Starting on 27 May, we are launching a 3-part webinar series that will bring together activists from diverse movements and regions to explore and share their thoughts, experiences, and practices of abolitionist politics.
“As a society, we have long turned away from any social concern that overwhelms us…Years of this practice have now left us with endless wars, dying oceans, and millions of people in bondage and oppressively policed. It is time for a thorough, unflinching examination of what our society has wrought and what we have become. It is time to envision and create alternatives to the hellish conditions our society has brought into being.” – Mariame Kaba
Black movements, particularly in the USA, have long called for the abolition of prisons and police. Similarly, Mad and disability movements have fought for the end of institutions and psychiatric abolition, while emphasising the need to build alternatives rooted in community. The failure of systems such as policing, capitalism, and psychiatry to protect or benefit the majority of people has led many activists and movements to view them as inherently unjust and violent. Despite these shared struggles, movements often remain disconnected from each other.
As social conditions worsen and the need for cross-movement organising becomes more urgent, there is an enormous need to learn from each other’s histories, strategies, and political traditions. What does an abolitionist framework actually mean, and how does it apply across different issues and regions? What can movements learn from each other’s histories, strategies, and political traditions?
Join us for this three-part webinar series to explore these questions and hear from activists and organisers embedded in different social movements.
27th May, 4 pm CEST – What is abolition and why it matters?
In conversation with Dr Stephanie Davis (Healing Justice London, UK) and Dr Priya Raghavan (Institute of Development Studies, UK), we will discuss the history and roots of abolitionist activism, what it means for contemporary activism, its practice in different struggles and regions, and the debates and difficulties within and beyond abolitionist activism.
3rd June, 4 pm CEST – Abolition across struggles: prisons, police, and beyond
This session will bring together Kokila Annamalai (Transformative Justice Collective, Singapore) and Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu (Project LETS, USA) to talk about their practice of abolitionist politics within anti-death penalty activism, labour rights, and psychiatric abolition spaces. It will focus on what abolition looks like in different struggles, how it operates in practice, and what activists from different movements can learn from each other.
10th June, 4 pm CEST – Building the world we want: Abolition in practice
This session will focus on a key tenet of abolitionist activism—building life-affirming institutions and systems. Chelsea Jackson (Cradle Community, UK) and activists from YoNoFui (Argentina) will talk about their experiences with mutual aid, transformative justice, and care work as a way to build alternatives to unjust systems.
All sessions will last one hour. International sign interpretation, Real-time captioning, and English-Spanish interpretation will be provided.
We look forward to welcoming you and hope you will join us as we engage in this exciting conversation.
Mad Thinking 