Defund Fear
Safety Without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment
Formerly titled We Keep Us Safe
Despite the United States’ long-standing tradition of aggressive policing and imprisonment, we still don’t feel safe. It’s clear that our current approaches to justice aren’t working. They blame our problems on a subset of scapegoats and marginalized Others we’ve been indoctrinated to perceive as criminals, decreasing our societal capacity to hold powerful institutions and individuals accountable. Community leader and lawyer Zach Norris lays out a radical way to shift the conversation about public safety away from fear and punishment toward growth and support systems for our families and communities.
Stories from DEFUND FEAR
All proceeds directly support the Ella Baker Center
Reviews
“Zach’s words are a must-read for anyone who cares about a more just and more compassionate future. He shows us the world that might be possible when we lead with empathy, when we humanize rather than criminalize each other, and when we seek restoration rather than retribution. And perhaps most importantly, he gives us hope that it’s a world in which we might one day live.”
“Looking at our moment in time through the lens of safety is a brilliant insight—it gets at what so many of us are feeling every day. By offering real solutions rooted in a new way of thinking, Zach Norris has done our society a great service.”
“In We Keep Us Safe, Norris shows how a narrative of otherness is woven throughout the stories that make up our society and compels us to see every person as a valuable member of our community. Only when we do that, can we all be truly safe. He shares a vision of a more inclusive America in which our collective well-being is a priority. We should listen.”