Scholars As Community Activists: Abolition And Anti-Racism In Practice

Sponsored by the SMT Program Committee and organized by Project Spectrum

Clifton Boyd (Yale University), Chair
Michael Sampson and Christina Kittle (Jacksonville Community Action Committee), Co-facilitators

Designed with the goal of bridging the gap between academics and community organizers in the fight against racism, this workshop will educate SMT members on the long history of abolitionist organizing in the United States and will equip participants with the tools to begin their own abolitionist practice in their communities. The workshop will be led by Michael Sampson and Christina Kittle of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, a Black-led, grassroots organization fighting for justice and liberation in Jacksonville and beyond.

The workshop will be divided into two parts: first, Michael and Christina will provide a brief overview of abolitionist organizing and the Black freedom struggle in the U.S., with a focus on opposition to the racist institutions of police and prisons. In doing so, they will draw upon their own work to end racist police brutality in Jacksonville and to establish community control of police. Second, participants will work in small breakout groups to design campaigns against a hypothetical racist event in their local community. Throughout the exercise, participants will receive feedback and direction from Michael and Christina on how to best align their efforts with those of community organizers. Ultimately, this workshop will demonstrate that if we truly seek to dismantle the SMT’s white racial frame, we must commit ourselves to abolitionist and anti-racist practice beyond the academy.