--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a prison abolitionist because the…" description: "\"I'm a prison abolitionist because the prison system as it is set up is just not working. It's horrible.\" — Ava DuVernay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/ava-duvernay-4018_abolitionist_i-m-a-prison-abolitionist-because-the-pr_1836784.jpg" --- # I'm a prison abolitionist because the prison system as it… ![“I'm a prison abolitionist because the prison system as it is set up is just not working. It's horrible.” quote by Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/ava-duvernay-4018_abolitionist_i-m-a-prison-abolitionist-because-the-pr_1836784.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/ava-duvernay-4018_abolitionist_i-m-a-prison-abolitionist-because-the-pr_1836784.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/ava-duvernay-4018_abolitionist_i-m-a-prison-abolitionist-because-the-pr_1836784.jpg) > “I'm a prison abolitionist because the prison system as it is set up is just not working. It's horrible.” [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The current prison system fails to achieve its goals and causes harm. **In simple terms:** Prisons aren’t effective. Key Takeaway Advocate for alternatives. Themes justice reform human rights systemic failure Mood frustrated determined Type activist critical When to use this quote - policy debates - community organizing - legal reform - education campaigns Key Concepts Abolitionism penology social critique Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives could replace prisons? - How can society address safety while reducing incarceration? A Different Perspective Complex issues require nuanced solutions beyond abolition alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abolitionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionist/) [Abolitionist Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionist-prison-2318270/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Horrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrible/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Prison Abolitionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison-abolitionist-2318269/) [Prison Set](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison-set-2318271/) [Prison system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison-system/) [Working Horrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-horrible-2318272/) [Working it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-it/) ## Related quotes > [Whites have more than eleven times the net worth or wealth of African Americans. They make greater salaries. Our unemployment rate is twice theirs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-robinson/whites-have-more-than-eleven-times-the-net-worth-or-wealth-of-african/) [Randall Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-robinson/) > [I've worked in the prison system, on death row and maximum security. I did that work for six years. I've worked with some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-halifax/i-ve-worked-in-the-prison-system-on-death-row-and-maximum-security-i/) [Joan Halifax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-halifax/) > [the prison system, inherently unjust and inhumane, is the ultimate expression of injustice and inhumanity in the society at large.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/the-prison-system-inherently-unjust-and-inhumane-is-the-ultimate/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [The prison systems in this country actually are exploitative and they are not in any way rehabilitative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-prison-systems-in-this-country-actually-are-exploitative-and-they/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The war on drugs has been the engine of mass incarceration. Drug convictions alone constituted about two-thirds of the increase in the federal prison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-war-on-drugs-has-been-the-engine-of-mass-incarceration-drug/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Prison is quite literally a ghetto in the most classic sense of the word, a place where the U.S. government now puts not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/prison-is-quite-literally-a-ghetto-in-the-most-classic-sense-of-the-3/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [ The film \[Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth\] opens with an Albanian blood feud and goes on to delve into, for instance,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-film-payback-debt-and-the-shadow-side-of-wealth-opens-with-an/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The percentage of Americans in the prison system, has doubled since 1985.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serj-tankian/the-percentage-of-americans-in-the-prison-system-has-doubled-since/) [Serj Tankian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serj-tankian/) > [America should meet its obligations in the form of Social Security, Medicare, our ability to pay our military, legally binding legislation that allows unemployment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/america-should-meet-its-obligations-in-the-form-of-social-security/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Such is the remorseless progression of human society, shedding lives and souls as it goes on its way. It is an ocean into which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/such-is-the-remorseless-progression-of-human-society-shedding-lives/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I've probably been spit on more that any person alive outside of, I would say, a member of the prison system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-ve-probably-been-spit-on-more-that-any-person-alive-outside-of-i/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [Some of the folks we see are in for defending themselves against their abusers, or drug charges that, because of the California state prison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thao-nguyen/some-of-the-folks-we-see-are-in-for-defending-themselves-against/) [Thao Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thao-nguyen/) > [It must surely be a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit that even a small number of those men and women in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/it-must-surely-be-a-tribute-to-the-resilience-of-the-human-spirit/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/no-one-truly-knows-a-nation-until-one-has-been-inside-its-jails-a/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [... as recently as the mid-1970s, the most well-respected criminologists were predicting that the prison system would soon fade away. Prison did not deter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/as-recently-as-the-mid-1970s-the-most-well-respected-criminologists/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More by Ava DuVernay > [We're living based on laws and ideas that we, as a society, embraced back in the days of slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/we-re-living-based-on-laws-and-ideas-that-we-as-a-society-embraced/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [All the traditional models for doing things are collapsing; from music to publishing to film, and it's a wide open door for people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/all-the-traditional-models-for-doing-things-are-collapsing-from-music/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [Don't wait for permission to do something creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/don-t-wait-for-permission-to-do-something-creative/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [Netflix represents, as well as all the streaming services, something that I've been talking about being so important to inclusive voices around films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/netflix-represents-as-well-as-all-the-streaming-services-something/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [I didn't go to film school. I got my education on the set as a niche publicist in the film industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/i-didn-t-go-to-film-school-i-got-my-education-on-the-set-as-a-niche/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [Hollywood needs more women directors, and Mama Ava needs a carafe and a half of that sweet vino divino.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/hollywood-needs-more-women-directors-and-mama-ava-needs-a-carafe-and/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [I've been to Sundance eight times as a publicist and thought I was very prepared. I mean, who could've been more prepared for me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/i-ve-been-to-sundance-eight-times-as-a-publicist-and-thought-i-was/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [I think it's a wonderful time to be a black woman who makes films. It's a good time to be an artist period. Traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/i-think-it-s-a-wonderful-time-to-be-a-black-woman-who-makes-films-it/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [I think for female filmmakers a big issue is making their second and third films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/i-think-for-female-filmmakers-a-big-issue-is-making-their-second-and/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [I make films about black women and it doesn't mean that you can't see them as a black man, doesn't mean that he can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/i-make-films-about-black-women-and-it-doesn-t-mean-that-you-can-t-see/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [The documentaries were something that I could do for a small amount of money, and then I felt like as long as I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/the-documentaries-were-something-that-i-could-do-for-a-small-amount/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [ \[ Hollywood\] is a patriarchy, headed by men and built for men. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/hollywood-is-a-patriarchy-headed-by-men-and-built-for-men/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [I know that sounds a little bit corny, but I've found some solace in that. I hope art can continue to do that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/i-know-that-sounds-a-little-bit-corny-but-i-ve-found-some-solace-in/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [We have to find new ways to work without permission, new ways to turn corners and go through doors that are closed off to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/we-have-to-find-new-ways-to-work-without-permission-new-ways-to-turn/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [We're a new world and it's not pretty. It's going to be for the brave to figure out how to survive in this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/we-re-a-new-world-and-it-s-not-pretty-it-s-going-to-be-for-the-brave/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) [Explore all 117 Ava DuVernay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) ## More Abolitionist quotes > [Nowhere is wisdom more necessary than in the guidance of charitable impulses. Meaning well is only half our duty; Thinking right is the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gridley-howe/nowhere-is-wisdom-more-necessary-than-in-the-guidance-of-charitable/) [Samuel Gridley Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-gridley-howe/) > [“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-am-aware-that-many-object-to-the-severity-of-my-language-but-is/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [“That was when I realized we weren’t born to be slaves. It was ignorant for any man to think he could be the master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-grewal/that-was-when-i-realized-we-weren-t-born-to-be-slaves-it-was-ignorant/) [Jay Grewal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-grewal/) > [I feel safe even in the midst of my enemies; for the truth is powerful and will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/i-feel-safe-even-in-the-midst-of-my-enemies-for-the-truth-is-powerful/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [One of the songs that stayed in my head that I really considered a lot was an old folk song called 'John Brown' -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/one-of-the-songs-that-stayed-in-my-head-that-i-really-considered-a/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [Whether by the House or by the People, if an Abolitionist be chosen President of the United States, you will have presented to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-davis/whether-by-the-house-or-by-the-people-if-an-abolitionist-be-chosen/) [Jefferson Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-davis/) > [Many abolitionists have yet to learn the ABC of woman's rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/many-abolitionists-have-yet-to-learn-the-abc-of-woman-s-rights/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [You point out that war is only a symptom of the whole horrid business of human behavior, and cannot be isolated. And that, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/you-point-out-that-war-is-only-a-symptom-of-the-whole-horrid-business/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [It’s time for a 21st-century abolitionist movement in the U.S and around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/it-s-time-for-a-21st-century-abolitionist-movement-in-the-u-s-and/) [Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/) > [If, while I hear the wild shriek of the slave mother robbed of her little ones, I do not open my mouth, am I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-stone/if-while-i-hear-the-wild-shriek-of-the-slave-mother-robbed-of-her/) [Lucy Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-stone/) > [I was in favour of the death penalty, and disposed to regard abolitionists as people whose hearts were bigger than their heads. Four years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gowers/i-was-in-favour-of-the-death-penalty-and-disposed-to-regard/) [Ernest Gowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-gowers/) > [There are those who view the abolitionists as just maniacs, apolitical fanatics who helped to cause the war, and Lincoln is the model of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/there-are-those-who-view-the-abolitionists-as-just-maniacs-apolitical/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [In such a condition of affairs, the practical difference between the abolitionist and the sympathizer, to the man who lost his slave and could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sergeant-wise/in-such-a-condition-of-affairs-the-practical-difference-between-the/) [John Sergeant Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sergeant-wise/) > [If I had to write down the most important people in the history of this planet, No.1 would be (abolitionist) John Brown. Why? Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/if-i-had-to-write-down-the-most-important-people-in-the-history-of/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [“These men are all talk. What we need is action—action!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brown/these-men-are-all-talk-what-we-need-is-action-action/) [John Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brown/) [Browse all 90 Abolitionist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abolitionist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a prison abolitionist because the prison system as it is set up is just not working. 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