This two-part workshop entitled begins on 9/13/25, the anniversary of the Attica uprising and massacre, with an in-depth exploration of the history of incarceration, the racist and economic underpinnings of the prison system, the human rights violations that define it, and the history of resistance behind the walls. The workshop will focus on grassroots organizing outside the walls and the impact of incarceration on individuals, families, and communities. We will examine campaigns and their goals, victories and losses, power mapping, and the road to abolition. The final phase of this learning journey will critique the rule of law, exploring how it can be a useful tool and how it can impede progress towards abolition. 

This interactive workshop squarely addresses social justice by pulling the covers back and questioning the basic tenets of the "need” for incarceration, championing resistance to it, and centering the importance of those most directly impacted by it—to wit, Black and Brown people—being the leaders and architects of its abolition. The workshop will dispel notions of white male supremacy, racism, and sexism, and will examine human rights violations in the context of mass incarceration, and the work to abolish it.