A powerful group of prison abolitionists and freedom fighters will come together on June 12th at 3 pm Eastern Time for an open conversation about the abolition of the prison-industrial complex, transformative justice in our communities, and the struggles connected to our fight.
RADICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ABOLITION: FROM THE ELECTORAL STRUGGLE TO COMMUNITY CONTROL
Hosted by People’s World and the New York Young Communist League.
Featured in the discussion will be:
> Asha Ramachandran, Leader of the NY YCL Prison Abolition Subcommittee
> Kristin Richardson Jordan, NYC District 9 Candidate for City Council
> Frank Chapman, Field Organizer and Educational Director at the Chicago Alliance against Racist and Political Repression
> Angel Solis, Formerly incarcerated member of the NY YCL and youth empowerment advocate
In the wake of the uprisings in defense of Black lives and against police terror last summer and amid growing calls to defund and abolish the police and prisons, the question of transforming the justice system is more pertinent than ever. The United States accounts for 22% of the global prison population despite comprising only 4.4% of the total global population. Mass incarceration and the prison-industrial complex are pillars of racist oppression in the U.S. Abolitionists say they are struggling for a revolutionary future that does justice to marginalized communities and the discussion will focus on their demands, visions, and fight.
This discussion will give a voice to formerly incarcerated individuals who are deeply affected by the prison system’s stranglehold on their futures, as well as community advocates who recognize the urgency of radical action.
Asha Ramachandran is a student, community organizer, and a fierce advocate for prison and police abolition and transformative justice. Their passion for transformative justice stems from their experiences as a survivor of sexual violence and familial suicide. They lead the YCL’s Prison Abolition Subcommittee, which collaborates with People’s World in sending weekly newsletters to dozens of incarcerated individuals and doing interpersonal outreach through letter-writing. Asha is also part of the YCL’s Coordinating Committee and a writer for People’s World.
Kristin Richardson Jordan is a creative, Black, lesbian, activist, author, teacher, Brown University graduate, social justice advocate, spiritual warrior, and 3rd-generation Harlemite running for New York City Council District 9, Central Harlem. She believes in full employment, free quality education, free public transportation, and prison abolition and has a political platform encompassing seven policy focus areas that spell out H.A.R.L.E.M. If elected, Kristin, also known as KRJ, would be the second woman, the youngest ever, and the first openly LGBTQ person to hold this office in this district. She would also be the first out Black Lesbian/Black Queer Woman on the New York City Council in general.
Frank Chapman was wrongfully convicted in 1961 of murder and armed robbery and sentenced to life plus 50 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. He immediately became involved in human rights struggles within the prison, met people in the freedom movement while incarcerated, and became involved in legal struggles to desegregate the state prisons system. Presently he is a field organizer and educational director for the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. He is also the author of The Damned Don’t Cry: Pages From the Life of a Black Prisoner and Memoirs of an Organizer and Marxist-Leninist Perspectives on Black Liberation and Socialism.
Angel Solis is the Project Coordinator for the Youth Empowerment Project at the Alliance of Families for Justice. The YEP is a youth-community leadership training program. Mr. Solis was born and raised in the Bronx and was previously incarcerated for a total of ten years. While in prison, Mr. Solis was fortuitously placed in a prison with a college program and took advantage of free education. In 2016, Mr. Solis, desirous of a college degree, was released from prison and was accepted at Columbia University. He graduated in 2021 with a B.A. in Sociology. Mr. Solis is a firm believer in the revolutionary power of education and truth and it is because of this belief that he has committed his life to its proliferation.
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