Rachel Herzing

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Articles

The Terrain of Struggle | Rachel Herzing | INQUEST

Dec 3, 2024 | inquest.org | Rachel Herzing

There is a lot of noise out there about the results of the 2024 national elections. The results have been parsed dozens of ways, multiple communities have been scapegoated as responsible, and we’re faced with a future in which fascist forces were given a mandate to govern. That’s a lot to take in. While there will continue to be lessons to learn for many years to come, I’m interested in thinking about how the elections might impact the movement to abolish the prison industrial complex.
Defund

Feb 1, 2024 | haymarketbooks.org | Calvin John Smiley |Angela Davis |Gina Dent |Rachel Herzing

A collection of illuminating interviews with leading abolitionist organizers and thinkers, reflecting on the uprisings of summer 2020, the rise of #defund, and the work ahead of bridging the divide between reform and abolition. The 2020 uprisings against police violence launched a nation conversation about defunding the police and prisons, propelling the #defund movement into the spotlight.
To Build an Abolitionist Future, We Must Look to Indigenous Pasts

Sep 6, 2023 | truthout.org | Cherise Morris |Cristian Farias |Rachel Herzing |Alice Jennings

Part of the SeriesThe Road to AbolitionThe movement to abolish systems of policing and prisons is often discredited as an unfeasible, utopian notion that is not possible in the context of human “nature.” We live in a violent society built from the violence of settler colonialism, slavery and patriarchy. The violence of this system and its origins make the violence of police and prisons seem necessary to many.
Dozens of Heat-Related Deaths at Texas Prisons Prompt Dems to Call for Inquiry

Aug 23, 2023 | truthout.org | Chris Walker |Eleanor Bader |Rachel Herzing |Tamar Sarai

As media companies are downsizing, the world still desperately needs Truthout. It’s no secret that it’s a tough time for independent journalism. Everywhere you look, media organizations are cutting costs and eliminating once-vital positions. From small, local publications to large, well-known industry giants, no one is immune to this sea change. Truthout is one of a few news publications that remains almost entirely funded by readers.
Abolition Doesn’t Undermine Safety - Its Goal Is Safety for Everyone

Aug 1, 2023 | truthout.org | Rachel Herzing |Cristian Farias |Amy Goodman |Zane McNeill

What do successful alternatives to policing, prosecution and prison actually look like? And how would they work? A group of Chicago’s leading public safety, health and justice innovators gathered at the DePaul Art Museum last summer to provide much-needed clarity on these crucial questions.
Series: Abolition in Action

Jul 11, 2023 | truthout.org | Rachel Herzing

Skip to contentSkip to footerTo make revolutionary change, we must start somewhere. Truthout and Inquest share local examples of abolition in action. Since the 2020 George Floyd uprisings, police and prison abolition have become topics of household discussion throughout the U.S. But many people continue to doubt that abolition is realistic — or that abolition can be accomplished without sacrificing the safety of our communities.
Abolition Is Practical | Rachel Herzing | INQUEST

Jul 11, 2023 | inquest.org | Rachel Herzing

In the early 2000s, I sat in an organizing meeting discussing how to prevent a new prison from being built. After listening to several people talk about ways our coalition could encourage the prison to be sited somewhere else or on a smaller footprint, I wondered aloud if we shouldn’t make a case for no prison to be built at all.