Tuesday, May 13
6:00 pm
Indianapolis Liberation Center
Indiana is spending a record-breaking $1.3 billion on a new prison, “the state’s costliest building project ever” while protesters are imprisoned for free speech, it’s clear to many we live in a prison nation. To successfully fight against the prison system, we have to understand its origins, history, and overall evolution. Only by answering questions like, “what purposes have and do prisons serve?” and “why does the U.S. rely so heavily on mass incarceration today?” can we identify the root causes of the prison nation, debunk its apologists, and effectively fight back.
To study and discuss these questions and strategize how to move forward, PSL Indianapolis invites all to a reading and discussion of Shackled & Chained: Mass Incarceration in Capitalist America. Written by Eugene Puryear, a longtime journalist, organizer, and co-host of weekly show The Freedom Side, the book is jargon-free and written for those who want to abolish the prison system. While no pre-reading is required, we encourage everyone to get a copy, which is available for pick-up, shipping, or delivery from the Liberation Center Store. On May 17, after our study, we’re excited to host a very special event with Puryear, which will include ample time for discussion.
We’ll discuss the book over two more sessions:
- Capitalism and control: The historical blueprint of prisons
- Tuesday, May 13, 6:00 pm
- In this session, we will discuss the first half of Puryear’s book, which outlines the history of incarceration in the U.S.
- Prisons, police, and profit: Mass incarceration today
- Friday, May 16, 6:00 pm
- We will discuss the second half of Shackled and Chained, which outlines the current state of U.S. prisons and the potential for struggle.
Puryear’s Shackled and Chained exposes how the U.S. prison system isn’t a failure of justice at all—it’s a deliberate tool to maintain capitalist exploitation and national oppression. Through clear and accessible analysis, the book demonstrates the distinct phases of the prison system, including how contemporary mass incarceration is distinct from earlier forms of racist capitalism, including chattel slavery and Jim Crow apartheid. While doing so, it shows how liberal and conservative reforms and proposals legitimate the underlying architecture of mass incarceration and challenges us to think about what exactly constitutes “crime.”
This study isn’t just about a book: it’s about strategizing for a movement to effectively abolish this repressive tool. Collective struggle is the path to liberation, your presence is vital to the fight!
Questions? Email contact@PSLIndianapolis.org.