Undanced Dances Through Prison Walls During a Pandemic
Undanced Dances Through Prison Walls During a Pandemic
Publisher Sming Sming Books
Author Suchi Branfman, editor and curator
The United States has the largest prison population in the world. As of the publication of this book, Covid-19 positive cases amongst incarcerated people nationally are 192,423 resulting in 1,305 deaths. The California state prison system has experienced 17,459 cases and 82 deaths. The pandemic has ravaged prisons, shining the light on mass incarceration at its worst. In 2016, choreographer and educator Suchi Branfman began a five-year choreographic residency inside the California Rehabilitation Center, a medium security state men’s prison in Norco, California. The project, dubbed “Dancing Through Prison Walls,” developed into a critical dialogue about freedom, confinement, and how we survive restriction, limitations, and denial of liberty through the act of dancing. The project abruptly ended in March 2020, when the California state prison system shut down programming and visitation due to Covid-19. The work was rapidly revised, and the incarcerated dancers—Brandon, Yusef, Richie, Landon, Carlos, Terry, Raymond, Angel, and Clinton—began sending out written choreographies from their bunks to the outside world. Undanced Dances Through Prison Walls During a Pandemic is the resulting deeply imagined work, written between March and May of 2020. Proceeds from this book go to the choreographers and to support the work of Critical Resistance and California Coalition for Women Prisoners.
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Author Suchi Branfman, editor and curator
The United States has the largest prison population in the world. As of the publication of this book, Covid-19 positive cases amongst incarcerated people nationally are 192,423 resulting in 1,305 deaths. The California state prison system has experienced 17,459 cases and 82 deaths. The pandemic has ravaged prisons, shining the light on mass incarceration at its worst. In 2016, choreographer and educator Suchi Branfman began a five-year choreographic residency inside the California Rehabilitation Center, a medium security state men’s prison in Norco, California. The project, dubbed “Dancing Through Prison Walls,” developed into a critical dialogue about freedom, confinement, and how we survive restriction, limitations, and denial of liberty through the act of dancing. The project abruptly ended in March 2020, when the California state prison system shut down programming and visitation due to Covid-19. The work was rapidly revised, and the incarcerated dancers—Brandon, Yusef, Richie, Landon, Carlos, Terry, Raymond, Angel, and Clinton—began sending out written choreographies from their bunks to the outside world. Undanced Dances Through Prison Walls During a Pandemic is the resulting deeply imagined work, written between March and May of 2020. Proceeds from this book go to the choreographers and to support the work of Critical Resistance and California Coalition for Women Prisoners.
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DEFUND THE POLICE
DEFUND THE POLICE
Publisher Drum Machine Editions
Author Erik Pedersen
Police reform doesn't work. That's why all profits from the sale of these broadsides will be redirected to Critical Resistance (criticalresistance.org) to support their ongoing abolition work. DIMENSIONS: 11”x17” PROCESS: risography INK COLORS: black, medium blue PAPER: Domtar Cougar Natural Smooth, 65# cover Illustration, design, and printing by Erik Pedersen. Typeset in Martin by Vocal Type / Tré Seals. "CRITICAL RESISTANCE seeks to build an international movement to end the Prison Industrial Complex by challenging the belief that caging and controlling people makes us safe. We believe that basic necessities such as food, shelter, and freedom are what really make our communities secure. As such, our work is part of global struggles against inequality and powerlessness. The success of the movement requires that it reflect communities most affected by the PIC. Because we seek to abolish the PIC, we cannot support any work that extends its life or scope." —criticalresistance.org
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Author Erik Pedersen
Police reform doesn't work. That's why all profits from the sale of these broadsides will be redirected to Critical Resistance (criticalresistance.org) to support their ongoing abolition work. DIMENSIONS: 11”x17” PROCESS: risography INK COLORS: black, medium blue PAPER: Domtar Cougar Natural Smooth, 65# cover Illustration, design, and printing by Erik Pedersen. Typeset in Martin by Vocal Type / Tré Seals. "CRITICAL RESISTANCE seeks to build an international movement to end the Prison Industrial Complex by challenging the belief that caging and controlling people makes us safe. We believe that basic necessities such as food, shelter, and freedom are what really make our communities secure. As such, our work is part of global struggles against inequality and powerlessness. The success of the movement requires that it reflect communities most affected by the PIC. Because we seek to abolish the PIC, we cannot support any work that extends its life or scope." —criticalresistance.org
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Abolition: How We Keep Us Safe
Abolition: How We Keep Us Safe
Publisher Abolition Action
Author Abolition Action
In the spring of 2020, prison and policing abolitionist organizing collective, Abolition Action, worked with various contributors to collect, create and contextualize tools for strengthening relationships with our neighbors and local friends, meeting each others needs, and responding to crises without cops. This work culminated in a zine, available in its first edition online and in print.
