We Grow the World Together

Maya Schenwar is director of the Truthout Center for Grassroots Journalism and board president at Truthout. She is the co-author (with Victoria Law) of Prison by Any Other Name: The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms and the author of Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better. Schenwar has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The Nation, among others. Schenwar is a cofounder of the Chicago Community Bond Fund and organizes with the Love & Protect collective. She lives in Chicago with her partner, child, and abolitionist cat. Kim Wilson is an educator, self-taught artist, and cohost and producer of the Beyond Prisons podcast. Dr. Wilson holds a Ph.D. in Urban Affairs and Public Policy, a Master’s in Education in Adult and Organizational Development, and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources. Wilson’s work has appeared in Shadowproof, Truthout, and Abolition Journal, and her art has been shown in galleries across the country. She lives in Chicago.

Foreword 

By Beth Richie

Introduction: From Prisons to the Playground, Caregiving and Abolition Intertwine

By Maya Schenwar

Part 1: Lessons From Our Kids, Lessons From Our Parents

I Want to Start School So I Can Learn to Write Letters to My Dad in Prison

By EJ, 6 years old

The Work of Making Life: Four Vignettes on Abolitionist Caregiving in Practice

By Harsha Walia

Parenting Toward Abolition From Inside Prison: A Letter to My Daughter

By Erika Ray

“An Imagination Party”: How My Toddler Fuels My Abolitionist Vision

By Maya Schenwar

Walking Side by Side With My Mother: A Reflection on Abolition and Accountability 

By Jnana

“It Opened My Heart”: Lessons From Being Parented by an Abolitionist

By Paul LaCombe, interviewed by Kim Wilson

Saying Goodbye to My Grandmother From Prison

By Antoniese Gant

A Mother's Neverending Pain From Incarceration: The Ongoing Fight to Restore Dignity

By D’Marria Monday

Interdependence at the End of the World: Abolitionist Parenting Beyond Happiness 

By Sarah Tyson

Part 2: Parents and Caregivers in Movement

The Legacy of Black Mothers’ Radical Resistance of Care

By Dorothy Roberts

Mama Solidarity and the Founding of Moms United Against Violence and Incarceration

By Holly Krig

Free Gilbert Jones: The Early Political Geography of Mothers ROC

By Ruth Wilson Gilmore

Learning From Claudia Jones: Mobilizing Parents Toward Liberatory Political Consciousness in the Face of a Right-Wing “Parents’ Movement”

By Kaitlin Noss

Parental Tools for Abolition: Some Dad Shit

By Dylan Rodríguez

Out of Many, One: Our Adventures in Parenting Toward Freedom

By Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn

Part 3: Caregiving Dreams Beyond Normative Family Structures

Queer Family as an Intervention on Police Violence: Abolition and the Beauty of Choosing our Loved Ones

by Shira Hassan, interviewed by Maya Schenwar

Empire and Colonization Operate Through Family. How Do We Disrupt Them in Our Homes?

By Stacey Austin and Nadine Naber

Building an Abolitionist World Includes Supporting Caregivers. Here are 6 Concrete Ways to Do That.

By Victoria Law

He Calls Me Zaza: A Nonbinary Roadmap to Liberation

By Keisa Reynolds

Shelter and Shower Toward Abolition: A Reflection on Collective Care, Reproductive Justice and Educational Justice

By Anya Tanyavutti

Part 4: Practicing Abolitionist Caregiving

Using Children’s Books as a Tool for Abolition

By Mariame Kaba, interviewed by Maya Schenwar

In Order to Talk to My Child About War and Prisons, I Must Talk to Him About Resistance

By Ryann Croken

Kids Are Wondering… What Is Abolition?

by the PDX Childcare Collective

Passing On: Practicing Restorative Justice at Home

By Jennifer Viets

How Do We Survive—and Parent—With Our Love Intact?

By adrienne maree brown and Autumn Brown

Confronting Copaganda: How to Challenge Cartoon Cops and Officer Friendly

Rania El Mugammar

We Love Ourselves, Too: Stewarding Possibilities Together 

By Alejandro Villalpando and Susana Victoria Parras

Conclusion: Continuing to Learn and Grow

By Kim Wilson