Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom by Derecka Purnell

From Astra House: “An informed, provocative, astute consideration of salvific alternatives to contemporary policing and imprisonment.” — Starred Review, Kirkus “With deep insight and moral clarity, Purnell shares her compelling journey of political education and personal transformation, inviting us not only to imagine a world without police, but to muster the courage to fight for the more just world we know is possible. Becoming Abolitionists is essential reading for our times.”— Michelle Alexander, bestselling author of The New Jim Crow “At once specific and sweeping, practical and visionary, Becoming Abolitionists is a triumph of political imagination and a tremendous gift to all movements struggling towards liberation. Do not miss its brilliance!”— Naomi Klein, bestselling author of The Shock Doctrine  For more than a century, activists in the United States have tried to reform the police. From community policing initiatives to increasing diversity, none of it has stopped the police