Soobin Jones
You would be hard-pressed to find someone living in the United States who hasn’t heard of the Black Lives Matter protests that erupted with new fervor after George Floyd was murdered at the hands of the Minneapolis police last May. Thousands of Americans joined together to protest police brutality, demand an end to systemic racism, and call for the defunding of the police. But how have these events made lasting changes to our lives? Although it may not be obvious, Washington State and King County have become an example of how America as a country could change for the better, or, depending on your perspective, an example of what America should avoid becoming.
Washington State’s government, and King County in specific, has made multiple proposals and changes to work towards a more equal future. On June 11th, King County’s Executive Dow Constantine declared racism a public health crisis, claiming that King County’s government is “implementing a racially equitable response to this crisis, centering on community.” While this isn’t material legislation, it’s a sign that the government is taking the BLM Movement seriously and is hopefully planning future policy changes.
Executive Constantine is also committed to ending juvenile detention in King County by 2025. These centers are an essential part of the school-to-prison pipeline; a system that Marilyn Elias with Teaching Tolerance describes as “discipline policies that push students out of the classroom and into the criminal justice system at alarming rates.” Students are “convicted” of classroom misbehaviors by teachers and referred to punishment at a juvenile detention center. Through this process, schools act as a gateway to the criminal justice system. Policies that perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline also disproportionately affect students who are minorities and students with disabilities. While it may seem acceptable to some that students are learning their lessons in juvy, Elias explains that “removing children from school does not improve their behavior. Instead, it greatly increases the likelihood that they’ll drop out and wind up behind bars.” This system is flawed, but activists hope the end of juvenile detention will lead educators to find new methods of discipline that don’t affect the quality of a student’s education or set them up for a life of crime.
More recently, Seattle’s Council overrode Mayor Durkan’s veto to budget changes for 2021 that would cut police funding. David Kroman with Crosscut explains, “By overriding Durkan’s vetoes, the council preserves its cuts of 100 full-time positions from the police department; the police-led Navigation Team, which handles encampment cleanups; executive salaries; and also commits $14 million for community-led public safety organizations, among other things.” These changes are almost exactly in line with what many protesters called for this summer: defunding of the police and a reallocation of resources to community services. The result of this change will hopefully be a community with more education, opportunities, and unity; therefore reducing the need for policing.
A final notable event was reflected on our ballots this election. Multiple King County Charter Amendments were created to scale back the power of King County’s sheriff. Charter Amendment Six gave the City Council the ability to reduce the power and responsibilities of the sheriff, and was passed with a 62.11% majority. In addition, Charter Amendment One requires an investigation into all deaths that may have been caused by police and to provide an attorney at the county’s expense. This passed with 80.45% of votes. Both of these Charter Amendments are a direct result of the efforts made by the Black Lives Matter Movement’s organizers and participants this summer. Similar ballot measures were also passed in California, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Whether these achievements seem extreme or tame to you, we can all be certain that they are only the beginning of legislative changes that Washington and America will implement. However, no movement comes without internal conflict. One distinction that can be observed within many different causes is the split between different types of activists: people who work within the government’s system and those who work outside of it. The previous may use peaceful and compromising tactics (such as forming interest groups that work with police officers) that aren’t as widely publicized as the latter’s. Meanwhile, the second group may implement strategies that aren’t as conventional, because they believe that the American system is broken, and there is no point in trying to abide by its rules. For those who think that the changes are now over: they aren’t. Even on election night, Black Lives Matter protesters were still hard at work in Seattle, showing that a change in president and administration will not stop their pursuit of justice and equality. Whatever new disagreements the future holds, it is obvious that the actions of the Black Lives Matter Movement are working to create real, solid change in our city, state, and country.