More about Defund: Over the last few years, in response to videos demonstrating the brutal and often deadly tactics of law enforcement officers, calls to “defund the police” have increasingly rung out across the world. But this is not a trendy new movement: Black activists have been sounding the alarm on the dangers of policing for decades. Time and again history has watched as officers respond to minor calls with escalation, wrongful arrests, and even murder. Yet policymakers continue to fund and endorse reform programs that have proven ineffective at curbing these actions. Why? Because most of what we know about policing is wrong.

In Defund, longtime activist Sandy Hudson examines the origins of commonly held ideas about police and safety to show how police-related social policies are based more on a sensationalized idea of safety than on outcomes and data. She demonstrates the destructive effects of policing on scores of people, arguing that investment in community resources and infrastructure rather than law enforcement is the key to making us safer. Clear-eyed and hopeful yet incisive and pragmatic, Defund paves a clear path forward and demonstrates that a future without police is not only entirely possible, but necessary.

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Sandy Hudson is a multidisciplinary creative, writer, and activist and co-founder of Black Lives Matter-Canada. Sandy also co-founded the Black Legal Action Centre, a specialty legal aid clinic, which provides direct legal services and test case litigation for Black communities in Ontario, Canada. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Toronto Star, and the Huffington Post, among others. Sandy holds a JD from the UCLA School of Law and a Master of Arts in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto. She also co-hosts the podcast Sandy and Nora Talk Politics, and is co-author of the best-selling anthology, Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada.

Dr. Philip V. McHarris is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Black Studies and Frederick Douglas Institute at the University of Rochester. McHarris’ research focuses on racial inequality, housing, and policing. McHarris is the author of the book, Beyond Policing (Legacy Lit | Hachette, July 2024), which traces the historical arc of policing and presents transformative visions for safety and justice. He is also currently at work on Brick Dreams (under advanced contract with Princeton University Press), an ethnography-based manuscript focused on the New York City Housing Authority and the contemporary realities and challenges of public housing in America.

No Borders Collective is a used bookstore and cafe coming soon to Astoria, Queens! No Borders will be a third space inspired by activist bookstores, mutual aid, collective liberation, and lifelong education.

Defund by Sandy Hudson w/ Philip V. McHarris

A conversation with Sandy Hudson and Philip V. McHarris