From Antiracism to Abolition
Professional Learning for Liberating Schools
Abby C Emerson author H Richard Milner editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Harvard Educational Publishing Group
Published:10th Nov '26
Should be back in stock very soon
A guide for school leaders, equity facilitators, and educators aiming to transform schools into truly equitable and liberatory spaces
Why do contemporary antiracist initiatives fall short of achieving systemic educational equity? In From Antiracism to Abolition, Abby C. Emerson examines this question and offers tools to organize teacher learning that aims for freedom, care, and justice rather than compliance and punishment.
Drawing on research from more than thirty New York City schools, this book demonstrates that despite good intentions most antiracist efforts fail to disrupt punitive educator–student relationships, transform the conditions that perpetuate racial harm in schools, or generate lasting institutional change. To address this pressing issue, Emerson argues that abolitionist education can be utilized to improve teacher learning spaces and build schools that cultivate inclusion, belonging, safety, and humanity.
Offering one of the first empirical studies of abolitionist teacher learning, From Antiracism to Abolition provides concrete strategies for educators who want to use teacher development as a tool for school-wide efforts that work to collectively remove harm, control, and surveillance while fostering joy, collective care, and educational freedom.
"Based on compelling case studies in public schools implementing antiracist professional development, Abby Emerson shows us that this work is not sufficient to change conditions for learners and educators. Through carefully-grounded analysis she provokes us to 'take a page from…abolitionist organizers throughout history' and work to dismantle systems of punishment to build consciously liberatory and joyful school structures and relationships." - Celia Oyler
"Where so many educational projects seek reform or move outside the system, Abby Emerson goes elsewhere. This is a book about the intentional and emergent work of abolitionist teaching. It is a liberatory constellation of practices for school leaders and all educators. A beautiful vision of how abolition can and must enter the everyday life of schools." - Jordan Corson
"Abby is not just my former student; she is now my teacher. This book calls on us to engage in the struggle for freedom together in the very spaces where teachers come to learn and grow through professional development. Abby asks more of us as educators. She challenges us to embrace our humanity and move beyond simply being antiracist toward becoming abolitionist educators. She reminds us that vulnerability, reflection, relationship building, disrupting punitive mindsets, and taking accountability for personal and structural harm can be powerful forces for school change. I hope everyone picks up this book and uses it to begin the hard, necessary work of abolitionist education. Abby has given us a guide to help make that work a reality." - Bettina Love
"From Antiracism to Abolition is a wonderfully thought-provoking book that reframes how teacher professional development can bring about racial justice in schools. Based on a study of thirty New York City schools, Emerson, an award-winning longtime classroom teacher, deftly shows limitations of most teacher professional development. Through case studies, she lucidly guides advocates and practitioners of antiracist education toward deep institutional change that replaces punishment and hierarchy with collaborative work toward liberation. I strongly recommend engaging with this book." - Christine Sleeter
ISBN: 9798895571170
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
216 pages