Green Party Joins Call to Defund Police

GREEN PARTY OF PHILADELPHIA ENDORSES AND PARTICIPATES IN SATURDAY PROTEST

The Green Party of Philadelphia co-sponsored and also participated in the Defund the Police rally on June 13th. Led by the Philadelphia chapter of Socialist Alternative, the rally and march began at Broad and Callowhill at the site of old Philadelphia Inquirer building, currently undergoing a $300 million renovation to become the new police headquarters.

This protest, like many others in the last two weeks, was not just a reaction to the murder of George Floyd, yet another Black man killed at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis. It was also a broad critique of policing itself, as one speaker noted, “a good cop is one that evicts families from homes and conducts homeless sweeps,” referring to regular actions of law enforcement that penalize people for poverty.

Speakers also called for, as the Green Party platform calls for, massive new investments in education, social services and healthcare.

“As Greens we have stood behind the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement from the very beginning,” noted GPOP Chair Belinda Davis. “The Green Party has called for reparations for slavery since we began,” she noted.

“Mayor Kenney needs to keep going and not just walk back this year’s budget increase for the PPD but all of it,” said Asantewaa Nkrume-Ture, another Green Party member, referring to a proposed $14 million increase to the police department budget that Kenney recently pulled.

Justin Bell, a Green Party supporter, noted that police brutality is not specific to Minneapolis. He said, “Between 2007 and 2013, 81% of people shot by police officers in Philadelphia were African American. That’s a staggering number given that the city as a whole is a little over 40% African American. This is why we in Philadelphia are also calling to defund the police.”

Minneapolis, a city with an elected Green City Councilmember, Cam Gordon, recently voted to abolish its police department and instead replace it with a new community-based public safety system. “We should look to Minneapolis as a model,” said Davis.

The Green Party is an independent political party founded on the four pillars of nonviolence, grassroots democracy, ecological wisdom, and social justice. Unlike other major parties, the Green Party takes no corporate money. For information about the Green Party of Philadelphia, please call 215-843-4256 or email [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @GreenPartyofPHL and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GreenPartyOfPhiladelphia.

###