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).

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 has released a new book of lessons shared by organizers from across the fight against imprisonment from the last decade. Our close ally, California Coalition for Women Prisons (CCWP) 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, to stopping Cop Cities locally and nationally, and struggling to end ICE contracts in NY state 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 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)