Theory does not solve issues—only action and solidarity can do that—but theory gives you language to fight, knowledge to stand on, and a humbling reality of what intersectional social justice is up against.
—Bettina Love
On Abolition
At Prison Radio, we believe in abolition, and we believe that abolition begins by posing the question that Angela Davis posed: are prisons obsolete? By exploring that question, we reach groundbreaking conclusions about the infeasibility of carceral institutions and the possibility of enacting justice in more productive ways than punishment. In that case, educating ourselves on abolition is an imperative to moving toward the world that we want to see. That means studying the achievements of past and present movements, theorizing on the ways that systems of oppression intersect, devising radical solutions to problems that must be addressed at their root, and so on. As abolitionists, we at Prison Radio would like to share learning resources that we have found to be important to our education so that you may find them helpful to your education as well.
Tools
Legislation
Bail Funds
- List of Community Bail Funds around the US by Changing Womxn Collective
- List of Bail Funds for Protestors across the Country
- Bail Funds by State
- Directory of Community Bail Funds
- Community Bail Funds Donation
- LGBTQ Freedom Fund
- Fang Collective Community Bail Fund
- People’s Breakfast Oakland
Community Aid
Organizations
Advocacy
- Critical Resistance
- Interrupting Criminalization
- Los Angeles Community Action Network
- Movement for Black Lives
- Prison Policy Initiative
- Project NIA
- The Jericho Movement
- Youth Justice Coalition
Labor
Legal
News
Regional
- Californians United for a Responsible Budget
- Decarcerate PA
- Michigan Abolition and Prisoner Solidarity
- No New Jails NYC
Transformative Justice
- Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective
- INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence
- Just Practice Collaborative
- Survived & Punished
- Transform Harm
Women, LGBT
- Black and Pink
- California Coalition for Women’s Prisoners
- Families for Justice & Healing
- Let’s Get Free
- Transgender Gender & Intersex Justice Project
Resources
Abolition
Prisons
- Abolition by our correspondents
- Abolition, Cultural Freedom, Liberation by Angela Davis, Mike Davis, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
- FAQ on Prison Abolition by K Agbebiyi
- Interview with Mariame Kaba by Mariame Kaba and Chris Hayes
- Is Prison Necessary? Ruth Wilson Gilmore Might Change Your Mind by Ruth Wilson Gilmore in NY Magazine
- Ruth Wilson Gilmore Make the Case for Abolition by Ruth Wilson Gilmore on The Intercept
- Towards the Horizon of Abolition by Mariame Kaba
- What Abolitionists Do by Mariame Kaba and Dan Berger
Police
- Police by our correspondents
- Abolish the police? Organizers say its less crazy than it seems by Maya Dukmasova
- Alternatives to Policing Flyers by Amber Hughson
- #DefundPolice Toolkit by Mariame Kaba, Andrea Ritchie, and Woods Ervin
- How I Became a Police Abolitionist by Derecka Purnell
- How Much Do We Need The Police? by Alex Vitale
- No More Money for the Police by Philip McHarris and Thenijwe McHarris
- Policing and the Liberal Fantasy by Alex Vitale
- The answer to police violence is not reform. It’s defunding. Here’s why by Alex Vitale
- Violence Work: State Power and the Limits of Police by Micol Seigel
- Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police by Mariame Kaba
Books
- Abolition Democracy by Angela Davis
- Are Prisons Obsolete by Angela Davis
- Freedom Is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis
- From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keaanga-Yamahtta Taylor
- Policing the Planet by Jordan Camp and Christina Heatherton
- The End of Policing by Alex Vitale
- We Do This ‘Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba
Capitalism
Racial Capitalism
- Racial Capitalism by Global Social Theory
- Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill, The Rebellion Against Racial Capitalism, Historian Robin D.G. Kelley on Racial Capitalism and New Generation of Abolitionists by Robin D.G. Kelley
Prison-Industrial Complex
- Democracy Now! The Left Remakes the World: Amna Akbar on Canceling Rent, Defunding the Police & Where We Go from Here by Amna Akbar
- Dangerous History: What the Story of Black Economic Cooperation Means for Us Today by Keane Bhatt
- Explainer: The Prison Industrial Complex and Modern Slavery by Ronnie Stephens
- Recognizing Racism in the Era of Neoliberalism by Angela Davis
- The Economy of Incarceration by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
- The Societal Impact of the Prison Industrial Complex, or Incarceration for Fun and Profit—Mostly Profit by Alex Friedmann
Books
- Black Marxism by Cedric Robinson
- Golden Gulag by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
- Lockdown America by Christian Parenti
COVID-19
Decarceration
- The Case for Prison Abolition: Ruth Wilson Gilmore on COVID-19, Racial Capitalism & Decarceration by Ruth Wilson Gilmore on Democracy Now!
