In our 25th year of organizing against the prison industrial complex (PIC), CR advanced our work to close California prisons, built resistance to immigrant detention in New York, bolstered our political relationships with imprisoned people, showed up in major ways for movement partners across sectors, and more. Throughout these recent moments of escalated crisis – particularly the genocide in Palestine – we’ve remained steadfast in our work to build an international movement for prison industrial complex abolition.
In addition to our current statewide campaigns, CR released two bilingual issues of The Abolitionist newspaper to about 5,000 people inside prisons, jails, and detention centers for free – Issue #39 on reproductive justice and Issue #40 on control units. CR also worked to sharpen the ways we carry out our mission toward PIC abolition, both internally and with movement allies.
Along with the political education sessions we engage in regularly across the organization, we hosted a full year of regular conversations with our community advisory board and close movement partners to assess how the anti-PIC landscape is shifting. Across our campaigns, projects, and internal workgroups, we continued to strengthen the organizing of our individual members, the organization as a whole, and the movement for liberation at large.
As 2024 has already shown to be eventful, we wanted to share this compilation of campaign and project updates and wins, political education resources, and more from 2023. We utilize these materials in our analysis building and organizing, and we hope you will too.
This year, we are already forging on with our strategic campaign organizing, project work, and movement building to bolster the larger fight for liberation. We look forward to closing more California prisons, ending immigrant detention in New York, connecting with imprisoned organizers, and fostering connections with movement partners and allies. Your contributions to this work are essential, and we invite you to continue supporting CR’s organizing toward the long-term vision and practical organizing strategy of PIC abolition in 2024 and beyond. Thank you for sustaining us with your actions, resources, and commitment!
-Mohamed Shehk, Woods Ervin, and Shirley Leslie (CR National Co-Directors),
Nick DeRenzi (Development Assistant),
& CR National Fundraisers
MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thursday, March 28, 5pm PT: "Making California Women's Prisons Obsolete" Event with CCWP
Join CCWP and three leading anti-prison activists—Andrea James, Rachel Herzing, and Piper Kerman—in a vital conversation about making women’s history by closing women’s prisons in California and across the country. What will it take to make this vision real?Register for the Zoom link!
New Podcast Airing Soon:Be on the lookout for Episode 2 of Over the Wall on Issue 40 of The Abolitionist discussing control units & more!
CR's The Abolitionist Editorial Collective members Dylan Brown & Molly Porzig are at it again with CR's second episode of our new podcast show with Beyond Prisons, discussing each issue of The Abolitionist Newspaper.
Episode 2, "Snuffing Out Revolution: Control Units & Resistance," discusses our latest issue of the newspaper with special guest Sahar Francis of Addameer, along with Issue 40 contributing authors Masai Ehehosi, Kenjuan Congo, and Stevie Wilson. The episode will be aired and posted on CR's website & Beyond Prisons within the next week. Stay tuned & don't miss it!
Calling all New Yorkers EVERY FRIDAY this Spring: Weekly Phone Zaps for Dignity Not Detention!
Are you a donor of CR? Schedule a Coffee Chat with us!
Thank you to all our generous donors for your steady support. CR would love to check in to learn more about you and what's keeps you excited about PIC abolition. Will you help us shape ways to connect with you and others throughout the year?
Fill out this short survey! - or schedule a “coffee chat” with CR’s Development team to learn about CR’s work, share what organizing you’re seeing in your area, and more!
