Thread by @kat__stafford

My latest: Black activists say the police killing of #GeorgeFloyd & the nationwide unrest that followed could be the catalyst to overhaul the criminal justice system. Some are pushing for sweeping change: Defunding or dismantling police agencies altogether.bit.ly/2AafCNx

“What we’re facing is a real reckoning on a lot of levels,” said @aliciagarza, Black Lives Matter co-founder. She said the pandemic pulled back the curtains on "decades of disinvestment, decades of devaluing" & now, we're seeing again the police violence black people face.

Many activists believe the unrest could be an opportunity to press Democratic leadership, including Joe Biden, to address criminal justice in a deeper way. Some credit Biden for condemning police brutality & urging fundamental change.

But they want him to go further.

Color of Change president @rashadrobinson: “Black communities are under assault, we are under attack and it’s from all sides. He has an opportunity to help by actually being more forthright & visionary about what he’s going to achieve & how he’s going to undo the barriers."

The political ramifications of the unrest could also be significant, particularly among potential younger voters who feel the repeated instances of police misconduct are indicative of a “system that wasn’t created for or by them."

@BlackVisionsMN organizer Oluchi Omeoga: “I don’t see black folks’ liberation through an electoral politics lens. The pandering that’s happening in this moment by politicians is because they understand the system is unstable. People are questioning the system.”

To be clear, I've talked to many younger voters who say they are planning to head to the polls in Nov. But folks must also pay attention to Omeoga's perspective because there are many who feel that way, too. It's a sentiment I've been hearing on the ground in diff communities.

I wanted to note one more voice from my story: @rianaelyse, an assistant U-M professor with a lot of expertise/perspective. She said it's time we treat police brutality/violence against black people as a "public health hazard: