'Abolishing Patriarchal Violence: A Black Feminist Safety Lab'
About the talk: Since the eruption of pain, rage and reckoning that emerged in the spring of 2020 in the wake of the police murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, the phrases “defund the police” and “abolition now” have entered mainstream political parlance. While the recent attention to state violence is essential, what is the relationship between this kind of spectacular viral violence and the everyday harms of intimate partner and sexual violence? When we look at the stories of folks like Marissa Alexander, Ky Peterson, Rem’mie Fells and Lauren Smith-Fields, we see that policing, prisons and interpersonal harm are all part of a larger system of patriarchal violence. Given that, while defunding the police is a necessary strategy, the absence of policing alone will not secure the safety and sanctity of Black women, girls and gender expansive people. Instead, we have to abolish patriarchal violence itself.
Dr. Savannah Shange and Steph Hopkins have taken on this work as the Abolishing Patriarchal Violence table, a collaborative effort within the national Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) ecosystem made up of thirteen organizations that work across different sectors. In this interactive safety workshop, they will explore the impact of patriarchal violence in our communities and root ourselves in abolitionist research and study and will then use tools developed by organizers to apply these learnings in our own local contexts. Working, thinking and dreaming together we will begin the intentional, deep work of growing safety for everyone.
About our speakers: Dr. Savannah Shange is an assistant professor of Anthropology at UC Santa Cruz and also serves as principal faculty in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. Steph Hopkins is a Black Feminist Data Fellow with M4BL's Kitchen Table Fellowship.
Virtual Meeting via Zoom - Link will be sent following RSVP submission.