Join us Friday, May 5 in San Francisco, CA
or online via livestream
to celebrate 25 Years of Critical Resistance!
Dear Friends & Supporters of Critical Resistance,

In the past 25 years of struggle since Critical Resistance’s first conference in 1998, Critical Resistance has made numerous gains against the prison industrial complex (PIC) with coalitions and movement partners around the world.
A flyer with a gradient dark red background that fades to plum. Three square-shaped illustrations of CR's anti-prison campaigns in California over the past 25 years, stacked vertically on top of one another on the left side of the flyer. A light red, three-layered arrow with CR’s logo (a critical eye) on top of the foreground arrow point to the text: “In the past 25 years…Critical Resistance (CR) halted California’s 20-year prison building boom through the Stop Delano II campaign (1998-2008). We starved the California prison system of millions of dollars intended for new cages and cofounded the now-70-organization-strong Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) coalition. Now CR is working with CURB to close at least 10 prisons by 2025, which would cut the state’s capacity to cage our communities by at least one-third.” Underneath the text is a silhouette illustration of a press conference in Sacramento to close CA prisons, with a CR member speaking. She is a Black-Latinx queer person with a denim jacket and dark black curly hair. Three other organizers—all people of color—stand alongside her holding anti-prison signs with tints of bright sunrise shades fading behind them. Below, text about the event follows in a textbox with the same background colors but in a reversed gradient. In the lower row of the bottom part of the flyer, text reads: “Toward Abolitionist Horizons” in gold handwriting-style font above block letters with shadow of “25 Years of Critical Resistance” in light blue and white in the lower lefthand corner; The date of the event (Friday May 5) is in a blue circle with larger burgundy font. An icon of two tickets and the link with QR code are underneath the event title: “bit.ly/CriticalResistance25.”
In the past 25 years, we’ve halted California’s 20-year prison building boom through leading the Stop Delano II campaign (1998-2008), starving the California prison system of millions of dollars intended for new cages and then cofounding the now-70-organization-strong Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) coalition.
In the past 25 years, Critical Resistance (CR) has also resisted jail expansion coast to coast across the US. All the while, CR has built power across cages with imprisoned people for PIC abolition. In the past 25 years, we have worked to erode the power of policing through concrete organizing victories and model anti-policing campaigns and projects.

Now Critical Resistance is working with CURB to close at least 10 prisons by 2025, which would cut the state’s capacity to cage our people by at least one-third.  
Working now to cancel Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracts with New York prisons and jails throughout the state with Abolish ICE New York New Jersey coalition, CR also continues to print two fresh and radical issues of The Abolitionist newspaper per year, while working with imprisoned people to close prisons in CA, and supporting imprisoned people detained by ICE to resist detention in New York.
In the next 25 years, CR will continue to fight prisons, resist jail expansion and denounce reforms that strengthen caging, moving in solidarity with people resisting imprisonment while inside jails, prisons, detention centers, building critical dialogues, shared consciousness, organizing lessons and strategies across walls for PIC abolition, all as we continue to build off of our anti-policing legacy, shrinking the scale and scope of policing to build vibrant, sustainable, police-free communities. 
Buy Tickets to CR's May 5 Event Now
A large poster for CR’s event on May 5. The background is a gradient dark red that fades to plum. The top third of the poster contains a collage of illustrations showing Critical Resistance organizing over the past 25 years. Each illustrations shows that CR is a multi-racial, multi-geographic and multi-generational organization, as members are of different races, ages, genders and locations. Illustrations include press conferences, marches, rallies, protests and direct actions against prisons, jails, and policing, as well as the organizing CR has done to build strong communities, offering trainings, hosting block parties, building community gardens and more. On white narrow rectangles, handwriting-styled font details CR’s theory of change with the words “dismantle,” “change,” “build,” and “abolition now” written in black on each slip overlaying the collage. The title of the event follows: “Toward Abolitionist Horizons” in gold handwriting-style font above block letters with shadow of “25 Years of Critical Resistance” in light blue and white—all in large letters across the poster. CR’s logo—an illustration of a critical eye—is next to the edge of “Resistance” on the right of the poster. The overall event description follows in write text: “A night of performances & discussion to inspire strategy & freedom, benefitting Critical Resistance, a national grassroots organization working to abolish the prison industrial complex since 1998.” Gold lines border the next section of text that details of the event program: “Featuring Angela Davis, Andrea Ritchie, Ny Nourn, Dancing Through Prison Walls & more.” In a light blue circle, the date of event (“Friday May 5”) is in large burgundy font. Two silhouette illustrations of Dancing Through Prison Walls dancers frame the date and the description of the event on the left. At the bottom of the poster, more information of the time of the event, tickets and location is all included: “Doors at 6pm. Program at 7pm. Buy Tickets Now bit.ly/CriticalResistance25. Location McKenna Theater, SF State, 1600 Holloway Ave. criticalresistance.org. Face Masks Required.” Overall, the poster emotes a vibrant, dynamic, empowered, collective, liberatory, “in motion,” vibe, alluding to CR’s long legacy of organizing against the prison industrial complex.
BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW for “Toward Abolitionist Horizons” to celebrate 25 Years of Critical Resistance, and look back over the past 25 years with us of strategy and struggle against the PIC:

