Reading List

ABOLITION READING GROUP

Welcome to the Abolitionist Futures Reading Group.

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.

The suggested reading list is not exhaustive and inevitably has many gaps and limitations. This is both because it is not possible to cover everything within four weeks, and we were trying to include varied content. If you have suggestions for other readings, please let us know.

The readings are available below as online links. If you need the readings in a different format, please let us know and we will do our best to provide them in the format you require. The venue is wheelchair accessible. If you face other accessibility barriers, please let us know so we can support your full participation.

Reading Groups are being held in multiple locations (Manchester; Dalston; Stoke on Trent; Brixton; Belfast; Nottingham and more to come) meeting once a month, between February and June 2020 to discuss various readings on the theme of prison abolition. Dates and registration details here
Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions, but you are welcome to attend one, some or all of the sessions. Other locations to come – if you would like to support setting one up, contact us through here.

Session 1: Introduction to penal abolition

Readings:

Davis, Angela. (2003) ‘Introduction: Prison Reform or Prison Abolition?; Are Prisons Obsolete? New York: Seven Stories Press, P. 9-21. Available from: https://www.feministes-radicales.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Angela-Davis-Are_Prisons_Obsolete.pdf [12 pages]
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Critical Resistance. (no date) What is Abolition? Available from: http://criticalresistance.org/about/not-so-common-language/ [1 page]
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Prison Research Education Action Project (1976) ‘Nine Perspectives for Prison Abolitionists’, & ‘Diminishing / Dismantling the Prison System,’ from Instead of Prisons: A Handbook for Abolitionists. Available from: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/instead_of_prisons/nine_perspectives.shtml & https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/instead_of_prisons/chapter3.shtml [2 pages + 5 pages].

Note: If you’ve already read Angela Davis’ book, this is recommended to read instead:

Ryder, Oonagh. (2018) What does Justice Look like Without Prisons? Novaramedia.com Available from: http://novaramedia.com/2018/01/14/what-does-justice-look-like-without-prisons/ [7 pages]

Session 2: What’s wrong with reform? What are non-reformist reforms?

Readings:

Berger, Dan and Mariame Kaba and David Stein (2017). ‘What Abolitionists do,’ Jacobin Magazine Available from: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/08/prison-abolition-reform-mass-incarceration [5 pages]
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Naomi Murakawa & #BlackLivesMatter: Liberals, Guns and the Roots of the U.S. Prison Explosion (2015). The Laura Flanders Show. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyHeroT6uv4 0:28-14:25 [14 minutes]
*Note: For the purpose of the abolition versus reform discussion, the first 14 minutes are key, but if you have time, the first 21 minutes are recommended.
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Ben-Moshe, L. (2013) The Tension Between Abolition and Reform. In: Nagel, M. E. and Nocella, A. J. (eds.) The End of Prisons: Reflections from the Decarceration Movement. Amsterdam: Value Inquriy Book Series, pp.83-92. Available from: http://www.academia.edu/3483590/The_tension_between_abolition_and_reform [11 pages] Note: If you can’t download from the above link, try this one.
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Mariame Kaba, ‘Police “Reforms” You Should Always Oppose’ Truth-Out. Available from: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/27852-police-reforms-you-should-always-oppose [1 page]

Session 3: Feminist, queer, antiracist approaches to abolition

Readings:

Critical Resistance and INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence (2008) Statement on Gender Violence and the Prison Industrial Complex. In: Critical Resistance (ed.) Abolition Now! Ten Years of Strategy and Struggle Against the Prison Industrial Complex. Oakland, California: AK Press, pp. 21-25. Available from: https://incite-national.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/CR-INCITE-statement-2008discussion.pdf [6 pages].
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Sudbury, Julia (2006) ‘Rethinking Antiviolence Strategies: Lessons from the Black Women’s Movement in Britain’ in Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology 13-24. Available from [12 pages]: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ylo4injtkok2dfy/Sudbury_rethinking_antiviolence_strategies.pdf?dl=0
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Richie, Beth. (2014) ‘How Anti-Violence Activism Taught Me to Become a Prison Abolitionist’ FeministWire.org. Available from: http://www.thefeministwire.com/2014/01/how-anti-violence-activism-taught-me-to-become-a-prison-abolitionist/ [2 pages]
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Bassichis, Morgan and Alexander Lee and Dean Spade. (2011) ‘Building an Abolitionist Trans and Queer Movement with Everything We’ve Got’. In: Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex, Oakland: AK Press, p.15-19 & 33-37. Available from: http://www.deanspade.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Building-an-Abolitionist-Trans-Queer-Movement-With-Everything-Weve-Got.pdf [10 pages]

Further suggested reading:

Brionde, J. (2017) Navigating justice for sexual abuse survivors, when you’re a prison abolitionist and a survivor. Afropunk.com. Available from: http://afropunk.com/2017/12/navigating-need-justice-sexual-abuse-survivors-youre-abolitionist-survivor/

Conrad, Ryan (editor) (2012) Against Equality: Prisons will not Protect You. With Introduction by Dean Spade. AK Press.

