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

Articles

Considering Abolition

By Mike Larsen Original article found here What is to be abolished? There is a recurring discussion in the abolitionist literature regarding the prefix that should

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Can Prison Abolition Ever be Pragmatic?

By NATHAN J. ROBINSON Original article found here Will incarceration always be a necessary evil? “While there is a lower class, I am in it, and

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Ten Lessons for Creating Safety Without Police

By Tasha Amezcua, Ejeris Dixon & Che J. Rene Long, Truthout Original article found here | Photography by @loveandstrugglephotos How can we create safety collectively? How can we challenge hate

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Towards the horizon of abolition: A conversation with Mariame Kaba

Interview by John duda Original article found here | John Duda: I wanted to start by asking you about what it means to work for prison abolition

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A Jailbreak of the Imagination: Seeing Prisons for What They Are and Demanding Transformation

By Mariame Kaba & Kelley Hayes Original article found here | Our current historical moment demands a radical re-imagining of how we address various harms. The

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Thinking Through a World Without Police

By Mariame Kaba Reproduced with Permission | Original article found here | Photography by @loveandstrugglephotos Many people are more afraid of imagining a world without police than

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Introduction: Prison Reform or Prison Abolition? Are Prisons Obsolete

By Angela Davis Original article found here

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Media

Breaking Down the Prison Industrial Complex Video Project

By | Critical Resistance

In this period of astonishing energy and public discussion about the state of policing, detention, imprisonment, sentencing, and surveillance, CR is excited to release this new video series, Breaking Down the Prison Industrial Complex, as part of our Profiles in Abolition initiative. The videos explore the current state of the prison industrial complex (PIC) and how people are fighting back to resist and abolish it. As always, we feature abolition as a strategy to dismantle systems of harm and punishment in favor of systems that increase health, stability, and self-determination. Please share these videos broadly and help amplify abolition as an irresistible vision and practical organizing strategy.

Tags: critical resistiance, videos, prison abolition, activistm, key concepts

“The PIC Is…”

By | Chicago Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) Teaching Collective

“The PIC Is…” is a ‘zine created by the Chicago Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) Teaching Collective and illustrated by Billy Dee. This website, brought to you by Project NIA and the Chicago PIC Teaching Collective, makes “The PIC Is…” available and also provides a catalogue of the rest of our resources designed to help educate and mobilize the public about mass incarceration, policing, and alternative forms of justice. We are committed to creatively teaching and learning about the history and present realities of incarceration and policing in order to strengthen the movement to uproot racism and end incarceration. All of our resources are free to download and free of copyright. Please use and distribute them freely!

Tags: Video, zine, "The PIC is...", project nia, chicago pic teaching collective

Shadow Proof

By | Beyond Prisons Podcast

Beyond Prisons is a podcast on incarceration and prison abolition that elevates people directly impacted by the system. Hosted by Kim Wilson and Brian Sonenstein. Music & Production by Jared Ware.

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

These videos look at how to build societies where the process of creating justice is as important as the end—communities where no one is exiled. The series was released as part of the online discussion “No One is Disposable: Everyday Practices of Prison Abolition,” held on February 7, 2014. Video by Reina Gossett, Dean Spade, and Hope Dector.

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

Prison abolition may appear to be a radical conception, but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, in the ’60s and ’70s, the idea of prison abolition in the United States was a very real issue being discussed among academics and politicians alike. This was before the passage of sweeping policies and laws targeting impoverished black and brown communities, a resurgence of the racist war on drugs, and Clinton-era criminal justice policies that collectively transformed America into the world’s largest prison state. The prison abolition movement is alive and well, and those who ascribe to its principals are still hoping for drastic change.

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Beyond Reform: Abolishing Prisons

by | Maya Schenwar | TEDx Baltimore

The United States has the highest imprisonment rate in the world. But is the problem simply that too many people are incarcerated--or is incarceration a problem, in and of itself?The US prison system, which is grounded in racism and economic injustice, is inherently destructive and must be abolished. Recorded at TEDxBaltimore January 2016. Maya is Truthout's editor-in-chief and the author of "Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better." Maya serves on the Board of Advisors at Waging Nonviolence. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Tags: webinar, criminalization, domestic violence, non profit, service, liberation, first responders

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Beyond The Prison Industrial Complex

by | Ruth Wilson Gilmore

Ruth Wilson Gilmore discusses her Critique of mass incarceration and outlines some strategies to reduce the over-reliance on incarceration and to build alternative pathways to safety and justice. This Program was recorded by Chicago Access Network Television(CAN TV). To purchase a DVD, contact CAN TV's Community Partners at (312) 738-1400 or at communitypartners@cantv.org

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Queer (In)Justice with Joey Mogul

