Abolition for the People: Explore the collection

Dear Medium readers, As an open platform, we encourage and empower freedom of thought. We've built a community that has diverse opinions and a range of perspectives. We're honored to give those ideas a home to grow, connect, and spark real, nuanced conversations — as well as the potential to instigate change. This month, Medium's publication for Black and Brown men, LEVEL and Kaepernick Publishing presented Abolition for the People: The Movement for a Future Without Policing & Prisons. This complete collection continues Colin Kaepernick's work of opening people's eyes to the violence of the current political systems. Contributions from political prisoners, family members of those impacted by police terrorism and incarceration, organizers, movement leaders, and scholars suggest a different way forward. We invite you to read, absorb, and open meaningful discourse. And maybe even share your own perspective. On behalf of LEVEL and Kaepernick Publishing, here's a note from Kap ___ On October 6, we officially launched Abolition for the People: The Movement for a Future Without Policing & Prisons, an ambitious collection of close to 30 original contributions that collectively make the case for a future that's safer, healthier, and truly free. If our series is reaching you for the first time, I encourage you to start from the beginning. Contributions from the first three weeks emphasize the history of policing and prisons in the United States and demonstrate why and how reforms — though often framed as progress — only strengthen their institutional holds. This week — the final week of our project — builds on the context we established over the last month and shows that the abolition of police and prisons is the only way forward if we are to create a society capable of interrupting violence, reducing harm, and creating safe and healthy futures for all people. Check out some powerful pieces we published this week by Mumia Abu-Jamal, Andrea J. Ritchie, Rukia Lumumba, Marlon Peterson, and Robin D.G. Kelley. Like me, I hope you have resolved yourself to working toward a future that can support the full flourishing of all people — a future without policing and prisons.  I believe another world is possible, and I look forward to building with you. Colin   Explore the collection Featured stories The Demand for Abolition Only by dismantling unjust systems can we imagine a future that is safe, healthy, and truly free. By Colin Kaepernick. Read more   Why Arguments Against Abolition Inevitably Fail For centuries, people have been unwilling to grasp the concept that only by undoing the foundation can we build a new future. By Angela Y. Davis. Read more   We're All Living in a Future Created by Slavery For centuries, we've had our freedoms ripped from us. But like our ancestors, we resist. By Ameer Hasan Loggins. Read more   Stolen Freedom: The Ongoing Incarceration of California's Indigenous Peoples For 350 years, California has imprisoned and disenfranchised its Native peoples like few other places. By Morning Star Gali. Read more   Police Reform Works — For the Police Decades of reform have built an agile, deadly force that pushes millions of people into the largest carceral system in the world. By Naomi Murakawa. Read more   The System Is Built for Power, Not Justice Reforms don't create more just societies — just ones where more people of color are in charge of the violence. By Derecka Purnell. Read more   From One Struggle to Another: Lessons From the First Abolition Movement When people came together in the 19th century to oppose the expanding slave system, they were considered an aberration — but the course they charted continues to this day. By Mumia Abu-Jamal. Read more   Building a World Where Breonna Taylor Could Live Victory will not be achieved through prosecutions, but through transforming the conditions of violence. By Andrea J Ritchie. Read more   Sent by Medium · P.O. Box 602, San Francisco, CA 94104-0602 Unsubscribe · Help center · Privacy policy