Resource Guide
Abolition, Policing & the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC), and Transformative Justice
NOVEMBER 2020 SAFETY CHECKLIST GOOGLE DOC
Stopping the Coup: The 2020 Guide
This is a compilation of resources I have found useful and informative including articles, books, vidoes, essays, etc. Most of the books linked are to a free PDF or E-book. I have also included a list of organizations (and people to follow) at the forefront of the abolition movement you can learn more about and get involved with their work. Lastly, I will also include a list of bail funds, mutual-aids, and organizations that center Black, queer, trans, and disabled youth.
If you would like to give thanks:
Cashapp: $beemayes
Venmo: @BrianaMayes
10/28 Update: Newest additions are highlighted in yellow
Table of Contents
Prison Industrial Complex (PIC)/Policing
Organizations + People to follow
Abolition
Abolition for the People by Kaepernick Publishing and LEVEL
“The need for abolition is rooted in the anti-Blackness intrinsic to policing and incarceration — phenomena which will be amply proven over the coming days — but the realization of it offers justice for all people in all communities and global liberation from systemic oppression. We invite you to read and learn along with us.”
What is abolition?
The Abolition Movement by Josie Duffy Rice
'We can enact the future we want now': a black feminist history of abolition by Lola Olufemi
(Article) We Want More Justice For Breonna Taylor Than The System That Killed Her Can Deliver by Mariame Kaba & Andrea J. Ritchie
(Opinion) Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police by Mariame Kaba
(Article) What Is Abolition, And Why do We Need It? by Reina Sultan and Micah Herskind
(Videos) Two PIC Abolition History Lesson with Dr. Ruth Wilson Gilmore
(Video) Joy James: The Architects of Abolitionism
(Podcast) Join the Abolition Movement (with Mariame Kaba) by Rebelsteps
(Article) The Struggle to Abolish the Police is Not New by Garrett Felber
Why do we need abolition now?
Advancing Public Health Interventions to Address the Harms of the Carceral System by the American Public Health Association
Care Not Cops: Marc Lamont Hill Makes Case for Abolition After Philadelphia Police Kill Walter Wallace Jr. by Democracy Now!
(Free PDF) Abolition Democracy by Angela Davis
(Free PDF) Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Davis
(Podcast) Ruth Wilson Gilmore Makes the Case for Abolition by The Intercept
(Podcast) #8ToAbolition featuring Nnennaya Amuchie, Rachel Kuo, Eli, Micah Herskind and Reina Sultan by Millenials are Killing Capitalism
(Article) Why Police Abolition Is a Useful Framework — Even for Skeptics by Zak Cheney-Rice
(Podcast) Hope is a Discipline ft. Mariame Kaba by Beyond Prisons Podcast
(Podcast) Should We Abolish The Police? By ACLU
(Article) How I Became a Police Abolitionist by Derecka Purnell
(Op-Ed) Reforms Won’t Save Us. Abolishing the Police Will by Nnennaya Amuchie, Mon Mohapatra, Leila Raven
When “Police Reform” Came to Kenosha, Wisconsin by Melissa Gira Grant
Not All Reform Will Move Us Forward: Maya Schenwar and Victoria Law Call for Restorative Justice by Eleanor J. Bader
Community Policing Is Not The Answer by Philip V. McHarris
The "Camden Model" Is Not a Model. It's an Obstacle to Real Change. By Brendan McQuade
Police "Reforms" You Should Always Oppose by Prison Culture
Police Reform Hasn't Stopped the Killings Before. It Won't Now Either by Garrett Febler
Abolition or Bust: Liberal Police Reform as an Engine of Carceral Violence by Charlotte Rosen
Implicit Bias Training doesn't Actually Change Police Behavior by Michael Hobbes
Police Reform Won’t Fix a System That Was Built to Abuse Power by Stuart Schrader
The GOPs Police Reforms Won’t do it. We Need to Defund the Police by Dan Berger
Why 8 Won't Work: The Failings of the 8 Can’t Wait Campaign and the Obstacle Police Reform Efforts Pose to Police Abolition by Olivia Murray
How do we practice abolition?
