We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses structural racism and racist violence, including police shootings, as well as sexual violence.

Kaba notes that the abolition of the prison system has become a major political issue in the United States. While some might find it too drastic a solution, it is a necessary component in rebuilding a newer and more just society. A revolution does not just tear down oppressive systems, it builds up equitable systems in their place. It imagines an alternative way to keep citizens safe rather than relying exclusively on the armed agents of the state. Prison abolitionists believe that incarceration does not make people safer—and in many respects renders them less safe—because it ignores the root structural causes of social harm. Kaba adds that, while imprisonment identifies the crime with the individual perpetrator, prisons are instead “built to hide away social and political failures” (4). Engaging in genuine social action helps to break down the ideologies that perpetuate prisons and other injustices, permitting experimentation with entirely different structures and ways of organizing social life. Thus, for Kaba, revolution is not about reforming prisons, or even just abolishing them: It is about abolishing the oppressive structures of which prison are just one manifestation.