US former president cautions activists against using ‘defund the police’ slogan

Former US president, Barack Obama has cautioned young democrat activists against using snappy slogans such as defund the police if they want to bring about genuine reforms in the US.

Defund the police became a widely-used phrase after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May.

Obama’s comments received a backlash from some key black progressive democrats.

Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar said defund the police is not a slogan but a policy demand for equitable investments and budgets for communities across the country.

Cori Bush, a newly-elected congresswoman in Missouri, explained that the slogan was a mandate for keeping people’s alive, while Charles Booker, Kentucky’s youngest black state lawmaker, said instead of conceding the narrative, let’s shape it.