Fight Toxic Prisons and Texas Abolitionists present the 2019 Abolitionist Conference of Texas in Houston. This conference will bring together organizing communities throughout Texas to help build a critical mass of individuals, organizations, and communities fighting the many issues associated with the prison industrial complex.
The content for the conference will include workshops, panel sessions, and information sessions on topics such as: race and the death penalty, moral/religious opposition to the death penalty, class and legal representation, mental health issues, factors/ mitigating circumstances that influence both convictions and sentencing, solitary confinement and other prison conditions issues, prisoner support, queer and trans prisoner issues, ending migrant detention, environmental issues, alternative forms of justice, and other approaches to ending the carceral state.
We hope to host a social event the evening before the conference(in planning) and attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a non-violent direct-action protest at the end of the conference. We are currently confirming speakers and organizations for the conference and are excited to share updates with y’all in the coming weeks. We maintain a commitment to creating a space in which those most directly impacted are at the forefront of this conversation.
Cost:
The Conference is free. We just ask for a sliding scale of $15-$30 donations to help us cover costs, including transportation, venue, and housing for our speakers and guests. Donate here to the TX Abolitionists Ko-fi account! You can donate in $5 increments by “buying books of stamps”.
Travel and Venue:
The venue is centrally located in the Montrose area. It is a wheelchair accessible space and there is free parking. Please contact us with any questions or requests for accommodations. There are Greyhound, Megabus bus routes, and trains available for travel. If you need assistance for travel or housing please get in touch with us directly if you have any questions or concerns.
If you are interested in being included in other related events please consider attending Fight Toxic Prison’s National Convergence in June.
Background:
Fight Toxic Prisons seeks to build momentum across, bridges between, and solidarity amongst the movements for ecological justice, environmental justice, and prison reform/abolition. Through our annual convergences we seek to create space at the intersections of various movements and across prison walls (at our 2018 convergence 9 prisoners called in to speak on panels and breakout groups), a space through which we can collectively explore how we might achieve liberation and justice. A space where we can directly share and learn from tactics, strategies, and experiences beyond the scope of our particular movements and campaigns that might play decisive roles in our local victories.
Abolitionist Conference of Texas 