By | The Lit Review

We got to sit down with one of our favorite people, Joey Mogul! Joey talks about Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States, a book that she co-wrote with Andrea Ritchie and Kay Whitlock in 2011. Drawing on years of research, on-the-ground activism, and legal advocacy, their book examines queer & trans historical experiences-as “suspects,” defendants, prisoners, and survivors of crime, and unpacks queer criminal archetypes-like “gleeful gay killers,” “lethal lesbians,” “disease spreaders,” and “deceptive gender benders“-to illustrate the punishment of queer expression, regardless of whether a crime was ever committed. This book illuminates and challenges the many ways in which queer & trans lives are criminalized, policed, and punished. And because it's Pride season, we also got into some conversation around Joey's amazing direct action experiences with disrupting Chicago Pride in the 90's with Queer to the Left, so basically, you should definitely tune in now!

Tags: podcast,Joey Mogul, queer (in)justice , Prison Industrial Complex,riminalization, LGBTQ people.

Beyond Punishment: The Movement for Transformative Justice

By | Rustbelt Abolition Radio

Abolitionists are committed to creating a world without police and prisons, but what alternative visions and practices of addressing intimate harm might point the way toward such a world? In this episode we explore efforts to re-imagine the politics of violence, harm, safety, and redress, spearheading practices of accountability and healing that move beyond the punitive logic of the carceral state. Mia Mingus from the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective discusses alternatives to carceral feminism, and how the movement to end child sexual abuse points the way toward radically re-imagining practices of justice. We also speak with Claudia Garcia-Rojas, co-director of The Chicago Taskforce on Violence Against Girls & Young Women, and Maya Schenwar, Editor-in-Chief of Truthout and author of Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better.

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

“Two Sides of Justice” is a collection of narratives from system survivors. The criminal justice system has altered the lives of the people you’re about to hear, sometimes for the better, but more often for the worse. Their contact with the system has permanently changed them and their life trajectories. We will hear their reflections on surviving “justice”, and their experiences urge critical reflection on the way the criminal justice system is shaping lives, families, entire communities, and our nation as a whole- esp at a time when the system holds more than 2.3 million people in prison cells, and at least 4.6 million people under correctional supervision in community.

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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

Josie and Clint talk about prison abolition with Mariame Kaba. On the last episode of Season 2, Josie and Clint discuss prison abolition with Mariame Kaba, one of the leading organizers in the fight against America’s criminal legal system and a contributing editor for The Appeal. Mariame discusses her own journey into this work, provides perspective on the leaders in this space, and helps us reimagine what the future of this system could look like. Mariame’s way of thinking about this system, and the vision of possibilities she provides, is an excellent send-off to our second season.

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.”

What if we just got rid of prisons? The United States is the epicenter of mass incarceration — but exactly what is it we hope to get out of putting people in prisons? And whatever your answer is to that — is it working? It’s worthwhile to stop and interrogate our intentions about incarceration and whether it enacts justice or instead satisfies some urge to punish. Prison abolitionist Mariame Kaba wants us to explore some truly radical notions that force us to inspect those instincts towards punishment. Hear her dismantle what she calls the current "criminal punishment system" and instead employ the ideology of restorative justice.

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New Year, Who Dis? Exploring Our Political Grounding: Abolition

by | Law for Black Lives

This webinar is an introduction to the fundamental principles and politics of abolition and how you can apply these principles to your legal work.

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Implementing Abolition: How to Create Just & Lasting Decarceration

by | National Lawyers Guild

While prison populations have declined in recent years, they remain enormous, and immigration detention has ballooned. Also, in many areas where prison populations have decreased the most, racial disparities have worsened. Webinar faculty talk about how to seize opportunities to close facilities in ways that don't lead to new ones opening, eliminate criminal laws in ways that don't just help the privileged, and get people out in ways that don't demonize those still inside. Together, we share strategies for accelerating decarceration and building just and lasting change. *To see a full list of links and other resources shared during the program, as well as previous webinars, visit nlg.org/public-webinars*

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

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Curriculum

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Introduction to the Prison Industrial Complex Workshop

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Introduction to the Prison Industrial Complex

Toolkit by | The Chicago Prison Industrial Complex Teaching Collective

NoCopsNoGuns-Student-Walkout-Toolkit-PDF

#NoCopsNoGuns: Student Walkout Toolkit

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#NoCopsNoGuns: Student Walkout Toolkit

Toolkit by | Advancement Project and Philadelphia Student Union

CR-Abolitionist-Toolkit-online

The Abolitionist Toolkit | Critical Resistance

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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

Tags: flow charts, alternatives to calling police

Abolitionist Futures | Reading List

By | ICOPA-18 ABOLITION READING GROUP

Welcome to the ICOPA-18 Abolition Reading Group. We will meet once a month, from February to May to discuss various readings on the theme of prison abolition. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions, but you are welcome to attend one, some or all of the sessions. The suggested readings have been chosen to offer a variety of perspectives and analyses, and to cover some key concepts and themes. The readings have also been selected as community organising and movement building tools – i.e. to help inform collective abolitionist strategy and practice in the lead-up to the conference.

