Fire to the Prisons II: Meditations on Blackness, Captivity, and Freedom

Race Capitol

NOTE TO LISTENER: Following the recording of this episode, it was brought to our attention that Marquis Bey had previously demonstrated a pattern of abusive behavior. Race Capitol has decided to remove Marquis’ interview from FTTPII in order to hold the tension between rejecting disposability of Black trans people while prioritizing survivors of sexual harm. We understand that those involved have completed a formal accountability process facilitated by transformative justice practitioners hired by AK Press. Read AK Press’ statement here. Race Capitol believes in our inherent value. We are against disposability culture which we understand to be a practice exercised by those within a privileged class or social position that sees poor, Black, Fat, Trans, non-men, Disabled, and other historically oppressed people as expendable. The practice of disposability culture causes those impacted to suffer the loss of social, political, and economic support. Considering Marquis' position as an academic, published author, and respected professional, Race Capitol believes that, at this time, removing Marquis' interview will not have any significant impact on their material conditions. We are birthing that world together where accountability is a daily practice. Race Capitol remains dedicated to creating a platform for those who have been violenced by the System--including by those who hold power within it. We have reached out to Marquis informing them of the concerns and look to those most impacted by Marquis’ abuse to inform further action. We are not in contact with survivors at the time of this statement. Survivors interested in contacting us can reach us at [e-mail]. ____________________________________________________________________ The liberation of colonized people necessitates the abolition of policing and prisons. Emancipation calls on us to not simply build a better world, in which less people are oppressed--but rather to build a world where the conditions for oppression become an impossibility: —one which affirms the lives of all people; —one that is divorced from the institutions of ableism, racism, and homophobia; —one that disallows the possibility for transmisogyny, that makes deportations obsolete; —one that not only changes, but has the infrastructure to be transformative; —where there are no borders, binaries, or limitations. Abolition requires our solutions to be imaginative and boundless. And abolitionism as both a movement and a project has continued to do just that since the colonization of the Amerikas. While the movement evolves into ways that are sometimes replications of state violence, the ever growing schools within the abolitionist movement lay the foundation for us to build a world that is much more free than we could ever imagine. This makes abolition more than one final project, rather--in the words of professor Marquis Bey--a constant state of becoming. This week on Race Capitol we meditate on Blackness, captivity, and freedom through exploring schools of abolitionism: non-profit (or NPIC) abolitionism and state abolitionism with co-host Nomi. First, we speak with Omi Mars (they/he/love), about how the freedom of oppressed people + marginalized genders necessitates the abolition of the NPIC (non-profit industrial complex), as well as their recent resignation from the Abolitionist Teaching Network after surviving repeated organizational harm. You can support them by visiting bit.ly/RefusingTheNPIC and donating directly. Please share! Finally, we hear from New Afrikan Prison Solidarity Organizer, CoCo (she/they) where they talk briefly about how the movement calls on us to develop the infrastructure for autonomous, sustainable community support. Visit https://linktr.ee/Racecapitol to see other ways you can support our guests!