Zach Norris

“Defund Fear powerfully demonstrates that safety, freedom, and justice come from relationships, resources, and real accountability—not more punishment, police, and prisons.”

Michelle Alexander
Author of The New Jim Crow

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Watch Zach’s conversation with Danielle Sered, author and executive director of Common Justice, about what safety means and how we achieve it.

Reviews

“Defund Fear shows us how we can make the most vulnerable among us safe, and heal this land after so much division and dehumanization. My heartfelt thanks to author Zach Norris for redefining safety.”
Edgar VillanuevaAuthor of Decolonizing Wealth
“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.”
Bill MckibbenEnvironmentalist, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
“In Defund Fear, 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.”
Jonathan RappingFounder of Gideon’s Promise
“Norris’ work pays homage to an entire generation of activists who are not only clear about what they are against, but collectively creating a vision and a practice of what the future could look like. A must read.”
Barbara RansbyHistorian, Activist, Author of Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement
“Bright, talented, compassionate, strategic, and committed . . . Norris’s insights and story will be an enormously important contribution in the effort to advance human rights in this country.”
Bryan StevensonAuthor of Just Mercy
“An urgent call for safer, more inclusive communities for everyone . . . Highly illuminating account of the changes required to create a more democratic society for all.”
Kirkus 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.”
Jennifer Siebel NewsomFirst Partner of California, Filmmaker

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.

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Stories from DEFUND FEAR

All proceeds directly support the Ella Baker Center

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