Interdependent Study

Our learning and unlearning work on abolition and abolitionist organizing continues in this two-episode series. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the first half of a new resource binder called “So is this Actually an Abolitionist Proposal or Strategy?: A collection of resources to aid in evaluation and reflection” by Interrupting Criminalization, Project NIA, and Critical Resistance, which offers a variety of tools from a range of sources across the scope of movement work toward the abolition of the prison industrial complex. In this episode, we discuss the first four sections—Basic Principles, Policing & Crisis Response, Detentions & Imprisonment, and Courts & Prosecution—and how we can utilize what we learn from this incredible resource guide in our work for social justice and collective liberation. 

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In the pre-Roe v. Wade era, a group of women risked their lives to support other women in need of abortions and reproducive healthcare. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the documentary “The Janes”, which tells the story of a Chicago-based organization that provided safe, affordable, illegal abortions and counseling to approximately 11,000 women in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and what this abolitionist organization inspires and teaches us about the work necessary for social justice and collective liberation. 

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Abortion and reproductive rights are fundamental human rights. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss various articles, including The Washington Post Editorial Board’s “The Supreme Court’s radical abortion ruling begins a dangerous new era” and Gwen Snyder’s “The Sinister Connection Between Abortion Rights, White Supremacy, and Covid” in Jezebel, and what this recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade means for all of us and our society moving forward. 

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The Electoral College is a flawed and vulnerable institution that played a dangerous role in what took place at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss an article by Kate Shaw in The Atlantic called “The Other Cause of January 6th”, and what we learn about the history and use of the Electoral College during our country’s elections and in the events leading up to the insurrection, and why we should abolish the institution and create a new election process. 

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Our learning and unlearning work about the prison industrial complex continues. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the Chicago Prison Industrial Complex Teaching Collective’s “Prison Industrial Complex 101 Curriculum", which consists of a zine and workshop guide designed to engage and educate folks about the impact of the prison industrial complex on all of us and our society, and how we can use this incredible resource to support our continued work for abolition, social justice, and collective liberation. 

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Gun violence and the power and influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA) are troublesome and dangerous challenges facing our country. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss the documentary “The Price of Freedom”, which examines the gun violence epidemic in America and the role that the NRA has played in this crisis, and what we learn about the history, evolution, and power of the NRA and the fight for common sense gun reform in this country that compels our continued and necessary work for safety, liberation, and freedom for all of us. 

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The importance of having safe, thriving, and transformative schools requires that we actively work to end the school-to-prison pipeline. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss an Urban Review: Issues and Ideas in Public Education journal article by Erica R. Meiners called “Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline/Building Abolition Futures”, and what this scholarly work offers us as we continue to learn about all facets of the school-to-prison pipeline and embrace and push for abolitionist ways to create a better and more just society for our children and communities. 

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Thirteen people were shot, ten of them killed at the grocery store in Buffalo, New York on Saturday, May 14, 2022 by an 18-year old avowed white supemacist. Eleven of those shot during this domestic terrorist attack were Black. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss an article by Keeanga Yamahtta-Taylor in The New Yorker called “American Racism and the Buffalo Shooting”, an article by Kathleen Belew in The Atlantic called “White Power, White Violence”, and an article by Ibram X. Kendi in The Atlantic called “The Double Terror of Being Black in America”, and reflect on what this horrific and tragic terrorist attack demands of all of us as we continue to work to dismantle white supremacy in this country. 

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The calls to cancel student loan debt have been national news for years, and the work being done to demand the cancellation of student loan debt is only getting stronger. Listen as Aaron and Damien discuss a number of media related to this topic, including “Who Really Benefits From Student-Loan Forgiveness?” by Jerusalem Demsas in The Atlantic, “It’s not too late for Biden to become an anti-racist president” by Andre M. Perry and Carl Romer in The Boston Globe, “Republicans Admit Biden Can Cancel Student Debt” by David Dayen in The American Prospect, and more, and what makes canceling student loan debt, which impacts over 43 million Americans, a critical social justice issue that needs to be addressed. 

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