MPD150 Sunsetting Reflections and Resources
In 2017, on the 150th anniversary of the Minneapolis Police Department, MPD150 produced a people’s history and performance evaluation of the MPD. That report, “Enough Is Enough,” was expanded in 2020, and continues to be available for free. While the work goes on, MPD150 itself was never meant to be a permanent organization—just a collective […]
Read More“A portrait of systemic rot:” Minneapolis police making headlines
Between summer 2020 and summer 2022, we shared these links on social media, but we thought that there might be value in putting them all together in one post. Especially as people in Minneapolis (and beyond) continue to make the case for abolition vs. reform, consider each of these articles evidence. That wording of “systemic […]
Read MoreCopaganda: Police Trials as a State and Media Kettling Tool
This toolkit was created in collaboration with MediaJustice and their ongoing work to combat disinformation as a resource for people and organizations engaging in work to dismantle, defund, and abolish systems of policing and carceral punishment, while also navigating trials of police officers who murder people in our communities. Trials are not tools of abolition; […]
Read MoreThe Fantasy of Community Control of the Police
(photo by Nancy Musinguzi) “Instead of struggling to take over and redirect the master’s tool, we call for investing the resources now poured into policing directly into community initiatives whose core missions are about helping, healing, and sustaining people, not controlling them. Instead of a one-size-fits-all blueprint, abolition allows communities to imagine and build a […]
Read More“The Bad Cops: How Minneapolis protects its worst police officers until it’s too late” (MN Reformer)
“THE MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT is notoriously ineffective at removing bad cops from its ranks. Numerous lawsuits, independent investigations and the disciplinary files obtained by the Reformer show a pattern of mismanagement when it comes to holding officers accountable.” An incredible, in-depth investigation by Max Nesterak and Tony Webster over at the MN Reformer. Read the […]
Read MoreNew to Abolition? Want to Learn More? A Few Resources:
This post is just to collect a few links for people looking to learn more about abolition. 1. A good entry point: Check out the #AbolitionReadings list of 25 articles. 2. A deeper dive: Our Resources page is full of articles, videos, toolkits, book recommendations, and much more. 3. MPD150 originally formed to produce the […]
Read MoreNew: “Enough Is Enough” Companion Curriculum via Ed Lib MN
Via Ed Lib MN: In the summer after the murder of George Floyd and the beginning of the Minneapolis Uprising, a group of Twin Cities students and educators came together to create an accompanying curriculum to the MPD150 Report, a community-written history of the Minneapolis Police Department. We wrote this because it’s important to […]
Read MoreCommunity Policing and other Fairy Tales
A collection of comics & stories for a police-free world, curated by MPD150.
Read MoreWhat are we talking about when we talk about “a police-free future?”
This document (posted June 2020) does not speak for the whole movement, or even all organizers here in Minneapolis. Please be wary of sharing content that claims to. These are simply some thoughts, talking points, and stories that have been useful to us as we’ve had discussions with people in our community about abolition. Over […]
Read MoreHow You Can Help (MPLS, June 2020)
(Image by Jared Ingebretson and Nikki Ann; check out their full caption here) EDIT (August 24, 2020): This piece was written and posted in the immediate aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, and some of the specific information reflects that. We’re leaving it up, though, since even as some details shift or become outdated, […]
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