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Abolition

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Overview

“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
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Articles

Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety & Security in Our Communities

By The Center for Popular Democracy Original article found here  Over the last 30 years, at both the national and local levels, governments have dramatically increased

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Brick by Brick: Creating a World Without Prisons

By Layne Mullet Original article found here  This essay appears in the current issue of Perspectives on Anarchist Theory, N. 28, on the topic of Justice.

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The Fictions and Futures of Transformative Justice

By WALIDAH IMARISHA, ALEXIS GUMBS, LEAH LAKSHMI PIEPZNA-SAMARASINHA, ADRIENNE MAREE BROWN and MIA MINGUS  Original article found here  OCTAVIA’S Brood: Science Fiction Stories From Social Justice

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Accounting for Violence: How to Increase Safety and Break Our Failed Reliance on Mass Incarceration

By Danielle Sered Original article found here  Click Below to Visit  

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We Don’t Just Need Nicer Cops. We Need Fewer Cops.

By Alex S. Vitale Original article found here  Protests against the recent police killings of unarmed black men and boys—Eric Garner and Akai Gurley in New

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Abolish the police? Organizers say it’s less crazy than it sounds.

By Maya Dukmasova Original article found here  Until that moment on Fox News, Jessica Disu hadn’t considered herself a police abolitionist. But on July 11,

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Abolish the Police. Instead, Let’s Have Full Social, Economic, and Political Equality.

By Mychal Denzel Smith Original article found here  A few weeks ago, there was a shooting at my apartment building. A total of five shots were

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What is Critical Resistance?

By Critical Resistance Original article found here |   

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What is Abolition?

By Critical Resistance Original article found here |   

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Police “Reforms” You Should Always Oppose

By Mariame Kaba  Original article found here | Photography by @loveandstrugglephotos I read today that President Obama has offered some measures for ‘reforming’ the police. Here is a

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Media

Play Video

Blooming Beyond Voting and Elections

Ep. 179 Imagining Better with Derecka Purnell

by The Stacks

Abolition

by Crow Talk

Play Video

Revolutionary Abolition & Community Defense

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Strong Communities Make Cops Obsolete

by Haymarket Books

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Abolition: In Defence of Translation | Grounding Practice | Somerset House Studios

by Somerset House

Play Video

Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) Abolition 101 Workshop - [captioned]

by Project NIA

IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT PRISONS

by International Festival of Arts & Ideas

Play Video

Racial Justice is Climate Justice: Pt. 1 - Abolition

by 350 Seattle

Play Video

Abolition 101: What does it mean to defund the police

by Daily Kos Liberation League and Minneapolis-based organizers from Reclaim the Block

https://sphinx.acast.com/inthethick/aworldwithoutpolice/media.mp3

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.

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From Dreams to Practice: Abolition in our lifetimes [English Language]

by alliedmedia

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A Conversation Between Rachel Herzing and Amna Akbar

by Centre for Ethics

Play Video

Prison Is Abuse: Understanding Prisons, Abuse of Power, and Control

by Moms United Against Violence and Incarceration (MUAVI) and Love & Protect

Play Video

Decarcerating Disability: Deinstitutionalization and Prison Abolition

by Rising Up With Sonali

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Ruth Wilson Gilmore on survival pending abolition

by Haymarket Books

Play Video

Disability Justice and Abolition

by Elliott Fukui

Play Video

Defunding Vs. Abolishing The Police Explained In 6 Minutes

by BuzzFeedVideo

Join the Abolitionist Movement (with Mariame Kaba)

Rebel Steps

Abolition has been a huge topic in the wake of the uprising sparked by the police murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Calls to defund or abolish the police are now experiencing a surge of interest, in the form of street art, protest signs, op eds, and more. In this episode, I’ll be exploring things to consider as you take your first steps toward joining the abolitionist movement, especially in this tumultuous moment of a pandemic and global uprising, in a conversation with Mariame Kaba.
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On the Road With Abolition: Assessing Our Steps Along the Way

By Haymarket Books

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Abolition Can't Wait: A Teach in with #8toAboltion

by Haymarket Books

Part 1 | RUTH WILSON GILMORE MAKES THE CASE FOR ABOLITION

The Intercept

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

Part 2 | RUTH WILSON GILMORE MAKES THE CASE FOR ABOLITION

The Intercept

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
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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
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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.
Play Video

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
Play Video

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,
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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.
Play Video

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.

