Our Political Education series centers on collective empowerment by building with communities impacted by incarceration and criminalization. Borrowing from restorative justice principles, we create a space that fosters dialogue, creates mutual understanding and accountability and tries to heal the systemic harms directed at particularly black, brown, gender non-conforming, differently abled, queer, formerly incarcerated, and poor communities. Political education, when practiced in solidarity, encourages us to activate our agency, view our personal experiences within a broader context of justice, and engage in everyday practices that promote liberation.
Current Political Education Programming Includes —
Book Talks + Film Screenings
We screen films and host authors of books and zines to promote media that celebrates freedom struggles, activates our imaginations and challenges us to think critically about building a world without punishment.
Previous Political Education Programming —
Abolition Lunch
Abolition Lunch was a collaboration between Walls Turned Sideways and Chicago Torture Justice Center between October 2024 and December 2025. Each month, we gathered organizers, artists, advocates, and activists for a lunch meeting to explore how we can incorporate abolitionist practices into our organizations and everyday lives. Some of the topics we discussed include: Abolition and the State, Abolition and Reentry, Abolition and Sexual Violence, and more. Facilitators included Deana Lewis, Chez Rumpf, Avalon Gaston Betts, Ash Stephens, Andy Clarno, James Kilgore, Dave Stovall, Calvin J Smiley, Shalom Parker, Yanitza Carmona y Correa, Mariame Kaba, and Andrea Ritchie.
