If a theologian \u00e2\u20ac\u0153acts in the roles of the exegete, prophet, teacher, preacher, and philosopher,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{1}\u00c2\u00a0 then theology is not only language about the liberating potential of the divine but must be an exegesis on sacred text; a prophetic voice; educational; spiritually motivating and accessible; and philosophically relevant.\u00c2\u00a0 In this paper I will explore the connections and relationship between multiple liberation theologies (and some of their critiques) and humanism with the intention of developing a liberationist humanist theology for the modern abolitionist movement.\u00c2\u00a0 I will strive to prioritize those voices most essential in the modern abolitionist movement \u00e2\u20ac\u201c incarcerated and formally incarcerated people \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as well as others targeted by state surveillance and violence (i.e. Communities of Color, poor\/low-income people, and queer\/trans people).<\/p>\n
To understand the modern abolitionist movement one must have at least a basic understanding of the current prison industrial complex (PIC).\u00c2\u00a0 Scholars and activists like Angela Davis and the Critical Resistance movement have popularized the term \u00e2\u20ac\u0153prison industrial complex.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 The PIC is a multifaceted construction of control and domination, most commonly seen as the U.S. prison and jail system, the concrete and steel buildings that warehouse individuals.\u00c2\u00a0 While prisons and jails are a pivotal aspect, the PIC includes an entire culture of state and corporate collusion to control, discipline, and torture poor\/low-income communities and Communities of Color.\u00c2\u00a0 The tactics range from police forces to cameras mounted in communities; from the (in)justice system to corporate profiteering from prison phone-calls; from immigration enforcement to media depictions of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153criminals\u00e2\u20ac\u009d; and on and on.\u00c2\u00a0 The PIC builds its strength from the myth that it is solving the problems of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153crime\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and violence.\u00c2\u00a0 Marilyn Buck, a White anti-racist revolutionary political prisoner, speaks about prison as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a relationship with an abuser who controls your every move, keeps you locked in the house.\u00c2\u00a0 There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the ever-present threat of violence or further repression, if you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t toe the line.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{2} \u00c2\u00a0 While Buck is specifically referring to her experience within a particular prison, the metaphor of a domestic violence relationship is significant when one considers the PIC as the abuser and marginalized communities as the survivor.\u00c2\u00a0 The prison industrial complex is an ever-present force in the daily lives of those most marginalized in our society, and thus the movement for abolition must come out of and be led by those communities.<\/p>\n
Tiyo Attallah Salah-El, a lifer in Pennsylvania, asserts that prison abolition, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153like the abolition of slavery, is a long-range goal.\u00c2\u00a0 Abolition is not simply a moment in time, but a protracted process.\u00c2\u00a0 Prison abolitionism should not now be considered a pipe dream, but rather a strong strategy that can in time bring about a halt to the building of more prisons.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{3} \u00c2\u00a0 I would take this further and suggest that the abolition of physical prisons and jails is not the end of the abolition movement.\u00c2\u00a0 The modern abolition movement must listen to the voices of those in INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence and others who remind the movement that, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153to live violence-free lives, we must develop holistic strategies for addressing violence that speak to the intersection of all forms of oppression.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{4} \u00c2\u00a0 Abolition is not simply an eschatological moment rather it is a reflection of our collective ontological selves; it is a movement built on hope.\u00c2\u00a0 A movement built on hope that is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153only realistic when it is combined with praxis, but it forms an indispensable dynamic for continuing change in the face of the resistance of those whose interests are served by the status quo.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{5}<\/p>\n
One of the essential aspects of abolitionism is the refusal to engage in so-called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153prison reform\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 Abolitonists understand the PIC to be a well-maintained machine that does not need to be fixed as it serves the purpose it was created for, the warehousing of those considered \u00e2\u20ac\u0153criminal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in a White Supremacist, capitalist, heteropatriarchal society.\u00c2\u00a0 There is some debate among abolitionists about the legitimacy of abolitionist reforms, changes in policy or practices that affect the daily lives of prisoners, formerly incarcerated people, juveniles and others without strengthening or in any way adding to the legitimacy of the PIC.\u00c2\u00a0 I believe it is vital for us to make changes in the system as requested by those most impacted by it, so long as those changes are truly abolitionist reforms \u00e2\u20ac\u201c taking out bricks, not adding them.\u00c2\u00a0 As we build an abolitionist theology we must keep in mind the essential need to create alternative solutions to the realities of interpersonal violence in our multiple communities.<\/p>\n
Within this paper I have chosen to pay special attention to the writings of current and former political prisoners and prisoners of war held in United States prisons. According to David Gilbert, a former member of the Weather Underground who was captured in 1981 during an expropriation, a political prisoner is, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153anyone whose incarceration is a result of his or her actions taken, or positions espoused, on behalf of a political cause \u00e2\u20ac\u201c specifically a political cause on behalf of the oppressed and downtrodden in society and against the powers that be.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{6} \u00c2\u00a0 Political prisoners are the foreparents of the struggles that inspire and build the abolitionist movement today.\u00c2\u00a0 Prisoners of War are, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153captured freedom fighters from the Black, the Puerto Rican, and the Native American struggles\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 These include POWs from the Black Liberation Army and Puerto Rican Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{7}\u00c2\u00a0 I have struggled at different times about prioritizing the writings and experiences of those declared by leftist movements as political prisoners while there are nearly 2.5 million people in prison, all of whom are caged to further the politics of fear and punishment.\u00c2\u00a0 Mumia Abu-Jamal, a political prisoner on death row, suggests that all prisoners are political prisoners in part because, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153every prosecution is a public and symbolic act, a political act by the state to give the populace an illusion of control, to show that \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re taking care of this problem.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{8} \u00c2\u00a0 Regardless of whether one believes those who have taken direct revolutionary action in response to oppression are entitled to more respect as prisoners, the reality remains that political prisoners are regularly treated more harshly than other prisoners yet remain committed to the struggle that landed them behind bars in the first place.\u00c2\u00a0 As I hope to consider myself a revolutionary, I believe their writings to be an essential aspect of building a liberationist humanist theology for the modern abolition movement.<\/p>\n
My own personal location is important to note as I attempt to develop and expand on this theology.\u00c2\u00a0 I write as an individual committed to the modern abolitionist movement.\u00c2\u00a0 I write as a White privileged, class privileged, queer-anarchist, formerly incarcerated man.\u00c2\u00a0 My commitment to abolition was deeply strengthened after being imprisoned because of my choice to trespass on a military base with the hopes of bringing the atrocities of the School of the Americas to the attention of more people.\u00c2\u00a0 My experience of incarceration was not that of the majority in prison.\u00c2\u00a0 I hold many privileged identities and also had endless support on the outside, even receiving hundreds of letters during my six-month sentence.\u00c2\u00a0 Thus my particular story of being in prison cannot be centralized in the development of a more universal liberationist humanist theology of abolition.\u00c2\u00a0 This is not to diminish my experience of prison but to attempt to be more accountable to those most impacted by the violence of the PIC.<\/p>\n
It is reasonable to state that liberation theology began to form out of many contexts at roughly the same time: Latin American liberation theology, Black theology, feminist theology, and womanist theology.\u00c2\u00a0 Whether the theologian saw God as opting for the poor, the realization of a Black Jesus who suffered with Black people and provided liberation from oppression, a need to lift up the experience of women in Biblical stories, or the celebration of the wilderness as a place for transformation and spiritual birth, liberation theology was born into many circumstances.\u00c2\u00a0 The fundamental connecting point of liberation theologies is the centralization of the experience of the particular theologian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s oppressed community as the subject of theological discourse.<\/p>\n
At the writing of this paper Black women are the fastest growing population in U.S. prisons.{9} \u00c2\u00a0 Thus if abolition theology is truly going to be liberationist, it must centralize the experiences of Black women and the writings of womanists.\u00c2\u00a0 Katie Canon reflects on some of the gifts that womanism has to offer, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the role of emotional, intuitive knowledge in the collective life of the people.\u00c2\u00a0 Such intuition enables moral agents in situations of oppression to follow the rule within and not be dictated to from without.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{10} \u00c2\u00a0 This kind of theological and ethical framework is necessary for a liberationist humanist theology to function within the abolitionist movement.\u00c2\u00a0 As we choose to distance ourselves from the oppressive (in)justice system we must still address situations of violence and inequality within our communities.\u00c2\u00a0 This framework allows for communities considered \u00e2\u20ac\u0153outlaw\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to center their own morality, creating systems of accountability that prioritize the needs of the community rather than the validity of the state, capitalism, White Supremacy, or heteropatriarchy.\u00c2\u00a0 Another statistical reality of the prison system is that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153One in 36 Hispanic adults is behind bars, based on Justice Department figures for 2006. One in 15 black adults is, too, as is one in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{11} \u00c2\u00a0 If abolition theology is to be liberationist it must also centralize the experiences of Black men, remembering James Cone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definition of Black theology as, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the story of black people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s struggle for liberation in an extreme situation of oppression.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{12}<\/p>\n
Humanism has been consistently disparaged in much of the United States.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Secular humanism\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is blamed for the denigration of our moral fabric and family values.\u00c2\u00a0 Humanism, however, provides an incredible outlet and inroad for those seeking to join a spiritual, religious or secular community with whom they can engage in liberationist struggle.\u00c2\u00a0 Anthony Pinn, a leading scholar and theologian in Black humanism, identifies \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Five Major Principles of Black Humanism\u00e2\u20ac\u009d:<\/p>\n
1.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Understanding of humanity as fully (and solely) accountable and responsible for the human condition and the correction of humanity\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plight.
