We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice

At the time of writing, the country was awaiting news about whether a grand jury in St. Louis would indict Darren Wilson, a police officer accused of killing 18-year-old Michael Brown. Many would regard an indictment as a sign that justice is being served, and while Kaba understands the symbolic value, she does not think Wilson’s indictment would make any meaningful difference to the condition of Black people in America. According to Kaba, it may only reinforce the idea of murderous police officers as “bad apples” (54): problematic individuals whose removal will enable the system to work as intended. Kama is not opposed to people like Wilson being indicted, just skeptical that it will make any substantive difference to the underlying systems of “anti-Blackness, social control, and containment” (55). The killing of Black or brown person at the hands of the police, reasons Kaba, triggers a familiar cycle of outrage, public discourse, and talks of moderate reform, and then the cycle begins again without structural change.

Looking to practices that might bring about real change, Kaba advises people never to call the police and for communities to push for a decrease to the police budget. Every time the police harm someone, they need to be held accountable, says Kaba.