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An Abolitionist's Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World
In An Abolitionist's Handbook, Cullors charts a framework for how everyday activists can effectively fight for an abolitionist present and future. Filled with relatable pedagogy on the history of abolition, a reimagining of what reparations look like for Black lives and real-life anecdotes from Cullors.
An Abolitionist's Handbook offers a bold, innovative, and humanistic approach to how to be a modern-day abolitionist. Cullors asks us to lead with love, fierce compassion, and precision.
In An Abolitionist's Handbook readers will learn how to:
- have courageous conversations
- move away from reaction and towards response
- take care of oneself while fighting for others
- turn inter-community conflict into a transformative action
- expand one’s imagination, think creatively, and find the courage to experiment
- make justice joyful
- practice active forgiveness
- make space for difficult feelings and honor mental health
- practice non-harm and cultivate compassion
- organize local and national governments to work towards abolition
- move away from cancel culture
An Abolitionist's Handbook is for those who are looking to reimagine a world where communities are treated with dignity, care and respect. It gives us permission to move away from cancel culture and into visioning change and healing.
An Abolitionist's Handbook offers a bold, innovative, and humanistic approach to how to be a modern-day abolitionist. Cullors asks us to lead with love, fierce compassion, and precision.
In An Abolitionist's Handbook readers will learn how to:
- have courageous conversations
- move away from reaction and towards response
- take care of oneself while fighting for others
- turn inter-community conflict into a transformative action
- expand one’s imagination, think creatively, and find the courage to experiment
- make justice joyful
- practice active forgiveness
- make space for difficult feelings and honor mental health
- practice non-harm and cultivate compassion
- organize local and national governments to work towards abolition
- move away from cancel culture
An Abolitionist's Handbook is for those who are looking to reimagine a world where communities are treated with dignity, care and respect. It gives us permission to move away from cancel culture and into visioning change and healing.
267 pages, Hardcover
First published January 25, 2022
149 people are currently reading
5346 people want to read
About the author
Patrisse Khan-Cullors
6 books356 followersPatrisse Cullors is a artist, organizer, and freedom fighter from Los Angeles, CA. Cofounder of Black Lives Matter, she is also a performance artist, Fulbright scholar, popular public speaker, and an NAACP History Maker. She’s received many awards for activism and movement building, including being named by the Los Angeles Times as a Civil Rights Leader for the 21st Century and a Glamour 2016 Woman of the Year. Patrisse is currently touring selective cities with her multimedia performance art piece POWER: From the Mouths of the Occupied.
A self-described wife of Harriet Tubman, Patrisse Cullors has always been traveling on the path to freedom. Growing up with several of her loved ones experiencing incarceration and brutality at the hands of the state and coming out as queer at an early age, she has since worked tirelessly promoting law enforcement accountability across the world while focusing on addressing trauma and building on the resilience and health of the communities most affected.
When Patrisse was 16-years-old she came out as queer and moved out of her home in the Valley. She formed close connections with other young, queer, woman who were dealing with the challenges of poverty and being Black and Brown in the USA. At 22-years-old Patrisse was recognized for her work as a transformative organizer by receiving the Mario Savio Young Activist Award. A Fulbright Scholarship recipient, Patrisse received her degree in religion and philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2012. That same year she curated her first performance art piece that fearlessly addressed the violence of incarceration, STAINED: An Intimate Portrayal of State Violence. Touring that performance lead to the formation of the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence and eventually her non-profit Dignity and Power Now, both of whom have achieved several victories for the abolitionist movement including the formation of Los Angeles’ first civilian oversight commission over the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
In the summer of 2013 fueled by the acquittal granted to George Zimmerman after his murder of Trayvon Martin, Patrisse co-founded a global movement with a hashtag. Black Lives Matter has since grown to an international organization with dozens of chapters and thousands of determined activists fighting anti-Black racism world-wide.
In 2014 Patrisse was honored with the Contribution to Oversight Award by the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) recognizing her work to initiate civilian oversight in Los Angeles jails. Patrisse then completed a fellowship at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership where she prepared and led a think tank on state and vigilante violence for the Without Borders Conference. There she produced and directed the first in a series of theatrical pieces titled POWER: From the Mouths of the Occupied.
In 2015 Patrisse was named a NAACP History Maker, a finalist for The Advocate’s Person of the Year, a Civil Rights Leader for the 21st Century by the Los Angeles Times, and was invited to the White House. Google awarded Patrisse with their Racial Justice Grant to support her ongoing Ella Baker Center project developing a rapid response network that will mobilize communities to respond radically to law enforcement violence, the Justice Teams for Truth and Reinvestment. In conjunction with the Justice Teams Patrisse is also supporting the ACLU’s development of their Mobile Justice app. Patrisse works with many organizations worldwide.
2016 was a strong year for Patrisse. She delivered the keynote address at over a dozen colleges and universities including American University, The University of Notre Dame, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell. She was named a Leading Edge Fund Fellow by The Rosenberg Foundation, a Senior Fellow for Maternal Mortality by MomsRising, a Kick-Ass Woman of Color by DLG Media, and received the Defender of the Dream Award from th
A self-described wife of Harriet Tubman, Patrisse Cullors has always been traveling on the path to freedom. Growing up with several of her loved ones experiencing incarceration and brutality at the hands of the state and coming out as queer at an early age, she has since worked tirelessly promoting law enforcement accountability across the world while focusing on addressing trauma and building on the resilience and health of the communities most affected.
