From Police Reform to Police Abolition? How Residents and
Activists in Minneapolis Want to Make Black Lives Matter

Michelle S. Phelps, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota

The police killing of George Floyd in 2020 was a watershed moment, triggering massive protests across the country and demands to “end” the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). I draw on a multi-method case study of anti-police violence activism and community perceptions of the police in Minneapolis from 2017-2020 to understand how activists, city leaders, and everyday residents frame the problems in policing and their potential solutions. The findings help to illuminate contemporary debates about the future of public safety in Minneapolis and across the U.S.

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The Diversity Data Deep Dive (DDDD) is a series of conferences organized each semester at the University of Minnesota with the goal of expanding the conversation about diversity and data created and hosted by the Diversity Community of Practice (DCoP)’s Assessment Committee with other partners. DDDD7 focuses on data around public safety and police reform, results from surveys conducted around student mental health, conducting research through an anti-racism lens, and the social and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students from across the university.

About the Diversity Community of Practice (DCoP)

The Diversity Community of Practice (DCoP) is a grassroots community of faculty and staff from collegiate and administrative units that started on the Twin Cities Campus. Systemwide faculty and staff are invited to join monthly meetings via Zoom. The purpose of the DCoP is to develop and leverage personal, professional, and technical expertise, effectively creating innovative strategies that ensure successful implementation of equity and diversity goals at the University of Minnesota. Learn more at dcop.umn.edu.

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