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This year, we mobilized along with other revolutionaries in Miami because of the police executions of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor (and many others). As the demand for police abolition rose from the masses, we decided to put together a reading group to connect anarchist ideas with abolitionist practice. We put all of the readings in one place so you can access them any time. Big thanks to all of those who registered and participated. Solidarity! ❤️🖤

Part 1: Movements and the Current Moment
  1. Kali Akuno - “The Floyd Rebellion: Pathway to a Revolution?”
  2. Michael Reagan - “In Defense of Autonomy: Seattle’s CHOP Advanced the Movement for Black Lives”
  3. Chicago Abolitionists on the Front Lines - “We Don’t Want to Be Gravediggers: Abolition also Means Self-Defense and the Creation of Revolutionary Popular Assemblies” 
  4. Gay Shame - “Abolition Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling”

Discussion Questions

  1. How close do you think we got to reaching a revolutionary moment? If not, why not? If so, do you think the momentum has passed?
  2. What are some attempts to co-opt the current rebellion and where are they coming from?
  3. What are the limits of building power through street protest? What else should we do to build power in a way that is anti-racist and anti-authoritarian (not controlled in a hierarchical way by any one group, leader, or political party)
  4. What skills do we need to develop to build power in this way?

Part 2: Core Abolitionist Texts

  1. Intercepted - Ruth Wilson Gilmore Makes the Case for Abolition (1st episode)

  2. Hawzhin Azeez - “Police Abolition and Other Revolutionary Lessons from Rojava"

  3. Angela Davis - Are Prisons Obsolete? (Ch. 6, "Abolitionist Alternatives")

  4. Kristian Williams - Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America (Afterword)

(Click on the images below for PDF files of the Williams and Davis readings)

Discussion Questions

  1. The readings mention many models and examples of abolitionist alternatives at a regional or community level. Which ones were the most interesting for you?
  2. Reading about the examples or models of abolition, what things do they have in common?
  3. What arguments would you make for abolition talking to friends and family who don’t understand the idea?
  4. On abolition, Hawzhin Azeez writes that “Many, even on the Left cannot imagine such a system ever being viable.” Why do you think that is?
  5. What are some strategic movement interventions we can make for decarceration?
  6. Is it possible to have abolitionist alternatives while other state institutions (i.e. courts, military, school boards, etc.) continue to exist? 
  7. How do prisons and police reflect class struggle in our society?

Part 3: Trans, Queer, and Feminist Abolition
  1. Nira Yuval Davis “What Is ‘Transversal’ Politics?’”
  2. Santa Cruz Women Against Rape Open Letter to the Anti-Rape Movement (1977, repubublished in 2020 by Mariame Kaba)
  3. Dean Spade/Reina Gossett 2014 interview
(Click on the images below for PDFs and video links)

Reina Gossett + Dean Spade (Part 1): Prison Abolition + Prefiguring the World You Want to Live In

Reina Gossett + Dean Spade (Part 2): Practicing Prison Abolition Everyday

Reina Gossett + Dean Spade (Part 3): What About the Dangerous People?

Reina Gossett + Dean Spade (Part 4): Gun Control + Producing Dangerousness

Discussion Questions

  1. How do we balance immediate material needs with the need for revolutionary change?
  2. Where do leftists and leftist organizations fall short in their commitment to abolition?
  3. What are the different strategies the State uses to support carceral feminism?
  4. How would transversal politics strengthen our organizing right now?

Part 4: Black Anarchism
  1. Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin - Anarchism and the Black Revolution (excerpts)
  2. Zoé Samudzi (audio interview) - "Black Feminist Anarchism & Leftist Neglect of the African Continent"
(Click on the images below for PDFs and audio links)
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Black Rose Anarchist Federation / Federación Anarquista Rosa Negra - Miami
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Black Rose Anarchist Federation / Federación Anarquista Rosa Negra · miami.blackrosefed.org · Miami, FL 33155 · USA

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