When Patrisse was 16-years-old she came out as queer and moved out of her home in the Valley. She formed close connections with other young, queer, woman who were dealing with the challenges of poverty and being Black and Brown in the USA. At 22-years-old Patrisse was recognized for her work as a transformative organizer by receiving the Mario Savio Young Activist Award. A Fulbright Scholarship recipient, Patrisse received her degree in religion and philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2012. That same year she curated her first performance art piece that fearlessly addressed the violence of incarceration, STAINED: An Intimate Portrayal of State Violence. Touring that performance lead to the formation of the Coalition to End Sheriff Violence and eventually her non-profit Dignity and Power Now, both of whom have achieved several victories for the abolitionist movement including the formation of Los Angeles’ first civilian oversight commission over the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
In the summer of 2013 fueled by the acquittal granted to George Zimmerman after his murder of Trayvon Martin, Patrisse co-founded a global movement with a hashtag. Black Lives Matter has since grown to an international organization with dozens of chapters and thousands of determined activists fighting anti-Black racism world-wide.
In 2014 Patrisse was honored with the Contribution to Oversight Award by the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) recognizing her work to initiate civilian oversight in Los Angeles jails. Patrisse then completed a fellowship at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership where she prepared and led a think tank on state and vigilante violence for the Without Borders Conference. There she produced and directed the first in a series of theatrical pieces titled POWER: From the Mouths of the Occupied.
In 2015 Patrisse was named a NAACP History Maker, a finalist for The Advocate’s Person of the Year, a Civil Rights Leader for the 21st Century by the Los Angeles Times, and was invited to the White House. Google awarded Patrisse with their Racial Justice Grant to support her ongoing Ella Baker Center project developing a rapid response network that will mobilize communities to respond radically to law enforcement violence, the Justice Teams for Truth and Reinvestment. In conjunction with the Justice Teams Patrisse is also supporting the ACLU’s development of their Mobile Justice app. Patrisse works with many organizations worldwide.
2016 was a strong year for Patrisse. She delivered the keynote address at over a dozen colleges and universities including American University, The University of Notre Dame, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell. She was named a Leading Edge Fund Fellow by The Rosenberg Foundation, a Senior Fellow for Maternal Mortality by MomsRising, a Kick-Ass Woman of Color by DLG Media, and received the Defender of the Dream Award from th
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January 12, 2022
I had some mixed feelings about this book because I made the mistake of googling the author in the middle of the book, finding out she had stepped down from BLM amidst some controversy (though the author alleges that her stepping down dovetailed with her own plans to leave the group, so do your own research).
Saying that, it colored my second half the book - esp as the author talked about many community ideas & remaining rooted in local organizations - it’s a little harder to do that when you accumulate extensive wealth.
So, setting those things aside - how was the book? I appreciated it. This book wasn’t expressly written with me in mind. I can reflect on how much white women have fucked up for many paragraphs, but my main purpose in reading social justice works is unlearning. I try to approach books like this one with an open mind & be aware that they’ll be uncomfortable for me to read (it was!).
How can I help to dismantle a system of oppression from the inside? This book will give you - a non-BIPOC - some ideas of how to help. If you *are* a BIPOC reader, then it’ll yield even greater conversations for you. The book is broken down into steps that sound simple, but take great emotional effort to achieve - courageous conversations, non-reformist reform, taking accountability for harm you’ve caused. While I said this book wasn’t aimed at me, these are valuable lessons that can be taken into any social justice work, esp if you want to be a better ally to the Black community.
I liked the amount of intersectional focus there was in the chapters, plus the addition of historical elements to tie the tenets of the book back to a larger picture of justice. I think being part of the queer community, I liked the last few chapters the most. Understanding that found family can be your real family if you say so or using art to express deep turmoil in your community & raising voices through art activism has a lot of crossover with queer, disabled, BIPOC, etc groups.
I’d recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a guiding post to navigate the exhausting waters of civil rights & social justice. The author takes time to recognize her faults & how they affected her goals in her work, but also sets aside paragraphs to saying you can’t dismantle a system in a day. Take breaths in-between chapters, I had to take a couple of breaks. It’s worth absorbing this work into your every day life.
Saying that, it colored my second half the book - esp as the author talked about many community ideas & remaining rooted in local organizations - it’s a little harder to do that when you accumulate extensive wealth.
So, setting those things aside - how was the book? I appreciated it. This book wasn’t expressly written with me in mind. I can reflect on how much white women have fucked up for many paragraphs, but my main purpose in reading social justice works is unlearning. I try to approach books like this one with an open mind & be aware that they’ll be uncomfortable for me to read (it was!).
