usually brings to her productions, but the interview with Olay wasn’t until chapter 4. I started this book and ended up struggling to get into it at first, it by Chapter 3 I finally got caught up in the tone of the proceeding interviews that I finished the rest in one sitting. After reflecting overnight on how I felt about this, I decided to try reading the Introduction again and see why I felt so unenthusiastic to start. This is where I think the book is lacking something. The introduction definitely serves its purpose of setting the stage with facts and history important to understanding defund/abolition as a mo(ve)ment, but because it is mostly facts, and past failures/letdowns and recollections of the numerous casualties to police brutality, the tone was kinda somber. What I feel this book lacks is a good preface, perhaps by an activist in the movement to hype the reader about the importance of learning and standing up against the violence of the system. It felt lacking of that first little bump to demand attention and make you realize how you MUSTread every next bit because it is important. To grow the movement, I think the book could have used that extra boost to kick things off. Otherwise the interviewees all taught me something, and I very much enjoyed the ride.
July 22, 2024
Phenomenal. Each interview is wholly unique and provides a viewpoint on the carceral system and abolition/defund movement which understands the struggle as imaginative and full of hope
August 27, 2024
Written well with a look at different point of views from various activists
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews