Ep. 53 - Police Abolition ft. Ariel Atkins

BrownTown finally tackles a much discussed topic on this podcast
as well as in recent weeks, police abolition. Ariel Atkins, Lead
Organizer of Black Lives Matter Chicago shares her thoughts and
experiences since the global uprising against police brutality
and white supremacy following the police killing of George Floyd.
The gang discusses how we got to this moment, the broader
movement for Black lives, coronavirus implications, reforming vs.
defunding vs. abolishing police, and much more. All three share
their thoughts and experiences since the global uprising against
police brutality and white supremacy following the police killing
of George Floyd. In explaining the current resurgence for the
Black Lives Matter movement, Caullen sets the stage theorizing on
coronavirus/quarantine breaking the trust privileged people had
in the system (paraphrased from Heather McGhee) while Ariel
explains the snowball of international uprisings in 2019
(shoutout Hong Kong, Chile, and Venezuela).


Full episode transcription here!


Ariel and BrownTown soon bring it home to Chicago, breaking down
riots/rebellions as "language of the unheard" (MLK), critiquing
Mayor Lori Lightfoot's draconian measures to quell Chicago
protests and unwillingness to budge on getting police out of
schools, Latinx and Black communities coming together after
police manipulation of Latinx gangs, and more. Social media has
been a firestorm of information, performative allyship, and a
spark for real conversations and politicization. With this, the
gang shares their on and offline interactions, explain #8CantWait
vs. #8toAbolition, and what everyone can do to unapologetically
show up for Black lives, fight white supremacy and anti-Blackness
in all their insidious and invisible forms so that we all get
free. Originally recorded June 15, 2020.


GUEST
Ariel Atkins is a lead organizer of Black Lives Matter Chicago
and was very active in the #NoCopAcademy campaign. She is also a
hardcore anime and comic book nerd.


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On Abolition: We would not be where we
are in this moment if not for the centuries of work from our
ancestors and decades of work from living legends such as Black
Feminists Angela Y. Davis, Mariame Kaba, and Ruth Wilson Gilmore.
In short, abolition is "about presence, not absence. It's about
building life-affirming institutions" (Gilmore). We want to
abolish these harmful systems in their current form and radically
reshape our social and political structures to equitably meet our
needs with respect to our natural environment. More than a
political vision, abolition is a way of life that replaces
carceral logics in virtually every aspect of our lives with
restorative practices and ideologies.


Abolition Resources and Topics Mentioned


Abolition 101 Guide (article) - MPD150


Yes, We Literally Mean Abolish the Police (article) -
Mariame Kaba


Is Prison Necessary? (article) - Ruth Wilson Gilmore


Making Meaning in this Moment (video town hall) - Rising
Majority

A Community Compilation on Police Abolition (zine) - Sarah-Ji
and Monica Trinidad of For the People Artists Collective


Confessions of a Bastard Cop (article) - Anonymous


Are Prisons Obsolete? (book) - Angela Y. Davis


Carceral Capitalism (book) - Jackie Wang


The End of Policing (book) - Alex Vitale


Who do you Serve, Who do you Protect? (book) - Maya
Schenwar


Fumbling Towards Repair (workbook) - Mariame Kaba and
Shira Hassan


White Supremacist Infiltration of US Polices Forces
(article) - Danielle Schulkin

Compiled Read, Watch, Listen Spreadsheet

Transformharm.org

8toAbolition.com

CriticalResistance.org

SurvivedandPunished.org



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Follow Ariel on Instagram and Black Lives Matter Chicago on their
site, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.


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CREDITS: Intro music and engineering by Genta
Tamashiro with audio snippets of Ariel, recorded by Caullen
Hudson. Outro song Proll'ems by two-time Bourbon 'n
BrownTown alum and Chi DNA subject Tweak'G. Podcast audio
engineering by Genta Tamashiro. Episode photo by Jim Vondruska.


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