Building foundation of solidarity across prison walls: spaces of horizontal knowledge production and transformative resistance within environments of oppression, violence and social control

Feminist scholars and activists critique oppressive ideologies that construct the female criminal as "other" and many call for the abolition of the prison industrial complex. I argue abolition is only possible if practiced in solidarity with people inside prison, without furthering oppressive ideologies, constructions of "other" and hierarchal interactions. This project, and the handbook that emerged from it, seeks to advance collective and horizontal knowledge production, resistance, and solidarity among activists inside and outside. Drawing upon a theoretical framework comprised of intersectional feminism and participatory action research, I worked directly with people inside Central California Women's Facility (CCWF), those previously housed inside CCWF, and Justice Now, through on-site interviews and mail correspondence. Together, nine co-researchers and I assembled a handbook from inside, talking to those outside, in an effort to build solidarity with Bay Area anti-prison groups and across prison walls.