The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic with the enduring issue of state violence has thrust the word “abolition” into mainstream discourses more so in the past year than perhaps any other time. In these discourses, much has been distorted and misunderstood, and the people who are deeply engaged in abolitionist study and practice—predominantly Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+ folx—are not centered.

Our panel brings together students, organizers, and scholars of abolitionist praxis to discuss their personal journeys to, and understandings of, abolition as a philosophy, organizing strategy, and daily practice. This event is an invitation to not only gain clarity around what “abolition” truly means, but to hear firsthand the complexity involved with unlearning the default understandings that separate us and building new ones that bring us closer together.

- Sophia P. Sarantakos, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver
- Shannon Sliva, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver
- Janaé E. Bonsu, PhD candidate, Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Jeff Campbell, founder of Emancipation Theater and From Allies to Abolitionists
- Hanna Sharif-Kazemi, MSW candidate, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago
- Julian Thompson, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminology, Law, and Justice, University of Illinois at Chicago