The idea of a participatory democracy proposed by Ella baker is especially important for this issue because it is the very root of police abolition. The idea that “strong people don’t need strong leaders” is translatable to strong communities not needing strong police to “control” them. Furthermore, the 3 points in her work are applicable here:

“(1) an appeal for grassroots involvement of people throughout society in the decisions that control their lives; 

(2) the minimization of hierarchy and the associated emphasis on expertise and professionalism as a basis for leadership;

(3) a call for direct action as an answer to fear, alienation, and intellectual detachment” (Mueller 79).

If a participatory democracy of the Memphis community can make the change in this one facet, we can self-govern and build our community using un-colonial methodologies, inspired by Indigenous and already built African-American ways of knowing. Both of these groups are both mythical and withstanding and have always relied on community rather than central government due to their respective histories. Decisions around policing control people’s lives much more than most tend to admit and those who are most affected are typically not considered professional in the realm of respectability politics, which is why we must minimize any hierarchy in organizing. Further, this movement has been calling for direct policy change, not micro-reforms, and will not end until change is made. 

The organizing happening in Memphis around this issue is reminiscent of Kieth Benson’s ideas in Where y’all teachers at when we need you. Radical possibilities cannot be made without the support of teachers. If every student and family advocates for less police (especially police free schooling) but teachers still say they feel “unsafe,” change can never be made. This work takes community commitment, which is possible in Memphis. I saw at demonstrations this summer a few teachers that I knew protesting with us and participating in the new democracy, but I wish I saw more.