ABSTRACT
Resistance to imprisonment is a reliable and consistent feature of the U.S. penal landscape, and though prisoner-initiated collective resistance is often imagined through exceptional moments such as the Attica Uprising, today’s incarcerated organizers are claiming their own historical significance, while asserting their political necessity. Imprisoned activists are operating from within highly controlled penal settings yet are remarkably able to propel forward an abolitionist praxis with both urgency and reflective analysis. By using the case studies of the 2016 and 2018 national prison strikes in the U.S., and specifically bringing in prisoners’ voices, this chapter will explore how incarcerated activists are resisting social death and collectively asserting political agency. Prisoners are producing counterhegemonic critiques, highlighting the material cruelties of imprisoning bodies, and challenging the ways in which a modern democracy is complicit in perpetuating neoslavery. This imprisoned intellectualism has been an instrumental keystone for instances of both planned and spontaneous direct action, specifically in the form of work stoppages, boycotts, and hunger strikes that intend to impact the prison economy, both substantively and symbolically. Pragmatic abolitionist efforts would benefit greatly from reciprocally engaging with incarcerated organizers who are daring to win and daring to struggle from within the carceral state.
