Hi! Do you have a recommended reading list for people just learning about prison/police force abolition? No worries if not! Also, I'm on mobile so if you have a page on your Tumblr I can't see it :(
Anonymousi don’t have a preexisting list of recommended reading, though I’ve been meaning to make one for forever - here’s my opportunity i guess!
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. the first criticism of the prison system i ever read. it definitely, to my recollection, focuses more on mass incarceration as a problem than incarceration as a whole, but imo is still a critical book to read if you’re new to these concepts or don’t know much about the prison system.
- Are Prisons Obsolete? (pdf) by Angela Davis. This is a quick intro into the concepts and beliefs behind prison abolition. tbh, you should read everything Angela Davis has ever written lol.
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. this is a critique of our current system, especially the death penalty, more than it’s an overt call for abolition, but it is an indescribably important read and should be required reading for every american. also check out everything the equal justice initiative is up to!
- The Revolution Starts at Home is a great anthology that addresses the issue of intimate partner violence among activist communities, providing some practical framework for addressing harm that doesn’t rely on the state.
- i have not read these two yet, but wanted to mention them because the ebooks are free right now! Who Do You Protect, Who Do You Serve? (anthology) is free here until june 5 2020 (and i actually recommend checking out Haymarket Books’ whole collection of anti-prison books). The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale is available free here (unknown for how long).
Critical Resistance is also a great organization to check out in general, and they have some toolkits and the like to educate about prison abolition.
there are many, many other important books and resources out there, of course, but i think these are a good place to start!
