Purnell, Derecka: Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom

Astra House, hardcover Publication Date: October 25, 2021 Publisher Marketing:A NONAME BOOK CLUB PICK Named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2021  Becoming Abolitionists is ultimately about the importance of asking questions and our ability to create answers. And in the end, Purnell makes it clear that abolition is a labor of love--one that we can accomplish together if only we decide to.--Nia Evans, Boston Review For more than a century, activists in the United States have tried to reform the police. From community policing initiatives to increasing diversity, none of it has stopped the police from killing about three people a day. Millions of people continue to protest police violence because these solutions do not match the problem: the police cannot be reformed.  In Becoming Abolitionists, Purnell draws from her experiences as a lawyer, writer, and organizer initially skeptical about police abolition. She saw too much sexual violence and buried too many friends to consider getting rid