“We embrace nonconformity in principle—but not for Black men, whose quirks can provoke fear, policing, and punishment.” inquest.org/im-just-differ…

In the United States, there's a tendency to embrace nonconformity in principle—but not so for Black men, whose personal quirks can spark fear, policing, punishment, or worse, writes Monica Bell.

inquest.org/im-just-differ…

'When members of the public see every deviation from the norm as a threat, and policing as the only reasonable response to threat, policing flourishes even outside the direct confines of the state.'

Monica Bell on policing Black men's nonconformity.

inquest.org/im-just-differ…

Abolitionist public health sees carceral institutions+practices as antithetical to public health. inquest.org/for-the-people…

'At its core, abolitionist public health sees carceral institutions and practices as antithetical to public health.'

For the People’s Health via Inquest
inquest.org/for-the-people…

An incarcerated writer on predatory court surcharges:

“Those in power know full well that not many people are going to stick their necks out to right this horrific law, and incarcerated people and their families are left to deal with the consequences.”

inquest.org/the-banality-o…

In the public health field, many organizers are looking to the Black Panther Party for its model of of “care structures at the margins”—and they take inspiration from their broad conception of social, rather than individual, health and safety.

inquest.org/for-the-people…

Paris Whitfield published with Inquest today on their story about the banality and pervasiveness of mandatory surcharges among NY's prison population.

'One’s debt to society should not be a poor person’s tax cloaked as a mandatory court surcharge.'

inquest.org/the-banality-o…

In the criminal system, mandatory surcharges are the litany of court-imposed fees that attach to conviction and punishment.

But as E. Paris Whitfield of Empowerment Avenue writes, these predatory fees saddle people who are already poor and marginalized. inquest.org/the-banality-o…

For the People’s Health

'Abolition and public health go hand in hand. Organizers are embracing both as they pursue decarceral projects that center everyone’s well-being.'
inquest.org/for-the-people… via Inquest

Health is not simply the absence of disease or disorder. It is the presence of freedom. For the People’s Health... inquest.org/for-the-people…

As one considers how public health and abolition intersect, it is key to understand how public health has long served as the eyes and ears of the state in health care settings—and how ending these practices matters for deeper conceptions of well-being.

inquest.org/for-the-people…

“I think we see abolition as fitting very neatly into the mission of public health—that abolition is a public health strategy,” [Mitchell said].

Read more about the work of abolition & public health & our Health Instead of Punishment Program here:
inquest.org/for-the-people…

With their example of community care at the margins, the Black Panthers modeled for abolitionist and public health organizers today what it means to embrace models of community well-being that go beyond mere access to health care, writes Cristian Farias.

inquest.org/for-the-people…

'Together with its partners, CCWP developed a report, backed by extensive public health research, laying out the lasting harms of women’s prisons—and the need to invest in materially supporting the people directly impacted by them.'
Read full article 👉🏿
inquest.org/for-the-people…

For Inquest and Truthout, I wrote about how the field of public health and abolition go hand in hand—and how more and more organizers and advocates are embracing both as they pursue decarceral projects that uplift everyone's well-being. inquest.org/for-the-people…

'If jails, prisons, + detention centers are death-making by nature, as Mariame Kaba has famously observed, then it follows that the public’s health is ill served by continuing to invest in carceral structures'

A critical read on #publichealth x #abolition
inquest.org/for-the-people…

Hip Hop Is My Life | Alim Braxton

I spit bars on Death Row to preserve the legacy of our people, what’s been done to us, and how we’ve fought back.
inquest.org/hip-hop-is-my-… via Inquest

'The End Police Violence Collective... had to work hard behind the scenes to educate skeptics that abolition & public health are, in effect, two sides of the same coin.'

Check out this piece in Inquest about folks working for abolition & public health!
inquest.org/for-the-people…

Emerson College Emerson Prison Initiative students, unbeknownst to me, are apparently tearing up National Poetry Month at Inquest: inquest.org/national-poetr…