Camonghne Felix on Abolition as a Sexual Violence Survivor

Please note that this episode contains conversation around sexual violence.

Calls to “defund the police” or even “abolish the police” are often met with the retort: “But what do we do about the rapists and the murderers?” It’s a question that today’s guest, Camonghne Felix, addressed head-on with an article in New York Magazine’s The Cut titled “Aching for Abolition as a Survivor of Sexual Violence.” She explains that as a sexual assault survivor, the incarceration of her attacker brought her no solace. She invites the reader to listen, to be led, and “to invest in agency” when thinking about accountability and healing.

Felix is both an award-winning poet and the Vice President of Strategic Communications for Blue State, a purpose-driven creative strategy agency. Before Blue State, she was the director of surrogates & strategic communications at Elizabeth Warren for President. She’s also a prolific poet and was longlisted for the national book award in 2019.