Play Video

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
Play Video

Ep4: Abolition Today (Maya Schenwar)

by | The Next Question

In this episode, Maya Schenwar joins us to talk about abolition today: the abolition of incarceration. She doesn’t just spout statistics; she asks good hard questions about the system as it as: is this really what we want? Is there a better way? We cannot ask The Next Question about justice without asking the next question about CRIMINAL justice. Austin, Chi Chi, Jenny and Maya do just that on this week's episode.
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How should abolitionists respond to the coronavirus pandemic?

by | Naomi Murakawa & Ruth Wilson

Ruth Wilson Gilmore is Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Director of the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics at CUNY Graduate Center. A co-founder of California Prison Moratorium Project and Critical Resistance, she is author of the prize-winning book Golden Gulag: Prison, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California. Her forthcoming Haymarket Books title, Change Everything: Racial Capitalism and the Case for Abolition, is the inaugural book in the new Abolitionist Papers book series, edited by Naomi Murakawa.
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Play Video

Abolition: In Defence of Translation | Grounding Practice | Somerset House Studios

by Somerset House

Curriculum

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Reflections on the “Movement Moment”

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Insurrectional Abolitionism

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Ain't I a prisoner too?

By Stevie Wilson

final-in-the-belly-vol-1.-april-20th-2020

In the Belly of the Beast, an Abolitionist Journal

Click Here

Prison Abolition

By |  A study guide of Mariame Kaba’s 2021 book ‘We Do This ‘Til We Free Us.’

Click Here

If You’re New to Abolition: Study Group Guide

Resource Guide by | AbolitionJournal

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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

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#NoCopsNoGuns: Student Walkout Toolkit

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#NoCopsNoGuns: Student Walkout Toolkit

Toolkit by | Advancement Project and Philadelphia Student Union

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The Abolitionist Toolkit | Critical Resistance

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The Abolitionist Toolkit

Toolkit by | Critical Resistance

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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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Abolitionist Futures | Reading List

By | ICOPA-18 ABOLITION READING GROUP

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What to do Instead of Calling the Police

By | Aaron Rose

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A Community Compilation on Police Abolition

By | LoveandStruggle

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Who's Left -- Prison Abolition

By | Flynn Nicholls

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"Coins, Cops, and Communities"Toolkit

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Other Resources | Links

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It is time for a community approach to mental health

Megan McGee

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Mutual aid and solidarity in Nigeria’s #EndSARS protests

Pelumi Salako

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BEYOND "DEFUND" OR "COMMUNITY CONTROL"

by OMEDI OCHIENG

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The Fantasy of Community Control of the Police

by Woods Ervin , Ricardo Levins Morales , Zola Richardson , and Jonathan Stegall

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The Argument Against Community Control of the Police

by Dubian Ade

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Community Control of Police v Defunding Police: Addressing the Patriarchal Roots of Policing

by Nnennaya Amuchie

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Taking Direction Action to Free Them All

By Dubian Ade

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Airbrushing Revolution for the Sake of Abolition

by joy James

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“New Bones” Abolitionism, Communism, and Captive Maternals

 by joy James

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Dis-Organizing Prisons

by Stevie Wilson

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State Of War, An Excerpt From “The Nation On No Map: Black Anarchism & Abolition”

By William C. Anderson

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Abolition As a Method for Trans and Queer Freedom In Africa

 by Mumbi Kanyogo

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2nd Annual Abolition Week

By Scalawag

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A LEARNING AND ACTION GUIDE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

By | TOWARDS ABOLITION

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The Abolitionist Horizon: Building A World Without Police Or Prisons

By | Emerge

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Abolition for the People

By | LEVEL Editors

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8 to Abolition

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8 to Abolition

Abolitionist Policy Changes to Demand from Your City Officials

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Prison Abolition Syllabus

By | Black Perspectives

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Prison Abolition Syllabus 2.0

By | Black Perspectives

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Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety & Security in Our Communities

By | The Center for Popular Democracy

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Abolition: A Journal of Insurgent Politics

By | Abolition Journal

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Imagining Alternatives to Policing

By | Amber Hughson

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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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By | Amna Akbar 

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Resource Guide: Prisons, Policing, and Punishment

By | Micah Herskind

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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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Issues

By | Harvard Law Review

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