In 2022, Critical Resistance (CR) advanced our work to shut down prisons in California, to resist the grip of immigrant detention in New York, and to continue building strong political relationships with imprisoned people through our prisoner correspondence programs and written resources. Amidst constantly shifting conditions, we’ve remained steady in our work and commitment to prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition.
In addition to our current statewide campaigns, CR released two bilingual issues of The Abolitionist newspaper, which were distributed to over 4,500 people inside prisons, jails, and detention centers for free. These issues on housing justice and labor organizing were accompanied by in-person events in our New York City and Los Angeles chapters (respectively) that brought together housing justice organizers, labor organizers, striking students and faculty, and community members.
We have also taken many steps to further strengthen CR’s internal organizing and praxis-building. We had an in-person staff retreat for the first time since the pandemic began, the organization restructured our regular member calls to sharpen our analysis-building, and we have immersed ourselves in an updated political education curriculum. Across our campaigns, projects, and internal formations, we have been hard at work to strengthen the political organizing of our members and the PIC abolitionist movement at large.
As 2023 is underway, we wanted to share this compilation of campaign and project updates, political education resources, and more from 2022. We constantly refer back to these materials in our analysis-building and organizing, and we hope you will too.
This year, we will continue our strategic campaign organizing, project work, and movement building that we have been spearheading. We look forward to closing more California prisons, resisting immigrant detention in New York, connecting with imprisoned organizers, and fostering connections with movement partners. Your involvement in this work is crucial, and we invite you to support CR’s organizing toward the long-term vision and practical organizing strategy of PIC abolition for years to come. Thank you for sustaining us with your actions, resources, and commitment!
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In solidarity,
-Mohamed Shehk, Woods Ervin, and Shirley Leslie (CR National Co-Directors),
Nick DeRenzi (Development Assistant),
and CR National Fundraisers