This Black August, use CR's organizing resources for your study & training

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Dear Friends & Comrades of CR,

Black August is a time of year to strengthen our commitment to fight for the end of imprisonment and imperialism and for Black liberation. We sharpen our discipline through various practices, such as fasting for the month, as we tend to the rigor of our minds and vision through deepening collective political education.

This August gives us much to reflect on and ready ourselves for in the struggle ahead. The ongoing genocide in Gaza remains devastating - as does the fact that the US-left remains unable to stop it. The sexual assault of imprisoned Palestinians who are resisting genocide compounds the awful situation. The recent murder of a lead Palestinian negotiator in Iran has added fuel to the fire in the region. The US’ role in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians weaves its way there and back with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)’s $9M resourcing of the campaign to oust Cori Bush, one of the more progressive electeds in Congress, becoming one of the most expensive campaigns this year and ever.

And while the sudden pivot to Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee has shifted the terrain slightly, we at CR understand that someone who has climbed the ranks of power with a history as a prosecutor and Attorney General reveals a deeply woven allegiance to pro-policing, pro-detention and pro-imprisonment interests within the country. Regardless of whether Harris is elected, the conditions of the political economy, with recent downturns, indicate more destabilization and an advancing threat of the PIC at the behest of both parties.

Across the US, we see self-proclaimed “liberals” exercising crushing violence on their constituents. The Supreme Court’s ruling that increased the penalty for homelessness has opened the door for both the California Governor Newsom as well as San Francisco Mayor Breed o unleash a torrent of sweeps into local jails. Simultaneously, our loved ones in prisons across the country are struggling with the sweltering heat through increasingly hotter summers. Cop cities like the one in Atlanta have begun to proliferate across the country. We can assume that they will also coordinate militarized training globally, like the deadly exchange between the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF / IDF) via Georgia International Law Exchange (GILEE) ([link removed]) . ([link removed])

But, the tradition of Black August for the past 45 years reminds us that times of crisis are also opportunities for us to move forward towards freedom as well.

The Uncommitted movement has flexed its muscle and seen some impact on the presidential race. Grassroots organizing for a ceasefire on Gaza continues to push for a weapons embargo in the US. In the fight against imprisonment, CR co-founder Rachel Herzing ([link removed]) has released a new book of lessons shared by organizers from across the fight against imprisonment ([link removed]) from the last decade. Our close ally, California Coalition for Women Prisons (CCWP) ([link removed]) has done amazing work to highlight the dire conditions for women prisoners suffering from extreme heat.

With roots in the radical prisoner movement of the 1970s, a core Black August lesson is that repression breeds resistance. CR is working to fight in many arenas, from closing prisons in CA ([link removed]) , to stopping Cop Cities locally and nationally, and struggling to end ICE contracts in NY state ([link removed]) at a crucial time for migrant communities regardless of who is elected. We remain committed to fighting for the liberation of our loved ones from the US to Palestine and beyond.

This Black August it is more important than ever to recommit to the work to fortify ourselves and discipline our praxis in the service of collective liberation. We must draw on the many lessons of the Black radical tradition and the many other liberatory traditions it is tied to. We must fight for PIC abolition and the liberation of all. This month, train and study with CR by using any of CR’s political education and organizing resources ([link removed]) in your Black August practice. Check out the list of suggested resources that we find particularly useful in our current conditions below.

Onward,

-Critical Resistance


** Resources to Train, Study & Fight for Abolition
with Critical Resistance (CR)
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Sick & tired of the daily violence of policing?: Fight to dismantle policing with us!

With policing continuing on a deadly rise ([link removed]) since the summer 2020 rebellions, in only a 2-year span (2019-2021), at least 178 people who called 911 were killed by the responding cops, according to The Washington Post. As righteous outrage of the killing of Sonya Massey, a 36 yr old Black woman, has the latest horror demonstrating why police are the antithesis to safety, masses of people are once again realizing policing must be dismantled.

Over the past two decades, CR has generated an arsenal of organizing resources with various movement partners for our communities, networks and coalitions to resist the violence of policing and erode policing's power and legitimacy. From toolkits to trainings, workshops, chart to assess strategy and more, it's all available to download, use, and share on CR's website here: criticalresistance.org/abolish-policing ([link removed])
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Want to use resources imprisoned people are using in their organizing? Use The Abolitionist Newspaper Issue 41 & Examine Lessons from the Fight to Stop Cop City in Atlanta

The Stop Cop City campaign presents unique perspectives into the interlocking fights for environmentalism & prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition. Check out how on our website here ([link removed]) , and consider supporting The Abolitionist Newspaper, CR's cross-wall organizing resources sent to thousands of imprisoned people for free twice per year.

Issue 41 printed in June and features articles on ecological justice & PIC abolition ([link removed]) , like "The Atlanta Way: Driving Ecological Destruction & Expanding the PIC" by Atlanta's Eva Dickerson & CR's Rehana Lerandeau. CR only has about 100 print copies left to share, so get yours while you still can ([link removed]) !
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"Socialism is Land in the Hands of the People": Ruthie & Craig Gilmore Interview Yvonne Busisiwe Phyllis of The Forge in Johannesburg, South Africa

On the Gilmores most recent trip to South Africa, they met with comrades in the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement facilitating political school on abolition, land use, and internationalism with Yvonne Busisiwe Phyllis. For Issue 41, they discuss post-apartheid land struggles and resisting mass displacement & policing. Check it out in your copy of Issue 41 or online here. ([link removed])

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Are you attending Haymarket's Socialism Conference ([link removed]) this year in Chicago?: Come Train with CR at our workshop on Building Abolitionist Campaigns through COALITIONS - August 30!

CR organizers Woods Ervin & Molly Porzig are headed to Chicago again for Haymarkets annual conference. Come train with us on Day 1 of the conference! ([link removed]) And be sure to check out Ruthie Gilmore ([link removed]) & Rachel Herzing ([link removed]) 's sessions too.

Critical Resistance is majority grassroots-funded. Donate today!
#SustainCR with monthly donations or a one-time gift. ([link removed])
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Mural by Leslie “Dime” Lopez at 4400 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA, 2019.
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