How can I help to dismantle a system of oppression from the inside? This book will give you - a non-BIPOC - some ideas of how to help. If you *are* a BIPOC reader, then it’ll yield even greater conversations for you. The book is broken down into steps that sound simple, but take great emotional effort to achieve - courageous conversations, non-reformist reform, taking accountability for harm you’ve caused. While I said this book wasn’t aimed at me, these are valuable lessons that can be taken into any social justice work, esp if you want to be a better ally to the Black community.
I liked the amount of intersectional focus there was in the chapters, plus the addition of historical elements to tie the tenets of the book back to a larger picture of justice. I think being part of the queer community, I liked the last few chapters the most. Understanding that found family can be your real family if you say so or using art to express deep turmoil in your community & raising voices through art activism has a lot of crossover with queer, disabled, BIPOC, etc groups.
I’d recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a guiding post to navigate the exhausting waters of civil rights & social justice. The author takes time to recognize her faults & how they affected her goals in her work, but also sets aside paragraphs to saying you can’t dismantle a system in a day. Take breaths in-between chapters, I had to take a couple of breaks. It’s worth absorbing this work into your every day life.
March 9, 2022
Cullors has crafted an incredibly accessible piece about carceral abolition, a field where unfortunately accessibility can be rare. However, I think the title elevated my expectations and were not met. This book dances between being a text for those of us already plugged into movement and those new to PIC abolition, and as a result I think fails both audiences at several points. There are some real nuggets of gold in here, practice examples and an interesting formatting idea that grounds the work in action and community. However, I can think of several books that are closer to a "handbook for abolitionists" than this one. I am grateful for Cullors' contributions to our movements and this list of principles, but this could have been much shorter, had a clearer audience, and chosen a title that was a little less presumptuous. That being said, it was a short and accessible read with some strong words of wisdom.
February 10, 2022
Wow, I just finished and I'm still riding that high. This was everything I hoped for and needed. Everyone should read this.
Patrisse Cullors is one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter and is a seasoned activist. As such, she simply and clearly lays out how to live an abolitionist life and philosophy. This isn't just about abolishing prison. It is also about taking care of yourself and having courageous conversions with people like your mom. And so much, much more, obviously. I love that this book is so practical and personal. This is not a bunch of abstract concepts or "if onlys..." This also isn't a list of everything that is wrong. The beauty of this book is that it is positive and idealistic and completely doable.
I should add, there is a wonderful interview of the author by Adrienne Maree Brown
at the end of the audiobook. And, the audiobook performance is superb. I really enjoyed it.
Video review to come!
Patrisse Cullors is one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter and is a seasoned activist. As such, she simply and clearly lays out how to live an abolitionist life and philosophy. This isn't just about abolishing prison. It is also about taking care of yourself and having courageous conversions with people like your mom. And so much, much more, obviously. I love that this book is so practical and personal. This is not a bunch of abstract concepts or "if onlys..." This also isn't a list of everything that is wrong. The beauty of this book is that it is positive and idealistic and completely doable.
I should add, there is a wonderful interview of the author by Adrienne Maree Brown
at the end of the audiobook. And, the audiobook performance is superb. I really enjoyed it.
Video review to come!
July 1, 2022
I strongly recommend this for every single person who feels White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism + Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor = the best set of books to combat injustice, specifically racism in the USA.
Go ahead and shelve those and jump into this. You're definitely ready.
I am so thankful I read When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir.
At the time, I had expected a book on the founding and maybe the first year of the Black Lives Matter movement. What I got was a memoir that collaged the journey from child to activist and how life experiences combined to make Cullors into an organizer.
I had a hard time reading that book.
In light of this book, I appreciate it so much more, not only because it provides backstory to this but because that story is dreamy, this one is sharp and the two play off one another beautifully.
This is a list of How I Do It. She avoids the traps in her first book, wanting to recall everything and everyone, instead writing in concentrated points of how to get shit done. But she does use stories in each chapter - her own and others - as examples of what she's talking about so instead of vague self-help advice that sounds good but that you have no idea how to implement or even how it fits in with actual life, this is structured with thought, explanation, and suggestions.
She starts with why courageous conversations (we call them Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High here in my world) are the necessary starting point because it's the skill you're going to use everywhere, always. She gives examples of some of her own conversations and the consequences of not having those conversations when they were needed. From there, she introduces common self-help techniques like "forgive passively or actively" and "practice accountability," all the healing language you hear in other guides for rebuilding after trauma and redefining yourself on your terms.
It's completely possible to use everything she says as a I Want To Be Good self-help guide. It's also possible to just enjoy the words without intent to act. But in light of activism, it's possible to use her guide the way she uses it for herself, as a tool to get grounded before jumping into hard work. It's like stretching before a workout.
I guess it just depends on what you need and what this work can help provide.
I see some readers thought this would specifically be about the abolition of the USAmerican police and prison systems, much like I thought When They Call You a Terrorist was going to be about the founding and infanthood of BLM.
It's not. It also doesn't purport to be.
I think the term "Abolitionst" in the title plus the knowledge that much of Cullors' work is focused on eliminating the justice/penal system and replacing it with something that actually works for communities is from which the misunderstanding stems.
This book, however, is about something bigger, about dismantling current systems of built-in oppression and how to do that by first building yourself, your beliefs and passions, within your communities.
Cullors states, several times in a variety of ways, that her ultimate goal is to help build "a world where humans are treated with dignity, care, and respect."
It sounds a bit simplistic while also being unattainable but, honestly, I would like that, too, and this guide is a good way to reframe thoughts and actions in order to be more active in the work it's going to take to move in that direction.
Will reading this book make you some sort of superhero who can suddenly influence all the power players and who has the ability to redesign the structure of society so that everyone is honored, respected, and included?
No. No, not even close.
I think, more than anything, it lends focus and reminds the reader that there are methods a person can use to move forward in the world in a meaningful way.
I was extremely fortunate that this showed up for me when it did, on the Monday after Roe vs. Wade was overturned. I had spent the weekend wondering how I would put the idealistic plans I'd been working on into actual place, feeling hopeless and overwhelmed, wondering why I couldn't kill people with the power of my angry mind.
When I came to work on Monday, this was waiting for me. I started listening immediately and it redirected my thoughts, reminding me that I can't fix the world but I can mend the breaks that I can reach. And that I need to remember to take care of myself, too, because a broken person burns out quickly.
Go ahead and shelve those and jump into this. You're definitely ready.
I am so thankful I read When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir.
At the time, I had expected a book on the founding and maybe the first year of the Black Lives Matter movement. What I got was a memoir that collaged the journey from child to activist and how life experiences combined to make Cullors into an organizer.
I had a hard time reading that book.
In light of this book, I appreciate it so much more, not only because it provides backstory to this but because that story is dreamy, this one is sharp and the two play off one another beautifully.
This is a list of How I Do It. She avoids the traps in her first book, wanting to recall everything and everyone, instead writing in concentrated points of how to get shit done. But she does use stories in each chapter - her own and others - as examples of what she's talking about so instead of vague self-help advice that sounds good but that you have no idea how to implement or even how it fits in with actual life, this is structured with thought, explanation, and suggestions.
She starts with why courageous conversations (we call them Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High here in my world) are the necessary starting point because it's the skill you're going to use everywhere, always. She gives examples of some of her own conversations and the consequences of not having those conversations when they were needed. From there, she introduces common self-help techniques like "forgive passively or actively" and "practice accountability," all the healing language you hear in other guides for rebuilding after trauma and redefining yourself on your terms.
It's completely possible to use everything she says as a I Want To Be Good self-help guide. It's also possible to just enjoy the words without intent to act. But in light of activism, it's possible to use her guide the way she uses it for herself, as a tool to get grounded before jumping into hard work. It's like stretching before a workout.
I guess it just depends on what you need and what this work can help provide.
I see some readers thought this would specifically be about the abolition of the USAmerican police and prison systems, much like I thought When They Call You a Terrorist was going to be about the founding and infanthood of BLM.
It's not. It also doesn't purport to be.
I think the term "Abolitionst" in the title plus the knowledge that much of Cullors' work is focused on eliminating the justice/penal system and replacing it with something that actually works for communities is from which the misunderstanding stems.
This book, however, is about something bigger, about dismantling current systems of built-in oppression and how to do that by first building yourself, your beliefs and passions, within your communities.
Cullors states, several times in a variety of ways, that her ultimate goal is to help build "a world where humans are treated with dignity, care, and respect."
It sounds a bit simplistic while also being unattainable but, honestly, I would like that, too, and this guide is a good way to reframe thoughts and actions in order to be more active in the work it's going to take to move in that direction.
Will reading this book make you some sort of superhero who can suddenly influence all the power players and who has the ability to redesign the structure of society so that everyone is honored, respected, and included?
No. No, not even close.
I think, more than anything, it lends focus and reminds the reader that there are methods a person can use to move forward in the world in a meaningful way.
I was extremely fortunate that this showed up for me when it did, on the Monday after Roe vs. Wade was overturned. I had spent the weekend wondering how I would put the idealistic plans I'd been working on into actual place, feeling hopeless and overwhelmed, wondering why I couldn't kill people with the power of my angry mind.
When I came to work on Monday, this was waiting for me. I started listening immediately and it redirected my thoughts, reminding me that I can't fix the world but I can mend the breaks that I can reach. And that I need to remember to take care of myself, too, because a broken person burns out quickly.
March 8, 2022
This book is, weirdly, not really about actual police or prison abolition. I think that, at its best, this book is about the creativity and attitude shift that abolition necessitates, but honestly I’d recommend the book Care Work by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha if you’re interested in that specifically. An Abolitionist’s Handbook feels more like a self-help mantra written specifically for high-level community organizers with salary jobs, and by the end it’s mostly a handbook on intra-community beefs, handling donations, and getting visibility, rather than a handbook on eradicating the prison industrial complex.
January 12, 2023
4.5, I've wanted something like this book for so so so long and I just randomly ran into it on my Libby app. I'm so glad i did.
For me, the books blends 12 step principles and singleness of purpose (but the purpose is restorative justice), practical actions for working in groups, and trauma informed interpersonal skills. Then a bit of 12 step (or katy byron, take your pick) accountability work, balancing caring for oneself and caring for others/community and empathy.
