Clyburn Cautions on ‘Defund the Police’

“House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), the highest-ranking black member in Congress and a veteran of the civil rights movement, has some advice for today’s protesters and activists: Don’t let the ‘defund the police’ movement hijack the momentum to make serious police reforms in the wake of George Floyd’s death,” the Washington Post reports.

“Clyburn, who grew up in the Jim Crow South and has been a civil rights advocate since he was 12 years old, urged activists calling to overhaul policing and end systemic racism find a clearer and more united message.”

Said Clyburn: “When you allow people to use incendiary terms, we create a climate within which we can’t get much done.”