Abolition has never been a proposal to simply tear things down. As Alexis Pauline Gumbs asks, “What if abolition is something that grows?” As we struggle to build a liberatory, caring, loving, abundant future, we have much to learn from the work of birthing, raising, caring for, and loving future generations.

In We Grow the World Together, abolitionists and organizers Maya Schenwar and Kim Wilson bring together a remarkable collection of voices revealing the complex tapestry of ways people are living abolition in their daily lives through parenting and caregiving. Ranging from personal narratives to policy-focused analysis to activist chronicles, these writers highlight how abolition is essential to any kind of parenting justice.

**We ask that all in-person attendees wear masks in the event space during the program for the health and well-being of the speakers and other guests. We will have a reception afterwards with light refreshments and books available for purchase.***

Speakers:

Maya Schenwar is director of the Truthout Center for Grassroots Journalism and board president at Truthout. She is the coauthor (with Victoria Law) of Prison by Any Other Name: The Harmful Consequences of Popular Reforms and the author of Locked Down, Locked Out: Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better. Maya is also the coeditor (with Joe Macaré and Alana YuLan Price) of Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? Police Violence and Resistance in the United States, and has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The Nation, and numerous other publications. Maya is a cofounder of the Chicago Community Bond Fund and organizes with the Love & Protect collective. She lives in Chicago with her partner, child, and abolitionist cat.

Beth E. Richie is Head of the Department of Criminology, Law and Justice and Professor of Black Studies at The University of Illinois at Chicago. The emphasis of her scholarly and activist work has been on the ways that race/ethnicity and social position affect women's experience of violence and incarceration, focusing on the experiences of African American battered women and sexual assault survivors. Dr. Richie is the author of Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence and America’s Prison Nation (NYU Press, 2012) which chronicles the evolution of the contemporary anti-violence movement during the time of mass incarceration in the United States and numerous articles concerning Black feminism and gender violence, race and criminal justice policy, and the social dynamics around issues of sexuality, prison abolition, and grassroots organizations in African American Communities. Her earlier book Compelled to Crime: the Gender Entrapment of Black Battered Women, is taught in many college courses and is cited in the popular press for its original arguments concerning race, gender and crime. Dr. Richie’s work has been supported by grants from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Ford Foundation, and The National Institute for Justice and The National Institute of Corrections. She has been awarded the Audre Lorde Legacy Award from the Union Institute, The Advocacy Award from the US Department of Health and Human Services, and The Visionary Award from the Violence Intervention Project and the UIC Woman of the Year Award. Dr. Richie is a board member of The Institute on Domestic Violence in the African Community, The National Network for Women in Prison, A Call To Men and a founding member of INCITE!: Women of Color Against Violence. In 2013 she was awarded an Honorary Degree from the City University of New York Law School and in 2014 she was appointed as a Sr. Advisor to the NFL to work on their domestic violence and sexual assault prevention program.

Nadine Naber is a scholar-activist, founder of Liberate Your Research Workshops, and a Professor at UIC in Gender and Women. She works with INCITE! Palestine Force; and is a board member of the Arab American Action Network; Al-Shabaka; the National Council of Arab Americans; and the Journal of Palestine Studies. While mothering her children Kinan and Nile, She has authored/co-editoed six books, including Arab America and Arab; Arab American Feminisms; and The Color of Violence. She is the faculty founder, with students, of UIC’s Arab American Cultural Center. She regularly contributes OpEds on abolition, Palestinian liberation, and queer and feminist activism for sources like Truthout and the Chicago Reporter. Learn more about her at NadineNaber.com

Jennifer Viets has worked as a restorative justice practitioner for the past fifteen years. She is currently the Alternative Resolution Pathways Specialist in the Office of Student Protections for Chicago Public Schools. For the previous four years, she worked as a Restorative Practices Coach in the Office of Social Emotional Learning. Her work in the community involves training community Circle Keepers and supporting restorative processes. She has also worked as a multi- disciplinary teaching artist and arts administrator with children and families for the past thirty years, using the arts to reach, teach, and heal. This work has included designing programming for children and adults in hospitals as well as other institutional settings. She is also a proud mother and grandmother.

Anya Tanyavutti (she/her/ella/they) has over twenty-four years of experience working in the fields of education, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement. She has served as president, vice president, and member of the Evanston/Skokie D65 Board of Education, an engaged D65 parent participating in D65 Early Childhood programs, and facilitator and curriculum writer with Next steps for Transformation, NFP. Ms. Tanyavutti is the Executive Director of an Arts integration nonprofit serving Chicago Public Schools. She is a trained birthworker and also a three-time alum of the Jade T. Perry Cecilia Weston Spiritual Academy (2020-2022). Finally, Ms. Tanyavutti is the survivor of a tragic postpartum stroke, predicted only by her race. Thankfully surviving and making a full recovery, Ms. Tanyavutti is the proud parent of three amazing children who are the realization of their ancestors’ dreams and work every day to build a better, more decolonized world in big and small ways for and with the collective.