Many community members are having conversations around a new model of community safety--one that is based on healing, harm reduction and restorative justice, instead of depending on armed police.
Central to these conversations is the historic and current roles our transportation system plays in perpetuating racism:
- Transportation projects have been used for decades as a tool to terrorize, segregate and disrupt BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities.
- BIPOC communities often don’t have good enough walking or biking infrastructure and lack access to high quality public transit.
- Folks in Black neighborhoods breathe worse air due to pollution from cars.
- BIPOC communities see more chronic illnesses like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, in part because no good infrastructure exists to be physically active.
Layered on top of these injustices is the violent reality of policing on our streets:
- Black and East African drivers are pulled over and searched per capita more than any other group in our city.
- Undocumented immigrants are often detected and deported through traffic stops.
- BIPOC bikers have been attacked by police simply for traveling through public spaces.
- Most recently, George Floyd was killed on our streets.
We are excited about these conversations and the more just streets they will bring about.
Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee passes bold resolution on traffic enforcement
On Wednesday, July 22nd the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) approved a bold resolution calling to remove traffic enforcement from the City of Minneapolis' traffic safety strategies. This resolution is the BAC's second on enforcement in the past year and comes as the City works to re-imagine the role of policing in community safety following Minneapolis police killing George Floyd. The full text of the resolution is available below.
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Action Alert: Let's get policing out of transportation
On June 7th, a veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council pledged to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. In its place, they committed to creating a new public safety system. At Our Streets Minneapolis we are excited to see our local government take steps toward de-policing our city. We are especially grateful to organizers with Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, and MPD 150, and all of the protesters and activists who brought us to this point in Minneapolis.
We know there is a lot of work ahead of us to make a police-free Minneapolis a reality. You can help by contacting city leaders today.
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De-policing our streets
George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25th. Since then, Black community members and others risked their bodies in protest, sparking a movement that is now international. Their work and their sacrifice is resulting in direct change. With pressure from local activists, the University of Minnesota decided to divest from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), as did the Minneapolis Park Board and Minneapolis Public Schools.
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George Floyd, White Supremacy, and Our Work
At Our Streets Minneapolis we are devastated by Minneapolis police killing George Floyd. His death is a tragic loss. Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by George Floyd’s death, especially his friends and family.
We are an organization dedicated to making streets places where everyone can bike, walk, and roll easily and comfortably. We know that our streets will not be safe until everyone in our community can move through them without the threat of police violence.
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