\n2.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Suspicion toward or rejection of supernatural explanation and claims, combined with an understanding of humanity as an evolving part of the natural environment as opposed to being a created being.\u00c2\u00a0 This can involve disbelief in god(s)\u00c2\u00a0 3.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 An appreciation for African American cultural production and a perception of traditional form of black religiosity as having cultural importance as opposed to any type of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cosmic\u00e2\u20ac\u009d authority
\n4.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 A commitment to individual and societal transformation
\n5.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 A controlled optimism that recognizes both human potential and human destructive activities.{13}<\/p>\n
Pinn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s principles are incredibly important for the development of a liberationist humanist theology of abolition.\u00c2\u00a0 The most recent Humanist Manifesto III, from the American Humanist Association, essentially leaves out any acknowledgement of identity more complex or specific than the simplicity of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153human.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 The manifesto becomes an inherently oppressive document by its choice to omit the acknowledgement of multiple forms of oppression.\u00c2\u00a0 In a White Supremacist society, humanity is defined by racist default as White, unless otherwise mentioned.\u00c2\u00a0 That stated, the Humanist Manifesto III does have worthwhile points that could lead to a theology of abolition.\u00c2\u00a0 A number of highlights include, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153 [Humanists] welcome the challenges of the future, and are drawn to and undaunted by the yet to be known\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6Humanists ground values in human welfare shaped by human circumstances, interests, and concerns and extended to the global ecosystem and beyond.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{14} \u00c2\u00a0 The inclusion of the global ecosystems as part of humanist principles is vital to a theology for abolition.\u00c2\u00a0 Humanity is certainly the direct target of the prison industrial complex; our entire ecosystem, however, suffers from the perpetuation of this system.\u00c2\u00a0 The actual production of the buildings themselves is entirely destructive to the planet.\u00c2\u00a0 Concrete, steel, razor wire, and other building materials are produced with inefficient energy sources that destroy our planet.\u00c2\u00a0 Once the prison is built, often in rural areas or densely populated cities, the production of human excrement is detrimental to the ecosystem, the plant and animal life are displaced, and enormous amounts of energy are used to maintain lights and heat.\u00c2\u00a0 In order for humanism to reach its fullest liberationist potential it must release its historical anthropocentrism and embrace a true sense of interdependence.\u00c2\u00a0 Ecofeminist theologian Ivone Gebara introduces interdependence as the reality of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153accepting the basic fact that any life situation, behavior, or even belief is always the fruit of all the interactions that make up our lives, our histories, and our wider earthly and cosmic realities.\u00c2\u00a0 Our interdependence and relatedness do not stop with other human beings:\u00c2\u00a0 They encompass nature, the powers of the earth and of the cosmos itself.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{15}<\/p>\n