(Article) What We mean When We say Defund the Police by K Agbebiyi
(Article) Kill The Cop in Your Head by Lorenzo Komboa Ervin
(Article) You Are Already an Abolitionist by Benji Hart
(Campaign) 8 To Abolition
(Video) How to End the Police State by Verso Books
(Podcast) Abolishing Prisons with Mariame Kaba by Why Is This Happening? With Chris Hayes
(Op-Ed) 8 to Abolition is Advocating to Abolish Police to Keep Us All Safe by Leila Raven, Mon Mohapatra, and Rachel Kuo
(Podcast Series) The Abolition Suite by AirGo
“The Abolition Suite is a series of AirGo episodes exploring the concepts and practices of policing and prison abolition with the thought leaders who have been pushing an abolitionist future forward for decades.”
(Podcast) In Conversation with Che Gossett by Tank Magazine
“In this episode, writer and archivist Che Gossett discusses the politics and poetics of abolition.”
Transformative Justice/Community Care & Accountability
What is Transformative Justice (TJ)?
(Article) Transformative Justice: A Brief Description by Mia Mingus
Community Based Emergency First Responders Explained by Patrice Cullors, Tim Black
(PDF) Transformative Justice Handbook by Generation Five
(PDF) Towards Transformative Justice by Generation Five
(E-book) Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement by Ejeris Dixon and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
(Video) Building Accountable Communities by Kiyomi Fujikawa, Shannon Perez-Darby, and Mariame Kaba
(Podcast) Mariame Kaba on Moving Past Punishment by For The Wild Podcast
(Interview) Reimagining Justice: An Interview with Mariame Kaba by Noah Berlatsky
We Have Already Stopped Calling The Cops by Aviva Stahl
How Transformative Justice Responds to Violence without the Carceral System by Reina Sultan
Prison Industrial Complex (PIC)/Policing
What is the PIC?
(Free PDF) Are Prisons Obsolete by Angela Davis | (Audiobook)
(Free PDF) Our Enemies in Blue by Kristian Williams | E-book for $1.99
(Free PDF) The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
(Video) Abolition Democracy - Angela Davis on her book by C-SPAN
The history of police
(Tool) Policing Timeline by Critical Resistance
(Free Ebook) The End of Policing by Alex Vitale
(Free Ebook) Against Police Violence by Angela Davis, Paco Ignacio Taibo II, et all.
(Free PDF) Abolition Now by The CR10 Publications Collective
(Free Ebook) Policing the Planet by Jordan T. Camp and Christina Heatherton
BLUE BLOODS: AMERICA’S BROTHERHOOD OF POLICE OFFICERS by Eve L. Ewing
(Podcast) Behind the Police: How The Police Declared War On All Of Us
(Op-Ed) Abolishing Police is a Step towards Ending White Supremacy and Capitalism by Kristian Williams
Why abolish police?/Effects of the PIC/Over-policing
A Teenager Didn't Do her Online Schoolwork. So a Judge Sent Her to Juvenile Detention. By Jodi S. Cohen
How Police Became the Go-to Response to Domestic Violence by Aya Gruber
(Report) Police Brutality Bonds: How Wall Street Profits from Police Violence by ALYXANDRA GOODWIN, WHITNEY SHEPARD, CARRIE SLOAN
(Free Ebook) Death and Other Penalties: Philosophy in a Time of Mass Incarceration by Geoffrey Adelsberg
(Video) From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime by C-SPAN
Yes, American police act like occupying armies. They literally studied their tactics by Stuart Schrader
(Blog) Black Girls Need Police Free Schools by Nia Evans and Kayla Patrick
What Defunding Police Means for Mental Health Care by Tyra Bosnic
'They're Only Going To Cause More Harm': The Push To Remove Police From Mental Health Crisis Calls by Robert Garrova
Few Police Officers Who Cause Deaths Are Charged or Convicted by Shaila Dewan
Effects of Mass Incarceration
Prisons are a public health crisis, the American Public Health Association says by Ray Levy-Uyeda
(Tool) A State by State Look at Coronavirus in Prisons by The Marshall Project
(Article) Prisoners 550% More Likely to get COVID-19, 300% more likely to die by Alexandra Sternlicht
(Report) A State-by-State Look at Coronavirus in Prisons by The Marshall Project
(Report) Getting Back on Course: Educational exclusion and attainment among formerly incarcerated people by Lucius Couloute
Resource Hubs/Toolkits
Abolition
Our Communities, Our Solutions: An Organizers Toolkit for Developing Campaigns to Abolish Policing by Critical Resistance
Abolitionist Toolkit by Critical Resistance
database for police abolition by volunteers
