Protesters occupy Municipal Services Building, demand Abernathy's resignation

Mayor Kenney and Managing Director Abernathy, 

Over the past 3 weeks, we witnessed communities across the city stand up to state violence and white supremacy, taking to the streets to demand the defunding of the Philadelphia Police Department. Your response has been limited to symbolic gestures, while approving the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and other military equipment against us. Shame on you. 

The budget you put forward for FY21 does not give us faith that you understand the moment of history you are governing in. You are falsely claiming to have reduced the PPD’s budget. The supposed 'cuts' are just a mix of cancelling the $19 million increase proposed in May and re-assigning $14 million for crossing guards and traffic enforcement to Abernathy’s office. In other words, the PPD budget is NO different than it was in 2020!

Philadelphians are right to be outraged. At a time when this city is struggling to meet the needs of our most vulnerable communities during a global pandemic, giving over $740 million to the police department is a slap in our faces, especially to all the organizers who have been doing mutual aid work, and organizations and programs that have been serving our communities long before COVID-19. 

Philadelphians are right to hold you both accountable. Too many people don’t have enough food, in a city where 1 in 5 residents face hunger. Too many people don’t have homes and many more are facing threat of eviction and foreclosure; in a city where 1 in 14 renters face eviction. Too many families are struggling to keep their children connected to schools because they don’t have access to the internet at home and are being told to have their children work in parking lots. Too many people who are essential workers haven’t had any PPE provided to them so they can safely do their jobs. Too many people left without means to protect themselves from the virus while locked in prisons. 

What are you going to do about it? Give $740 million to the police? An amount that dwarfs other departments, who are faced with cruel budget cuts, and struggling to aid our communities?

Philadelphians deserve MORE. The city’s budget reflects choices about what our city officials value and who they feel accountable to. When there are deep cuts to affordable housing, jobs, and city services, with no cuts to the police department and no taxes on the wealthy, those priorities are clear. 

We feel betrayed. Our schools are crumbling, the arts have been left to die, but PPD’s violence against Philadelphians goes unchecked, and even supported by your office. That is how you will be remembered. We promise you that. 

Low income and Black and Brown communities will suffer more loss and violence, UNLESS we defund the police department. NOW is the time to begin repairing the violent legacy of policing and over-incarceration that you are complicit in. NOW is the time to defund the bloated police budget and commit to public safety by fully funding our rec centers, libraries, art and cultural programing, community based anti-violence programs, the office of homeless services, the public health department, the office of workforce development and transitional jobs, public defenders,  and other community-led services that promote healthy and safe communities. 

We will stay here and we will call people here to stand with us in solidarity until you commit to defunding the police and funding our communities. 

Mayor Kenney - you’ve said “there is a great deal more for me to learn.” What have you learned? What are you going to do?