“After years of being told our ideas and values are unpopular and unrealistic, roughly 45 percent of the electorate voted for transformation,” said Malik Gary, squad leader, Tallahassee Dream Defenders.
BY MALIK GARY, Tallahassee Dream Defenders
Following the tragedy of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, 26 million people rose up to disrupt the status quo. Since then, organizers have mobilized millions of people to build Black political power toward a new vision for safety.
There have been conversations where people overwhelmingly agree that police should not be our only source of safety all across the country.
Earlier this month, Dream Defenders traveled to Minneapolis to canvas for #YesOn2, a ballot measure that would have created a Department of Public Safety in Minneapolis. The measure aimed to remove the requirement for the city to maintain an armed police-only model of safety and instead dispatch social workers, housing experts, mental health and addiction specialists, and other qualified professionals.
Ultimately, the ballot measure did not pass, but something amazing happened. After years of being told our ideas and values are unpopular and unrealistic, roughly 45 percent of the electorate voted for transformation; they voted for our values.
Black Visions Minneapolis and the Yes4Minneapolis coalition gave the entire country hope that something else was possible. The world we believe in can be realized, and we are moving closer to our Freedom Papers.
Malik Gary
Malik Gary is a political science major at Tallahassee Community College. Since July, he has been the squad leader of the Tallahassee Dream Defenders.
