Thread by @AsteadWesley, NEW: The Minneapolis City Council stunned all when it pledged to "end [...]

Steadman™

AsteadWesley

NEW: The Minneapolis City Council stunned all when it pledged to "end policing." Now, several tell me they regret the pledge and it sowed confusion. How what seemed like political boldness was really paper thin. How bureaucracy + politics stymied change https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/us/politics/minneapolis-defund-police.html

How a Pledge to Dismantle the Minneapolis Police Collapsed

When a majority of City Council members promised to “end policing as we know it” after George Floyd’s killing, they became a case study in how idealistic calls for structural change can falter.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/us/politics/minneapolis-defund-police.html

“I think our pledge created confusion in the community and in our wards," the council president.

Councilors "have gotten used to these kinds of progressive purity tests," another member

"I'm embarrassed"

"They didn't engage Black and Brown people" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/us/politics/minneapolis-defund-police.html

How a Pledge to Dismantle the Minneapolis Police Collapsed

When a majority of City Council members promised to “end policing as we know it” after George Floyd’s killing, they became a case study in how idealistic calls for structural change can falter.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/us/politics/minneapolis-defund-police.html

This is not about the merits of defunding as policy, but the political process that such ideas for systemic change have to go thru. There, the divisions among activists, mistakes among elected officials, and an unelected city commission all converge https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/us/politics/minneapolis-defund-police.html

How a Pledge to Dismantle the Minneapolis Police Collapsed

When a majority of City Council members promised to “end policing as we know it” after George Floyd’s killing, they became a case study in how idealistic calls for structural change can falter.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/us/politics/minneapolis-defund-police.html

This is my second story examining the country's current racial moment, following up on a summer of historic activism. The first was from Chicago, about black skepticism of white change, and how should a so called racial reckoning be measured https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/us/politics/black-lives-matter-chicago-roseland.html

Are Racial Attitudes Really Changing? Some Black Activists Are Skeptical

For community activists on the South Side of Chicago, words are insufficient, and an embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement requires caring for communities that both Democrats and Republicans...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/us/politics/black-lives-matter-chicago-roseland.html

You can follow @AsteadWesley.

Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: