In American history the abolitionists fought to end slavery, lynching, and segregation. In our current times, one of the greatest challenges in the work to dismantle such repressive institutions is racism, morphed and hidden within all levels of governmental structures. The U. S. now has the largest prison population in the world. 70% of its more than 2 million inmates are poor people of color. As profits from the punishment industry increase, employment opportunities decrease and funding for education, housing, mental health, and drug treatment programs are drastically cut. As the race to the death penalty accelerates, images from Guantanamo Bay & Abu Ghraib reveal the global impact of U.S. crime policy.

In the early 1970's Angela Davis was called "an enemy of the State" and a "terrorist" by Nixon and Hoover. She was acquitted of conspiracy charges in 1972 after one of the most famous trials in US history. She went on to become an internationally regarded scholar and writer. She is the author of many books, including Women, Culture and Politics. Her latest is, Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture. She teaches at the University of California-Santa Cruz.