An all-Black women led traffic squad is becoming a highlight of the Atlanta police department. This seems like a noble and bold new step by the Atlanta police department but in reality, it’s business as usual.
Over the past few years there has been a rise in outward representation of Black women in police forces across the country. From police chief to traffic squads, Black women have been showing up increasingly in blue. Yet no substantial changes actually come from increasing Black women representation among the police force.
Black women are some of the most heavily policed people in this country. According to the Washington Post, although Black women account for 13 percent of women in the U.S., they make up 20 percent of the women fatally shot by the police and 28 percent of unarmed killings. How could we celebrate Black women joining police ranks when so much violence is done against them?
One alternative to this squad is putting the traffic responsibility in the hands of the local community. Civilian traffic responders do just this and this alternative is slowly picking up steam in conversation among reformers and abolitionists.
In order for us to reach liberation, we must divest from the police rather than joining them. Instead of policing with people who look like us, why don’t we build other ways of caring for ourselves instead?