#DefundPolice Toolkit by Interrupting Criminalization: Research in Action initiative
Defund Police Rebuild Our Communities by The Dream Defenders
#FreeThemAll: Toolkit to Support Local Demands for Mass Release of People in ICE Custody by Detention Watch Network
Transformative Justice/Community Accountability
Addressing harm, accountability, and healing by Critical Resistance
Creative Interventions Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Stop Interpersonal Violence by Creative Interventions
Advancement Project: Fact Sheets and Action Kits by the Advancement Project
Where Our Boys At? Involving Young Men as Allies to End Violence against Girls by the Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team and Mariame Kaba
My Unapologetic Therapy and Support Circle Participation Guide by Bria Royal
Something is Wrong: Exploring the Roots of Youth Violence by Mariame Kaba, J. Cyriac Mathew, and Nathan Haines
Get in Formation: A Community Safety Toolkit by Vision Change Win
#PoliceFreeSchools
Toolkit on Organizing to Combat the School-to-Prison Pipeline by Dignity in Schools
A Call to Action for Police Free Schools: Action Kit by Advancement Projects
(Report) Replacing School Police With Targeted Student Resources by Emily Hughes
Misc.
Transformative Bail Reform by Color of Change, The Movement for Black Lives, Law for Black Lives, etc.
Infiltration & Disinformation by CUNY Clear and Movement for Black Lives
(Free Ebook) The Moment Requires Full Spectrum Resistance: A Free Guide to Direct Action by Seven Stories Press
Legal Resources by Movement for Black Lives
Surveillance Self-Defense by Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
An Activists Guide To Information Security by It’s Going Down
Organizations + People to follow
Critical Resistance @criticalresistance
Survive&Punish NY! @survivepunishNY
Mariame Kaba
http://www.usprisonculture.com/blog/ | http://mariamekaba.com/
K Agbebiyi @sheabutterfemme
Mia Mingus @miamingus
Benji Hart @radfag
Ruth Wilson Gilmore
https://www.gc.cuny.edu/Faculty/Core-Bios/Ruth-Wilson-Gilmore
Study Guides
The Peoples Guide to Abolition
PIC Abolition and Transformative Justice Reading Group Guide
2020 Janine Soleil Abolitionist Institute
If You're New to Abolition: Study Group Guide
Study Guide: Prisons, Policing and Abolition
Donations
BAIL FUNDS
*PLEASE BOOST*
“As of June 2nd I am now an owner of several properties that are $1 Million dollars each (buildings with several unit apartments) that will be put back into my community to create housing and future resources for all. Funds will be used to fix these properties and future enduevurs while in the mist to help anyone in need of transportation temporary shelter or food during the pandemic nation wide while the properties are being renovated. All this to protect the lives of my community.”
“Beloved NYC abolitionist, freedom fighter, and tireless comrade in the struggle for Black trans liberation, Lady O, is fundraising for long-term housing.
Support her in finding sustainable housing and uplift her continued leadership in our movements for abolition and liberation!”
Investigate the Death of Trans woman Ashley Moore
“The Newark LGBTQ Center needs a legal fund for Ashley’s case so that there's an investigation, and for the other cases that they deal with each day surrounding violent and inhumane acts pointed toward the LGBTQ community—especially trans women and men of color. This GoFundMe campaign was set up to create a retainer so that a lawyer can be hired and help us find justice for Ashley. Please donate if you can, and spread the word.”
“We are building a home on the Southside. ❤️
I always planned on doing something like this. I just imagined doing it in my 60s. But as the world changes and goes through it’s many cycles, I see the importance of not waiting for a dream like this to exist. These are things that we need right now.
Our goal is to use these funds as soon as possible to make this a reality, sooner than later.”
“The Combahee Fund is a community-organized fund that helps Black girls and GNC individuals in abusive households escape their violent living situations.”
Support for Trans Women in Honduras
“We are a collective of trans women from Nicaragua and rural regions of Honduras and live in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Due to the systemic exclusion and transphobia of the Honduran government and the global pandemic of COVID-19, our lives have been greatly impacted since we are sex workers.”
