This workshop introduces the concept of police and prison abolition as, in the words of Ruth Wilson Gilmore, “…about presence, not absence.” Through guided activities, participants will understand policing—in all its varied forms—as an inherent form of violence, one that actually makes our communities less safe. Participants will think through the kinds of resources—mental health care, public education, housing, etc.—that can actually prevent violence, creating broader safety in our communities, without police and prisons.
About Benji Hart
Benji Hart is a Massachusetts-born, Chicago-based author, artist, and educator whose work centers Black radicalism, queer liberation, and prison abolition. Their words have appeared in numerous anthologies, including Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief (AK Press), And the Cateogory Is…: Inside New York’s Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community (Beacon Press), and Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: Second Edition (Oxford University Press). Their commentary has been published at Time, Teen Vogue, The Advocate, The Funambulist, In These Times, Autostraddle, Sixty Inches from Center, and The Chicago Reader.
Additional Resources
Before the workshop, you can optionally read, watch, or listen to any of these resources for additional background knowledge.
- You Are Already an Abolitionist (Radical Faggot)
- How Much Do We Need the Police? (NPR)
- How I Became a Police Abolitionist (The Atlantic)
- What the Prison-Abolition Movement Wants (Teen Vogue)
- Thinking about How to Abolish Prisons with Mariame Kaba (“Why Is This Happening?” podcast and transcript, MSNBC)
- Defund Police (Project NIA)
