‘No more police’: leading prison abolitionist Andrea Ritchie speaks at Rose Hills Theater

JACOB RAGAZA

On Feb. 19, 5C students, parents and professors gathered at Pomona College’s Rose Hills Theatre for a talk by prison abolitionist Andrea Ritchie.

The talk, hosted by 5C Prison Abolition Collective, was based on the book “No More Police: A Case for Abolition,” which Ritchie recently co-authored with fellow abolitionist Mariame Kaba. Ritchie weaved through topics such as the shortcomings of carceral reform, myths surrounding police and safety and solutions beyond the nation-state.

In 2022, Ritchie was named Scripps College’s Distinguished O’Brien Scholar. That spring, she led a conference with Kaba titled “Abolition is Feminism, Feminism is Abolition,” which was centered around uplifting Black feminist voices in the struggle for abolition.

Throughout the talk, Ritchie emphasized the importance of healing and community care, calling them the “moral center” of abolitionist efforts.

Nam Do PO ’23 praised Ritchie’s focus on these core ideas.

“Her emphasis on community was really valuable — always centering community and interpersonal relationships in talking about abolition work, [placing it] as the centerpiece of the mission of abolition and also liberatory politics in general,” Do said.

Ritchie dedicated a significant portion of the talk to debunking the efficacy of reformative solutions to policing. Drawing from her experience as a lawyer, Ritchie explained that ending qualified immunity does not end police violence, elaborating that police officers she successfully prosecuted have continued their misconduct despite being