Feminist Author Feature: Patrisse Cullors
In AN ABOLITIONIST’S HANDBOOK, Cullors charts a framework for how everyday activists can effectively fight for an abolitionist present and future. Filled with relatable pedagogy on the history of abolition, a reimagining of what reparations look like for Black lives and real-life anecdotes from Cullors AN ABOLITIONIST’S HANDBOOK offers a bold, innovative, and humanistic approach to how to be a modern-day abolitionist. Cullors asks us to lead with love, fierce compassion, and precision.
Q: What is your mantra?
Patrisse: Abolition guides my practice, my healing, my art, and how I build my relationships.
Q: How did you find your voice?
Patrisse: I didn’t find my voice. I’ve always had my voice, but I chose to use it to challenge state violence, white supremacy and patriarchy after I witnessed and continue to witness the havoc it has caused Black people and other folks at the margins.
Q: How do you use your power to empower your community?
Patrisse: My approach to activism, art and organizing is through an abolitionist framework. I use my power to help other folks build their power so we can build towards an abolitionist future together.
Q: What does being a feminist mean to you?
Patrisse: I’m an abolitionist feminist, not a carceral feminist. I believe that everyone deserves to be free from bondage and I challenge the notion that we can fix or change the current system that exists. We have to build something new.
Q: What inspired your book - especially it’s title - and what do you hope people will gain from it?
Patrisse: I want this book to be an intervention. An abolitionist love intervention that asks all of us to show up differently for ourselves and each other. Abolition is so much y’all. It’s about building a culture of love and care. Also, I wanted to provide a handbook because after 20+ years of studying and practicing abolition, I know it’s not something that happens overnight. There’s a reason they call it a practice. And I want to provide support for everyone in their practice and their abolitionist journey.
Q: Did it feel particularly imperative to write this book now? If so, why?
Patrisse: I wrote this book because I am deeply concerned about the current state of the world. The fall of racial capitalism and its impact on human beings has created such harmful practices from us. The pettiness and nastiness online that is used to divide families, communities and movements, the lack of infrastructure for true mental and physical healthcare. It’s all a lot and too much to hold for so many of us. I believe abolition is our north star and the path to building a future that honors all of us through care and dignity. This is the future we all deserve.
Q: How can abolition be used as a movement strategy in the modern day?
Patrisse: Oftentimes abolition is only mentioned when talking about prisons, police, and state violence. But I truly believe that abolitionist principles can and should be applied to every aspect of our lives. I wrote this handbook to provide some of the guidelines and the motivation I use to stay in my practice. For example, the first step in the book is to have Courageous Conversations which asks us to practice courage while addressing painful subjects with a parent, loved one or community member.
Q: What does abolition look like specifically within a feminist context? And what does it look like - especially in relation to Black liberation?
Patrisse: Abolition is rooted in challenging white supremacy, which means it’s also an affront to patriarchy and racism. But we also live in a carceral culture. The prisons, jails, surveillance and courts are institutions that live outside of us, but they have informed how we treat each other, from the way we seek vengeance, to how we treat people we don’t even know on social media. It’s more important than ever to do the work of knowing how to be accountable, knowing how to call for accountability, and knowing the difference between when we’re calling for accountability vs. when we’re calling for blood. Because when we get free, I don’t want to be causing more harm to one another. Abolitionist practice can help us move forward in a way that honors the humanity in other people.
the Author
Artist, Abolitionist and Best-Selling Author, Patrisse Cullors draws from years of political, social and humanitarian engagement to offer a handbook, a primer, a road map, a 12-step program and a self-care manual all in one.
Cullors' intent is to help us toward imagining a new world, one achieved by the abolition of current carceral systems and guided by tenets of transformative justice, a system “rooted in dignity and care for all people.”
An Abolitionist's Handbook challenges us to mindfully and powerfully step up, while offering a helping hand.
