Writer: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer
It can be hard to feel connected to community when opportunities to physically be in community are limited. However, organizations are stepping up to provide opportunities to connect virtually. To celebrate the wealth of online events out there, and to make content from these events accessible to folks who may not be able to virtually attend, AAOP is recapping 1-3 online opportunities each month! You can see our past and future recaps at http://aaopmn.org/tag/virtual-event-recap/
AAOP is proud to be a member of Yes 4 Minneapolis, a Black-led, multi-racial coalition working to create public safety solutions in Minneapolis that protect all our communities. Together, we can build new models of safety and care that embrace the dignity of each Minneapolis resident, serve all people equally, and provide holistic care to individuals and communities.
On October 20, Yes 4 Minneapolis held a virtual info session on Minneapolis Ballot Measure 2, also known as Question 2.
This election, Minneapolis voters have the opportunity to change how our public safety needs are met. By voting yes on Question 2, we can change the city charter to allow for more and better options when it comes to public safety.
Right now, “when a crisis happens, there is only one response under the current system and that is an armed police officer” Yes 4 Minneapolis Communications Director JaNaé Bates explained. One reason Minneapolis has this one-solution-fits-all problems setup is because in 1961, The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) successfully lobbied to cement the power and budget of police, leaving few funds for other public safety professionals such as trained mental health advocates, substance abuse treatment providers, and violence prevention coordinators. Police became our only option, and experience has shown how poorly this has served our communities. By voting yes on Question 2, we can change the charter to give Minneapolis the freedom to fund holistic approaches to public safety.
Some opponents of Question 2 have characterized the ballot measure as an attempt to abolish the police. Whatever your opinion on abolishing police, that simply isn’t true.
Question 2 isn’t about eliminating any public safety options, including police. It’s all about expanding public safety options, so we can have police and community advocates, mental health professionals and conflict de-escalation specialists, all at once.
This will ensure that no matter what crises we have in our communities, there is a qualified professional ready to step in and support the people of Minneapolis. To make this vision a reality, Question 2 will establish a new Department of Public Safety which will house a comprehensive range of health and safety professionals, police included.
Police under the Department of Public Safety won’t be the same police we have seen cause such great harm to our communities, especially our marginalized communities. Despite endless attempts at “reform,” the MPD has failed to change its ways for decades, resulting in countless atrocities. One reason for this standstill is that the MPD reports directly to the mayor and only the mayor. This means there is very little oversight. Because of Minneapolis’ history of serious racial inequities, it also means that mayors can favor the interests of corporate entities and wealthy donors over the needs of marginalized community members. That’s a devastating setup.
Question 2 would change all that by placing the Department of Public Safety under the authority of the mayor and the city council. This is crucial because each member of the city council serves their specific constituents, spanning the entire city of Minneapolis. Including the city council in the chain of authority that governs the Department of Public Safety will make sure that every single person in Minneapolis gets a voice in shaping our health and public safety future.
We in Minneapolis aren’t alone in seeking radical, desperately required change. Cities across our country are taking meaningful steps to shift how our communities’ public safety needs are met.
In May of 2020, we and the world witnessed in the most horrifying way how badly Minneapolis’ current systems of safety are failing. George Floyd was murdered because of those systems. Question 2 gives each of us the power to make a change and to do our part to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again in the streets of Minneapolis.
Not only can we make a brighter future for our city, we can set an example for other cities to follow. We will never unbecome the city where George Floyd was brutally killed. But we can also be the city that witnessed injustice and responded with a will to change that we carried through, one vote and one step at a time.
Learn more:
View the virtual info session online: https://yes4minneapolis.org/info/
Sign up to attend a virtual info session yourself, on October 27: https://www.mobilize.us/yes4minneapolis/event/417498/
Connect with Yes 4 Minneapolis: Visit Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
Join the Amplifier Network to get tools on how to have conversations about Ballot Measure 2 with friends, family, and community members
Vote! Early voting is going on now, and election day is Tuesday, November 2nd. Make your voice heard for the future of our communities.
Learn about same-day voter registration
Find your polling location
Sources:
Levin, Sam, “These US cities defunded police: ‘We’re transferring money to the community’”, Guardian, 11 Mar 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/07/us-cities-defund-police-transferring-money-community. Accessed 22 Oct 2021.
Photo credit: Yes 4 Minneapolis
Special thanks to Yes 4 Minneapolis for allowing AAOP to attend and recap this event!