Humanism finds a home in multiple spaces, including Internet blogs, Unitarian Universalist congregations, and liberationist propaganda.\u00c2\u00a0 Aleksandar Pavkovic explores some of the differences between his understandings of universal humanism and liberationist humanism.\u00c2\u00a0 Pavkovic is looking at those he designates as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153terrorists\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and their use of tactical violence that targets individuals designated as oppressors, whether they are actively engaged in maintaining the system or being complicit in its continuation.\u00c2\u00a0 According to Pavkovic\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s understanding of liberation humanism, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153in virtue of their (alleged) responsibility for the oppression, the oppressors have lost the right to their lives, dignity, and liberty which the oppressed have; once their oppression ceases this right is restored to them.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{16}\u00c2\u00a0 As a Unitarian Universalist I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, including oppressors, at all times.\u00c2\u00a0 However, I do believe that oppressors lose significant aspects of their humanity as long as oppression continues.\u00c2\u00a0 Marilyn Buck shows clearly her understanding of the interconnectedness of her privileged humanity with the marginalized humanity of others when she writes, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If we stopped police brutality; if black women and men were treated lie equal human beings, that would make me feel really, really good, because I would be less dehumanized as a white person in this society.\u00c2\u00a0 I would not be objectified as the oppressor.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{17} \u00c2\u00a0 If liberation humanism accepts the reality that oppressors are dehumanized by their actions, then liberation humanist praxis will lead to the long-term liberation of the oppressors, even when that is not immediately seen by those in the oppressor class who have not chosen to act in solidarity as Marilyn Buck did.<\/p>\n
There must be multiple avenues of entry into the orthopraxis of a liberationist humanist theology of abolition.\u00c2\u00a0 Those outside of the prison walls have particular access to actions that those on the inside do not have.\u00c2\u00a0 Liberationist humanism provides a theological basis to prioritize the needs of the oppressed over the needs of the oppressor.\u00c2\u00a0 Aleksandar Pavkovic states in his essay, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153liberation humanism holds that the lives of the oppressors are of less value than the achievement of liberation for the oppressed.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{18} \u00c2\u00a0 A theology that embraces this concept provides support for those who experience oppression or who are taking action in direct solidarity with the oppressed to use the tactics they believe will best lead to liberation.\u00c2\u00a0 Certainly those inside the prison walls cannot organize a neo-underground railroad in the tradition of Harriet Tubman, but those on the outside could create such a project that would be consistent with a faith built around the liberation of humanity\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s oppressed peoples.\u00c2\u00a0 We must not forget that Harriet Tubman was not considered a hero by the mainstream at the time of her revolutionary organizing.\u00c2\u00a0 Tubman was part of an illegal underground movement in direct opposition to the status quo, utilizing skill and determination to tear apart the fear of death in search of liberation for those held in chattel slavery.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 It is still unknown who exactly liberated Assata Shakur from her prison cell, but the commitment of Black Liberation Army members to keep their comrades free is an authentic example of the orthopraxis needed for a liberationist humanism to thrive in the abolitionist movement.<\/p>\n
Creating art, writing poetry, and simply waking up each day can be revolutionary orthopraxis for those held inside the walls.\u00c2\u00a0 When prisoners send out their poetry and other writings they are contributing to movements and directly resisting the domination of the prison authorities and the judges who thrive on taking away the lives of defendants.\u00c2\u00a0 This excerpt from Kimberly Headly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s poem, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Spare a Little Change\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is just one of many examples of prisoner writing,<\/p>\n
The world is too blind
\nAnd people are not kind
\nTo my situation.