Protect and Free Detained Friends from COVID
“Your donation will help detained immigrants leave the life-threatening conditions in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, where they face a high risk of COVID-19 infection.”
Commissary Funds for ICE Detainees in NJ Jails
“First Friends of NJ & NY is asking for your help. We are launching a GoFundMe campaign to provide commissary funds to immigrants in detention in Bergen County Jail, Essex County Correctional Facility, Hudson County Correctional Facility and Elizabeth Detention Center.”
Donate to Team Brownsville via Paypal | via Facebook | via GoFundMe
“Together we work to help asylum seekers who find themselves in Brownsville, Texas and at the Brownsville/Matamoros international bridges.”
Fund created by Elijah McCain’s mother to create a foundation in his name.
Support 150 Young Black Feminists in Training.
“Now more than ever, we need to support, equip, and defend our Black Youth. In partnership with the WomanHOOD Project, Vibe Theater Experience, and the Unita Blackwell Leadership Institute, Black Feminist Future is launching Harriet's Troop: A Virtual Summer Learning Program for Young Black Feminists July 10th - August 13th 2020.”
Save Source of Knowledge Bookstore
“Covid almost killed us! We’re glad you’re here to help us out. We are the only Black bookstore in Newark. We have the largest selection of Black history books, books by Black authors and Black writers you can find. However, as NPR reported recently, with the lack of customers, cash flow, and frankly any business, we could not pay our bills.”
Help Freetown Road Project stay open
“We're starting this GoFundMe to help cover repairs ,covid upgrades, pay staff, utilities and rent.”
*FUNDS THAT HAVE ALMOST MET THEIR GOAL*
Homeless Black Trans Women Fund
“This is fund for the community of Black Trans women that live in Atlanta and are sex workers and/or homeless.”
“The Stay Free Fund is a new fund to support 15 program participants at GLITS, a Black-led, grassroots nonprofit organization providing community support to Black & brown trans people in NYC. The program participants have been recently released from incarceration, and they are now building their lives on the outside. Many of them were not eligible for the stimulus check. Now that they have been freed from jail, they need our solidarity to stay out.”
“Sisters Unchained is a program dedicated to the collective leadership, healing, and creative expression of women and non-gender conforming people of color who are impacted by incarceration.”
Sustain Community Jail Support in Philly
““We, as formerly incarcerated people, deserve the right to take care of our own community. In this moment, we are asking that folks who care about this movement, and who have been energized by the protests and Movement For Black Lives, help us to ensure that this business and service to the community is sustained beyond our present moment. Everyone being released from jail deserves a safe ride to where they need to be, and it is the responsibility of those who are not directly impacted by the racist and violent police and prison system to support and empower those of us who have been doing this work for years so we can continue to do it safely and effectively.”
Emergency support for street based youth
“Hello, My name is Dominique Mckinney and I am the co founder and creator of the Street Youth Rise Up Campaign and Task force. A youth led campaign and task force focused on eliminating institutional violence faced by homeless, home free street based youth in Chicago.”
WhatChaCookingBaby Food Truck Fund
“Hi, my name is Jada Grémillion A Black Transgender Woman who happens to have a dream of owning her own food truck. Over the past 2 years I’ve been working extremely hard to achieve this goal of mines. Black Trans Entrepreneurship is important these days I’ve traveled state to state serving up some delicious meals.”
Formerly Incarcerated Small Business Relief Fund
“The Formerly Incarcerated Small Business Rescue Fund is a mutual aid project to raise money for formerly incarcerated business owners excluded from coronavirus relief funding because of their criminal record.”
*FUNDS WITHOUT EXACT GOALS BUT STILL NEED DONATIONS*
TGNC Medical Relief Fund | Venmo: @tgncmedfund Cashapp: $tgncmedfund
“Trans and gender nonconforming individuals are some of the most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse within the medical industrial complex. It is our goal to help secure access to quality healthcare for our trans and gender nonconforming family. We cannot achieve our goals alone.”
Donate to First Friends of NY & NJ
“First Friends of NJ and NY upholds the inherent dignity and humanity of detained immigrants and asylum seekers. We provide compassion and hope through volunteer visitation, resettlement assistance and advocacy.”
