Ending the Family Death Penalty and Building a World We Deserve
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22005271 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ashley Albert (Union Institute & University), Tiheba Bain (Union Institute & University), Elizabeth Brico (Union Institute & University), Bishop Marcia Dinkins (Union Institute & University), Kelis Houston (Union Institute & University), Joyce McMillan, Vonya Quarles, Lisa Sangoi, Erin Miles Cloud, Adina Marx-Arpadi |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2021-07-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Columbia Journal of Race and Law (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2155-2401 • E-ISSN: 2155-2401 |
| Publisher | Columbia University Libraries (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.52214/cjrl.v11i3.8753 |
| OpenAlex | W3205565777 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
U.S. history is rooted in the rationalization of family separation to benefit white supremacy, capitalism and mainstream U.S. values. Because of this dark history, the U.S. history has become the world’s leader of legal destruction of families through termination of parental rights. It is the only country in the world that routinely pays people to adopt children whose parents, often women, very much want to be their parent. The Adoption and Safe Families Act, enacted in 1997, wildly changed the legal landscape of the family regulation system. At that time 47% of the children in the system were Black, and the drug war had been targeting Black men for low level offenses, and labeling Black mothers as “crack moms”. The result was an extreme attack on Black families, for which we have yet to recover. Abolition teaches us to unroot oppressive structures, disrupt and dismantle them while simultaneously supporting a praxis of imagination, healing, and building. In this paper, we encourage people not only to work to repeal ASFA, but to interrogate the imagination which entrenched the legitimacy of ASFA. Part I centers the discussion in our imaginations—the world we want to build, and the demands we are making. Part II moves into a discussion about the counter imagination, the ideas and mythology that created ASFA—the legal framework. In this section, we isolate ASFA as a target for abolition and organizing. Part III moves into a practical discussion about ethical ways to mobilize around ASFA. This section is intended to invite the reader to learn, and question, together. It invites questions, thinking, and problem solving in lieu of providing a recommendation
Capitalism · Criminology · Historiography · Legitimacy · Mainstream · Mythology · Political science · Politics · Repeal · Sociology · White supremacy · Child Welfare and Adoption · Gender Studies · History · Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse · Law · Reproductive Health and Technologies
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |