John Legend, Lizzo and more sign open letter to decrease police spending
John Legend, Lizzo, The Weeknd, Common and others signed an open letter Tuesday urging local governments to decrease police budgets in favor of spending more on health care, education, and other community programs.
The letter, written in response to the death of George Floyd, was released by Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter and a founding member of the Movement 4 Black Lives, a coalition of over 100 black rights organizations.
Others signing the letter include Jane Fonda, Yada Shahidi, Talib Kweli, Natalie Portman, America Ferrera, Brie Larson and Taraji P. Henson.
The letter ties together the deaths of unarmed black people like Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade to the devastating toll COVID-19 has inflicted on black communities.
It states in part, "The COVID-19 deaths and the deaths caused by police terror are connected and consequential to each other. The United States does not have a national healthcare system. Instead, we have the largest military budget in the world, and some of the most well-funded and militarized police departments in the world, too."
"Policing and militarization overwhelmingly dominate the bulk of national and local budgets," the letter continues. "In fact, police and military funding has increased every single year since 1973, and at the same time, funding for public health decreased every year, crystallized most recently when the Trump administration eliminated the U.S. Pandemic Response Team in 2018, citing 'costs.'"
The open letter, which includes a five-day plan of action, concludes by urging others to take the pledge: "Vote no on all increases to police budgets; Vote yes to decrease police spending and budgets; and Vote yes to increase spending on Health care, Education, and Community programs that keep us safe."
