America’s Prison Empire: A Conversation

What are the origins of America’s colossal and continuously expanding prison empire, and how can it be stopped? Beginning with Texas – the most incarcerated and politically influential state in the nation – scholars and activists Robert Perkinson (History, University of Hawaii) and Ruth Wilson Gilmore (Earth and Environmental Sciences, Graduate Center) will discuss the enduring influence of slavery and segregation on America’s prison empire, along with the political and economic forces that fuel this system, as well as strategies towards alternative future possibilities.