Abolition requires community organizers, activists, and scholars not solely to imagine but to attend to the methods of resistance employed by those who are held captive by the state. To date, there is little literature that analyzes how illegalized (undocumented) Black transgender women are impacted by the prison industrial complex, and even less, on their experience in solitary confinement. “Dreaming as a Method Against Solitary Confinement” takes the act of individual and collective dreaming as serious methods that transgender Black women employ as they face anti-Black violence and transmisogyny inside detention centers, especially solitary confinement. By engaging Dora Silva Santana’s (2019) methodology papo-de-mana (sista talk), I analyze conversations I have with friends who have survived detention and bring their stories into conversation by analyzing newspaper articles, YouTube videos, and social media posts. Through this, the talk highlights the fact that carcerality attempts to govern the dream-world of migrants, especially when those dreams center on gender, sexuality, and kinship.
Dr. Peláez López will be joining us remotely for this lecture. We are holding the lecture in a physical space as well so individuals can still gather, be in community, discuss the lecture with their peers, and network. Refreshments will be available before the lecture. We are working with catering to ensure dietary-friendly items for individuals, so please put your request in your reservation, so we can ensure we have food that you can enjoy.
