Abolition 101

What is abolition?

Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) abolition is a socio-political vision tasked with the goal of eliminating imprisonment, policing, and surveillance, in order to create lasting alternatives to punishment and harm. Much of the lineage of abolition is a result of the intellectual labor and organizing of people targeted by the prison industrial complex, yet abolition is a strategy that all folx can-- and should-- adopt.

Abolition is a commitment to ending cycles of harm. It asks us to redefine safety, justice, and relationship in our intimate and institutional environments. Abolition requires us to build staunch relationships with our community and environment. Abolition is relationship. 

Like anything we wish to be better at; sports, math, cooking, dancing,... we need to practice. Practicing abolition, calls for daily actions that strengthen our commitment to ending cycles of harm. The Prisoner’s Apothecary teaches us abolitionist strategy through the lived experience of plants, their natural relationships and the stories they tell. Sometimes those teachings are direct perceptions, sometimes they are metaphors. Abolition, like growing a plant, requires daily attention and care. Love, hope, compassion, social equity-- like a garden- need practice, time and nurturing to fully blossom. Be kind to yourself as you navigate a world constructed to normalize harm.