Daniel-McCarter, D., Meiners, E. R. and Noll, R. (2017) Queer Disavowal: “Controversial” Crimes and Building Abolition. In: Halperin, D. M. and Hoppe, T. (eds.) The War on Sex. Durham & London: Duke University Press.

‘Decolonization Means Prison Abolition.’ Video of Law & Disorder Conference in Portland, 2012. http://www.becausewemust.org/decolonize-pdx/

Incite! Women of Color against Violence (ed) (2006) Color of Violence: The Incite! Anthology. Cambridge, Massachusetts, South End Press.

Law, Victoria (2011) Resisting Gender Violence without Cops or Prisons [Interview] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlozk7G-JYo

Morris, Ruth (2000) Stories of Transformative Justice. Toronto, Canadian Scholars’ Press.

Ritchie, B. (2012) Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence and America’s Prison Nation. New York and London: New York University Press.

Russell, E. and Carlton, B. (2013) Pathways, race and gender responsive reform: Through an abolitionist lens. Theoretical Criminology 17 (4), pp.474-492.

Shaylor, Cassandra. (2009) Neither Kind Nor Gentle: The Perils of ‘Gender Responsive Justice’. In: Scraton, P. and McQulloch, J. (eds.) The Violence of Incarceration. London & New York: Routledge, p. 145-163. [18 pages] Avialable from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283716121_The_Violence_of_Incarceration

Smith, A. (2009) Beyond Restorative Justice: Radical Organising Against Violence. In: Ptacek, J. (ed.) Restorative Justice and Violence Against Women. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, pp.255-278.

Spade, Dean & Reina Gossett (2014) No one is Disposable videos: http://www.deanspade.net/2014/02/07/no-one-is-disposable/

Stanley, E. A. and Smith, N. (eds.) (2011) Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex. Oakland, California: AK Press. Available from: https://theloon2013.wikispaces.com/file/view/Stanley-Eric-Captive-Genders-Trans-Embodiment-and-Prison-Industrial-Complex.pdf

Stanley, Eric A. and Dean Spade, and Queer (In)Justice (2012) ‘Queering Prison Abolition, Now?’ American Quarterly. pp. 115-127. Available from: http://againstequality.org/files/queering_prison_abolition_now.pdf

Session 4: Transformative Justice & Abolition

Readings:

Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective (2014) ‘Transformative Justice and Community Accountability’ Available from: https://batjc.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/tj-ca-one-pager.pdf [1 page]
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Aorta Collective (2013) ‘Punitive, Restorative & Transformative Justice: The basics’ http://aorta.coop/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Destabilizing-Rape-Culture-and-Tranformative-Justice.pdf [2 pages]
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Choose one case study:

Chrysalis Collective (2011) Beautiful, Difficult, Powerful: Ending Sexual Assault Through Transformative Justice. In: Chen, C.-I., Dulani, J. and Piepzna-Samarasinha, L. L. (eds.) The Revolution Starts At Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities. Brooklyn, NY: South End Press, pp.188-205. Available from: http://www.blackandpink.org/wp-content/upLoads/Beautiful-Difficult-Powerful.pdf [18 pages]

Jashnani, G., Maccani, R. and Greig, A. (2011) What does it feel like when change finally comes? Male Supremacy, Accountability & Transformative Justice. In: Chen, C.-I., Dulani, J. and Piepzna-Samarasinha, L. L. (eds.) The Revolution Starts At Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities. Brooklyn, NY: South End Press, pp.216-234. http://challengingmalesupremacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/What-Does-It-Feel-Like-When-Change-Finally-Comes.pdf [22 pages]

GenerationFive (2017) ‘Community Response and Accountability’ & ‘Transformation of Community and Social Conditions that Create and Perpetuate Violence’ in Ending Child Sexual Abuse: A Transformative Justice Handbook, p. 56-61 [Online]. Available at: http://www.generationfive.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Transformative-Justice-Handbook.pdf [6 pages]

ABOLITION READING GROUP

Session 1: Introduction to penal abolition

Session 2: What’s wrong with reform? What are non-reformist reforms?

Session 3: Feminist, queer, antiracist approaches to abolition

Session 4: Transformative Justice & Abolition

Further Reading / Other Abolitionist Reading Lists:

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