{"id":1135,"date":"2020-12-22T17:40:33","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T22:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nlg.org\/guild-notes\/?post_type=article&p=1135"},"modified":"2020-12-22T18:14:27","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T23:14:27","slug":"nlg-statement-in-support-of-8toabolition","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.nlg.org\/guild-notes\/article\/nlg-statement-in-support-of-8toabolition\/","title":{"rendered":"NLG Statement In Support of #8ToAbolition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The following was originally published on nlg.org<\/a> June 10, 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NLG supports the #8toAbolition<\/a> campaign, which builds on decades of work by Black feminist abolitionists to demand an end to policing and prisons, and community investment that prioritizes the lives and safety of Black people. 8 to Abolition was created by BIPOC police and prison abolitionists as a response to the reformist changes of the #8CantWait <\/a>campaign, that merely seek to reduce, instead of eliminate, continuing police violence against Black people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the 8 To Abolition website states<\/a>: \u201cAs police and prison abolitionists, we believe that this campaign is dangerous and irresponsible, offering a slate of reforms that have already been tried and failed, that mislead a public newly invigorated to the possibilities of police and prison abolition, and that do not reflect the needs of criminalized communities\u2026 Abolition can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NLG supports the eight demands of the 8 to Abolition campaign:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Defund the Police<\/li>
  2. Demilitarize Communities<\/li>
  3. Remove Police from Schools<\/li>
  4. Free People from Prisons and Jails<\/li>
  5. Repeal Laws that Criminalize Survival<\/li>
  6. Invest in Community Self-Governance<\/li>
  7. Provide Safe Housing for Everyone<\/li>
  8. Invest in Care Not Cops<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The NLG is an explicitly abolitionist organization. In 2015, the NLG passed a resolution<\/a> that calls for<\/a> the \u201cdismantling and abolition of all prisons and of all aspects of systems and institutions that support, condone, create, fill, or protect prisons.\u201d The NLG understands that reforms are not enough<\/a> and the principles of 8 to Abolition are consistent with the those that have been adopted by Guild membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThe carceral state builds on this country\u2019s history of slavery and colonization and is intrinsically intertwined to all systems where people are held against their will through coercion, force, or threat of force. As such, we call for the abolition not just of prisons and jails, but also police lockups, juvenile detention facilities, immigration detention facilities, and hospitals or nursing homes where people are held against their will,\u201d said NLG Executive Director Pooja Gehi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    8 to Abolition also acknowledges that abolition is a disability issue. \u201cHalf of the people killed by police are disabled.<\/a> The intersection of Blackness and disability means that Black disabled people are especially likely to be victims of state violence, including through police, incarceration, mental health facilities,<\/a> and other institutions,\u201d NLG Disability Justice Committee co-chair Katie Tastrom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The NLG is grateful for the work of the 8 to Abolition authors<\/a> and the Black feminist abolitionists who paved the way for this moment and who continue to lead the police and prison abolition movement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The following was originally published on nlg.org June 10, 2020. The NLG supports the #8toAbolition campaign, which builds on decades of work by Black feminist abolitionists to demand an end to policing and prisons, and community investment that prioritizes the lives and safety of Black people. 8 to Abolition was created by BIPOC police and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":49,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"issuem_issue":[219],"issuem_issue_categories":[],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"class_list":["post-1135","article","type-article","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","issuem_issue-guild-notes-2020","post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t