\nSo when I say: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Spare a little change\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m talkin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 about a revolution
\nOf the suffering, deprived
\nThe hopelessly denied
\nMasses
\nBroken into classes
\nOf struggle
\nChange has been long overdue
\nAnd I am underpaid!{19}<\/p>\n
Marilyn Buck continues to write poetry, Mumia Abu-Jamal does a regular radio show, Jaan Lamaan records his words for a regular internet podcast, Assata Shakur communicates from Cuba where she is allowed to live in political asylum, and so many others continue to use their voices even when they have been told their lives are not worth anything.\u00c2\u00a0 It is essential to understand that orthopraxis looks different for individuals and communities based on what they have access to.\u00c2\u00a0 One must be careful if challenging another\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s commitment liberationist humanism.\u00c2\u00a0 Marcella Althaus-Reid challenges liberation theologians, writing, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the theology which promised an option for the poor also defined, ideologically, a Christian identity based on patriarchal, colonial identities.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{20} \u00c2\u00a0 While liberationist humanism will not define a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Christian identity\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for anyone, heeding the caution to challenge all forms of oppression when specifically working on behalf of another is essential to holistically engage in liberationist humanism.<\/p>\n
The importance of challenging normative discourses in theological reflections on prison issues becomes incredibly important when the discussion of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good\u00e2\u20ac\u009d prisoners versus \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bad\u00e2\u20ac\u009d prisoners comes up or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153violent\u00e2\u20ac\u009d versus \u00e2\u20ac\u0153non-violent\u00e2\u20ac\u009d convictions.\u00c2\u00a0 Many \u00e2\u20ac\u0153reformist\u00e2\u20ac\u009d activists will talk about the need to improve conditions for certain prisoners, such as drug war victims, without seeing the system in its entirety as a problem.\u00c2\u00a0 Particular prisoners also have to bear the burden of carrying all of our society\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sins and being disciplined or crucified for our communal redemption.\u00c2\u00a0 We lock up an individual who kills one person or a family, but when a soldier comes home from war after carpet-bombing cities or a cop shoots an unarmed civilian, we often place medals on their chests.\u00c2\u00a0 Each year there are hundreds of murders that go unsolved.\u00c2\u00a0 The murders of poor people, transgender people, Youth of Color, and people experiencing homelessness are hardly ever prioritized by the police.\u00c2\u00a0 We should also be very aware that the large majority of perpetrators of sexual violence, from child sexual abuse to adult rapists, are never caught by the police or put through the (in)justice system.\u00c2\u00a0 An abolitionist theology must learn from Delores Williams\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 assertions about resisting the surrogacy model of redemption through Jesus Christ.\u00c2\u00a0 In particular, Williams states that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the womanist theologian uses the sociopolitical thought and action of the African-American woman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world to show black women their salvation does not depend on any form of surrogacy made sacred by traditional and orthodox understandings of Jesus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 life and death.\u00c2\u00a0 Rather their salvation is assured by Jesus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 life of resistance and the survival strategies he used to help people survive the death of identity.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{21} \u00c2\u00a0 Those who do not connect particularly with the Jesus story can still see the pattern of social atonement theologies when we place particular \u00e2\u20ac\u0153evil\u00e2\u20ac\u009d pedophiles on public trials or put a serial rapist behind bars.\u00c2\u00a0 We are able to deceive ourselves that we are dealing with the violence of our society by disciplining those who have less access to expensive attorneys or who a primarily White, class-privileged jury will see as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153criminal.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Our communal salvation will not come by utilizing the tools of the prison industrial complex.\u00c2\u00a0 An abolitionist theology must instead encourage us to find our salvation in the resistance and survival strategies developed by those who are the primary survivors\/victims of violence.\u00c2\u00a0 We must prioritize the development of anti-violence strategies that actually deliver us all from the cycle of violence that tears at individuals and communities.<\/p>\n
A liberationist humanist theology of abolition must also affirm the spiritual practices incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people have established for themselves.\u00c2\u00a0 Borrowing from Melanie L. Harris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 suggestions of womanism\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible influence on Black humanism we must also expand humanism\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possibilities by \u00e2\u20ac\u0153meshing its hard boundaries into a more fluid, mutually enhancing one, allowing more space for a theistic humanist perspective.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{22} \u00c2\u00a0 This theological space will allow the building of beautiful ecumenical\/inter-faith movements that affirm the gifts Christian tradition, the Nation of Islam, and other faiths have provided for prisoners.\u00c2\u00a0 Again, poetry, one of the strongest catalysts for prisoner resistance and spirituality, provides a window into what this spirituality looks like.\u00c2\u00a0 Asha Bandele opens her poem \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No Turn Backs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with the words of a well-known Black Spiritual,<\/p>\n
