Join the Helis Foundation John Scott Center a book talk to celebrate the publication of American Purgatory, a 400-year history of incarceration, empire, and protest movements seeking to broaden the meaning and experience of freedom, with author Benjamin Weber, activist Jalil Muntaqim, and artist Ayo Scott, moderated by Dr. Michelle Ramos.

 

In American Purgatory, historian Benjamin Weber reveals how the story of American prisons is inextricably linked to the expansion of American power around the globe. Spanning the wars to subjugate Native Americans in the mid-nineteenth century, the conquest of the western territories, and the creation of an American empire in Panama, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, American Purgatory shows how “prison imperialism”—the deliberate use of prisons to control restive, subject populations—is written into our national DNA, extending through to our modern era of mass incarceration. Weber also uncovers a surprisingly rich history of prison resistance, from the Seminole Chief Osceola to Assata Shakur—one that invites us to rethink the scope of America’s long freedom struggle. This brilliantly documented text is supplemented by original maps highlighting the global geography of prison imperialism, as well as illustrations of key figures in this history by the celebrated artist Ayo Scott.

 

A book signing will follow the discussion, with books available for purchase from the Community Book Center.

 

This program is presented in partnership with The Helis Foundation John Scott Center, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), University of New Orleans Justice Studies program, the Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies, and the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.