The Ongoing Work of Abolition
As we are inundated daily with news of ongoing police murders of Black people, the impacts of systemic racism, the commodification of bodies, and a system of policing as an anti-Black white supremacist institution, imagining alternatives can be difficult. The idea of abolition has surfaced in D/I/P before – in past semesters and in readings throughout this spring. We are bringing discussions back as a reminder that a better future is possible, and as an invitation to imagine what that future might be.
This week we have two short pieces to engage with:
1. Geographies of Racial Capitalism with Ruth Wilson Gilmore
2. So You’re Thinking About Becoming an Abolitionist, by Mariame Kaba (part of the project “Abolition for the People”)
As you read and watch, think about:
- What does justice mean to you? What about accountability? How are they different?
- How does abolition connect with your research, the university, your spaces? Consider abolition comes in many forms – abolition of police, of the prison industrial complex
- How can we imagine a future not bounded by the limitations of what is?
Below are several resources/events – please share others on our course Slack page.
- Wednesday 4/28, 5-6pm on Zoom: Abolitionist organizing in the context of transnational apartheid, register here (organized by GEO)
- Petition to reallocate funds from UMPD (petition started by a UMass undergraduate student)
- Interview with Ruth Wilson Gilmore on The Intercepted podcast