See my people dressed in black
\nYou know we come a long way
\nAnd we ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t turnin back
\nWade in the water children
\nWade in the water
\nYou know God is gonna trouble these waters for me
\nUntil every one of my people are free{23}<\/p>\n
The deep parallels between U.S. chattel slavery and the PIC encourage the liberationist humanist theologian of abolition to turn to the theological strategies used by earlier abolitionists and people held in slavery.<\/p>\n
Liberationist humanist theologies of abolition have the benefit of multiple years of critique on liberation theology.\u00c2\u00a0 Post-colonial theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid encourages theologians not to turn from the sexual nature of all theology.\u00c2\u00a0 She explains that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153theology is a sexual ideology performed in a sacralising pattern:\u00c2\u00a0 it is a sexual divinized orthodoxy (right sexual dogma) and orthopraxy (right sexual behavior); theology is a sexual action.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{24} \u00c2\u00a0 The prison industrial complex is a space of sexual exploitation.\u00c2\u00a0 There are concerted efforts around the country dedicated to ending the epidemic of sexual violence behind bars.\u00c2\u00a0 So many of these efforts, however, continue to legitimize the PIC in the process as they depend on prison hierarchies to create more systems of discipline and segregation rather than to authentically dismantle the oppressive systems and mentalities that maintain sexual violence as the status quo.\u00c2\u00a0 Ed Mead, a revolutionary former political prisoner, writes about his experience organizing Men Against Sexism, a conscious effort made by queer and transgender prisoners at prisons in the Northwest to address the patterns of sexual violence and specific targeting of queer and transgender prisoners.\u00c2\u00a0 He claims that, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153during that ten-year period [when Men Against Sexism was active] there was not a single prisoner-on-prisoner rape at Monroe, nor did I hear of any happening at other facilities within the state.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{25} \u00c2\u00a0 Men Against Sexism is still the only queer-specific organization ever sanctioned at a prison.\u00c2\u00a0 They not only empowered queer and transgender prisoners to protect themselves from guard and prisoner violence but also affirmed their right to express themselves openly.\u00c2\u00a0 They openly challenged homophobic preachers in the prison,{26}\u00c2\u00a0 and organized to bring in the Metropolitan Community Church, a far more progressive and prison-involved denomination at the time.\u00c2\u00a0 A liberationist humanist theology of abolition must recognize prisoners as sexual beings and their connection to their own bodies, the bodies of other prisoners, and the bodies of people on the outside.\u00c2\u00a0 This theology must challenge the ongoing sexual violence while also affirming the beauty of human sexuality as a tool for surviving oppressive situations.<\/p>\n
Understanding the sexual act of theology, liberationist humanism can be more open to the vitality of body theology.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Enslavement,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Anthony Pinn begins, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153seeks to strip the body of its flesh, but this is never completely accomplished.\u00c2\u00a0 Rather, the flesh is transformed: it is hidden from view, covered by protective layers.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{27} \u00c2\u00a0 The same is true for imprisonment.\u00c2\u00a0 Theology that is going to be meaningful for those held in U.S. prisons and jails must serve the outer protective layers individuals have created while also, gently, reaching beneath the layers, trying to find the deepest truth held in the body and nurturing its growth.\u00c2\u00a0 Prisoners experience more than enough invasion of their bodies: strip searches, cell \u00e2\u20ac\u0153tossing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and pat-downs.\u00c2\u00a0 This body theology must recognize prisoners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 need to have autonomy over their body and to centralize that reality as part of its liberating nature as a theological praxis.<\/p>\n
The role of a liberationist humanist theology of abolition is to provide another entry point into a movement toward the creation of revolutionary communities that meet the needs of those who are continuously marginalized and oppressed by the prison industrial complex.\u00c2\u00a0 The role of the abolitionist theologian is similar to what Kuwasi Balagoon declared as the duty of the revolutionary, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153tell the truth, disrespect this court and make it clear that the greatest consequence would be failing to step forward.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{28} \u00c2\u00a0 We may not see a complete dismantling of the prisons and jails in our country as soon as abolitionist theologians want, and we may end up behind the same bars we seek to tear down if we truly engage in this revolutionary theological praxis.\u00c2\u00a0 The greatest consequence, as all political prisoners will remind us, is not the prison cell but the death of our true selves if we fail to take action.\u00c2\u00a0 A liberationist humanist theology of abolition will hopefully fill some of the empty space left by the destruction of the prison industrial complex.\u00c2\u00a0 Certainly all the potentials of such a theology are not presented here.\u00c2\u00a0 This is simply a beginning whose end will only be realized when we are living in a constant state of abolition and rebirth, affirming the lives of people and assuring the salvation of our society by creating communities that truly live the principles of transformative justice and human fulfillment.<\/p>\n
_________________________________
\n1. James Cone, God of the Oppressed (New York:\u00c2\u00a0 Orbis Books, 1997), 8.