The book is specifically written to an audience of black and brown Abolitionists and activists but I think anyone would benefit from reading it if they were open to what it has to offer. It's not perfect. For instance, I don't agree that "cancel culture" is necessarily bad. Some solutions can seem overly simplistic and she is far far more optimistic than I am (but someone has to be!). That all said, in a world where the concept of restorative justice is only beginning to enter the greater narrative, this book lays out clear and accessible steps we can take to practice those principles and values in our daily lives (orgs, families, communities). I just wish everyone would read this book and take it to heart. We really could live in a better world imho.
For me, the books blends 12 step principles and singleness of purpose (but the purpose is restorative justice), practical actions for working in groups, and trauma informed interpersonal skills. Then a bit of 12 step (or katy byron, take your pick) accountability work, balancing caring for oneself and caring for others/community and empathy.
The book is specifically written to an audience of black and brown Abolitionists and activists but I think anyone would benefit from reading it if they were open to what it has to offer. It's not perfect. For instance, I don't agree that "cancel culture" is necessarily bad. Some solutions can seem overly simplistic and she is far far more optimistic than I am (but someone has to be!). That all said, in a world where the concept of restorative justice is only beginning to enter the greater narrative, this book lays out clear and accessible steps we can take to practice those principles and values in our daily lives (orgs, families, communities). I just wish everyone would read this book and take it to heart. We really could live in a better world imho.
January 16, 2022
"You begin where you are".
That seems simple doesn't it? Begin where you are - to make the changes in your own life that need to be changed, to work to change the injustices around you, to change the conversations that you and others have that may not be supportive or abusive [the chapter on this and what really constitutes abuse was EXTREMELY eye-opening to me and has made me take a hard look at my own life and how I respond to different things around me], to support those around you who are marginalized - all very important things that we ALL should be doing. Yet, this is not as simple as it sounds. For many people, it involves changing behavior that is second nature and has been for probably their whole life. It involves being stronger than one ever thought they could be in standing up for the injustices that they see around them. It involves possibly alienating those who may be family members, close friends and co-workers in standing up for what should and should not be said and behavior that is and isn't okay and then remaining strong when those very people, who either don't want to change or are afraid to change, turn on you and/or walk away from you. Being an abolitionist is not easy. It is not fun. It can be amazingly rewarding. It WILL change how you see everything, especially when you make the commitment and start doing the right thing and being the ally you should be.
This is a very important book. Everyone should be reading it [even the ones who don't think they need it] and doing the questions in it and then reevaluating their lives and just where they stand. Because there will be people who read this and it won't make a difference to them [and that is something that is more than likely expected, but it is one of the saddest things I have had to write in a long time]. Then, there are the people who will read this and see that they can begin where they are and start making the change and will realize just how amazing it is to do the right thing. Then there are people who are already allies, but know they can do more [this is where I am] and there are still things in their lives that they can change [I had several moments of being smacked in the face with knowledge that I had never even considered and I know I have work to do ahead of me] and they want the tools to begin that. And then there are the people of color that this is truly written for - how to look at their own lives, how to address issues in their own lives and how they can begin to heal from the hurts and pain that have been inflicted on them and their people for hundreds of years. This is a book for all these people. Everyone can learn from this. Everyone.
I plan on buying this book and reading it again with the idea of taking a chapter a day and doing all the work that is in the book [there are questions and readings etc at the end of the chapters that encourage the person reading it to make changes] - the kindle is not a good tool to accomplish this [IMO]. I think that it is good to read through a book like this and just absorb it and get a feel for it and then read it again and start applying what needs to be applied and start the work. I know that won't work for everyone, but I have found, with books like this, this is one of the better ways to approach it.
I was able to get the audiobook, read by Ariel Blake, and that really opened up the book for me [I think I am really an auditory learner, though in doing this book again, I plan on read reading it]. She does the narration so well and it made me pay attention to more things that were being said than I might not have in just reading it. I highly suggest that those who plan on reading this and doing/starting the work, listen to it at least once. It is a really great experience with a narrator that doesn't flinch from the subject matter and really does the book and the topics justice.
Now, go read this book, but if you do, plan in it changing your life. Plan on it making you want to begin new journeys. Just begin where you are, and then move forward.
Thank you to Patrice Cullors, Ariel Blake [Narrator], St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this ARC and audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
That seems simple doesn't it? Begin where you are - to make the changes in your own life that need to be changed, to work to change the injustices around you, to change the conversations that you and others have that may not be supportive or abusive [the chapter on this and what really constitutes abuse was EXTREMELY eye-opening to me and has made me take a hard look at my own life and how I respond to different things around me], to support those around you who are marginalized - all very important things that we ALL should be doing. Yet, this is not as simple as it sounds. For many people, it involves changing behavior that is second nature and has been for probably their whole life. It involves being stronger than one ever thought they could be in standing up for the injustices that they see around them. It involves possibly alienating those who may be family members, close friends and co-workers in standing up for what should and should not be said and behavior that is and isn't okay and then remaining strong when those very people, who either don't want to change or are afraid to change, turn on you and/or walk away from you. Being an abolitionist is not easy. It is not fun. It can be amazingly rewarding. It WILL change how you see everything, especially when you make the commitment and start doing the right thing and being the ally you should be.
