Introduction to Abolition: 2022 reading list
Welcome to our full Reading List for 2022.
Our aims is for this reading list to introduce you to a range of abolitionist ideas via short, accessible and introductory texts, podcasts and videos. We hope these resources spark informed discussions of abolitionist ideas to take with you to work places, campaign meetings, and conversations with friends and family.
The reading list will guide you on a journey exploring:
What does abolition mean in practice and how do we go about it?
How might we need to alter our thinking, practices and social institutions to build a world without prisons and policing?
The suggested reading list is not exhaustive and inevitably has many gaps and limitations. This is both because it is not possible to cover everything within six weeks. But there are lots of links to further resources.
Abolitionists have a long and diverse tradition of thinking and organising around these questions. Abolition has been influenced by a range of perspectives, including the radical black tradition, indigenous organising, marxist and anarchist ideas, queer and feminist analysis.
A fair number of the readings are from the US. This is in part due to the more established abolitionist organising there. However, it is important to bear in mind that there are significant differences in context, and we can’t simply import US analysis or strategies to Britain, Ireland and elsewhere. The readings have been chosen to offer some starting points for discussion, including how lessons learned across different contexts might be useful in thinking about your own local situation.
The reading list below is our most recent (2022) edition. If you are looking for our 2018-2021 Reading List version it is here.
Note: If you want to set up your own group, check out our guidance on setting up a reading group and our handy facilitators guide.
Contents
Session 1: Introduction to Abolition
Session 2: What is wrong with reform?
Session 3: Feminist, Queer and Anti-racist Abolition
Session 4: Policing, Anti-Racism and Abolition
Session 5: Transformative Justice and Abolition
Further Resources and Reading!
Session 1: Introduction to abolition
Core Reading:
Mariame Kaba (2020) ‘So You’re Thinking about Becoming an Abolitionist’ [4 pages]
Angela Davis. (2003) ‘Introduction: Prison Reform or Prison Abolition?; Are Prisons Obsolete? New York: Seven Stories Press, P. 9-21 [12 pages]
Critical Resistance. (no date) What is Abolition? [1 page]
Prison Research Education Action Project (1976) ‘Diminishing / Dismantling the Prison System,’ from Instead of Prisons: A Handbook for Abolitionists. [4 pages].
Radical Alternatives to Prison (RAP). (1979) Editorial from the first issue of The Abolitionist.
Further reading:
Prison Research Education Action Project (1976) ‘Nine Perspectives for Prison Abolitionists’ Instead of Prisons: A Handbook for Abolitionists.
Oonagh Ryder (2018) What does Justice Look like Without Prisons? Novaramedia.com [7 pages]
David Scott / Open University / BBC Ideas (2020) What would a world without prisons look like? [Video - 5min]
Rachel Kuchner (2019) Is Prison Necessary? Ruth Wilson Gilmore might change your mind. New York Times 17 April 2019. (9 pages) Non-NYT/reposted version here.
Hajera Begum (2020) Rethinking Our Justice System: Abolition in the UK. Amaliah.com (5 pages)
Ruth Wilson Gilmore Makes the Case for Abolition. The Intercept Podcast. (Part 1: 54 min, Part 2: 31 min.) Transcript also available from link. Highly recommended.
Ruth Wilson Gilmore (2005) From Military Industrial Complex to Prison Industrial Complex: Dr. Ruth Wilson Gilmore in conversation with Trevor Paglen. Recording Carceral Landscapes Project.
Mick Ryan and Joe Sim (2007) Campaigning for and campaigning against prisons: excavating and reaffirming the case for prison abolition. In: Jewkes, Y. (ed.) Handbook on Prisons. Cullompton, Devon: Willan Publishing, pp.696-718.
Julia Sudbury (now Julia Chinyere Opara) (2000) Transatlantic Visions: Resisting the Globalization of Mass Incarceration. Social Justice 27 (3), pp.133-149.
