UPDATED WITH VIDEO OF THE WEBINAR! The fight for prison abolition is deeply connected to Black liberation. Black people make up only three (3) percent of the general population, but ten (10) percent of the prison population. This overrepresentation does not stop at incarceration. It is present at every level of the carceral system, including carding, pre-trial detention, plea bargains, length of sentence, segregation while detained, denial of parole, and length of community supervision. There can be no prisoner justice without racial justice and no racial justice without prisoner justice.
Black communities throughout history have been leaders in the movement to abolish prisons and demand justice for prisoners. Their works have informed prison abolitionists around the world – highlighting not only the dangers of the carceral system but providing transformative models for alternatives.
In this webinar, we will hear from Black community leaders who will reflect on the history of Black liberation and abolition, and learn about the movements being led by Black people here on Turtle Island.
#BlackPrisonerLivesMatter
#AllBlackLivesMatter
SPEAKERS
⭐️ Viviane Saleh-Hanna, Professor and Chairperson of Crime and Justice Studies at UMass Dartmouth
⭐️ Ashanti Omowali Alston, Black Liberation Army & Black Panther Party
⭐️ Sandy Hudson, Black Lives Matter-Toronto & Black Legal Action Centre
⭐️ Robyn Maynard, Abolition Coalition; Author, “Policing Black Lives”
⭐️ Morgan Switzer-Rodney, BlackChat Vancouver
⭐️ Moderated by Syrus Marcus-Ware, artist, activist, scholar; BLM-TO; Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project; Abolition Coalition
TAKE ACTION
⭐️ Donate to the Prisoner Emergency Support Fund:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/prisoner-emergency-support-fund
⭐️ Read about and register for the We Take Care of Each Other: Community Forum to Organize Alternatives to Policing in Toronto:
https://tinyurl.com/communityforumTO
