Book Release for “American Purgatory: Prison Imperialism and the Rise of Mass Incarceration”

Book release party for American Purgatory: Prison Imperialism and the Rise of Mass Incarceration

Wednesday, October 25

6 – 8 p.m. 

Admission is free. Register to attend here.

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.

This event is being held in partnership with The New Press, UNO Justice Studies PhD Program, VOTE, and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.