Ware, Syrus and Joan Ruzsa and Giselle Dias, Giselle. (2014) It Can't Be Fixed Because It’s Not Broken: Racism and Disability in the Prison Industrial Complex. In: Ben-Moshe, L., Chapman, C. and Carey, A. C. (eds.) Disability Incarcerated: Imprisonment and Disability in the United States and Canada. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.163-184. [ADD SCAN)
Witlock, Kay (2016) Prison Reform Misdirection: 5 Caveats About Private Prisons and Mass Incarceration Beacon Broadside.
Session 2: What’s wrong with reform? What are non-reformist reforms?
Core Reading:
Berger, Dan and Mariame Kaba and David Stein (2017). ‘What Abolitionists do,’ Jacobinmag.com [5 pages]
Murakawa, Naomi & #BlackLivesMatter (2015) Liberals, Guns and the Roots of the U.S. Prison Explosion (2015). [Video] The Laura Flanders Show. *Note: For the purpose of the abolition versus reform discussion, the first 14 minutes are key, but if you have time, the first 21 minutes are recommended.
Ben-Moshe, Liat. (2013) The Tension Between Abolition and Reform. In: Nagel, M. E. and Nocella, A. J. (eds.) The End of Prisons: Reflections from the Decarceration Movement. Amsterdam: Value Inquiry Book Series, pp.83-92.
Kaba, Mariame (2014) ‘Police “Reforms” You Should Always Oppose’ Truth-Out. [1 page].
Abolitionist Futures (2020) Reformist Reforms vs Abolitionist Steps for Policing [1 page]
Further Reading:
John Moore (2018) Less eligibility: Why prison reform fails.
Sara Chitseko (2020) Abolition not Reformation. 4Frontproject.org (2 pages)
Maya Dukmasova (2016) ‘Abolish the police? Organizers say its less crazy than it seems’. Chicago Reader.
Ruth Wilson Gilmore (2012) ‘Don’t reform prisons, abolish them’. [Video] Remarks at CT Coalition to Stop Indefinite Detention.
Micah Herskind (2020) ‘Three Reasons Advocates Must Move Beyond Demanding Release for “Nonviolent Offenders”’ Medium.com [9 pages]
Victoria Law (2011) Protection without Police: North American Community Responses to Violence in the 1970s and Today. Upping the Anti.
Ru & Adam / London Campaign Against Police and State Violence (LCAPSV) (2020) From Minneapolis to London: Who Polices the Police?
S Lamble (2022) Bridging the gap between reformists and abolitonists: Can non-reformist reforms guide the work of prison inspectorates? Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research.
John Moore (2009) Penal Reform: A history of failure. Criminal Justice Matters. No 77, September, pages 12-13.
Session 3: Feminist, queer, antiracist approaches to abolition
Core Reading:
Critical Resistance and INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence (2008) Statement on Gender Violence and the Prison Industrial Complex [3 pages]
Richie, Beth. (2014) ‘How Anti-Violence Activism Taught Me to Become a Prison Abolitionist’ FeministWire.org. [2 pages]
Sudbury, Julia (now Julia Chinyere Opara) (2006) ‘Rethinking Antiviolence Strategies: Lessons from the Black Women’s Movement in Britain’ in Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology p. 13-24. Available from [12 pages]
Bassichis, Morgan and Alexander Lee and Dean Spade. (2011) ‘Building an Abolitionist Trans and Queer Movement with Everything We’ve Got’. In: Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex, Oakland: AK Press, p.15-19 & 33-37. [10 pages]
S Lamble (2021) The false promise of hate crime laws AbolitionistFutures.com [4 pages]
Further reading:
Dean Spade & Reina Gossett (2014) No one is Disposable: Everyday Practices of Abolition [videos]
Oonagh Ryder and Mo Mansfield (2018) “Just Paint the Walls Pink”: Gender, Prison and Carceral Feminism. Lockdown podcast.
Lydia Caradonna (2020) I don’t want my rapists to go to prison [content note: descriptions of rape)
Joshua Briond (2017) Navigating justice for sexual abuse survivors, when you're a prison abolitionist and a survivor. Afropunk.com.
Isabel Cristo (2020) Policing Doesn’t Protect Women. The New Republic.
Law, Victoria (2014) Against Carceral Feminism JacobinMag.com
S Lamble (2011) Ten Reasons to Dismantle the Prison Industrial Complex through Queer/Trans Analysis and Action. Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex.
Beth Richie (2012) Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence and America's Prison Nation. New York and London: New York University Press.
Cassandra Shaylor (2009) Neither Kind Nor Gentle: The Perils of 'Gender Responsive Justice'. In: Scraton, P. and McQulloch, J. (eds.) The Violence of Incarceration. London & New York: Routledge, p. 145-163. [18 pages]
Molly Smith and Juno Mac (2018)Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers’ Rights. (2018) Verso.
Session 4: Policing, Anti-Racism and Abolition
Core Reading:
Defund the Police [Video by Project NIA] [4 min]
Mediocre Dave (2021) Policing by Consent Abolitionist Futures. [8 pages]
Sarah Uncles (2020) The slow pace of urgent change to prevent deaths in police custody. Open Democracy. [7 pages]
Adam Elliot-Cooper (2021) Excerpt from Chapter 6: Futures of Black resistance: disruption, rebellion, abolition. Black Resistance to British Policing. Manchester University Press, p.172–183. [12 pages]
Should I call the Police? Steps to ask yourself before calling the police [2-pages]
Further reading:
Kaba, Mariame (2020) - Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police. New York Times 12 June 2020 [2 pages]
Alex Vitale (2020) The answer to police violence is not reform: Its defunding. Here’s Why. [3 pages]
Koshka Duff and Tom Kemp (2020) Would ‘Defund the Police’ Work in the UK? NovaraMedia.come
Koshka Duff & Cat Sims (2021) Abolishing the Police (An Illustrated Guide).
Gargi Bhattacharyya et al (2021) Chapter 2: Knife Crime, Prevention and Order, Empire’s Endgame: Racism and the British State. Pluto Press. [10 pages]
Connor Woodman (2020) Why do the police exist? Novara Media [5 pages]
David Whitehouse (2014) Origins of the police. libcom.org
John Moore (2021) Protecting the property of slavers: London’s first state funded police force. AbolitionistFutures.com
Remi Joseph-Salisbury and Laura Connelly (2019) Diversifying the police won’t end institutional racism. Red Pepper Magazine.
Lauren O’Neill (2020) What would happen if we defunded the police? Vice.com
Racial Capitalism and Prison Abolition (2020) Illustrated Zine.
Megan McElhone (2021) Knife Crime Prevention Orders: Punitive, not preventative. AbolitionistFutures.com
MPD150 (2020) 10 actions ideas for building a police-free-future
Andrea Ritchie, Mariame Kaba and Woods Ervin (2020) Defund the Police Toolkit. InterruptingCriminalisation.com (24 pages)
Mimi E. Kim, Megyung Chung, Shira Hassan & Andrea J. Ritchie (2021), Defund the Police - Invest in Community Care: A Guide to Alternative Mental Health Crisis Responses. InterruptingCriminalisation.com (63 pages)
Critical Resistance (2020) Abolition of Policing Workshop CriticalResistance.org
Alex S Vitale (2017) The Myth of Liberal Policing The New Inquiry.
UK Black Lives Matter (2021) Our Platform ukblm.org
Abolitionist Futures (2021) Cops in Culture Series
Session 5: Transformative Justice and Abolition
Core Reading:
Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective (2014) ‘Transformative Justice and Community Accountability’ [1 page]
Barnard Centre for Research on Women / Project NIA (2020) The modern roots of transformative justice. [8 min video]
Creative Interventions Project (2020) What is our bigger vision? (Section 1, page 16-17). Creative Interventions Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Stop Interpersonal Violence. [2 pages]
GenerationFive (2017) ‘Community Response and Accountability & ‘Transformation of Community and Social Conditions that Create and Perpetuate Violence’ in Ending Child Sexual Abuse: A Transformative Justice Handbook, p. 56-61. [6 pages]
Kai Cheng Thom (2020) What to do when you’ve been abusive. Truthout. (Also published in Beyond Survival Book] [12 pages]
Further reading:
TransformHarm.org [Resources Hub on ending violence from transformative justice perspectives]
Miriam Kaba and Shira Hassan Kaba (2019) Fumbling Towards Repair: A workbook for community accountability. AK Press.