\n2. Joy James, The New Abolitionists: (Neo)Slave Narratives and Contemporary Prison Writings (New York:\u00c2\u00a0 State University of New York Press, 2005), 262.
\n3. Ibid., 72.
\n4. Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, Color of Violence (Cambridge:\u00c2\u00a0 South End Press, 2006), 223.
\n5. Letty Russell, Human Liberation in a Feminist Perspective \u00e2\u20ac\u201c A Theology (Philadelphia:\u00c2\u00a0 The Westminster Press, 1974), 117.
\n6. David Gilbert, No Surrender:\u00c2\u00a0 Writings from an Anti-Imperialist Political Prisoner (Montreal:\u00c2\u00a0 Abraham Guillen Press and Arm the Spirit, 2004), 258.
\n7. Ibid., 258.
\n8. Dhoruba Bin Wahad, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Assata Shakur, Still Black Still Strong (New York:\u00c2\u00a0 Semiotexte(e) Offices, 1993), 126.
\n9. Prison Policy Initiative, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Women in Prison\u00e2\u20ac\u009d; available from www.prisonsucks.com; Internet; accessed 23 December 2008.
\n10. Katie Geneva Canon, Katie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Canon: Womanism and the Soul of the Black Community (New York:\u00c2\u00a0 The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc., 1995), 126.
\n11. \u00e2\u20ac\u01531 in 100 U.S. Adults Behind Bars, New Study Says,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d New York Times, 28 February 2008 sec. A, p. 1.
\n12. Cone, God of the Oppressed, 49
\n13. Anthony Pinn, African American Humanist Principles: Living and Thinking Like the Children of Nimrod (New York:\u00c2\u00a0 Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), 7.
\n14. The American Humanist Association, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Humanist Manifesto III\u00e2\u20ac\u009d; available from www.americanhumanist.org\/3\/humandltsaspirations.php; Internet; accessed 28 December 2008.
\n15. Ivone Gebara, Longing for Running Water:\u00c2\u00a0 Ecofeminism and Liberation (Minneapolis:\u00c2\u00a0 Fortress Press, 1999), 52.
\n16. George Meggel, Ethics of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism (Piscataway: Rutgers University, 2005), 252.
\n17. James, The\u00c2\u00a0 New Abolitionists, 270.
\n18. Meggel, Ethics of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism, 254.
\n19. Kimberly Headly, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Spare a Little Change,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The Network Of Black Organizers Journal of AfricanAmerican Dialogue, Volume II Number 1 (1995): 126
\n20. Christopher Rowland, The Cambridge Companion to Liberation Theology (Cambridge:\u00c2\u00a0 Cambridge University Press, 2007), 126.
\n21. Delores Williams, Sisters in the Wilderness:\u00c2\u00a0 The Challenges of Womanist God-Talk\u00c2\u00a0 (New York:\u00c2\u00a0 Orbis Books, 1993), 164.
\n22. Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Deeper Shades of Purple Womanism in Religion and Society (New York:\u00c2\u00a0 New York University Press, 2006), 216.
\n23. Asha Bandel, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No Turn Backs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The Network Of Black Organizers Journal of AfricanAmerican Dialogue, Volume II Number 1 (1995): 45
\n24. Marcella Althaus-Reid, Indecent Theology: Theological Perversions in Sex, Gender and Politics (New York:\u00c2\u00a0 Routledge, 2000), 64.
\n25. James, The New Abolitionists, 130.
\n26. Ibid., 122-123.
\n27. Anthony Pinn, Terror and Triumph: The Nature of Black Religion (Minneapolis:\u00c2\u00a0 Fortress Press, 2003), 146.
\n28. Kuwasi Balagoon, A Soldier\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Story:\u00c2\u00a0 Writings by a Revolutionary New Afrikan Anarchist (Montreal:\u00c2\u00a0 Kersplebedeb Publishing, 2003), 56.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If a theologian \u00e2\u20ac\u0153acts in the roles of the exegete, prophet, teacher, preacher, and philosopher,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d{1}\u00c2\u00a0 then theology is not only language about the liberating potential of the divine but must […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.communitychurchofboston.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.communitychurchofboston.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.communitychurchofboston.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.communitychurchofboston.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.communitychurchofboston.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.communitychurchofboston.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.communitychurchofboston.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.communitychurchofboston.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.communitychurchofboston.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}