A Letter from Marc Dones On the Necessity of Black Futures
There are no curses—only mirrors
held up to the souls of gods and mortals.
—Rita Dove, Mother Love
I’m tired.
If I could, that would be the entirety of this statement. I’m tired. Been tired. Don’t see a future where I’m not tired—and that just makes me even more tired. I’m tired of having the same conversations, of asking the same questions.
Black people are tired.
If I could, that would be the entirety of this statement. Black people are tired of having a new name to grieve every week. Of sending our children out into the world worrying they will become the next name. Of wondering when it will be our name.
I want to be clear that the problem is not an absence of solutions—the problem is that those solutions, the ones that create a future where my death isn’t wreathed in violence, are the solutions that require the remaking of America. There is no more reforming to be done. We will not tinker our way to justice. We will not save this country from itself with non-profits or philanthropy. We will not get bailed out by tech. We will save this country by finally reckoning with the incredible sins of its birth, and the dark heart that fuels it.
We will only be able to remake America when we can say, clearly and with no hesitation: America is racist. The institutions of America are racist. And they must be dismantled.
So, I want to say it clearly: an orientation towards equity is antithetical to continuing to support state violence in any way. This includes the police. As such, I am calling on our city and county partners to begin looking at immediate budget reductions for police departments.
To my government colleagues: I know you. I know that you went into government because you believe in the fundamental possibility of democracy. You believe that there’s something magical about what can be done when we agree to do it together. I also know you’re all doing COVID related budget reductions exercises right now. And now I’m asking you to do something brave: don’t cut services. Cut your police budget. In half.
Collectively, communities across the U.S. spends over $100 billion on policing. And communities spend typically between 20 – 35% of their general fund budget on police; although some communities exceed 40%. Take that money and turn it into what communities need: housing, healthcare, and basic needs support.
Create community lead development projects, community lead safety initiatives. Prioritize investment in Black communities. Prioritize investments in Black leadership. Prioritize Black futures.
To that end, we must also create city and state level Truth & Reconciliation Commissions. Our federal government is not going to lead, and, in that vacuum, local government must step up. We cannot move forward without accounting for the past—and the time has long since come to do so.
This will be hard. You will face backlash. You may risk re-election. If you need help, ask. I, and many others, can assist. Because the real risk is another name. Another Black person who never goes home again.
What I’m going to ask you now is to be brave. Brave enough to do the necessary act of transforming America so that we, the Black and brown folks, the trans folks, the disabled, can finally stop being so damn tired. So we can finally catch our breath.
I hope you'll join us in this ask.
Marc Dones
June 2, 2020