ABSTRACT
Debates around abolishing prisons and policing have intensified across the globe as anger grows over the public killing of First Nations and Black People in custody. In the settler-colonial state of Australia, deaths in custody at the hands of prison officers and police are driving renewed discussions and scholarship that question the reliance on prisons, police, and associated industries in resolving social problems. These various arms of the criminal justice system, identified collectively as the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) are the focus of activism by the prison abolition movement. Abolitionists argue that resources and power be given to communities with the understanding that the People who are closest to the problem are also closest to the solutions. When People who are members of marginalised communities enter university, does a university education liberate their voices, or does academia reproduce violence? Supporting emerging abolitionist scholars and leaders is important in resisting ongoing colonisation. Yet, writing about abolition takes courage and commitment, courage to challenge the status quo and commitment to supporting marginalised voices to flourish; as Angela Davis suggests, to ‘lift as you climb’. In this chapter, we discuss doing prison abolition work through our writing, research, teaching, and activism and the transformative learning which grows out of ally/academic relationships.
