<b>A groundbreaking new vision for public safety that overturns more than 200 years of fear-based discrimination othering and punishment</b><br><br>As the effects of aggressive policing and mass incarceration harm historically marginalized communities and tear families apart how do we define safety? In a time when the most powerful institutions in the United States are embracing the repressive and racist systems that keep many communities struggling and in fear we need to reimagine what safety means. Community leader and lawyer Zach Norris lays out a radical way to shift the conversation about public safety away from fear and punishment and toward growth and support systems for our families and communities. In order to truly be safe we are going to have to dismantle our mentality of Us vs. Them. By bridging the divides and building relationships with one another we can dedicate ourselves to strategic smart investments—meaning resources directed toward our stability and well-being like healthcare and housing education and living-wage jobs. This is where real safety begins.<br><br>Originally published in hardcover as <i>We Keep Us Safe: Building Secure Just and Inclusive Communities</i> <i>Defund Fear</i> is a blueprint of how to hold people accountable while still holding them in community. The result reinstates full humanity and agency for everyone who has been dehumanized and traumatized so they can participate fully in life in society and in the fabric of our democracy.
