With her characteristic brilliance, grace and radical audacity, Angela Y. Davis has put the case for the latest abolition movement in American life- the abolition of the prison. As she quite correctly notes, American life is replete with abolition movements, and when they were engaged in these struggles, their chances of success seemed almost unthinkable. For generations of Americans, the abolition of slavery was sheerest illusion. Similarly,the entrenched system of racial segregation seemed to last forever, and generations lived in the midst of the practice, with few predicting its passage from custom. The brutal, exploitative (dare one say lucrative?) convict-lease system that succeeded formal slavery reaped millions to southern jurisdictions (and untold miseries for tens of thousands of men, and women). Few predicted its passing from the American penal landscape. Davis expertly argues how social movements transformed these social, political and cultural institutions, and made such practices untenable. In Are Prisons Obsolete?, Professor Davis seeks to illustrate that the time for the prison is approaching an end. She argues forthrightly for ""decarceration"", and argues for the transformation of the society as a whole.
By:
Angela Davis
Imprint: Seven Stories
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 178mm,
Width: 126mm,
Spine: 6mm
Weight: 106g
ISBN: 9781583225813
ISBN 10: 1583225811
Pages: 144
Publication Date: 01 August 2011
Audience:
College/higher education
,
General/trade
,
Primary
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments CHAPTER 1 Introduction—Prison Reform or Prison Abolition? CHAPTER 2 Slavery, Civil Rights, and Abolitionist Perspectives Toward Prison CHAPTER 3 Imprisonment and Reform CHAPTER 4 How Gender Structures the Prison System CHAPTER 5 The Prison Industrial Complex CHAPTER 6 Abolitionist Alternatives Resources Notes About the Author
Angela Davis, a long-time member of the Communist party and the Black Panthers, became only the third woman in history to appear on the FBI's most wanted list. Wrongly charged with taking part in a conspiracy to free George Jackson by arming prisoners in a California courthouse, Davis spent sixteen months behind bars, until her subsequent acquittal on all charges. A Professor of History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Davis has been involved in prison activism for the last thirty-five years. She is author of many books, including Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday. Her new book, forthcoming from Random House, is Prisons and Democracy.
Reviews for Are Prisons Obsolete?
""As useful an exposition of the current dilemmas of the women's movement as one could hope for."" - Los Angeles Times Book Review