“We’re Raising funds to make free therapy a reality for Black women. Put “BETTERTOGETHER” in the notes.
“The Atlanta Solidarity Fund bails out activists who are arrested for participating in social justice movements, and helps them get access to lawyers.”
Survived and Punished NY | Donate via Paypal
“The Survived and Punished NY Mutual Aid Working Group supports incarcerated survivors of gender-based violence through sustained commissary support, care packages, visitation, and communication.”
The Okra Project | Donate via Art Business Collaborative
06/18/20 Update: The Okra Project now has a new donation link via their fiscal sponsor.
“The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People wherever we can reach them.”
Black Trans Travel Fund | Donate via Paypal | Cashapp | Venmo
“The Black Trans Travel Fund is a grassroots, mutual aid based organization developed for the purpose of providing Black transgender women with the financial resources necessary for them to be able to self-determine and access their safest travel options.”
“Liberation Library is a volunteer run & led abolitionist org that sends books to young people in IL prisons & jails. We were founded in February 2015 by Project NIA and are fiscally sponsored by the Chicago Freedom School.”
“With little to no access to A/C, people incarcerated in NYC jails desperately need lightweight clothing to help them stay cool and survive extreme heat this summer. You can help us send these crucial items.”
*FUNDS HAVE MET THEIR GOAL BUT ACCEPTING DONATIONS*
Free Tracy McCarter - She's a mother, a nurse and a volunteer.
“I am creating this fundraiser on behalf of my mother, Tracy McCarter who is currently incarcerated at Rikers Island in New York City. On March 3, 2020, a domestic violence incident occurred between Tracy and her now late husband, Jim, that resulted in his passing. She was taken into custody immediately following the incident and has been denied bail now 3 times. The ongoing pandemic has created additional barriers in navigating the justice system. It’s been over 60 days and counting and she has not received a formal indictment due to the courts currently being closed.”
Black Trans Lives Matter Youth Fund
“In 2015 Joshua Allen and CeCe McDonald came together to form the Black Excellence Collective. A grassroots organizing collective for and by Black trans/queer youth to organize for our collective liberation using art, direct action & political education.”
Black Trans Education Foundation
“We're raising money to provide $3,000 scholarships directly to 20 black trans students.
Vision Statement: The Frances Thompson Education Foundation (FTEF) nurtures black trans students and funds academic discourse and theory. We will do this through direct scholarships to black trans students, and through the 2021 launch of The Frances Thompson Academic journal.”
Free Trainings/Webinars
Police Brutality in America Teach-Out | Online Course
“In this Teach-Out, you will learn about the history of police violence in America, become aware of laws and policies that prevent accountability, understand the demands of protesters, and gain the knowledge and tools to fight for change locally.”
Upcoming
Building Your Abolitionist Toolbox: Whose Security Is It Anyway? | Thursday, November 5
“Join veteran youth workers, advocates, and co-strugglers Lara Brooks and Mariame Kaba for a presentation on their toolkit "Whose Security is it Anyway?" This resource explores a neglected area of focus in the marginalization and criminalization of young people: the non-profit industrial complex.”
We Keep Each Other Safe: Mutual Aid for Survival and Solidarity | Thursday, November 12
“On Nov 12, Spade will be joined by anti-violence organizers Mariame Kaba and Ejeris Dixon to discuss mutual aid as an abolitionist project. Why is mutual aid key to practicing abolition? How does mutual aid relate to transformative justice and other anti-violence frameworks and practices? How can mutual aid help us to reimagine responding to harm and violence without relying on police?”
Study and Struggle: Movement Building and Transnational Freedom Struggles | Thursday, December 1
Speakers: Angela Y. Davis, Medhin Paolos, Lorgia García Peña, and Makani Themba
“The fourth webinar theme is Movement Building and Transnational Freedom Struggles and will be a conversation about how we can build a global movement for abolition, and the types of shared knowledge, strategies, and organizing an internationalist movement to abolish police and prisons will require.”
Past
Locating Abolition within the fight against Imperialism | Thursday, October 22
“Join Critical Resistance and the AbolitionNOW coalition for the fourth in their series of virtual teach-in's.
