AU Professor Orisanmi Burton Talks the Need for Abolition in Online Workshop: Abolition 101

by Kayleigh Thompson

In a talk with Abolition MPLS, a Minneapolis based movement associated with the larger Abolition Collective, AU professor Orisanmi Burton broke down the basics of the modern abolition movement, specifically in regards to the criminal justice system and policing in the United States in a workshop called “Abolition 101.”

“Abolition is a journey” began organizer Aaron D. Mallory, who introduced Professor Burton and the goals for the 45 minute workshop, streamed from the AbolitionMPLS Youtube Channel. As Professor Burton laid out, the goal of the stream was to define abolition and connect the movement to the current protests after the “public lynching of George Floyd.” The workshop was, in essence, a crash course on the current abolition movement and theory, both for newcomers and active participants within Abolition Collective and similar organizations.

From the start of the talk, Professor Burton made it clear that abolition both as a theory and a movement was a collective effort, with varying definitions and perspectives, all with the unifying goal of mobilizing everyday people. The Professor noted the impact of Black women and their role in defining the modern-day movement. In addition to providing several definitions of abolition from Mumia Abu Jamal, Critical Resistance, and Angela Davis, Burton emphasized the purpose of the talk by stating.

“These remarks are the result of collective intellectual and political labor...we must emphasize that abolition is an ongoing political process.”

The talk was then broken down into distinct components, the first half being defining abolition and differentiating between crime vs. harm, specifically within the criminal justice system, and the latter focusing on reform vs. abolition.

In the first half, Professor Burton broke down the use of policing as a tool for, “maintaining peace and order under conditions of social and economic inequality,” and firmly stated that the use of policing and prisons were, “instruments of class warfare.” The importance of historical context-- specifically interracial animosity and white economic power-- was a distinct theme within the talk and was used to solidify the concepts of the American criminal justice system being built from a place of injustice.

The second half of the talk focused heavily on reform vs. abolition. The workshop argued that, “the criminal justice system is reforming all the time,” and that supporting reform within the framework simply maintains the status quo of the existing system. To combat this, he explained the concepts of non-reformist reforms and abolitionist movements. These movements are aimed to do what “should be done” outside of the existing system, instead of what “could be done” within the bounds of a framework rooted in injustice and inequality.

Within the context of current events, Professor Burton placed changes put forward by the city of Minneapolis-- specifically schools breaking with the police department-- as a potential non-reformist reform that could eventually lead to the rebuilding of a system abolished for its disservice to preserving human life, which is the essence of the abolition movement.

In concluding the workshop, Professor Burton explained that the outrage against the muder of George Floyd has caused the movement to increase at a rapid speed, and that in response, there will be intense police pushback and a dissemination of massive pro-police propaganda to encourage agreeing to reforms that will preserve the existing, unjust system. To combat this, he argued simply, “We must continue to foster our radical imagination.” 

To watch the workshop: Abolition 101, click here. (talk begins at timestamp 6:35)

To get updates on the abolition movement, fill out this form. 

Further Reading Materials Mentioned in the talk: 

Transform Harm, www.transformharm.org/abolition

Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women, found here

Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology, edited by Women of Color Against Violence, INCITE! Website found here.

Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America by Khalil Gibran Muhammad 

Policing the Crisis: Mugging, The State, and Law and Order by Stuart Hall