Stars like Lizzo, Natalie Portman, and John Legend support defunding police in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Protesters across the United States are demanding justice in the wake of George Floyd‘s death, and that includes defunding police departments in every city and state. Celebrity activists like John Legend, Jane Fonda, and Lizzo have joined the cause, asking that bloated law enforcement budgets be cut, and the money instead be spent on health care, education, and investing in Black communities. Some stars have signed an online letter from Movement For Black Lives, vowing to fight for just that.
As the organization writes in their open letter, “Policing and militarization overwhelmingly dominate the bulk of national and local budgets. 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 US Pandemic Response Team in 2018, citing ‘costs.’” Take a look at the celebrities fighting for justice, and to defund police:
Lizzo
“Defund the police sounds radical until you realize we’ve been defunding education for years,” Lizzo, 32, wrote on Instagram. “Abolish the police does NOT mean Abolish law enforcement. Defund the police means give some of those BILLIONS of tax dollars to healthcare/workers, social services, communities that need funding, education etc.. we can reimagine a better country where law enforcement does what it’s supposed to do!”
Natalie Portman
“When I first heard #defundthepolice, I have to admit my first reaction was fear,” Natalie Portman, 39, wrote. “My whole life, police have made me feel safe. But that’s exactly the center of my white privilege: the police make me as a white woman feel safe, while my black friends, family and neighbors feel the opposite: police make them feel terror.
