(Photo: John Minchillo/AP)

Black Life Movement groups want to use police funding for community essential services

The collective Movement For Black Lives (MFBL) has an open letter available online to call for a decrease in the police budget to redirect the funding to funding education and healthcare programs for Black communities. The open letter is also being supported by celebrities that signed it including Jane Fonda, Yara Shahidi, Lizzo, Natalie Portman, John Legend, Megan Rapinoe, and Taraji P. Henson.

This open letter was prompted by the wrongful death of George Floyd caused by the Minnesota Police that prompted protests, riots, and looting around the world. The MFBL wants to bring awareness to police brutality against everyone, especially black people.

A Minneapolis-based organization, Reclaim The Block, focuses on reallocating the city’s money from the budget for the police department toward safety initiatives for the community. Reclaim The Block is also petitioning to defund the police department to provide more essential resources for marginalized communities.