An Abolitionist's Handbook Quotes

“The white supremacist capitalist patriarchy is held in place with trauma. From enslavement to the activity of the Klan to the movements of the police, it's all about taunting and terrorizing, daring the people it's keeping down to react violently.”
― Patrisse Khan-Cullors, An Abolitionist's Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World

“Over the years, I’ve had conflict with people who are no longer in my life. At least not actively. I do not wish them harm. I hold no grudges, and I want the best for them. I don’t speak to these individuals nor do I bring them up in conversation with others. They exist—over there. I have forgiven them—over there. Nothing about them exists here, in my present.”
― Patrisse Khan-Cullors, An Abolitionist's Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World

“Transformational Accountability requires that we take honest inventory of the harm we have caused, assess our commitment to transforming these behaviors, and to be willing to actively and consistently build trust through vulnerability. (It) must begin at the personal level because if we cannot handle the small things between us, how will we be able to hand the big things? ...We practice being accountable so we can disrupt the harmful conditions we have been raised in, and learn new ways to be in relationship to each other. We practice accountability because it is something we often are not taught. We practice so we can have joyful and healed relationships. We practice accountability so we can break cycles of harm caused in our families and communities.”
― Patrisse Khan-Cullors, An Abolitionist's Handbook: 12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World