Defunding the Police 101

Join a community discussion this Thursday from 6 p.m. to. 8 p.m. at Mason Park to find out what defunding is and what it could look like in Evanston.

The group of young people--Liana Wallace, Mollie Hartenstein, Sinobia Aiden, Maia Robinson, Nia Williams, Phoebe Liccardo, Julia Shoaf, and Amalia Loiseau--who organized the successful Evanston Fight for Black Lives march and rally last Sunday--are orchestrating this event.

For more information, go to their Facebook event page.

NOTE: NEW Time and Date.

"Through social media, we have constantly been hearing words such as 'police reform,' 'abolition,' or 'defund.' These words hold weight and may even be a cause of confusion to many," the group says on its Facebook event page.

"To alleviate this, we would like to invite you to our Evanston Fight for Black Lives Presents: Defund 101 event this Wednesday evening from 6:00-8:00pm in front of the Lake & Elmwood Police Station.

This event is meant to be a peaceful, socially distant, and informative discussion to discover ways to make our city a safe space for BIPOC."

The group will have facilitators to guide conversations with groups of less than 10, to discuss questions such as:

“What does defunding the police mean?”

“What are the next steps for officers?”

“What would happen to officers jobs?”

The goal of this event, organizers say, is for residents "to use our voices" to make tangible, sustainable change in Evanston.