Tags: readings, history, theory, practice, prison abolition, international conference on penal abolition, icopa

What to do Instead of Calling the Police

By | Aaron Rose

Welcome to the ICOPA-18 Abolition Reading Group. We will meet once a month, from February to May to discuss various readings on the theme of prison abolition. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions, but you are welcome to attend one, some or all of the sessions. The suggested readings have been chosen to offer a variety of perspectives and analyses, and to cover some key concepts and themes. The readings have also been selected as community organising and movement building tools – i.e. to help inform collective abolitionist strategy and practice in the lead-up to the conference.

Tags: readings, history, theory, practice, prison abolition, international conference on penal abolition, icopa

A Community Compilation on Police Abolition

By | LoveandStruggle

Created for the opening of the Gone But Not Forgotten Quilt exhibit on October 17, 2016, this zine was created by Monica Trinidad and Sarah-Ji of For The People Artists Collective and Rachel Wallis, the artist and curator of GBNF Quilt Project. Their hope is that in the face of continued state violence that the quilt represents, that the zine would spark conversations and actions towards creating a world in which police are unnecessary.

Tags: police abolition, zine

Who's Left -- Prison Abolition

By | Flynn Nicholls

Tags: prison abolition, cartoon, comic

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Other Resources | Links

Prison Abolition Syllabus

By | Black Perspectives

Tags: prison abolition, readings, 12 week, scholarship

Prison Abolition Syllabus 2.0

By | Black Perspectives

Tags: prison abolition, readings, scholarship

Abolition: A Journal of Insurgent Politics

By | Abolition Journal

Abolition: A Journal of Insurgent Politics invites submissions for a new blog series on “Native Liberation and Abolition.” We invite contributions from Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, writers, activists, organizers, and artists who can offer insight on the historical and contemporary forms of Native liberation movements and the liberatory practices incorporated in Indigenous societies and movement organizations. Of particular importance is the relationship of Native liberation to the concept, practice, and politics of abolitionism (which can be interpreted in a broad sense, such as seen in Abolition’s manifesto).

Tags: website, abolition, history, black power, international

Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety & Security in Our Communities

By | The Center for Popular Democracy

Over the last 30 years, at both the national and local levels, governments have dramatically increased their spending on criminalization, policing, and mass incarceration while drastically cutting investments in basic infrastructure and slowing investment in social safety net programs.

Tags: Policing Alternatives, Abolition

Imagining Alternatives to Policing

By | Amber Hughson

Tags: Policing Alternatives, Posters

Issues

By | Harvard Law Review

CR_NoCops_reform_vs_abolition_CRside

Reformist reforms vs. abolitionist steps in policing

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Reformist Reforms vs. Abolitionist steps in policing

By | Critical Resistance

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Transformative Justice

Abolition

Community Accountability

Healing Justice

Restorative Justice

Carceral Feminisms

Abolition

Abolition

Articles

Breaking Down the Prison Industrial Complex Video Project

“The PIC Is…”

Shadow Proof

No One Is Disposable: Everyday Practices of Prison Abolition

IS PRISON ABOLITION POSSIBLE?

Beyond Reform: Abolishing Prisons

Beyond The Prison Industrial Complex

Queer (In)Justice with Joey Mogul

Beyond Punishment: The Movement for Transformative Justice

Two Sides of Justice

Against the Grain – April 3, 2013

JUSTICE IN AMERICA EPISODE 20: MARIAME KABA AND PRISON ABOLITION

Thinking about how to abolish prisons with Mariame Kaba

New Year, Who Dis? Exploring Our Political Grounding: Abolition

Implementing Abolition: How to Create Just & Lasting Decarceration

Introduction to the Prison Industrial Complex

#NoCopsNoGuns: Student Walkout Toolkit

The Abolitionist Toolkit

DC Alternatives to Calling the Police by DC Standing Up for Racial Justice

Abolitionist Futures | Reading List

What to do Instead of Calling the Police

A Community Compilation on Police Abolition

Who's Left -- Prison Abolition

Prison Abolition Syllabus

Prison Abolition Syllabus 2.0

Abolition: A Journal of Insurgent Politics

Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety & Security in Our Communities

Imagining Alternatives to Policing

Issues

Reformist Reforms vs. Abolitionist steps in policing