What Next - Has Minneapolis Given Up on Police Reform?
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3.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 9 November 2021
⏱️ 30 minutes
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Summary
Minneapolis voters have rejected a referendum to dissolve and replace their police department by a dramatic 12-point margin. The election result reflects a different mood from what the city saw a year ago, when protesters booed the mayor for resisting the movement to defund the police.
Why were the planned police reforms so unpopular in the city where George Floyd’s murder sparked an international movement for justice? And what lessons should activists for and against the measure take from this moment?
Guest: Jon Collins, senior reporter for MPR News.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, everyone. We've got some clips with some swear words in today's show. You have been warned. |
| 0:10.6 | Over the last week, as pundits have tried to make sense of election results from across the country, framing it as this democratic shalacking. |
| 0:20.3 | I've been thinking a lot about this video from last year. |
| 0:25.9 | This up. |
| 0:26.8 | Fist up, y'all. |
| 0:28.4 | This was shot in June of 2020, in Minneapolis, just a few days after George Floyd's murder. |
| 0:36.6 | It shows a throng of protesters |
| 0:38.8 | who'd tracked down the city's mayor, Jacob Fry. |
| 0:42.5 | And one of those protesters is asking the mayor a few questions. |
| 0:47.5 | Jacob Fry, we have a yes or no question for you. |
| 0:51.1 | Yes or no will you commit to defunding Minneapolis Police Department? |
| 0:56.7 | The woman with the microphone here towers over Frye, reveling in the flipped power dynamic. |
| 1:04.0 | We don't want no more police. It's that clear. We don't want people with guns toting around in our community, shooting us down. |
| 1:13.1 | You have an answer. |
| 1:14.5 | It is a yes or I know. |
| 1:16.3 | It is a yes or I know. |
| 1:18.9 | Will you defund the Minneapolis Police Department? |
| 1:22.2 | The mayor does not want to answer this question. |
| 1:26.4 | He looks a lot younger than his 38 years. |
| 1:30.7 | And then, the protester with the microphone, she ups the stakes. |
| 1:36.4 | If you don't know, he's up for re-election next year. |
| 1:40.2 | And if he says no, guess what the fuck we're going to do next year? |
... |
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