We Do This 'Til We Free Us

Mariame Kaba, an organizer and educator, argues that prisons and policing are not the answer to social harm, and that ordinary people can free themselves without waiting for someone else to do it. This book gathers her essays and interviews on prison industrial complex abolition and the collective struggle that goes with it.

The chapters fall into three areas. One looks at seeking justice beyond the punishment system. Another asks how communities can deal with harm and accountability differently. A third concerns finding hope through shared effort. Naomi Murakawa contributes a foreword.

Kaba treats organizing as both a science and an art. It means working out a vision and a strategy, choosing targets, and building the power needed to make those targets move. That practical outlook runs through the collection, which is as much about method as about belief.

This is non-fiction in a mixed form: short pieces and conversations rather than a single continuous argument. It suits readers curious about abolition, community organizing or alternatives to punishment. The tone is committed and hopeful, and it rests on the conviction that nothing worthwhile is done alone.