MPC Member Publications

This database contains a listing of population studies publications written by MPC Members. Anyone can add a publication by an MPC student, faculty, or staff member to this database; new citations will be reviewed and approved by MPC administrators.

Full Citation

Title: FROM POLICE REFORM TO POLICE ABOLITION? HOW MINNEAPOLIS ACTIVISTS FOUGHT TO MAKE BLACK LIVES MATTER

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2021

ISSN: 1086-671X

DOI: 10.17813/1086-671X-26-4-421

Abstract: The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers in 2020 was a watershed moment, triggering protests across the country and unprecedented promises by city leaders to “end” the MPD. We use interviews and archival materials to understand the roots of this decision, tracing the emergent split between activists fighting for police reform and police abolition in the wake of the initial Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in Minneapolis. We compare the frames used by these two sets of movement actors, arguing that abolitionists deployed more radical frames to disrupt hegemonic understandings of policing, while other activists fought to resonate with the existing discursive structure. After years of police reform, Floyd’s death and the rebellion that followed gave abolitionist discourses more resonance. In the discussion, we consider the future of public safety in Minneapolis and its implications for understanding frame resonance in Black movements.

Url: https://meridian.allenpress.com/mobilization/article/26/4/421/475916/FROM-POLICE-REFORM-TO-POLICE-ABOLITION-HOW

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Authors: Phelps, Michelle S.; Ward, Anneliese; Frazier, Dwjuan

Periodical (Full): Mobilization: An International Quarterly

Issue: 4

Volume: 26

Pages: 421-441

Countries:

IPUMS NHGIS NAPP IHIS ATUS Terrapop