We don’t need anymore debates about the need for police reform. All the viral videos and stories of family, friends, community members and so many others getting murdered, assaulted and harassed by the police make it clear that public safety is in desperate need of fundamental change. Instead of wasting everyone’s time and insulting your intelligence by debating whether an obvious problem exists, let’s have a real exchange of ideas about how we’re going to fix it.
“Reform vs Abolish the Police?” was a debate about the future of public safety that featured Gresham City Councilman Vince Jones-Dixon and journalist Mac Smiff, and was moderated by me and longtime collaborator Donovan Smith. Jones-Dixon and Smiff shared their visions for reimagined public safety and addressed the community’s questions about the once radical concepts of defunding and abolishing the police.
The debate took place on Tuesday, June 15 at 6pm and was broadcast as part of the 6th Annual Vanport Mosaic Festival. For more details, please visit https://www.vanportmosaic.org/festival2021.