Things They Imagine: (Re) Imagination as a Tool for an Abolitionist Future

• In Event: Imagining the Future of Black and Brown Youth in (Carceral) Los Angeles

Abstract

Leading abolitionist Mariame Kaba tells us, “abolition is a daily practice that is both individual and collective and that grows from holding space for our victories, our defeats, our sorrows, our joys” (2022). Following this logic of abolition as a daily practice of holding space for both joy and pain, this study considers how individuals in schools fight for an abolitionist future in the face of carceral violence in their everyday school experiences. In the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), similarly to other school districts across the nation, Black girls have faced increased punishment compared to other girls. Particularly, in the 2018-2019 school year, Black girls were suspended 3 times more than other girls in LAUSD. Black boys also face harsher punishments than their male counterparts in schools. In response to the carcerality system that Black students face, activist students, parents, and teachers, through an abolitionist effort, fought to defund school police and focus on the social, emotional, and academic needs of Black students.

To understand the gendered and racialized carcerality Black girls face in schools, this paper uses 45 interviews with students, teachers, administrators, and staff from a middle school in South Central Los Angeles. The following research questions guide this paper: How do school members envision and practice abolition in schools? How are Black girls included (or not) in these visions and practices? I find that (re)imagination became a critical component in envisioning a world where all students’ lives were affirmed and free from carceral violence in schools. I found that interviewees employed (re)imagination on three fronts: reimagining of schooling itself, school discipline, and carceral geographies. Drawing on these findings, I conclude with suggestions on how to craft a Black girl abolitionist future.

Author

• Pharren Miller, University of California - Los Angeles