The Philly DSA Defund the Police Campaign exists to dismantle the Philadelphia Police Department and the Fraternal Order of Police (the “Police Union”) and replace them with comprehensive community services and social opportunity, especially for those usually negatively impacted by the police. The reasons for doing this are many. First, police do not deter or prevent crime; in fact, they have been shown to escalate and perpetrate it, instead of offering support to affected communities and addressing root causes of such harm. Second, police oppress marginalized communities, especially BIPOC people, the unhoused, and people with mental health struggles. Third, police unions are a militarized force who serve to protect officers by engaging in closed-door arbitration and evading accountability. Allowing police to defend capital and the ruling class through evictions, strikebreaking, and suppressing dissent is incompatible with the values of a unionized working class. More and more civilians are warehoused into prisons with atrocious conditions and used for slave labor, and others are harassed, beaten or worse by police on a daily basis. With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, crime continues to rise in spite of burgeoning police budgets. The time is overdue for change. Please contact phillydsarjc@gmail.com for more info.

Ben Fletcher was an African-American leader of Local 8, part of the Marine Transport Worker Industrial Union, the most powerful interracial and multi-ethnic union of the World War I era that organized relentlessly against racism, exclusion, and xenophobia. He was a crucial part of Philadelphia history, yet he remains relatively unknown.

The Racial Justice Committee of Philly DSA is seeking to uplift the legacy of Ben Fletcher with a mural and historical marker on the river front to commemorate the history of interracial labor organizing in the city of Philadelphia. If you’re interested in getting involved in the Ben Fletcher campaign, fill out this interest form!