John Legend Breaks Down The Meaning Of 'Defunding The Police'

Have questions about the ongoing movement to defund the police? Worried that it might mean massive cutbacks for local police departments? Well, John Legend has stepped up to explain what defunding the police actually means and what it could look like for communities across the country.

On Sunday (June 7), the "Bigger Love" singer took to Twitter to speak on the growing movement, which continues to pick up steam amidst national Black Lives Matter protests.

"I know this word 'defund' has caused some controversy, even from some who are inclined to agree with a lot of the underlying arguments. Some hear that word and envision The Purge, some dystopian descent into anarchy," John wrote after sharing an Essence article titled "A Black Mother Discusses Defund The Police."

"Some intentionally want to cast the argument in extremes like that so they can score political points," he continued. "But I ask that those of you who are reasonable and actually care about making this country healthy and safe for all people engage with the thoughtful arguments in this piece."

The 41-year-old singer went on to explain how defunding police departments would mean redirecting government funds to community programs. "Police funding takes up a huge portion of our local budgets. Budgets are moral documents which spell out in black and white what our priorities are. We have finite amounts of money to spend and right now we spend far too much on policing and that choice comes at a cost," he shared. "We defund housing support, health care, education and child care, the arts, drug treatment, community centers, all sorts of services that would actually reduce the problems that we ask the police to surveil and contain."

"Whenever there are budget cuts, those 'softer' services are on the chopping block first," John pointed out, adding: "And, since we know we're not solving the underlying problems, we figure we better keep a huge police force to contain them. Let's resolve to do differently. Let's imagine a healthier world."

"This doesn't mean there will be no police; it means there should be significantly fewer police and more professionals of other types with expertise in their fields, whether it's social work, health care, conflict resolution, drug treatment, etc," he clarified. "It's not the job of grass roots activists on the left to craft political messaging for mainstream democratic candidates. I'm almost 100% sure [Joe] Biden won't be tweeting #DefundThePolice. It's the job of activists to push these politicians toward meaningful change."

John concluded his explanation by noting that while it may seem like an impossible task, we've done the impossible before. "Everyone was saying $15 minimum wage and Medicare for All and gay marriage were also unrealistic and ridiculous but activists moved the conversation and pushed politicians toward progress," he wrote.

John's post came amidst news that nine of the 13 members of the Minneapolis City Council —which is a veto-proof supermajority — planned to vote to defund and dismantle the city's police department in the wake of George Floyd's killing. "We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe," Council President Lisa Bender said in an interview with CNN.

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