An Abolitionist’s Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World

Cullors (When They Call You a Terrorist), a cofounder of the Black Lives Matter movement, delivers an accessible if diffuse guide to “abolitionist practice.” According to Cullors, abolition “centers on getting rid of prisons, jails, police, courts and surveillance,” but also includes the fight for improved water quality in cities and a more equal distribution of streaming revenue for musicians (“If there is any part of your life where you are trying to get free, it connects to abolitionist practice”). She draws on her personal life and activist experiences to offer advice on how to have “courageous conversations” about difficult subjects, and how to “imagin[e] beyond the status quo” of “white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.” Elsewhere, she recounts the actions she took as a high school guidance counselor when a student alleged that a teacher was sexually abusing another student. In addition to notifying the authorities, Cullors informed the perpetrator of the accusation and offered to talk to him about it (she never heard back), and created discussion groups for faculty and students to learn about restorative justice. Though Cullors broadens the scope of “abolition” so far that the concept begins to lose some of its meaning, her guidance on how to achieve personal and social transformation is enlightening. Readers will be inspired to take action. (Jan.)