Launched in the spring of 2005 by the Oakland Chapter, The Abolitionist is a bilingual (English/Spanish) publication and organizing tool for prisoners, dedicated to the strategy and practice of prison industrial complex abolition. Paid subscriptions from people outside of prison allow us to distribute the paper three times per year absolutely free of charge to over 5,500 people in prisons, jails, and detention centers throughout the US and internationally, who in turn share the paper with many more of their fellow prisoners. The Abolitionist Editorial Collective is now a national workgroup of Critical Resistance, with members across the US. As George Jackson said: “The point is…in the face of what we confront, to fight and win. That’s the real objective: not just to make statements, no matter how noble, but to destroy the system that oppresses us. By any means available to us. And to do this, we must be connected, in contact and communication with those in the struggle on the outside.”
Three times per year, Critical Resistance prints different issues of The Abolitionist, exploring a range of topics related to the strategy and struggle of PIC abolition. From analyses of racial capitalism and imperialism, to housing, education, land struggles, mental health, confronting gender violence, fights to build life-affirming infrastructure for community self-determination and more, each issue is packed with fresh analytical articles, reflections, poetry, visual art, and organizing resources and tools for resistance inside and outside of prisons.
Learn more about the project here.
We’re excited to announce that Issue 30 of The Abolitionist Newspaper is on its way to publication in the next two weeks! This issue is themed “Tearing Down the Walls…
The latest issue of The Abolitionist paper is out! Subscribe today to get your copy, and support people in prisons, jails, and detention centers getting it for free. Issue 29…
With a theme of “Organizing Against Fascism,” Issue 28 packs a punch with writings by political prisoner Herman Bell and other imprisoned authors, transcriptions of recent talks by Ruthie Gilmore, Mariame Kaba,…
Our latest issue of The Abolitionist Newspaper has finally arrived! Issue 27 is themed around the Black Panther Party’s Ten Point Program, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the…
Download The Abolitionist Issue 26 in English or Spanish The ground is shifting beneath us. The harm and violence of the prison industrial complex (PIC) – including policing, imprisonment, and…
Welcome to Issue 25 of The Abolitionist ! This issue we delve into “Policing and Abolition” with hard hitting pieces from powerful authors like Fred Moten, Robin D.G. Kelley, Rachel…
Download in English or Español “Prison abolition is an intentional and critical commitment to struggle, but it is also a battle of imagination, creativity, and love. It is about possibilities.…
Download in English or Español “Placing the PIC at the center of the way that we think about capitalism troubles the lie at the heart of capitalist ideology—the notion capitalism…
Welcome to issue 22 of the Abolitionist, our first paper of 2014. As we go to production in the month of March we are inspired and motivated by the history…
DOWNLOAD ISSUE 21! Download in English or Descargar en Español As we step ever onward toward a world without the violence of policing, surveillance, prison and the social and economic…