"Mariame Kaba is a humble phenom in the most important of traditions - abolition. What we have in these pages is a wide ranging account of abolitionist theory in action - and that is no easy feat. Through Kaba’s rigorous commitment to humanity, we are reminded that another future is possible. We are fortunate that Kaba’s praxis is accounted for in this compelling and incisive text. For those of us who are eager to bring about a world where Black lives matter, this is required reading."— Opal Tometi, Co-Founder #BlackLivesMatter and founder Diaspora Rising
“I want to say this is a ‘generation-defining’ book, but that feels wrong because I know it will be shaping political imaginations for a century or more. It's generations-defining. This is a classic in the vein of Sister Outsider, a book that will spark countless radical imaginations.” — Eve L. Ewing, author, 1919
“Mariame Kaba’s clarity, firm-but-gentle guidance, embracing spirit, deep creativity, and love of laughter, demonstrate how abolition is, in deed, presence. Thank goodness for this urgent book.” —Ruth Wilson Gilmore, author, Change Everything
"One of the most fascinating developments during this age of Black Lives Matter is how ‘abolition' has been integrated into mainstream debates on how to change the United States. Yet there is still so much not known or understood about the history, politics and practice of abolition-informed politics. Longtime organizer and educator, Mariame Kaba, is one of the most important voices in the emergent abolitionist movement. We have all been waiting on this book! Kaba and her collaborators write with urgency, while imbuing critical insights with clarifying analyses into what it means to demand an end to the reflexive impulse toward punishment that defines much of our society." —Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author, From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation
“Much of the vast living archive that is Mariame Kaba’s amazing career as an abolitionist-feminist organizer, people’s intellectual, movement strategist, and Black freedom fighter, is not in written form. It is inscribed in her praxis: the many campaigns she has crafted, the young people she has mentored, and the organizations she has founded. But in this unique collection of essays, interviews and transcribed speeches, we get a glimpse of that brilliant and powerful body of work, and it is awe-inspiring and instructive: a must-read for anyone serious about the struggle for freedom and justice in the 21st century.”— Barbara Ransby, historian, author, activist
“This book writes a political genealogy of one of our movement era’s most significant intellectuals and community organizers and her people into the record of a feminist and abolitionist Black Radical Tradition. Kaba invites us all into a 500-year clock through reflection, assessment, and celebration of the people who dedicate their lives to social change. Yet again, she teaches us to praise the choir, appreciate vulnerability and be disciplined in service of transforming ourselves and the world in which we live.”— Charlene A. Carruthers, author, Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements
"This is a long awaited book. For the throngs of people who have been inspired by Mariame Kaba’s work, we now have – in one place – her words, her keen analysis of criminalization, her relentless critique of the carceral state and seemingly limitless optimism about the possibilities of social transformation. For anyone who has not yet been moved by her work, the search for a serious discussion of abolitionists organizing is over. At once an urgent call to action, a step-by-step guide to the practice of transformative justice, a collection of inspirational interviews and a few lighthearted reflections, this book will significantly advance radical justice work. We Do This ‘Til We Free Us is just what we need and it has arrived right on time." — Beth Richie, author, Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence, and America's Prison Nation
