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.
Note: This article was written in the winter of 2021 for Issue 34 of The Abolitionist newspaper, and serves as a central analysis piece grounding the entire issue. The Abolitionist is sent to thousands…
We are thrilled to announce that our winter issue of The Abolitionist (#34) has gone to print and is currently being mailed out to about 5,000 subscribers, 4500 of whom…
We are pleased to announce that our latest Issue of The Abolitionist (#33) is finally being mailed out to our readers right now! Help us send it free to…
Issue 33 of The Abolitionist features pieces on the COVID-19 pandemic and introduces the newspaper’s new structure, including a section of new, regular columns. The feature pieces of this issue offer critical…
We are pleased to announce that Issue 32 of The Abolitionist is finally being mailed out to our readers right now! Help us send it free to over 7,000…
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…
On Monday July 16th, prisoners began hunger strikes at Bertie CI in Windsor, Scotland CI in Laurinburg, and Central Prison in Raleigh (North Carolina). Targeting a wide range of conditions…