Vol. 27, No. 3: The Abolitionist South

Vol. 27, No. 3: The Abolitionist South

Guest edited by T. Dionne Bailey and Garrett Felber, this issue of Southern Cultures makes visible a radical US South which has long envisioned a world without policing, prisons, or other forms of punishment. A region so often exceptionalized for its brutality and white supremacy is also the seedbed of freedom dreams and radical movement traditions.

Front Porch: The Abolitionist South

by Marcie Cohen Ferris

“The phrase ‘abolitionist South’ pulls us back to the region’s traumatic and violent history of slavery and Emancipation but also anchors us in a radical present.”

Until There Is Victory

by T. Dionne Bailey, Garrett Felber

“Abolition is not new. It is centuries old and it is rooted in the US South.”

The Radical Yes

by Lyndsey Beutin, Cherry Henley, B. Esi Okesanya, Sally Williamson

“We knew the state would protect white supremacy. We wanted to protect each other.”

Locked in Dark Calm

by Tameca Cole

Art has become an extension of my very being.

Looking for Abolition

by Tiffany E. Barber, Adrian. L. Burrell

“What, to a young Black man, is F R E E D O M?”

The System I Imagine

by Antonio Rosa

"I'm surrounded by many brilliant minds, any one of them fully capable of doing what I've done and more if given the opportunity."

The Life in This Movement

by Jared Ware, Maurice Smith

“We’re not going to go anywhere if we can’t win the people.”

Riot and Reclamation

by Micah Khater

“Black women’s labor organizing from within prison produced a movement where there was never meant to be one.”

Texas Prisons

by Britney Gulley

The injustices keep worsening. How can prisoners report the abuse when they have no voice?

Food, Punishment, and the Angola Three’s Struggle for Freedom

by Gabrielle Corona

“‘We sat on the floor by the bars and talked a lot. It sounds crazy but we talked about food. . . . We talked about what would be our first meal when we got out of prison.’”

Amnesty for All

by Lydia Pelot-Hobbs

“Periods of acute crisis are not times to confine our visions of what liberation might entail, but to confront the conditions that produce harm and violence straight-on.”

Incarceration Is Spiritual Death

by Antoine M. Lipscomb

What societal interest is served by keeping prisoners illiterate? What social benefit is there in ignorance?

Keep the South Dirty and Our Needles Clean

by Laura McTighe, Catherine Haywood, Deon Haywood, Danita Muse

"Go to the people. Build with them through solidarity. Fight to make the world we need."

Stand Strong, Stand Long

by Loretta Pierre

"While I struggle, I will continue to study and learn about the struggles of others."

the portal appears

by Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Destiny Hemphill

“& as you summon other worlds, may other worlds summon you …”

Take Action

by Southern Cultures

Resources to get involved.