This is a very important book. Everyone should be reading it [even the ones who don't think they need it] and doing the questions in it and then reevaluating their lives and just where they stand. Because there will be people who read this and it won't make a difference to them [and that is something that is more than likely expected, but it is one of the saddest things I have had to write in a long time]. Then, there are the people who will read this and see that they can begin where they are and start making the change and will realize just how amazing it is to do the right thing. Then there are people who are already allies, but know they can do more [this is where I am] and there are still things in their lives that they can change [I had several moments of being smacked in the face with knowledge that I had never even considered and I know I have work to do ahead of me] and they want the tools to begin that. And then there are the people of color that this is truly written for - how to look at their own lives, how to address issues in their own lives and how they can begin to heal from the hurts and pain that have been inflicted on them and their people for hundreds of years. This is a book for all these people. Everyone can learn from this. Everyone.
I plan on buying this book and reading it again with the idea of taking a chapter a day and doing all the work that is in the book [there are questions and readings etc at the end of the chapters that encourage the person reading it to make changes] - the kindle is not a good tool to accomplish this [IMO]. I think that it is good to read through a book like this and just absorb it and get a feel for it and then read it again and start applying what needs to be applied and start the work. I know that won't work for everyone, but I have found, with books like this, this is one of the better ways to approach it.
I was able to get the audiobook, read by Ariel Blake, and that really opened up the book for me [I think I am really an auditory learner, though in doing this book again, I plan on read reading it]. She does the narration so well and it made me pay attention to more things that were being said than I might not have in just reading it. I highly suggest that those who plan on reading this and doing/starting the work, listen to it at least once. It is a really great experience with a narrator that doesn't flinch from the subject matter and really does the book and the topics justice.
Now, go read this book, but if you do, plan in it changing your life. Plan on it making you want to begin new journeys. Just begin where you are, and then move forward.
Thank you to Patrice Cullors, Ariel Blake [Narrator], St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this ARC and audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 27, 2022
“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.”
(Angela Davis)
I have to admit my ignorance on two fronts: first, I came across this term more than once, and yet never stopped to check what it actually meant in depth. Second, I had no idea who the author was.
So why did I read this book? As an activist and seeing what some of the points discussed in this book were, I though it could have been interesting and useful to me. And I'm glad to say that I was right! Not only for the suggestions I received on how to handle my battles better and how to create a world worth to live in that we can pass down to future generations, but also for it being an interesting reading – my first proper introduction of what abolitionism truly means, and I'm still digesting the concept.
I don’t believe abolition is about bullying, but I do believe abolition is about standing up for yourself. We need to be committed to building a culture that is rooted in care, dignity and accountability. Let’s never forget the consequences of a draconian and antiquated system.
This book presents itself as a guide on how to practice abolitionism with both the steps to change the world and the tools required to do so, without being a mare bullet-list and talking about personal (and famous) experience to encourage us, and guide use even better. However, it works well also as a starting point to get into the topic, without lacking on explanation of what abolitionism is and what abolitionists do (did, and how), and without being too overwhelming for what concerns explanations and information.
Think loud. What do you want to see changed? Now think of how some would say this system is fixed. Think of the reasons someone would tell you it can’t be done. Then be ready to dismantle. Because all the things that are worth improving? Someone will tell you they’re fixed. To fix can mean to fasten. Just as something can be fastened, believe it can be unfastened, too.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Adrienne Maree Brown
Introduction by Prentis Hemphill
What Is a Handbook?
STEP #1: Courageous Conversations
STEP #2: Respond vs. React
STEP #3: Nothing Is Fixed
STEP #4: Say Yes to Imagination
STEP #5: Forgive Actively, Not Passively
STEP #6: Allow Yourself to Feel
STEP #7: Commit to Not Harming or Abusing Others
STEP #8: Practice Accountability
STEP #9: Embrace Non-Reformist Reform
STEP #10: Build Community
STEP #11: Value Interpersonal Relationships
STEP #12: Fight the U.S. State Rather Than Make It Stronger
Rating: ★★★★
April 22, 2022
Minus one star because Cullors offers this handbook as a tool to carry around, scribble notes in, and return to time and time again... but the binding of this first edition print by St. Martin's Press is a nightmare!! The book jacket is a size too large so it flops around, the pages are not secured to the spine, and the binding visibly and immediately began to come undone as I was reading. This writing most certainly is a valuable tool, but to really be a portable handbook it needs to be pocket-sized and effectively bound. (To be clear, I would buy another copy if reprinted more carefully lol.)
I find myself thinking about "courageous conversations" a LOT. I feel committed to using these 12 steps to improve myself and my community, and I appreciate Cullors giving permission to get the self in order before rushing out to change the world. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to her for her work compiling these components to articulate a vision of abolition.
