Episode 48: We've Always Been Here: The Radical Spirit of Black Abolitionist Feminisms

How has Black feminism ushered in our current understanding and practice of abolition? On the 48th episode of the Activist Files, advocacy associate maya finoh speaks with Andrea Ritchie, an attorney, author, organizer, and co-founder of Interrupting Criminalization and In Our Names Network, who has been documenting, organizing, advocating, litigating, and agitating around policing and criminalization of Black cis/trans women and girls and trans and gender non-conforming people for the past three decades. maya and Andrea discuss what it’s like being ahead of the curve on these concepts; why it’s critical to center Black women, girls, and queer and trans people; the experience of working with survivors on abolitionist projects; and the impact of previous feminist organizations and formations on creating the Black feminist and abolitionist futures being actualized today. Andrea's newest book, No More Police: A Case for Abolition, which is co-authored with Mariame Kaba, will be released this summer. This episode is part of the Center for Constitutional Rights' programming honoring Women's History Month.