An Abolitionist Approach to Creating Communities of Care: Decolonizing Theory, Acknowledging Disequilibrium, and Questioning Systems

The Vermont Connection Volume 44 Planting Seeds of Hope: Transforming Higher Education Article 25 April 2023 An Abolitionist Approach to Creating Communities of Care: Decolonizing Theory, Acknowledging Disequilibrium, and Questioning Systems Chelsea Whitaker Cierra Russell Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/tvc Part of the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation Whitaker, C., & Russell, C. (2023). An Abolitionist Approach to Creating Communities of Care: Decolonizing Theory, Acknowledging Disequilibrium, and Questioning Systems. The Vermont Connection, 44(1). https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/tvc/vol44/iss1/25 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Education and Social Services at UVM ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Vermont Connection by an authorized editor of UVM ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact . An Abolitionist Approach to Creating Communities of Care: Decolonizing Theory, Acknowledging Disequilibrium, and Questioning Systems Cover Page Footnote As You Sow. (2023). Prison free funds. Prison Free Funds. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://prisonfreefunds.org/ Blackstock, Cindy. (2011). The emergency of the breath of life theory. Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 8(1) Castro, E. L., & Magana, S. (2020). Enhancing the carceral state: Criminal/ized history questions in college admissions. Journal of College Student Development, 61(6), 814-831. Cross, T. (2007, September). Through indigenous eyes: Rethinking theory and practice. In Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC)(Ed.), Ngadluko Ngartunnaitya: For Our Children. Conference Report of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care National Conference (pp. 41-48). Hasinoff, A. A., & Krueger, P. M. (2020). 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This article is available in The Vermont Connection: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/tvc/vol44/iss1/25 228 • The Vermont Connection • 2023 • Volume 44 An Abolitionist Approach to Creating Communities of Care: Decolonizing Theory, Acknowledging Disequilibrium, and Questioning Systems Chelsea Whitaker M.A. & Cierra Russell M.A. May 25, 2020, exponentially reinvigorated a global reckoning around the uniquely American way of murdering Black people through policing and imprisonment. Calls for anti-racism, police reforms, and abolition permeated nearly every industry with statements, commitments, and trendy Instagram graphics. Once an idea reserved for the most radical, abolition entered the popular culture lexicon not only for its dedication to destroying oppressive systems but also for building communities of care. As student affairs professionals dedicated to community development at institutions built upon white supremacy and bound by federal policies, approaching community development through an abolitionist framework requires an imaginative playfulness to create new realities and a grounded conviction to effect tangible change for our most vulnerable communities. We welcome you to join us as we nerd out with theory, grapple with deeply personal questions, and offer practical ways abolition can bring us closer to creating communities of care. Keywords: abolition, community, self-actualization, disequilibrium, care Chelsea Whitaker (she/her/hers) is currently a residential life practitioner at New York University. She holds a bachelor's degree in Theatre and African & African-American Studies from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs from The Ohio State University. Chelsea's primary research interests focus on the identity development of marginalized students in college theatre programs and integrating abolitionist frameworks into models of community care within the university. As a multiracial, queer woman of color Cierra brings identities to work every day as a higher education professional. Cierra received her bachelor’s degree in Feminist Studies & Sociology at The University of California, Santa Barbara prior to attaining a master's degree in Higher Education & Student Affairs from Ohio State University. Professionally, Cierra is invested in leveraging abolitionist frameworks to create communities of care while balancing an attention towards the utilization of theory and assessment to enhance equity efforts across the nation. Raised in Southern California, she is also the eldest of 5, lover of volleyball and avid feminist sci-fi reader. Cierra can be reached at . 229 • The Vermont Connection • 2023 • Volume 44 An Abolitionist Approach to Creating Communities of Care: Decolonizing Theory, Acknowledging Disequilibrium, and Questioning Systems May 25, 2020, exponentially reinvigorated a global reckoning around the uniquely American way of murdering Black people through policing and imprisonment. Calls for anti-racism, police reforms, and abolition permeated nearly every industry with statements, commitments, and trendy Instagram graphics. Once an idea reserved for the most radical, abolition entered the popular culture lexicon not only for its dedication to destroying oppressive systems but also for building communities of care. As student affairs professionals dedicated to community development at institutions built upon white supremacy and bound by federal policies, approaching community development through an abolitionist framework requires an imaginative playfulness to create new realities and a grounded conviction to effect tangible change for our most vulnerable communities. We welcome you to join us as we nerd out with theory, grapple with deeply personal questions, and offer practical ways abolition can bring us closer to creating communities of care. Reflection Questions: What are your feelings and memories associated with May 25, 2020? How does the impact of that summer show up in your life and practice today? Abolition seems new but dates back four hundred years when free Black people and liberal Northern whites argued for the eradication of slavery. While fighting for the same cause, differing motivations arose between various facti (...truncated)