Friday, May 5 in-person at San Francisco State University or online via livestream. 

*Featuring a special conversation between Angela Davis, Andrea Ritchie, and Ny Nourn, with performances by Dancing Through Prison Walls.*
More event information with program details, offered accommodations, and the link for purchasing tickets are all on our website here. This event is a benefit for CR, and all proceeds go directly to sustaining CR’s campaigns and projects. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

See you on Friday, May 5!
-Critical Resistance

Spread the word!
Support the event by forwarding this email or posting the url to this message (located on top right corner of this email) or the event on our website on your social media, download & post the graphics below, or simply invite everyone you know! 

Spanish language event information & materials here, and sponsorship packets are being sent to close movement partners. Email us if you'd like your organization to sponsor the event: [email protected]
Flyer 1 for CR's event on May 5: “Toward Abolitionist Horizons” in gold handwriting-style font above block letters with shadow of “25 Years of Critical Resistance” in light blue and white. The background is a gradient dark red that fades to plum, with tints of bright sunrise shades in the top left corner behind silhouette illustrations of CR's organizing and campaigns are across the top of the flyer. Illustrations start with a rally & banner that says “No Cops No Cages” in front of dozens of red balloons as Critical Resistance and coalition members celebrate a campaign victory with No New San Francisco Jails. The next image is of a CR Los Angeles member, a Latino man with a beard, holding up a copy of CR’s inside-outside newspaper The Abolitionist, followed by an illustration of CR members rallying with Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) in Sacramento to Close CA prisons, and a person at a CR New York event holding up a sign that says “Dignity Not Detention.” The rest of the flyer contains text of the May 5 event information in gold, blue, and mostly white text in the body (all event info is also detailed in the caption). Silhouette images of Dancing Through Prison Walls dancers border the event info on each side. The date of the event (Friday May 5) is in a blue circle with larger burgundy font than the rest of the flyer text. The flyer also explains that the event will be in-person at McKenna Theater at San Francisco State University (1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco CA) and will be livestreamed online. Closed captioning will be provided for the livestream, and in-person ASL interpretation as well as live Spanish translation will be provided for in-person attendees. Buy tickets at: bit.ly/CriticalResistance25. Overall, the flyer emotes a dynamic, empowered, collective, liberatory, “in motion,” or “striving for the horizon” vibe.
Flyer 2 for CR's event on May 5: The background continues with a gradient dark red that fades to plum, with tints of bright sunrise shades in the bottom left corner. The significance of 2023 being 25 years since Critical Resistance’s first conference in 1998 is written in white, gold and blue font at the top, next to an illustration of a CR organizer (who is Black woman with two breads wearing a red CR South shirt), speaking at a press conference for the Critical Resistance South conference in the early 2000s. A green banner is behind her that says: “Why are so many of our loved ones behind bars?” Light red and plum arrows in the background are behind the speaker and the banner, with CR’s logo (a drawing of a critical eye) on the left edge of the graphic. Questions that will be discussed at CR’s May 5 event follow underneath, and then the event title “Toward Abolitionist Horizons” appears in handwriting-styled gold font in the middle of this flyer. Under the title text explains that this event: “explores these questions and more through a conversation between Angela Davis, Andrea Ritchie, and Ny Nourn, paving the way forward through tough terrain in the next 25 years of struggle.” In the bottom left corner in front of the shades of sunrise, illustrations of the event speakers are huddled together. Each illustration is based on an action-shot photo of each speaker previously organizing, including speakers on mics at rallies or sitting down for interviews. The group of speakers is multi-generational, multi-racial, and different genders. The rest of the flyer contains the remaining info for the program and accommodations offered at the event, with little white icons indicating each one including: a break-dancer next to “Performances by Dancing Through Prison Walls”; followed by two children playing and two caregivers with them next to “free childcare during in-person event”; then an outline of a kabob indicating food next to “light food, music, activities, networking, (re)connecting”; and finally two hands communicating in sign language next to “ASL interpretation & Spanish translation provided for in-person event and closed-captioning for livestream” last. At the very bottom is an icon for a donation box with a heart going into it and the words “All ticket sales benefit CR!” in bold all-caps white text. Overall, the flyer emotes an analytical, collective, celebratory, “in the struggle” vibe.

MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS
A flyer with an olive green gradient background with event title ("Sumoud: Anti-Colonial Praxis Among Palestinian Women Prisoners A Two Part Virtual Symposium") in white text. The link for the event follows (bit.ly/PFCPRisonersSymposium) along with event date and sponsoring organizations' logos. Art of "6 Spoons of Freedom" on the left-hand side of the flyer.
Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners!: Join CR for a Two-Day Virtual Symposium with Palestinian Feminist Collective
We're honored to be co-sponsoring the Palestinian Feminist Collective's two-day virtual symposium honoring Palestinian Political Prisoners this year, centering the Palestinian concept and practice of sumoud. 
Register at: bit.ly/PFCPrisonersSymposium
Event flyer with a black background, purple and white text boxes, and orange accents. CR's logo is on top left corner, followed by the text: "Oakland. United We Fight: For Workers' Rights & a World Without Walls. Labor & Prison Closure workshop." More information about the event follows. Photos of CR members tabling and protesting are also on the flyer, as well as the front page of Issue 38 of The Abolitionist newspaper, featuring labor struggles and prison industrial complex abolition.
April 30 in Oakland, CA: United We Fight for Workers Rights & to #CloseCAPrisons!
Are you in the Bay Area and looking for an educational way to celebrate May Day this year? CR Oakland created a new workshop on labor struggles and prison closure to build power with Bay Area workers for our campaign to close 10 CA prisons by 2025. The first public run-through of the workshop will be in-person at Sunday, April 30 at East Bay Community Space in Oakland from 12-3pm.
Check out more details on CR's website & RSVP now.
Space is limited & slots are filling up fast!  
Flyer announcing a job opening with a photo of 4400 Telegraph building as the background, a blue building with colorful, vibrant murals around it, CR's COVID-19 platform in the windows, and "Building People Power" painted on the top of the building over the front glass doors. Flyer text in large capitalized letters read: "We're Hiring", followed by a label with the position "Capital Campaign Manager" and "Apply Now!" below. At the bottom of the flyer: "Send your cover letter & resume to hiring@criticalresistance.org."
Job Opening with Building People Power: Capital Campaign Manager in North Oakland, CA
Building People Power (BPP) is developing a vacant 9,000 square foot building at 4400 Telegraph Ave in Oakland, CA into a center for political organizing and education, and community building.  Hosting the Capital Campaign, CR is seeking a Capital Campaign Manager to secure required funding to complete the project within the next 3 years.
Critical Resistance is majority grassroots-funded. Donate today!

#SustainCR with monthly donations or a one-time gift here.
Mural by Leslie “Dime” Lopez at 4400 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA, 2019.
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