See this year’s Week of Abolition programming:
- 03.03.25 | Abolitionist Horizons
- 03.04.25 | Prison Break
- 03.06.25 | Abolitionist Economy
- 03.07.25 | Abolitionist Justice
Additional details and flyers below.
03.03.25 (Mon) | 12:15-1:20PM
WCC 1023
A panel featuring Rachel Herzing, organizer, activist, and advocate fighting the violence of surveillance, policing and imprisonment; D Dangaran, the director of Gender Justice at Rights Behind Bars; and Walter Johnson, Winthrop Professor of History and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard. This panel will discuss abolitionist futures and work of building abolition as a lodestar in our daily lives and legal practices.
See the HLS event posting here.
03.04.25 (Tue) | 12:15-1:20PM
Pound 100
A lay-friendly overview of plea strikes and jury nullification, two (extra-)legal strategies that everyday people can use to crash the carceral system. The panel features Andrew Crespo and Premal Dharia from the Institute to End Mass Incarceration and Kira Kelley, defense attorney and jury nullification expert. Lunch provided.
See the HLS event posting here.
03.06.25 (Thu) | 12:15-1:20PM
WCC 3019
Join us for a discussion on the current state of carceral capitalism and what folks are doing to combat it! A panel featuring Tomasso Bardelli, co-author of Abolition Labor, and Sisi Jean Baptiste, Program Manager at Haley House. Lunch (and books!) provided.
See the HLS event posting here.
03.07.25 (Fri) | 12:15-1:20PM
WCC 1010
The Abolitionist Justice: Alternative Responses to Harm Panel will explore how the carceral system inadequately addresses and perpetuates interpersonal violence and instances of harm. We will discuss alternative responses and prevention strategies, approaches to justice, and anti-carceral mindsets that better facilitate personal and societal healing. Kevin Keo, Restorative Justice Circle Keeper with the Transformational Prison Project and advocate for increased oversight of Massachusetts Corrections will join us, both teaching us about the failures of carceral system and leading us in interactive demonstrations of the methods used in Restorative Justice Circles. Clarissa Turner, founder of Legacy Lives On, will share her experiences leading an organization dedicated to supporting communities after instances of loss and violence and facilitating healing, education, and progress.
See the HLS event posting here.