Abolition
“Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) abolition is a political vision with the goal of eliminating imprisonment, policing, and surveillance and creating lasting alternatives to punishment and imprisonment. Abolition isn’t just about getting rid of buildings full of cages. It’s also about undoing the society we live in because the PIC both feeds on and maintains oppression and inequalities through punishment, violence, and controls millions of people. Because the PIC is not an isolated system, abolition is a broad strategy. An abolitionist vision means that we must build models today that can represent how we want to live in the future. It means developing practical strategies for taking small steps that move us toward making our dreams real and that lead us all to believe that things really could be different. It means living this vision in our daily lives.Abolition is both a practical organizing tool and a long-term goal.” – Critical Resistance
“Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) abolition is a political vision with the goal of eliminating imprisonment, policing, and surveillance and creating lasting alternatives to punishment and imprisonment. Abolition isn’t just about getting rid of buildings full of cages. It’s also about undoing the society we live in because the PIC both feeds on and maintains oppression and inequalities through punishment, violence, and controls millions of people. Because the PIC is not an isolated system, abolition is a broad strategy. An abolitionist vision means that we must build models today that can represent how we want to live in the future. It means developing practical strategies for taking small steps that move us toward making our dreams real and that lead us all to believe that things really could be different. It means living this vision in our daily lives.Abolition is both a practical organizing tool and a long-term goal.” – Critical Resistance
Articles

Beyond Criminalizing Domestic Violence
By Leigh Goodmark (she/her) Illustration by Jay Davis (she/her) Original article found here Editor’s Note: The effects of the coronavirus pandemic will take years to

New York City Has a Jail Problem
By Nadja Eisenberg-Guyot Original article found here Opening new “borough-based” jails isn’t the answer. We need to try something different. Thinking you can reform incarceration

ABOLITIONIST ALTERNATIVES
By Che Gossett Original article found here Black radicalism and the refusal of reform This text is part of “Imagination and the Carceral State,” a

Abolition Is Not Merely a Demand, But a Long-Term Struggle
By Barry Chin Original article found here Recently, I received this text from a longtime comrade: “You’re not gonna believe this but the governor is

To Stop Police Violence, We Need Better Questions — and Bigger Demands
By Mariame Kaba Photo: loveandstruggle Original article found here It’s impossible to take the violence out of policing Once again, there is justified outrage at police acting

Aching for Abolition
By Camonghne Felix Original article found here As a survivor of sexual violence, I know prison isn’t the answer. No one really asks a survivor

Why These Sexual Assault Survivors Support Defunding The Police
By By Alanna Vagianos and Jenavieve Hatch Original article found here As the rallying cry to “defund the police” reverberates across the country, some critics

Why Police Abolition Is a Useful Framework — Even for Skeptics
By Zak Cheney-Rice Original article found here “Defund the police” has become a rallying cry for recent protests, but several different explanations have been offered for

We Have Already Stopped Calling The Cops
By Aviva Stahl Original article found here It was the late ’90s when writer, activist, and educator Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, then living in Toronto, found themselves

A Fresh Framework – The Feminism of the Abolition Movement
by Rayne Fisher-Quann Original article found here While weeks of protest sparked by racist police killings continue to rock all 50 states, police violence in the United States

Trading Cops for Social Workers Isn’t the Solution to Police Violence
BY Cameron Rasmussen & Kirk “Jae” James, Truthout Original article found here The U.S. today appears to be approaching a tipping point in dismantling its historical oppression of

