No More Prisons

to be held on August 8-10, 2003, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

Perhaps no other single issue so convincingly illustrates the inter-connectedness of the struggle for total liberation as does the prison industrial complex. Resisting prisons is resisting state repression and blatant social control; it is resisting the most terrifying examples of racism, sexism, and homophobia, the criminalization of the poor and capitalist exploitation of labor. For this reason, the Break the Chains conference hopes to exemplify the need for continued and heightened prisoner support with our ultimate goal being prison abolition. Prison abolition is a political vision that seeks to eliminate the need for prisons and acknowledges the devastating effects that prisons have on poor and marginalized communities. Prisoner support, for both social and political prisoners, means learning from the incarcerated, making their voices heard and their existence visible and meaningful.

-- From the Break the Chains mission statement. see the site for full info including registration