A review by bookishmillennial
Abolition for the People: The Movement for a Future without Policing & Prisons by Colin Kaepernick

hopeful informative reflective fast-paced
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

"Who taught you that prison was justice (outside of the Old Testament axiom of "an eye for an eye") for people who live in the headlines like I once did. Who taught you that prison was justice for any human? Where did you learn that police equates to public safety? Where di you first hear that vengeance is what healing and accountability looks like?" (p. 211, Marlon Peterson "Who Is Being Healed? Creating solutions is about answering questions prisons never asked")

A great introduction to what abolition is, including statistics on why the police and many institutions are not here to protect us, and are indeed doing way more harm. This is filled with essays from many activists, writers, and more who believe in a better future for us all. 

I am somewhat of a visual learner, so I especially appreciated the sections of statistics interspersed throughout the essays. Here are some of them:
  • looking at the representation of people of color in cop tv-shows, in TV writers' rooms
  • the rate in which Black people are stopped by police (it's more than twice the rate for white people)
  • the statistics of how Black people are subjected to higher rates of police surveillance, violence, and arrest
  • data on how schools act as carceral spaces for Black children
  • how the misdemeanor systems contributes to over-criminalization and mass incarceration 
  • the injustices and second-class citizen treatment of incarcerated folks
  • how probation and parole continue this cycle

There are also resources noted at the end of each essay, which I found so helpful and hopeful. It shows you that so many organizations and activists are already doing such vital work in community care, advocacy, and healing. 

I highly recommend this <3 
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