Join us this quarter to discuss Chapter 2 of Freedom is a Constant Struggle and the documentary 13th (Ava DuVernay, 2016). In this chapter, Davis discusses the situation in Ferguson, Missouri; the prison-industrial complex; and the similarities and connections between struggles in the United States and abroad. During our event, we will view several clips from 13th, which gives a history of structural racism and mass incarceration in the United States, and discuss connections between the film and the book; the effects of institutional violence and racism in the USA and abroad; and our own experience and understanding of these issues.
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle by Thank you to the UW Race and Equity Initiative & UWB VCAA for providing funding for previous books.
UWB/CC Campus Library Prison Display - visit the lobby of the library to check out this display that features intersections between mass incarceration and education.
The Struggle Within by
The Struggle Within is an accessible historical primer about mass imprisonment as a tool of repression deployed against diverse left-wing social movements over the last 50 years. Berger examines many dynamic social movements across half a century: black liberation, Puerto Rican independence, Native American sovereignty, Chicano radicalism, white antiracist and working-class mobilisations, pacifist and antinuclear campaigns and earth liberation and animal rights. Berger's encyclopaedic knowledge of American social movements provides a rich comparative history.
The New Jim Crow by
In a bold and innovative argument, a rising legal star shows readers how the mass incarceration of a disproportionate number of black men amounts to a devastating system of racial control. This is a terrifying reality that exists in the UK as much as in the US. Despite the triumphant dismantling of the Jim Crow laws, the system that once forced African-Americans into a segregated second-class citizenship still haunts and the criminal justice system still unfairly targets black men and deprives an entire segment of the population of their basic rights.
Abolition Democracy by
Revelations about US policies and practices of torture and abuse have captured headlines ever since the breaking of the Abu Graib prison story in April 2004. It is within this context that African-American intellectual Angela Davis gave a series of interviews to discuss resistance and law, institutional sexual coercion, politics and prison. She talks about her own incarceration as well as her experience as 'enemy of the state' and about having been put on the FBI's most wanted list. Davis returns to her critique of a democracy that has been compromised by its racist origins.
Concrete Mama by
Journalists John McCoy and Ethan Hoffman spent four months inside the walls of the Washington State Penitentiary at Walla Walla in 1978, just as Washington, once a leader in prison reform, abandoned its focus on reform and rehabilitation and returned to cell time and punishment. It was a brutal transition. McCoy and Hoffman roamed the maximum-security compound almost at will, observing and befriending prisoners and guards. The result is a striking depiction of a community in which there was little to do, much to fear, and a culture that both mimicked and scorned the outside world. McCoy's unadorned prose and Hoffman's stunning black-and-white photographs offer as authentic a portrayal of life in the Big House as ?outsiders? are ever likely to experience. Originally published in 1981, Concrete Mama revealed a previously unseen stark and complex world of life on the inside, for which it won the Washington State Book Award. Long unavailable yet still relevant, it is revitalized in a second edition with an introduction by scholar Dan Berger that provides historical context for the book's ongoing resonance, along with several previously unpublished photographs.
13 Women by
However their stories differ in the details, all of the women in this book speak about their time in prison with eloquence and admirable candor. Some have spent most of their lives behind bars; for others, prison was a one-time experience. Most were incarcerated for offences related to drugs and theft. Several were involved in violent crimes. Three -- Betty Krawczyk, Ann Hansen, and Christine Lamont -- did time for political activities that received international media attention. Their.
Stories belie any stereotype about the type of woman who ends up in jail. Each account is a parable of life's fragility, a cautionary tale of how easily anyone can meet with harm or be led astray. While relaying stories of courage, resiliency, and hope, the editors raise provocative questions about personal accountability, the meaning of justice, the state's uses and abuses of power, and the broad social challenges women face.
Hands up, Don't Shoot: why the protests in Ferguson and Baltimore matter, and how they changed America by
Understanding the explosive protests over police killings and the legacy of racism Following the high-profile deaths of eighteen-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and twenty-five-year-old Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, both cities erupted in protest over the unjustified homicides of unarmed black males at the hands of police officers. These local tragedies--and the protests surrounding them--assumed national significance, igniting fierce debate about the fairness and efficacy of the American criminal justice system. Yet, outside the gaze of mainstream attention, how do local residents and protestors in Ferguson and Baltimore understand their own experiences with race, place, and policing? In Hands Up, Don't Shoot, Jennifer Cobbina draws on in-depth interviews with nearly two hundred residents of Ferguson and Baltimore, conducted within two months of the deaths of Brown and Gray. She examines how protestors in both cities understood their experiences with the police, how those experiences influenced their perceptions of policing, what galvanized Black Lives Matter as a social movement, and how policing tactics during demonstrations influenced subsequent mobilization decisions among protesters. Ultimately, she humanizes people's deep and abiding anger, underscoring how a movement emerged to denounce both racial biases by police and the broader economic and social system that has stacked the deck against young black civilians. Hands Up, Don't Shoot is a remarkably current, on-the-ground assessment of the powerful, protestor-driven movement around race, justice, and policing in America.
Contact members of the team via email with questions, comments, or concerns:
Documentary (Viewing Clips of Film)
13th (2016), dir. Ava DuVernay
Film Review by Dan Berger, UW Bothell Faculty
Chapter focus:
Chapter 2: Ferguson Reminds Us of the Struggle of a Global Context (Davis interview)
Main focus: mass incarceration, the prison-industrial complex, structural racism
2 Event Dates and Times:
Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020 - 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020 - 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Location:
Library Room, LB1 - 205
We highly recommend reading prior to the events:
Related Materials: We encourage you to explore the Washington Prison History Project Archive, a digital collection of notes, testimonials, art, and more from incarcerated people in Washington State, meant to document the history and role of imprisonment in the Northwest.
eBook: Chapter selection can also be accessed through the library's eBook copy. Unlimited user access.
At the Event:
Community Reads aims to inspire dialog about important issues facing our diverse campus communities. Join campus community members as we engage with selected chapters and related materials from across disciplines and artistic forms of expression.
Additional artistic forms of expression
Newsletter artwork housed in the archives of the Washington Prison History Project
Justice Matters: Newsletter of the Western Prison Project, Vol. 7, No. 1; Special Focus: What Needs to Change?; Cover Art by Matt Wuerker; Winter 2005; Portland, OR.
Additional resources will be added throughout the year, from works across various disciplines and artistic forms of expression.
Our goals for the Community Reads program are to:
Or, read the Transcript.
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