1. Courageous Conversations
2. Respond vs. React
3. Nothing is Fixed
4. Say Yes to Imagination
5. Forgive Actively, Not Passively
6. Allow Yourself to Feel
7. Commit to Not Harming or Abusing Others
8. Practice Accountability
9. Embrace Non-Reformist Reform
10. Build Community
11. Value Interpersonal Relationships
12. Fight the U.S. State Rather Than Make It Stronger
I find myself thinking about "courageous conversations" a LOT. I feel committed to using these 12 steps to improve myself and my community, and I appreciate Cullors giving permission to get the self in order before rushing out to change the world. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to her for her work compiling these components to articulate a vision of abolition.
1. Courageous Conversations
2. Respond vs. React
3. Nothing is Fixed
4. Say Yes to Imagination
5. Forgive Actively, Not Passively
6. Allow Yourself to Feel
7. Commit to Not Harming or Abusing Others
8. Practice Accountability
9. Embrace Non-Reformist Reform
10. Build Community
11. Value Interpersonal Relationships
12. Fight the U.S. State Rather Than Make It Stronger
March 3, 2025
Rating low mostly because this feels like false advertising. This book is not about how to change the world. It's a self help book for people high up in an organization for how to take care of themselves and also (honestly and disappointingly) how to justify things that go against your goals. I wanted more ideas for things we can do to push these movements forward, and this is not that book.
February 20, 2022
3.5 This is about working on building up emotional intelligence, including how to apologize, as a prerequisite for abolitionist organising
March 4, 2022
Great book to read that is a guide to becoming a better human being and a citizen for the world.
October 6, 2021
I dare you to read this book and not get excited.
And that sentence came to me right away after just reading the first few pages. . There is a brave new world out there. Grab it!
This book is a badly needed revelation. Read it!
And that sentence came to me right away after just reading the first few pages. . There is a brave new world out there. Grab it!
This book is a badly needed revelation. Read it!
January 13, 2022
This book was extremely healing for me.
Whether you are interested in abolition or not, this book provides you with the necessary tools to move through the world as a better human.
Very appreciative.
Whether you are interested in abolition or not, this book provides you with the necessary tools to move through the world as a better human.
Very appreciative.
February 28, 2022
I thought the parts of this book that were more memoir and looking at historical examples were really powerful. However, the rest of the book felt a little too preachy and self-helpy to me, which wasn’t my favorite.
August 24, 2021
This book has an interesting format that I think would go over favorably with a wide range readers. However, as a whole, it is not super memorable.
May 16, 2023
It’s called abolitionist…but a lot of the ideas, principles, and strategies, and examples are giving respectability politics and aren’t really ….good
January 31, 2022
From the title, it should have been more evident to me that this wasn’t the normal political journalism that I usually read. I saw the author's name and the cover and I jumped into the audiobook. It definitely wasn't what i had anticipated.
At first, I was a little disappointed, I love knowledge and history, and hard-hitting facts, basically, I’m a political junky, but after I took a step back and came back to the book for what it was rather than what I was expecting, I was happy to dive in.
Too often in movements (any movement) the folks doing the work get bogged down by things like red tape (if you are doing the work inside an organization), other people's emotions, and governments that are frustratingly exhausting. We don’t take care of ourselves and if we want to change how things are done we are blocked by others willing to go with the status quo.
I definitely think this would be beneficial to a wide range of folks, and I hope we are able to use this book to help reframe how to do the work in a different way.
At first, I was a little disappointed, I love knowledge and history, and hard-hitting facts, basically, I’m a political junky, but after I took a step back and came back to the book for what it was rather than what I was expecting, I was happy to dive in.
Too often in movements (any movement) the folks doing the work get bogged down by things like red tape (if you are doing the work inside an organization), other people's emotions, and governments that are frustratingly exhausting. We don’t take care of ourselves and if we want to change how things are done we are blocked by others willing to go with the status quo.
I definitely think this would be beneficial to a wide range of folks, and I hope we are able to use this book to help reframe how to do the work in a different way.
March 9, 2022
I found the title to be a bit misleading. While the author's mission is clearly abolition (of "patriarchal, white-supremacist capitalism" including legal and prison systems), it is more a handbook for any type of relational and organizational work. The steps of having courageous conversations and building relationships are broadly applicable. It's only in the last few steps that any of the abolitionist ideas are central. She uses her experiences in this work as examples throughout, but she also prefaces the book recognizing that people can (and should) disagree with or challenge her ideas.
If one were doing major organizing, this is likely a very helpful handbook since it draws upon the experiences of people who have been at the center of major movements. It also contains some pretty good life advice (do no harm, forgive actively, etc.) with concrete examples and places to go for additional help. The title may repel some, and I'm not sure the avoidance based on ideology is warranted.
If one were doing major organizing, this is likely a very helpful handbook since it draws upon the experiences of people who have been at the center of major movements. It also contains some pretty good life advice (do no harm, forgive actively, etc.) with concrete examples and places to go for additional help. The title may repel some, and I'm not sure the avoidance based on ideology is warranted.
