Happy New Year! I wrote this piece in which I asked a bunch of incredible organizers what's bringing them hope for decarceration in 2023. Their words gave me hope for possibilities for dismantling incarceration.
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Maya Schenwar
@MayaSchenwar
Editor at large & board president, . Coauthor "Prison by Any Other Name." Author "Locked Down, Locked Out." Ed. "Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?"
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Sharing some of our past episodes on policing and police abolition starting with: 1. T"he End of Policing feat. Alex Vitale":
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Police training is not and has never been the issue. The cop who murdered Rayshard Brooks received 2,000 hours of training, including sessions on de-escalation tactics, cultural-awareness training, and instruction on use of deadly force. Policing itself is the problem.
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“Abolitionists care so much about safety that we can't tolerate the violence and un-safety the police produce.”
from my interview w
teenvogue.com/story/mariame-
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As Memphis releases video of the police murder of Tyre Nichols, I'm returning from my sabbatical briefly to post Part 1 of my series about how the media will likely cover it: helping cops use their own failures and violence to get more power and money.
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I don't understand how you can, almost 11 years after Trayvon Martin, still be the sort of person calling for more police-reform efforts like body-cameras. These guys did this to Tyre Nichols with all the cameras rolling.
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This website is an amazing resource of how to take action in solidarity with the Stop Cop City movement. Use it and share it!!!
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In my latest piece for I spoke w some really smart ppl about the chaos we've all experienced here. I learned a lot about how to think of social media as an institution, why it feels essential, & what we might do about how crappy it is
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"So long as police, prosecutors & judges have discretion to criminalize survivors, they will do so. The only way to guarantee that 'imperfect victims' are no longer punished is to dismantle the system that punishes them."
-Kwaneta Harris &
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NYC cop-mayor Eric Adams, LA Mayor Karen Bass, & Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (all 3 of whom are Black mayors of big cities) went on ABC to spew copaganda, defend bloated police budgets, & to complain about immigrants & homeless people.
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2022: the deadliest year of NYC jailing.
We remember those killed by the state on Rikers: rikersisadeath.camp. Let's organize our collective grief & rage to dismantle harmful systems, change the terrains we fight on & build life-affirming systems. #AbolitionNow
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As Setareh Ghandehari wrote in Truthout, “‘the only alternative to detention is freedom,’” so we must #CloseTheDeathCamps now. #ShutDownRikers with #NoNewJails!
#AbolitionNow #DignityNotDetention #CloseRikers
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"Of the 40 or so forest defenders I met and spoke with during my reporting, I probably spent more time talking to Teran than anyone else. I did so not because they were a great source, but because they were great company" #StopCopCity
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Calling all restorative justice professionals!
The currently incarcerated editor of a prison newspaper (who published this fantastic essay with us ) is looking for an expert to interview by phone.
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Georgia police killed a #StopCopCity protester two days ago, and arrested 7 more––charging them with domestic terrorism. Their combined bond amount to be released is $117k.
Can you donate to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund to help bail them out?
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“Stop devaluing children and childhood!”
An incredibly insightful and educational presentation by writes on talking about #abolition and #TransformativeJustice with little ones! Presented by w/ . Links below. (Not endorsed! Just “fan art”)
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Check out our #DefundPolice 2022 report-back video here: bit.ly/DefundDoc2022
"I recommend watching it if you’ve felt your sense of hope fading. [All over], people are still coming together to resist state violence—and push for resources that allow communities to thrive."
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. names 's #SolidarityBudget as something that gives her hope for 2023: "Organizers are advocating for cutting police & jail budgets—and funding housing, traffic safety measures, wages, climate transformation & more instead. Their mobilization is working"
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Honored to be included in this beautiful piece by and grateful for everyone doing good work in the struggle to decarcerate, defund and abolish all systems of policing and punishment—including shout-outs to our #1MExperiments project and 's Queenie’s Crew!
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“Decarceration doesn’t just mean getting people out of jail, it means stopping people from being put in them in the first place, which means we have to target every system that funnels people into cages of any kind.” —
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Love & Protect is in solidarity with 's strike. The UIC administration needs to be accountable to its faculty and students!
#WhenWeFightWeWin #FairContractNow
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This month, Queenie's Crew kids are drawing their neighborhoods and identifying the helpers. Thank you to for allowing us to adapt this activity from her workbook, "In Our Own Hands." Download the activity and share it with us using #QCKids: bit.ly/QCJan2023
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I wrote a five-part series about air quality in public schools last year (linked at the bottom of this), and at times, it felt like screaming into the void. It would be an understatement to say I'm excited to see actual people in power talking about it.
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We are releasing this information with consent from their loved ones, who want them remembered as they were, and not in whatever light police will cast them in.
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The person killed by police in the forest has been identified to ACPC as Manuel Teran. Manuel was a beloved member of the community. They were generous, running a mutual aid group. In our conversations with those that loved them, two words consistently came up: kind, and fierce.
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My baby's cancer may have returned and my insurance, , is refusing to help cover a PET scan so we can find out if it has, and if needed, continue our work to save his life. No qualms about putting my child's life on the line for their bottom line. He is not even 2 years old
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“Seriously, it’s time to leave for preschool.”
“I can’t! I’m on strike.”
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hi!! today is the day!!!! UNREFORMED premieres. i really think this is the most meaningful project of my career. i'm so excited for you all to listen.
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“Salaries were on the minds of UIC faculty who showed up to picket lines on Monday for the first day of a campus-wide strike, but… like educators across the country, is also fighting for better mental health resources for students.”
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The Stevie Wilson DIY Youth Arts Residency provided grants of $1,000-$5,000 to young artists who are formerly incarcerated & criminalized to design their own residency.
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Check out this summary report about the inaugural cohort of the Stevie Wilson DIY Youth Arts Residency and learn how our eighteen artists spent some of their time over the past eight months: bit.ly/diyresidency20 🎨
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Tillie Deitz died in the jail, what was she there for? A stolen credit card she used to buy some lottery tickets. For this and more sign up to my Substack newsletter #Sentences BD
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Well-planned actions advance your position no matter the outcome. These folks were strong and ready to go, and now they're better friends, they've built community, they've brought families and librarians on board, they've practiced, etc. Really great stuff.
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Drag Story Hour ‘defenders’ arrived to a @nypl branch that was holding a reading today.
What happens when agitators no-show? Defenders act as a welcoming committee, greeting patrons with big smiles, signs, and colorful flags.
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“I’m staying up ALL night for SOLIDARITY!!!”
-the 4-year-old
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"…policing is sexual violence, and sexual violence is a tool of policing and a corollary to criminalization. … The only way to end police sexual violence is to reduce police contact and power, and ultimately, to end policing."
No More Police
by and
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More than 70 Texas prisoners are 3 days into a hunger strike protesting harsh solitary confinement practices via .
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I’m sending love to all those on strike with !
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Their demands, if met, would make a significant difference for students (especially students seeking mental health & disability resources) and faculty (especially non-tenure-track faculty, including my partner)!
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REMINDER:
Urge all @UICUF members to stop work and join picket lines 10-12 and 1-3, and noon rallies on quad. Pickets operate at UH, SES, Lecture Centers, and College of Nursing. More info at:
uicunitedfaculty.org/news/
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BREAKING!
is On Strike!
Fair minimum salaries
Salary increases that keep up with #inflation
Learning disability assessments for our students
Earlier notice of reappointment for NTT faculty
Due process for TT faculty
#FairContractNow #UnionStrong
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My latest: Record Police Killings in 2022 Show Need to Continue Organizing for Abolition truthout.org/articles/recor via
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