Why Be a Single Star? Comparative Constellations and Abolitionist Academic Activism

• In Event: International Relations Committee Invited Session: Racial (In)Justice Across International Educational Contexts

Abstract

“Why be a star when you can make a constellation?” Naomi Murakawa asks in the foreword to Mariame Kaba’s We Do This ‘Til We Free Us, regarding Kaba’s vision for collaborative and community-based abolitionist activism. Academic activism reimagining a world free of carcerality and police militarization within and beyond higher education institutions around the globe has been inspired by Black feminist aspirations for abolition through collaboration, creativity, and constructive resilience. Through critical digital, visual analyses of social media posts, press articles, and websites, this paper invites us to consider how academic activist collaborations in Brazil, Nigeria, Iran, and South Africa are pivoted by a comparative global Black, feminist telescope of abolition revealing that constellations do shine
brighter than stars.

Author

• Sahar D. Sattarzadeh, Nelson Mandela University/The University of Texas at Arlington