The unprecedented scene of Minneapolis City Council members on a rally stage Sunday pledging to disband the city’s police department was nothing short of extraordinary.

In this conflicted world it is, of course, difficult to imagine a major city anywhere in the world disbanding its police force, and everyone, we are sure, will be watching to see how this pans out.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, is at the epicentre of the fiery demonstrations triggered by the ghastly May 25 killing of a black man, Mr George Floyd, by a white cop who kept his knee on Mr Floyd’s neck until he was dead.

No doubt, the Minneapolis authorities are in search of a way to respond credibly and shake off the shame of the gruesome murder of Mr Floyd that riled all well-thinking people and set off protests, some of them violent, in every part of the globe.

Whether in the end they achieve the disbandment of the police department or not, the city council members have signalled that clear and purposeful action must be taken to deal with what is widely perceived to be a racist action that is common across the United States.

To those who can’t see how that plan would work, Council Member Mr Philippe Cunningham, one of the nine out of 13 members at the rally, offered a view, noting that the department’s upcoming budget was a great place to start.

“We’re not going to tomorrow all the sudden have nobody for you to call for help. There will be thoughtful and intentional work that’s done, research engagement, learning that happens in a transition that will happen over time,” he said.

Even where there is disagreement with the disbandment plan, no one disputes the need for serious reform in how police treat black people, not only in Minneapolis, but throughout the US. We note, for example, that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey doesn’t support getting rid of the police department.

But he pledged to work relentlessly with the chief of police and alongside the community toward “deep, structural reform and addressing systemic racism in police culture… And we’re ready to dig in and enact more community-led, public safety strategies on behalf of our city…”

To back up his words, Mayor Frey signed a temporary restraining order with the state of Minnesota, forcing immediate policing reforms for the Minneapolis Police Department. Some of those changes include banning chokeholds by cops and forcing them to report and intervene if excessive force is being used by another officer.

We have made the point here before that there may exist a grey area between white police officers and African Americans as to whether the officer is doing his legitimate duty or merely brutalising a black man. However, it is in this grey area that systemic racism finds a home.

As one Jamaica Observer reader puts it: “Unfortunately, this systemic racism does not only exist in policing but also in housing, education, health, employment, wealth, and representation in leadership positions…”

Americans often refer to the USA as the greatest country on Earth. We can easily imagine how much greater America could be if it managed to cure itself of this cancer of racism. The American dream must be the common property of all Americans, bar none.