Since our founding in 2013, the Abolitionist Law Center has been fighting in the courtrooms and in the streets, building grassroots coalitions and winning vital and precedent-setting legal victories against policing, prisons, and other abusive, inhumane, and unconstitutional forms of state violence.

And now we’ve entered new terrain in that struggle: we’ve launched Straight Ahead, our 501(c)(4), non-profit legislative arm that brings the fight for abolition to Pennsylvania’s capitol in Harrisburg.

This new work takes its name from the sign-off used by political prisoner and ALC-inspiration Russell Maroon Shoatz. Straight Ahead will be pushing state lawmakers in Pennsylvania to enact legislation that will bring our elders home and make the possibility of parole a reality for thousands of community members sentenced to die in prison.

In coalition with our many allies and supporters, ALC and Straight Ahead are leveraging people power, legal power, and now legislative power to achieve the liberation and self-determination that our community demands and deserves.

Pennsylvania is ground zero in the fight for abolition in this country. Brick by brick, we are building abolition here and constructing a model for success nationwide.

Stay tuned for more updates coming soon about how you can play a part in strengthening Straight Ahead’s strategic, legislative agenda.

And in the meantime, follow Straight Ahead on social media @towardabolition on Instagram and Twitter, and at facebook.com/TowardAbolition.