Read
February 21, 2022Thank you to LibroFM's ALC educator program for the audio copy of this. I enjoy this sort of nonfiction, but I'm mixed on a rating and my feelings on this. I think my enjoyment was stunted because while the narrator did a fantastic job, I would have appreciated Cullors narrating her book because even though it isn't a memoir (and she addresses this at the outset) she does sprinkle in personal anecdotes and speak from a personal place in this nonfiction
I appreciate that there are actionable steps or at the very least more things to explore once you finish each chapter outlining one of the 12 steps for abolition. There are guiding questions and this is meant to be a text that you meditate on, revisit and sit with. I am grateful that this exists. Whether you consider yourself to be an abolitionist or not, this gives you a lot to think about and actions to take.
I appreciate that there are actionable steps or at the very least more things to explore once you finish each chapter outlining one of the 12 steps for abolition. There are guiding questions and this is meant to be a text that you meditate on, revisit and sit with. I am grateful that this exists. Whether you consider yourself to be an abolitionist or not, this gives you a lot to think about and actions to take.
January 3, 2022
This book was the perfect way to end 2021... and I believe this brilliant little book is "must reading" for every single person in America. Really.
Patrisse Cullors gives the reader a road map to be a catalyst for change in the world... and I am not talking radical change (although I think if one applies all of her 12-steps it would radical!) This book seemed to me a series of love letters to yourself and to the people around you that you might interact with every single day.
The only reason I am giving this book 4-stars is because I truly wished it was longer... gosh, it was so good I did not want it to end.
If you want to be a better ally... read this book. But realize that if you do read this book, you will be setting yourself on the path to becoming a better human. And wouldn't it be a wonder if everyone who reads this book suddenly finds themselves on the same path as everyone else!
I would like to thank Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this audiobook. I highly recommend!
Patrisse Cullors gives the reader a road map to be a catalyst for change in the world... and I am not talking radical change (although I think if one applies all of her 12-steps it would radical!) This book seemed to me a series of love letters to yourself and to the people around you that you might interact with every single day.
The only reason I am giving this book 4-stars is because I truly wished it was longer... gosh, it was so good I did not want it to end.
If you want to be a better ally... read this book. But realize that if you do read this book, you will be setting yourself on the path to becoming a better human. And wouldn't it be a wonder if everyone who reads this book suddenly finds themselves on the same path as everyone else!
I would like to thank Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this audiobook. I highly recommend!
August 5, 2022
I loved When They Call You a Terrorist, and despite also following the multiple controversies that eventually led to Patrisse Khan-Cullors' departure from BLM, I feel she's an important voice and was looking forward to reading this one.
While I can understand others' feeling that the title overpromises on what is delivered, and that many of the steps/chapters were more interpersonal or individual in their focus rather than structural, I believe that's important work, too, and that the chapters are informational and helpful.
I would say, if someone reads this and enjoys it, that I would recommend even more reading many of the people that are cited in here, in particular adrienne marie brown, Malcolm X's autobiography, Arundhati Roy, Audre Lorde, and Angela Davis.
While I can understand others' feeling that the title overpromises on what is delivered, and that many of the steps/chapters were more interpersonal or individual in their focus rather than structural, I believe that's important work, too, and that the chapters are informational and helpful.
I would say, if someone reads this and enjoys it, that I would recommend even more reading many of the people that are cited in here, in particular adrienne marie brown, Malcolm X's autobiography, Arundhati Roy, Audre Lorde, and Angela Davis.
August 23, 2022
Lots of excellent information and insight. The one drawback I had with this was how it was organized. I found it immensely confounded and confusing. The layout is not easy to use if you want to go back and refer to things. Not that what is said is wrong or not needed, it just could have been better organized for easy access. I also was not a fan of "take care of yourself before you build community". The author is clearly the expert but this gave me "love yourself before others" vibe and I disagree with that. I think that community and others can teach us how to take care of ourselves and how to love ourselves.
May 28, 2022
Writing this the week that 19 children and 2 teachers were massacred at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. The revelations about the inaction of law enforcement at the scene are utterly horrifying, and they underscore for me that moving toward abolition of police forces is the only way forward. It could not be any more clear that, by and large, the police do not make ordinary citizens safer. We need a different way. Before you dismiss the modern day abolition movement, get educated about it. It makes sense.
February 16, 2023
Incredible resource for actionable personal and organized abolitionist work. Even though I started fully supporting the concepts discussed in the book, I learned so much and was enabled to continue learning. The bonus conversation in the audiobook was even more eye-opening. I feel like I'm glowing with inspiration and motivation after reading this. I'm definitely buying my own copy so I can highlight and make notes. Well worth the read!!
February 16, 2024
Cullors writes a solid handbook for those that haven't been introduced to abolitionist thinking and are looking to learn how they can grow in that framework. I enjoyed her use of 12 steps for personal growth as a ways of introducing abolitionist concepts, histories, texts, and personal anecdotes.
February 22, 2022
Well written and easy to follow steps to work towards actual change
August 4, 2022
Phenomenal.
December 8, 2022
I think I would’ve loved this book when I was 22 and these ideas were new and exciting. I appreciate the discussions it brings, I found some of the examples (particularly the historical leaders) fascinating. But I had a hard time with the stream of conscious style and heavy number of anecdotes.
March 5, 2022
Amazing book. Will be rereading many times!
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