Scan barcode
persnickety_9's review against another edition
3.0
This was a really interesting collection of essays/speeches regarding imprisonment. Many authors pointed out how fascist and dehumanizing prison is when you consider the cutoff from the rest of the world, the lack of real medical care, solitary confinement, etc. Prison is not about rehabilitation; it’s punitive and hurts people.
I also was interested by Davis’s point of many activists actually being political prisoners and the Folsom Prison Manifesto. Another great piece was “I Bring an Indictment Against the American System” by the Reverend Ralph Abernathy.
“If they come for you in the morning, they come for us at night” was an incredibly powerful statement. Essentially, if we allow these injustices to happen to people like Angela Davis (who, again, is a complete badass), they will come for the “common” folk next. It is about thinking collectively, not just individually, to sustain a movement for justice. We are not free until we are all free.
Also, in case you forgot, our “justice system” is actually incredibly effed up.
I also was interested by Davis’s point of many activists actually being political prisoners and the Folsom Prison Manifesto. Another great piece was “I Bring an Indictment Against the American System” by the Reverend Ralph Abernathy.
“If they come for you in the morning, they come for us at night” was an incredibly powerful statement. Essentially, if we allow these injustices to happen to people like Angela Davis (who, again, is a complete badass), they will come for the “common” folk next. It is about thinking collectively, not just individually, to sustain a movement for justice. We are not free until we are all free.
Also, in case you forgot, our “justice system” is actually incredibly effed up.
eabhawall's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.25
heidi_'s review against another edition
5.0
"[W]hen formal considerations of order are placed above justice, it is usually disorder which prevails. On the other hand, out of a true and sincere respect for justice, order naturally flows."
Angela's strength of conviction is refreshing and contagious. She is clear and uncompromising in her assessment of her own case, those of political prisoners at large, and the status allotted to Black people within the U.S. Along with her co-authors, she addresses the a priori culpability rendered to Black 'criminals', who dare to transgress the societal rules which keep them in poverty. The carceral system serves as an instrument of state power, leaving prison abolition as the final recourse for millions to access justice.
It's difficult to fully grasp that these excerpts were written 50 years ago. We're still dealing with the same nonsense, if not an amplified version. Since this book was first edited, we've witnessed mass incarceration and police brutality intensify by many factors of magnitude. Wealth and income inequality have magnified in tandem. I would hope that with the events of the past year, a greater collective consciousness is forming around the urgent need to dismantle harmful institutions to make space for a socialist future.
"[O]ur fundamental strategy ought to consist...in abolishing the property relations which allow those few to hoard wealth while the masses of Black people eke out their existence at an extremely low economic level. We must destroy the institutions in which racism and exploitation are crystalized and project at the same time new institutions which will allow us to be free."
Angela's strength of conviction is refreshing and contagious. She is clear and uncompromising in her assessment of her own case, those of political prisoners at large, and the status allotted to Black people within the U.S. Along with her co-authors, she addresses the a priori culpability rendered to Black 'criminals', who dare to transgress the societal rules which keep them in poverty. The carceral system serves as an instrument of state power, leaving prison abolition as the final recourse for millions to access justice.
It's difficult to fully grasp that these excerpts were written 50 years ago. We're still dealing with the same nonsense, if not an amplified version. Since this book was first edited, we've witnessed mass incarceration and police brutality intensify by many factors of magnitude. Wealth and income inequality have magnified in tandem. I would hope that with the events of the past year, a greater collective consciousness is forming around the urgent need to dismantle harmful institutions to make space for a socialist future.
"[O]ur fundamental strategy ought to consist...in abolishing the property relations which allow those few to hoard wealth while the masses of Black people eke out their existence at an extremely low economic level. We must destroy the institutions in which racism and exploitation are crystalized and project at the same time new institutions which will allow us to be free."
crickets's review against another edition
5.0
Inspiring and essential analysis of the role of prison and the policing of black populations. The writings of Davis and her comrades are, sadly, just as relevant today as they were when these texts were first published. Truly a must-read!
stacysma's review against another edition
5.0
Listening to abolition and thinking about all my sisters and brothers currently being detained as political prisoners in China. I wonder what Angela Davis and many other Black Panthers think about Mao and China now.
scottpnh10's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
marisa_why's review against another edition
5.0
Davis includes compiling this collection while in prison in her autobiography, describing it as educational material to be used for organizing for Black Liberation at that time.
Reading this about 50 years later, it's still valuable as educational material, though for slightly different purposes—I think this abolitionist movement isn't as well-known by people my age. Before spending time on the interrelated stories of political prisoners of the time, we read thoughtful prison abolitionist analysis that ties the stories together. We learn from the letters of support from major thinkers of the time.
Reading this about 50 years later, it's still valuable as educational material, though for slightly different purposes—I think this abolitionist movement isn't as well-known by people my age. Before spending time on the interrelated stories of political prisoners of the time, we read thoughtful prison abolitionist analysis that ties the stories together. We learn from the letters of support from major thinkers of the time.