————————————————
During this session, we’ll take a deeper dive into the US imperialist project and its impacts. We’ll discuss resistance movements, transformative solidarity, and the fight for abolition”
Transformative Justice in the era of #DefundThePolice | Wednesday, October 21
“As the ongoing worldwide protests against police violence so vividly demonstrate, there is an increasing demand to end policing and develop real strategies for keeping each other safe.
On October 21, longtime anti-violence organizers and transformative justice practitioners Shira Hassan and Mimi Kim will join us for a conversation about the history and development of transformative justice, its importance in current movements towards liberation, and everyday practices.”
Study and Struggle 3: Deconstructing Settler Colonialism and Borders | Tuesday, October 29
“The third webinar theme is Deconstructing Settler Colonialism and Borders and will be a conversation about how settler colonialism and border imperialism are foundational pillars of the US prison industrial complex. It will include reflections on how the fight for abolition can better integrate a decolonial politics into our organizing against policing, prisons, and borders of all kinds.”
Study and Struggle 2: Abolition, Intersectionality, and Care | Tuesday, September 29
“The second webinar theme is Abolition, Intersectionality, and Care and will be a conversation about what it means for abolition to be intersectional and how abolition demands a reimagination of what it means to be in community and to care for one another.”
Study and Struggle 1: Abolition as Study and Deconstructing Racial Capitalism | Tuesday, September 1
“The first in a series of Critical Conversations organized by Study and Struggle discussing prison abolition and immigrant justice.”
Abolition & Liberation | Friday, August 28
“Join us for an international discussion of the connections between Black Lives Matter calls to defund the police and abolish the prison industrial complex, and Palestinian calls to tear down all apartheid walls and free Palestine.”
How to Get Police Out of Your School | Monday, August 24
“We know that a police presence in our schools is not only unnecessary, but harmful and dangerous to students. In this training, learn how to work with school officials to get cops out of schools and invest in resources that protect and support students.”
Cops & Capitalism: How to Talk about Defunding the Police | Wednesday, August 12
“Defund Police. What was once a third rail has become a rallying cry as people begin to publicly contend with the fact that police do not keep us safe. This webinar will ground us in the history of policing, dig into the defund demand and hear about on the ground campaigns from the people leading them. This will be a 90 minute webinar.”
Poetry is Not a Luxury: the Poetics of Abolition | Monday, August 10
“Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change.” Poetry crystallises our visions for the future. It is the arena in which demands come to life. When we proclaim that poetry is not luxury, in the spirit of the revolutionary poet Audre Lorde, we make clear that its incantatory power should not be underestimated. Abolitionist desire and imagination are rooted in the poetic, while abolition is an act of sym-poesis, of creating in concert and in collectivity, moving towards living together without carceral separation.”
Revolution is Not a one Time Event: The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle The Master’s House | Monday, August 3
“A panel discussion with Gail Lewis, Miss Major, Zoé Samudzi and Hortense Spillers, chaired by Akwugo Emejulu.
“What the world will become already exists in fragments and pieces, experiments and possibilities,” says Ruth Wilson Gilmore. In conversation with Black feminist forebears, such as Audre Lorde, abolitionist scholars and activists Gail Lewis, Miss Major, Zoé Samudzi and Hortense Spillers, chaired by Akwugo Emejulu, explore how to dismantle the master’s house — its material edifices and ideological architecture — and the construction of abolitionist futures in the present.”
Healing and Transformative Justice: Imagining Black Feminist Futures | Wednesday, July 29
“In a co-curated and co-moderated conversation, Cara Page, Mariame Kaba, and Adaku Utah ask these questions and discuss the current moment through the lenses of Healing Justice and Transformative Justice, imagining a Black feminist future free from state violence, policing, and exploitation.”
Cops & Capitalism: Power Behind the Police | Wednesday, July 29
“On this webinar, we will explore how billionaires and corporations like Wells Fargo, Amazon, and Target use police foundations to fund and prop up the police. Police foundations--nonprofits that fundraise money from wealthy donors and corporations for local police departments--help maintain the racist policing status quo. We’ll discuss how directly pressuring corporations to cut ties with police foundations can strengthen fights to defund the police and invest in Black and Brown communities, as well as ensure that police departments’ public funding is not replaced by similarly enormous private funding.”
