The upEND Podcast

It is commonly believed that the first child welfare system was created in 1874 in response to the abuse of a girl named Mary Ellen Wilson, but there’s actually more to that story. 

In the second episode of Season 1, we investigate the early history of the child welfare system from the time of emancipation during the mid-19th century through the early 20th century. 

About our Guests: 

Dorothy Roberts is a distinguished professor of Africana Studies, Law & Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of the award-winning books Killing the Black Body, Shattered Bonds, and most recently, Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—And How Abolition Can Build a Safer World.

Geoff Ward is a Professor of African and African-American Studies and the director of the WashU & Slavery Project at Washington University in St. Louis. His scholarship examines the haunting legacies of historical racial violence and implications for redress. His award-winning book, The Black Child Savers: Racial Democracy and Juvenile Justice, examines the rise, fall and lasting remnants of Jim Crow Juvenile Justice. 

Episode Notes:

Family separation was a key issue used to advance the movement to end slavery in the United States, and the family policing system builds upon slavery’s foundation, attacking the humanity of families seen as undesirable. In the first episode of Season 1, we explore the notion of abolition then and now, and the idea of abolition as a project of not just removal, but also creation of the society we all deserve. 

About Our Guests: 

Professor Ndjuoh MehChu teaches torts, civil rights law, critical race theory, and remedies at Seton Hall Law School. His scholarship explores ways to shore up protections for marginalized groups in the carceral state. Ndjuoh was formerly a legal fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center where he helped incarcerated people press their claims to improve their conditions of confinement and worked on issues involving educational equity in K-12 schools. 

Dr. Vanessa M. Holden is an Associate Professor of History and African American and Africana Studies at the University of Kentucky where she is the Director of the Central Kentucky Slavery Initiative. Dr. Holden is the author of “Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Resistance in Nat Turner’s Community. 

Episode Notes: 

Credits: 

Hosts: Josie Pickens & Jaison Oliver

Producer: Sydnie Mares

Editor: Imani Crosby

So, what is family policing abolition?

Cohosts Josie Pickens and Jaison Oliver introduce The upEND Podcast and give an overview of what listeners can expect in the first season of the upEND podcast which will release monthly episodes starting in September 2023.   

Episode guest Alan Dettlaff is a professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, where he also served as Dean from 2015 to 2022. Alan began his career as a social worker in the family policing system, where he worked as an investigative caseworker and administrator. Today his work focuses on ending the harm that results from this system. In 2020, he helped to create and launch the upEND Movement, a collaborative effort dedicated to abolishing the family policing system and building alternatives that focus on healing and liberation.

Episode Notes: