Abolition Democracy

In a series of interviews given in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, Angela Y. Davis explores how historical systems of oppression like slavery and lynching continue to influence and undermine democracy today. Davis builds on W. E. B. DuBois's view that when people were released from slavery in this country, they were denied the full privileges of other citizens. This denial of full rights and the creation of a U.S. prison system emerged as a way of maintaining dominance and control over entire populations. Davis explores the notion of "Abolition Democracy" as the democracy to come, a set of social relations free of oppression and injustice.