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Author Abolition Action
In the spring of 2020, prison and policing abolitionist organizing collective, Abolition Action, worked with various contributors to collect, create and contextualize tools for strengthening relationships with our neighbors and local friends, meeting each others needs, and responding to crises without cops. This work culminated in a zine, available in its first edition online and in print.
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Abolish the Police for Breonna Taylor
Abolish the Police for Breonna Taylor
Publisher Groundwork Zine
Author Kimberly Enjoli
Groundwork Zine is a love note from Black abolitionist grassroots organizers to our communities. We've produced three issues a year since 2017. Usually zines are printed and disseminated at protests but this year's summer issue was primarily shared digitally.
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Author Kimberly Enjoli
Groundwork Zine is a love note from Black abolitionist grassroots organizers to our communities. We've produced three issues a year since 2017. Usually zines are printed and disseminated at protests but this year's summer issue was primarily shared digitally.
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Care Not Cops
Care Not Cops
Publisher Lucky Risograph
Author Julia Schaefer and Mark Anthony Hernandez Motaghy
Crown Heights Mutual Aid (CHMA) was formed in March 2020 during the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. We are a network of neighbors supporting one another and the most vulnerable in our community, mobilizing against the COVID-19 health crisis and the ongoing crises of state violence, food injustice, and housing inequality. CHMA is also a tool for building connections and reciprocal relationships: we all have something to offer, and we all have something we need as we struggle towards justice. This poster is intended to both spread awareness of how to get involved with Crown Heights Mutual Aid and fundraise for our neighbors’ groceries. “Care Not Cops” makes explicit that CHMA is a long-term project, and we are committed to building processes and finding sustainable solutions. Operating in the spirit of collective care and responsibility, we refuse to collaborate with law enforcement in our aid work; much of what we do is necessitated by the violence and oppression carried out by the police and America’s carceral apparatus. Lucky Risograph, who continues to offer free printing services for activists and movement organizers, printed all of our posters. All money raised went toward getting groceries to our neighbors.
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Author Julia Schaefer and Mark Anthony Hernandez Motaghy
Crown Heights Mutual Aid (CHMA) was formed in March 2020 during the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. We are a network of neighbors supporting one another and the most vulnerable in our community, mobilizing against the COVID-19 health crisis and the ongoing crises of state violence, food injustice, and housing inequality. CHMA is also a tool for building connections and reciprocal relationships: we all have something to offer, and we all have something we need as we struggle towards justice. This poster is intended to both spread awareness of how to get involved with Crown Heights Mutual Aid and fundraise for our neighbors’ groceries. “Care Not Cops” makes explicit that CHMA is a long-term project, and we are committed to building processes and finding sustainable solutions. Operating in the spirit of collective care and responsibility, we refuse to collaborate with law enforcement in our aid work; much of what we do is necessitated by the violence and oppression carried out by the police and America’s carceral apparatus. Lucky Risograph, who continues to offer free printing services for activists and movement organizers, printed all of our posters. All money raised went toward getting groceries to our neighbors.
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