- Three Reasons Advocates Must Move Beyond Demanding Release for “Nonviolent Offenders” by Micah Herskind
- Covid-19 Letter by INQUEST/Women in Prison
- ‘The state will not save us, only we can save us’: a collective response to Covid-19 by Gal-Dem
- Covid-19 Lockdown – Policing the Police by Adam Elliott Cooper and the Monitoring Group
- The Lockdown: Arresting the Virus by Oonagh Ryder and Carl Cattermole
- What is holding back the formation of a global prison abolitionist movement to fight COVID-19 and capitalism? by Frieda Afary and Lara Al-Kateb
Mutual Aid
- Mutual Aid Incorporated by Josie Sparrow
- What Mutual Aid Can Do During a Pandemic by Jia Tolentino
Disability Justice
Disability Justice
- Brief Overview of Disability Justice by Mia Mingus
- Longmore Lecture on Ableism by Talila Lewis
- Carceral Ableism & Disability Justice by Dr. Liate Ben-Moshe and Leroy Moore
- Disability Justice In the Age of Mass Incarceration: Perspectives on Race, Disability, Law & Accountability by Talila Lewis
- In the Fight to Close Rikers, Don’t Forget Deaf and Disabled People by Talila Lewis
- Accountable Reporting on Disability, Race, & Police Violence by Leroy Moore, Jr., Talila Lewis, Lydia Brown
Care
- We Don’t Need Cops to Become Social Workers: We Need Peer Support + Community Response Networks by Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu
Books
- Decarcerating Disability by Liat Ben-Moshe
History
Statements
- The Folsom Prisoners Manifesto of Demands by the incarcerated people of Folsom Prison
- The Combahee River Collective Statement by the Combahee River Collective
- We Charge Genocide by Chicago activists
- For a World Without Police by A World Without Police
Speeches
- Free All Black Liberation Fighters by Assata Shakur
- You Can Murder a Liberator, but You Can’t Murder Liberation by Fred Hampton
Immigration
Detention
- Amnesty or Abolition? by Kelly Lyte Hernandez
- Immigration Detention is Part of Mass Incarceration by Cora Currier
- Why Freedom for Immigrants believes in abolishing immigration detention by Freedom for Immigrants
Books
- Border and Rule by Harsha Walia
- No One Is Illegal: Fighting Racism and State Violence at the U.S.-Mexico Border by Justin Akers Chacón and Mike Davis
- Undoing Border Imperialism by Harsha Walia and Andrea Smith
Reformism
Reformist reforms
- Liberals, Guns and the Roots of the U.S. Prison Explosion by Naomi Murakawa
- Police “Reforms” You Should Always Oppose by Mariame Kaba
- Chart of Policing Reforms vs Abolitionist Steps by Critical Resistance
- The Myth of Liberal Policing by Alex Vitale
Non-reformist reforms
- What Abolitionists Do by Dan Berger, Mariame Kaba, and David Stein
- The Tension Between Abolition and Reform by Liat Ben-Moshe
- Abolition not Reformation by Sara Chitseko
- Don’t reform prisons, abolish them by Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Books
- Prison By Any Other Name by Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law
Tech
E-carceration
- Repackaging Mass Incarceration by James Kilgore
- The Newest Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Books
- Carceral Capitalism by Jackie Wang
Transformative Justice
Basics
- Transformative Justice: A Brief Description by Mia Mingus
- Justice In America Episode 20: Mariame Kaba And Prison Abolition by Mariame Kaba on Justice in America
Carceral Feminism
- I don’t want my rapists to go to prison by Lydia Caradonna
- From Carceral Feminism to Transformative Justice by Mimi Kim
- Against Carceral Feminism by Victoria Law
- Critical Resistance-INCITE Statement on GBV by Critical Resistance and INCITE
- Podcast on Transformative Justice and #MeToo by Mariame Kaba
- Building Accountable Communities by Mariame Kaba
- Taking risks: implementing grassroots community accountability by Communities Against Rape and Abuse
- Community Accountability as Pedagogical Strategy by Ana Clarissa Rojas
- My friend’s a perp: what do I do? by Wesleyan Students for Consent and Communication
Books
- Against Equality: Prisons will not Protect You by Ryan Conrad
- Stories of Transformative Justice by Ruth Moore
Women, LGBT
Reproductive Rights
- Blog Series on Reproductive Rights in Prison by Rachel Hart
- Reproductive Rights Behind Bars: Inside One of the Oldest Women’s Prisons in the U.S. by Marty Garbarini
Books
- Abolition. Feminism. Now. by Angela Davis, Gina Dent, Erica Meiners, and Beth Richie
- Color of Violence: The Incite! Anthology by INCITE
- Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex by Eric Stanley and Nat Smith
- Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis