Yet here we are, a year and a half after one of the largest uprisings in U.S. If it were not for these protests against state-sanctioned Black death as a staple of American life, from Minneapolis to Seattle, then the Seattle Police Department (SPD) would have continued its warfare on Black people and other Communities of Color with its arsenal of militaristic technology, like tear gas, flash-bangs, and drones - all without recourse.
George Floyd’s murder by Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin could easily have become just another of the many little-known Black deaths by agents of state violence that take place #every28hours, if it were not for Floyd’s friends, neighbors, and community rising up in rage and protest. This was a question that resonated as multitudes took streets and precincts across the country only a year and a half ago. As the Seattle City Council concluded budget season last week, with a councilmember majority that last year publicly pledged to invest in community over police, it is crucial to uplift and support the Solidarity Budget’s timely demands. The Solidarity Budget reminds us that a city’s budget - in deciding which issues are worth investing in - becomes a moral document of its people’s priorities, a document that attempts to concretize the values and visions that brought us protesting into the streets not too long ago. The Solidarity Budget, proposed by a coalition of more than 200 organizations in the city, has a vision of Seattle that matches the times we face - from the climate crisis and calls for Indigenous sovereignty to the collective need for more resources dedicated to child care, digital equity, and more.