The Tour will explore downtown DC sites of historical and recent police violence and includes an incredible chorus of speakers:
Afeni Evans | DC Organizer
Alec Karakatsanis | Founder, Civil Rights Corps
Derecka Purnell | Author of Becoming Abolitionists
Qiana Johnson | Co-conductor, Harriet's Wildest Dreams
Vendedores Unidos | Coalition of street vendors
What does “safety” mean in a city where selling food, being unhoused, wearing a mask during a pandemic, or protesting police violence or genocide are met with violence from the very group that many believe is supposed to keep us safe? Join us to learn about the harm police cause, from the harassment and criminalization of youth, street vendors, unhoused folks, and protesters, to the point-blank execution of DC community members. The walking tour will explore how police, prisons, and carceral logic are used to put forward an idea of “safety” that in practice only makes life even harder for DC residents with the least access to resources. We will also dive into alternative visions for the abolition of police and prisons, to build the city we deserve where we keep ourselves and our neighbors truly safe.
The tour will visit 3 sites around the downtown DC area. The tour will meet in the center of Black Lives Matter Plaza (815 Black Lives Matter Plz NW, Washington, DC) at 1:00 p.m., and the tour will adjourn at 3:45 p.m. in downtown DC after ~ 1 mile of walking - followed by a happy hour afterward at a Penn Quarter Sports Tavern (includes outside seating).
We will provide weather dependent hot chocolate and hand warmers, snacks, and water on the tour.
The Walking Tour is hosted by Metro DC DSA’s Political Education Working Group and DC & NOVA Abolition Working Groups.