PROGRAM

Please join us on Tuesday, November 19 at 6:00 PM as Roosevelt House presents a discussion of the new book Defund: Conversations Toward Abolition by Hunter College Associate Professor of Sociology Calvin John Smiley. An insightful and unique collection, this volume traces the rise of the “defund” movement through illuminating interviews with leading “abolitionist” thinkers and organizers—who, due to their belief in the inherent nature of the system’s flaws, advocate for the abolition of policing rather than its reform. The author will be in conversation with Hunter College Professor of History D’Weston Haywood.

 The 2020 killing of George Floyd, and the civil unrest that followed, launched a contentious national conversation about defunding the police and prison system in favor of support for social welfare programs. Propelled into the spotlight, the “defund” movement was faced with emphatic opposition, threatening to make the movement as fleeting as it was controversial. But, according to Smiley, the pointed conversations comprising his book—with academics, activists, and individuals impacted by the justice system—reveal the “defund” movement to be much more than just a reactionary or momentary response. Instead, Smiley asserts, it is part of an ongoing struggle—against, as he says, the forces of white supremacy, police violence, and mass incarceration. Along the way, Smiley offers fresh analysis of the divide that exists between police reform and abolition—and the prospect of bridging it.