What Is Abolition, And Why Do We Need It?
BY REINA SULTAN AND MICAH HERSKIND Original article found here In the midst of nationwide uprisings against ongoing police murders of Black people, a new set of demands has been
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Media
A World Without Police
Maria and Julio talk about police and prison abolition with Charlene Carruthers, author and founding member of Black Youth Project 100, and Ejeris Dixon, director of Vision Change Win. They imagine a world without police, dive into community safety, and get real about what calls for defunding the police mean.
Episode 94: How to Abolish Prison Like a Feminist (1 of 2)
Recent calls to defund police and abolish prisons have raised the question: But what about rapists? In part one of two episodes exploring that question, prison abolitionist Maya Schenwar presents the case for looking outside the criminal justice system for safety and connects the dots between abolition and feminism.
A Conversation Between Rachel Herzing and Amna Akbar
by Centre for Ethics
Prison Is Abuse: Understanding Prisons, Abuse of Power, and Control
by Moms United Against Violence and Incarceration (MUAVI) and Love & Protect
Ruth Wilson Gilmore on survival pending abolition
by Haymarket Books
Disability Justice and Abolition
by Elliott Fukui
Defunding Vs. Abolishing The Police Explained In 6 Minutes
by BuzzFeedVideo
Join the Abolitionist Movement (with Mariame Kaba)
Rebel Steps
On the Road With Abolition: Assessing Our Steps Along the Way
By Haymarket Books
Abolition Can't Wait: A Teach in with #8toAboltion
by Haymarket Books
Part 1 | RUTH WILSON GILMORE MAKES THE CASE FOR ABOLITION
Tags: critical resistiance, videos, prison abolition, activistm, key concepts
Part 2 | RUTH WILSON GILMORE MAKES THE CASE FOR ABOLITION
Tags: beyond prisons, podcast, incarceration, prison abolition, impacted persons, stories
No One Is Disposable: Everyday Practices of Prison Abolition
By | Barnard Center for Research on Women
Tags: video, dean spade '97, reina gosset, abolition, creating saftey, trans communities
IS PRISON ABOLITION POSSIBLE?
By | Osyris Antham, Mariame Kaba, Joshua Dubler & Victoria Law
Beyond Reform: Abolishing Prisons
by | Maya Schenwar | TEDx Baltimore
Tags: webinar, criminalization, domestic violence, non profit, service, liberation, first responders
Beyond The Prison Industrial Complex
by | Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Tags:
Queer (In)Justice with Joey Mogul
By | The Lit Review
Tags: podcast,Joey Mogul, queer (in)justice , Prison Industrial Complex,riminalization, LGBTQ people.
Beyond Punishment: The Movement for Transformative Justice
By | Rustbelt Abolition Radio
Tags: soundcloud, audio, interveiws, Mia Mingus, Maya Schenwar, and Claudia Gracias Rojas, transformative justice, prison abolition, alternatives to incarceration.
Two Sides of Justice
By | Two Sides of Justice
Read More
Tags: audio, narratives, formerly incarcerated, survivors
Against the Grain – April 3, 2013
By | Dean Spade | 94.1 KPFA
Tags: caudio, radio program, dean spade, LGBTQ, criminalization, mainstream
JUSTICE IN AMERICA EPISODE 20: MARIAME KABA AND PRISON ABOLITION
By | Justice In america | Josie Duffy Rice & Clint Smith with Mariame Kaba
Tags: Mariame Kaba, radio program, Clint Smith, Josie Duffy Rice,
Thinking about how to abolish prisons with Mariame Kaba
By | Chris Hayes speaks with prison abolitionist Mariame Kaba about what it would take to dismantle the current “criminal punishment system.”
New Year, Who Dis? Exploring Our Political Grounding: Abolition
by | Law for Black Lives
Implementing Abolition: How to Create Just & Lasting Decarceration
Speakers: Pooja Gehi: Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild Rev. Jason Lydon, Founder, Black & Pink Oren Nimni: Staff Attorney, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Azadeh Shahshahani: Legal & Advocacy Director, Project South Dean Spade: Founder, Sylvia Rivera Law Project Panagioti Tsolkas: Founding Member, Fight Toxic Prisons Carl Williams: Executive Director, Water Protector Legal Collective
Ep4: Abolition Today (Maya Schenwar)
by | The Next Question
How should abolitionists respond to the coronavirus pandemic?
by | Naomi Murakawa & Ruth Wilson
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Curriculum

Introduction to the Prison Industrial Complex Workshop
Introduction to the Prison Industrial Complex
Toolkit by | The Chicago Prison Industrial Complex Teaching Collective

#NoCopsNoGuns: Student Walkout Toolkit
#NoCopsNoGuns: Student Walkout Toolkit
Toolkit by | Advancement Project and Philadelphia Student Union

The Abolitionist Toolkit | Critical Resistance
The Abolitionist Toolkit
Toolkit by | Critical Resistance
DC Alternatives to Calling the Police by DC Standing Up for Racial Justice
Resource Guide by | Showing Up for Racial Justice, DC – Policing Team
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Other Resources | Links

8 to Abolition
8 to Abolition
Abolitionist Policy Changes to Demand from Your City Officials
Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety & Security in Our Communities
By | The Center for Popular Democracy

Reformist reforms vs. abolitionist steps in policing
Reformist Reforms vs. Abolitionist steps in policing
By | Critical Resistance
READINGS & RESOURCES ON ABOLITION & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE
Compiled by| Young Womxn of Color for Reproductive Justice, A project of Advocates for Youth
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