13. Abolition Dr Miyake Guest Lecture

Introduction

• Speaker: Dr. Keith Miyake (they/them pronouns)

• Position: Assistant Professor in Ethnic Studies

• Previous Work: Environmental engineer, K-12 public school teacher

• Course Topics: Prisons/incarcerality, race and the environment, race, class, gender, Asian American studies

Understanding Abolition Through Carcerality

Carcerality Defined

• Definition: Systems of confinement, punishment, exclusion, and othering that discipline and segregate people.

• Concept of carceral geographies: Spatial manifestations of carcerality, including prisons, police, borders, etc.

Relationship Among Carceral Structures

• Police: Enforce division, brutality, and capture.

• Prisons: Incarcerate, punish, expose to preventable death.

• Borders: Mark individuals as other, detain, deport, and break community ties.

Other Forms of Carcerality

• Includes slavery and Indian boarding schools.

• All are interconnected in shaping resistance and opposition.

Geography of Carcerality

• Operates spatially, affecting marginalized populations while facilitating capitalism.

• Geographical task of abolition involves reshaping spaces and visions of democracy.

Critique of Prisons

Problems with Prisons

• Prisons punish without reducing harms, exposing individuals to premature death.

• Prisons are historically rooted in racial oppression, specifically targeting Black populations post-slavery.

• The penitentiary system established as a reformative measure has failed its rehabilitative mission.

Overrepresented Populations in Prisons

• Vulnerable populations: queer, trans, disabled, poor, houseless, sex workers, immigrants, and BIPOC.

• Criminalization is a means to manage perceived social vices and disenfranchisement.

State Accountability

• State failure to provide basic needs leads to criminalized behaviors.

• The criminal justice system is rooted in structural oppressions.

The Prison Industrial Complex (PIC)

Overview and Definition

• PIC: Network of relationships between penal institutions, the state, and industries profiting from incarceration.

• Characterized by industrialized punishment and mass incarceration.

Social Impacts of the PIC

• Addresses social issues through criminalization rather than direct support.

• Focus on crime diverts attention from structural issues causing crime.

Historical Context

• Post-civil rights movement saw an increase in punitive policies rooted in racism.

• Law and order narratives gained momentum despite decreasing crime rates, leading to increased incarceration.

The Effects of Incarceration

Economic and Social Costs

• Prisons disrupt communities, families, and economies, generating a cycle of harm.

• Public expenditures on incarceration detract from social services.

Reformist vs. Abolitionist Approaches

Reformist Reforms

• Improve systems without addressing root issues.

• Examples: body cameras, community policing, restructuring rather than dismantling.

Abolitionist Reforms

• Seek to eliminate oppressive systems entirely.

• Focus on structural changes, reducing police, and community-based solutions. Examples include:

  • Closing prisons

  • Community-controlled services instead of punitive systems

  • Decarceration efforts without monitoring.

Carceral Feminism vs. Abolition Feminism

Carceral Feminism

• Uses the criminal justice system to address intimate partner violence.

• Expands the PIC without solving root issues.

Abolition Feminism

• Rejects reliance on state violence for redressing gender-based harms.

• Prioritizes community safety, accountability, and addressing systemic issues.

Transformative Justice

• Framework prioritizing community resolution of harms without carceral systems.

• Develop social structures to mediate and address harm responsibly.

• Acknowledges and targets underlying conditions fostering harm.

Mutual Aid

• A radical form of community care based on solidarity rather than charity.

• Operates outside state control, aiming to transform relationships and society.

Conclusion

• Importance of understanding and addressing the complexities of carcerality and abolition.

• Call to engage in courses and discussions to explore these themes further.

• “If you build them, you have to fill them”