Root Work Journal - Convening in the Ark - Volume 1, Issue 1
On Worries and Joy: School Abolition and the Necessity of Ancestral Wisdom
David Stovall, Ph.D.
Department of Criminology, Law and Justice
University of Illinois at Chicago
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.47106/11112533
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The purpose of this account is not to downplay the severity of the moment (uprisings, global health pandemic, life under capitalism and White supremacy, etc.). To the contrary, I believe that the more informed we are about a situation, the more it pushes us to rethink our resistance. At the same time, I also know it is hard work. More importantly, the work is so intense that it is completely impossible to take it on as a solitary endeavor. Because it requires our collective will, this unique historical moment allows us to rethink abolition and the necessity of collective community care. Both practices allow us to grapple with the intensity of now while building with others to claim our humanity.
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