Mutual Aid Now: Building Collective Care | Tuesday, July 28
“Join Advocates for Youth, Freedom Fighters DC, and the team behind the Mutual Aid Fund for Black LGBTQ+ Youth to learn about the history and grounding ethics of mutual aid and how to start your own mutual aid project.”
From Dreams to Practice: Abolition in our lifetimes | Spanish | Sunday, July 26
“What time is it on the clock of the world? This time of triple pandemics - of police violence, coronavirus, and of unprecedented economic crisis - is calling us to put our abolition dreams into practice. It is calling on us to divest once and for all - financially, ideologically, emotionally - from systems and structures of violence, and to invest in what will make it possible for our communities to survive current conditions - and those that are coming.”
Rooted in Resistance | Saturday, July 25
“People who have struggled against oppression within the Prison-Industrial Complex become leaders of our struggles against the PIC outside—from challenging capitalist ways of thinking that perpetuate oppression, to embracing life-affirming values and principles rooted in resistance. At this NYC TJ Hub session, we invite you to join a conversation with the director of Releasing Aging People in Prison (RAPP), Jose Saldana, and co-founder Laura Whitehorn about their work building transformative relationships, practices of accountability, and networks of community care inside jails and prisons.”
We Take Care Of Us Webinar #7: Transformative Justice | Friday, July 24
“Our seventh webinar: This week we hosted Mimi Kim and Mia Mingus, who sat down with our executive director, Cat Brooks, to discuss strategies to intervene, disrupt and heal from interpersonal violence without relying on the state. We’ll talk about what transformative justice is, how it centers survivors’ needs, and how it provides us with a road map for building a world without police. “
Janine Soleil Abolitionist Youth Organizing Mini Institute | Thursday, July 16 - Friday, July 17
*scroll through the padlet to find the specific trainings for the Mini-institute
“On July 16 & 17, we invite young people ages 14 to 24 to participate in training that will introduce them to the concepts of restorative justice, safety planning without cops, and mutual aid. You can register for one or all three sessions. We ask that you only register if you are sure you will be able to participate and if you are within the age range stated.”
COPS Program '94 Crime Bill Teach-In | Thursday, July 16
“Join The People’s Coalition for Safety and Freedom for a Teach-In about the Federally Funded COPS Program and learn why it must be defunded.”
Cops & Capitalism: Strengthening the Demand: "Defund the Wealthy" | Wednesday, July 15
“People around the U.S. are demanding that cities defund their local police departments. This webinar encourages us to take that demand one step further, and highlights the relationships between corporations and policing. We know that cutting the police budget is a first step towards the world we want to see but in order to fully fund our communities and invest in the things we need we must also redirect funding from the institutions that support policing.”
Breakthrough Spotlight: Young People Imagining a World Without Police | Wednesday, July 15
“In this conversation, we spotlight how police abolition became a rallying cry in the movement for Black liberation, and the youth leading it”
Defund the Police: What Comes Next? | Sunday, July 12
Join Reclaim The Block & Black Visions Collective for a community call.
“In this webinar we'll talk about:
-An introduction to "Defund Police"
-Examples from around the country of existing alternatives
-How we can demand that the City Council put money into real safety in our city budget”
*Important considering many eviction moratoriums are ending
Eviction Defense Training | Sunday, July 12
“This training will include presentations by members of the L.A. Tenants Union about organizing to defend tenants against evictions--both legal and illegal.”
Policing Without the Police: Race, Technology, and the New Jim Code | Wednesday, July 8
“With calls for “defunding police” on the rise, invisible, tech-mediated surveillance continues to penetrate every area of our lives – workplaces, schools, hospitals, and of course policing itself.”
Cops & Capitalism: Research Briefing: Police Brutality Bonds | Tuesday, July 7
“This webinar explores ACRE’s groundbreaking research on cities’ use of Police Brutality Bonds, the bonds issued to pay for police brutality settlements. Police brutality bonds generate fees for Wall Street firms like Bank of America and Goldman Sachs, and interest payments for investors, allowing them to literally profit from police violence. Borrowing can also drastically increase the costs of police violence, but these costs are not reflected in the official police budget. “
Abolish Policing, Not Just Police | Thursday, July 2
“A discussion on abolishing the police and policing with Mariame Kaba, Maya Schenwar, and Victoria Law.”
