Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

I'm going to be facilitating a discussion about Resistance & Organizing in Women's Prisons at the Social Justice, Real Justice (SJRJ) Conference in Eugene, Oregon, in February.

If you are in the area, come join in the conversation!

Location: UO EMU Walnut Room
When: Saturday Feb 16 at 3:30pm
https://sites.google.com/site/sjrj2013/
https://www.facebook.com/events/146912615455731/?ref=ts&fref=ts

While there is a growing outrage over mass incarceration, this concern often focuses on male prisoners. Women prisoners have rich but largely unknown histories of resistance to incarceration. Their activism has been overshadowed by an emphasis not only on male incarceration but on masculine forms of resistance that privilege violence and celebrity over networks and collectivity.

In this presentation, I will use the stories and observations in Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women:

• examine the specific issues facing women behind bars
• discuss ways in which incarcerated women are resisting and organizing
• examine the obstacles they face when trying to organize inside
• challenge the audience to examine *why* these actions have not been (and are not being) recognized and talked about in discussions about the prison-industrial complex and prisoner activism and resistance
• generate discussion of concrete ways (both big and small) that outside people, especially those dedicated to resisting and abolishing the prison-industrial complex, can provide support to people struggling inside women's prisons