On Thursday, March 3, 2022, Mother Jones’ deputy editor, James West, is hosting a special live event for readers that is not to be missed.
He’ll be sitting down with Black Lives Matter co-founder (and so much more) Patrisse Cullors, who has zeroed in on a related pursuit and passion: abolishing prisons, jails, police, courts, and surveillance as we know it. Her new book, An Abolitionist’s Handbook, offers 12 steps in the form of a guidebook that everyday activists can use to fight for an abolitionist present and future—and her bold, humanistic approach can be previewed in a recent essay for Variety.
“When people hear the word abolitionist,” Patrisse writes, “they usually think of slavery.” As with abolishing slavery, she argues, there can be no compromise, no half measures, and no rest. Is “defund the police” a literal call for a total, complete shutdown? For Patrisse and other abolitionists: absolutely. “This is not about fixing a broken system, we are not looking for better food or more access to education in prison. We are looking to abolish the entire system.”
Sign up for the free event on Thursday, March 3, 2022, at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT to receive a reminder and link to watch afterward if you can’t join live, and use the form below to let James know what questions or thoughts you have in advance so he and Patrisse can unpack them with you and your fellow MoJo readers during the live discussion.