Queer Abolition: Building Love & Power | Thursday, July 2
“Black and Pink, Boston is excited to welcome founder Jason Lydon, along with Dean Spade, Kenyon Farrow, Andrea Ritchie, and Zahara Green. Opening remarks will be offered by Su'Ganni Tszu (currently incarcerated). Michael Cox (formerly incarcerated) will moderate.
Our panelists will offer a strategic discussion about abolishing police, prisons, and how how these systems target LGBTQ people, B/I/POC people, and those living with HIV.”
Protester Training: Digital Security 101 | Tuesday, June 30
“Hosted by Advocates for Youth, featuring Slammer Musuta, an organizational security consultant. Learn how to maintain digital privacy and keep yourself safe as an activist online.”
Defunding the Police: A Step towards Abolition | Thursday, June 25
“Join us next Thursday at 7PM EST to talk about why defunding the police is so important, how lawyers and legal workers can aid in that fight, and how it is a step towards abolition!”
Abolition Can't Wait: A Teach-In with #8toabolition | Thursday, June 25
“Join us for a conversation with organizers from #8toAbolition about why abolishing the police and prison system can't wait.”
From Stonewall to Minneapolis: Fighting for Black, Queer, and Trans Liberation (and Winning!) | Wednesday, June 24
“Join Stonewall legend Miss Major Griffin Gracy, author and activist Hope Giselle, and other Black LGBTQIA+ leaders on the forefront of the fight for racial justice, trans justice, and abolition as we celebrate and reflect on the work that is currently being done to engineer Black, Queer, and Trans Liberation.”
Defund the Police: a Webinar on Police, Race and Universities | Saturday, June 20
“A Scholars for Social Justice webinar featuring a panel discussion
Moderated by:
- Adom Getachew, University of Chicago
With Panelists:
- Michelle Yang and Kosi Achife, UChicago #CareNotCops Student Activists
- Robin D. G. Kelley, University of California-Los Angeles
- Barbara Ransby, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Davarian Baldwin, Trinity College”
Direct Action Training | Thursday, June 18
“If you're attending protests, but want to know how to launch your own direct actions to fight for justice, attend this free training on Zoom!”
Jail Support Training | Wednesday, June 17
“Learn how to support protestors who are jailed during protests at their arraignment and after their release.”
Sunday School: Unlock Us, Abolition in Our Lifetime | Sunday, June 14th
ft. Angela Davis, Derecka Purnell, K Agbebiyi, Cherrel Brown, Delaney Vandergrift and Phil Agnew.
Celebrating Juneteenth: An Abolitionist Perspective on Movements for Black Liberation of the Past and Present | Saturday, June 13
This year, the poignancy and the urgency of Black liberation is front and center of national, if not international, consciousness and action. On Saturday, June 13th, we humbly and enthusiastically hosted Charlene Carruthers and Marc Lamont Hill for "Celebrating Juneteenth" to share their insights, wisdom, and to help guide us towards a liberated future from our current circumstances.
On the Road with Abolition: Assessing our Steps along the Way | Friday, June 12th
“How can we assess which proposals to support or to oppose in our organizing? What are some abolitionist proposals? Join Dean Spade, Woods Ervin & Kamau Walton from Critical Resistance, K Agbebiyi from Survived and Punished NY and Mariame Kaba from Project NIA and Survived & Punished to discuss these questions and more. Join us for this conversation to deepen our shared analysis and to discuss how we use abolition as a politic, practice and framework to move us toward liberation and self-determination.”
Disability Justice and Abolition with Elliot Fukui | Friday, June 5
“As the movement to close down jails and prisons gains momentum, some have proposed opening up mental health facilities as an alternative. Elliott Fukui challenges this strategy and explores what abolition looks like from a disability justice lens. This workshop will also provide abolitionist resources for supporting peoples with psychiatric disabilities.”
Mutual Aid: Building Communities of Care During Crisis and Beyond | Thursday, May 21
“As governments and corporations fail to protect ordinary people from the ravages of the crisis, community networks are organizing their own communities around the principles of mutual aid, solidarity, and autonomous direct action. Their aim is solidarity not charity. Cooperation and interdependence, not competition. Learn from longtime mutual aid organizers on how to protect each other during coronavirus and how to build long-term, liberatory, and resilient communities beyond this pandemic and the death cult of capitalism and settler colonialism.”