By Christine Farolan and Chase Childress

The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Rayshard Brooks during the pandemic have forced a reckoning in America about racism and racial justice. The failure of police reforms to curb the rampant killing of unarmed Black people by police has led to widespread protests against police violence—protests that were met with startling displays of force by the police. As demonstrations continued through the end of the summer, activists of color brought nuance to our national conversations of policing. Persistent efforts on the part of community advocates have fundamentally shifted our conversations, locating the roots of American policing in the protection of property and maintenance of the slave economy and identifying its modern management function: a catch-all for social issues our government has failed to solve. Frustration, not just with the actions of individual officers but the institution of policing itself, has led to calls to abolish, disband, or #defund the police . . .