From the Hood to Queer Scholar: How I Became a Police Abolitionist

• In Event: Abolition and Queer Justice: Nurturing Abolitionist Growth

Abstract

In this essay, I discuss how my interactions with police, experience researching LGBTQ communities, along with my identity as a queer, non-binary, scholar of color, have pushed me toward understanding police abolition. I begin by reflecting on my experience living in an impoverished area (known to me as “the hood”) and exposure to gang violence at an early age and how those experiences have shaped my perceptions of the police. Then, I reflect on my experience as a queer criminology scholar where I have researched how the police (mis)treat LGBTQ people, among other minoritized communities. Reflecting on my lived experience and knowledge of police treatment toward marginalized and minoritized communities, it becomes clear that we need more than police reform, abolition is necessary.

Author

• Susana Avalos, University of Missouri Kansas City