Gaurav Jashnani, RJ Maccani and Alan Greig (2011) What does it feel like when change finally comes? Male Supremacy, Accountability & Transformative Justice. In: Chen, C.-I., Dulani, J. and Piepzna-Samarasinha, L. L. (eds.) The Revolution Starts At Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities. Brooklyn, NY: South End Press, pp.216-234. [22 pages]
Chrysalis Collective (2011) Beautiful, Difficult, Powerful: Ending Sexual Assault Through Transformative Justice. In: Chen, C.-I., Dulani, J. and Piepzna-Samarasinha, L. L. (eds.) The Revolution Starts At Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities. Brooklyn, NY: South End Press, pp.188-205. [18 pages]
Ejeris Dixon and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha (2020) Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement. AK Press
Aisha Shahida Simmons (2019) Love WITH Accountability: Digging Up the Roots of Child Sexual Abuse. AK Press
Communities Against Rape and Abuse (CARA) (2008) ‘Taking Risks: Implementing grassroots community accountability strategies’ The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Partner Abuse in Activist Communities [‘zine], p. 64-79
Mimi Kim (2011) Moving Beyond Critique: Creative Interventions and Reconstructions of Community Accountability. Social Justice 37 (4), pp.14-35.
E. L. Kelly (2011) Philly Stands Up: Inside the Politics and Poetics of Transformative Justice and Community Accountability in Sexual Assault Situations. Social Justice 37 (4), pp.44-57.
Ruth Morris (2000) Stories of Transformative Justice. Toronto, Canadian Scholars' Press.
Session 6: Everday Abolition
Core Reading:
Barnard Center for Research on Women / Project NIA (2020) Everyday Practices of Transformative Justice [video]. Featuring Shira Hassan, Martina Kartman, Rachel Herzing, Mia Mingus, Priya Rai, Lea Roth, and Sonya Shah. [14min]
S Lamble (2021) Practicing Everyday Abolition. In: Abolishing the Police. Edited by Koshka Duff & Illustrated by Cat Sims. Dog Section Press, p. 147-160. [13 pages]
Dean Spade (2020) Three Key Elements of Mutual Aid. Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During this crisis and the next, p. 9- 20.
Mia Mingus (2020) Pods and Pod-Mapping Worksheet. In: Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement, Edited by Ejeris Dixon and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. Oakland, AK press,p. 119-125. [6 pages]
Ann Russo (2019) Chapter 6: Everyday Responses to Everyday Violence. Feminist Accountability: Disrupting Violence and Transforming Power. New York: New York University Press, p. 132-142. [10 pages]
Everyday Examples:
Good Night Out
A project to help nightlife and festival spaces to better understand, respond to, and prevent sexual harassment and assault, through specialist training, policy support and an accreditation programme.DIY Space for London: Accountability Handbook
This handbook provides a good model for setting up safer spaces and accountability processes for social centres and venues.Hollaback! Bystander Interventions
Hollaback offers training and resources on how to safely intervene in situations of harassment.Fireweed Collective: Crisis Toolkit
Great resources on how to prepare for and respond to crisis, particularly around mental health needs.Audre Lorde Project: Safer Party Toolkit
The “Safe Outside the System” project is based in New York but provides some great resources that can be used more widely, such as the safer party toolkit, wellness and safety planning, safer home toolkit.SWARM: How to support victims of domestic violence without calling the police.
Creative Interventions Toolkit
Practical guidance and resources to stop interpersonal violence without relying on police.