Alejandro Villalpando's guest appearances

Alejandro Villalpando

Millennials Are Killing Capitalism

We Be Imagining

OwlTail

David Chávez

Steven Osuna

Jared Ware

This past May David Chávez, Steven Osuna, Alejandro Villalpando, and Jared Ware (co-host of MAKC) gave a panel presentation at the Abolitions Conference in DC. We wanted to have a conversation to share some of what we talked about, some of our reflections on the conference, discuss some of the possibilities, limitations and contradictions of Abolition within Academic spaces, as well as some of the potential ways that these spaces, jobs within them, or alternatives to them might be useful in advancing the abolitionist struggle. Before we get into this conversation we would like to thank organizers Whitney Pirtle and Tanya Golash-Boza for putting the conference together and welcoming us to it. And also shout out all the folks we were able to connect with there and the people who gave talks and shared their insights and their research. We will include links to our presentation from the conference and encourage folks to check out others from the conferences if they’re interested. There is a lot of good work that was presented and good discussions that were had.  Joining J for this conversation:  David Chávez teaches History &amp; Ethnic Studies at Compton College. With his dissertation, “From Delinquents to Street Terrorists: L.A.’s War on Black and Chicanx Youth, 1945-1965,” Chávez has studied the policing and criminalization of those populations in Greater Los Angeles. He also has many years of organizing experience, including with Critical Resistance. Steven Osuna is an associate professor of Sociology at CSU Long Beach. He has written extensively on street organizations, policing, the so-called war on drugs, and the ravages of capitalism and neoliberalism. He also has experience organizing in the Philippine solidarity movement and other struggles.  Alejandro Villalpando is an assistant professor in the Department of Pan-African Studies and the Latin American Studies Program at Cal State LA. He earned his Ph.D. in Critical Ethnic Studies from UC Riverside, and an M.A. from Latin American Studies at Cal State LA. His work lies at the intersection of Black, Central American, and Ethnic Studies. He also organizes with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police. We have had previous conversations with Alejandro and Steven and will link those in the show notes as well. It is July. Over the months of June and May we released over 14 new episodes of material. We probably will not be able to keep that pace up for this month, but we could definitely use some support from our listeners. We unfortunately just missed our sustainability goal for June. So if you are listening and are able to support the show become a patron for as little as $1 a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism Links: Our presentation at the UCDC Abolitions Conference “Advancing the Abolitionist Struggle, Everywhere” (starts at approximately 4:31:30 into the recording) “The Day in Day Out Commitment to Abolition” - Alejandro Villalpando on Organizing, Building Connection, and the Abolitionist Horizon  "We Need To Be Active In The Working Class Struggle For Socialism Globally" - Steven Osuna on Class Suicide  One alternative to an academic conference is the recent Black Radical Organizing Conference, you can find video of it on Black Power Media  Photos of panelists taken by Charles H.F. Davis III at the Abolitions Conference

This past May David Chávez, Steven Osuna, Alejandro Villalpando, and Jared Ware (co-host of MAKC) gave a panel presentation at the Abolitions Conference in DC. We wanted to have a conversation to share some of what we talked about, some of our reflections on the conference, discuss some of the possibilities, limitations and contradictions of Abolition within Academic spaces, as well as some of the potential ways that these spaces, jobs within them, or alternatives to them might be useful in advancing the abolitionist struggle. Before we get into this conversation we would like to thank organizers Whitney Pirtle and Tanya Golash-Boza for putting the conference together and welcoming us to it. And also shout out all the folks we were able to connect with there and the people who gave talks and shared their insights and their research. We will include links to our presentation from the conference and encourage folks to check out others from the conferences if they’re interested. There is a lot of good work that was presented and good discussions that were had.  Joining J for this conversation:  David Chávez teaches History &amp; Ethnic Studies at Compton College. With his dissertation, “From Delinquents to Street Terrorists: L.A.’s War on Black and Chicanx Youth, 1945-1965,” Chávez has studied the policing and criminalization of those populations in Greater Los Angeles. He also has many years of organizing experience, including with Critical Resistance. Steven Osuna is an associate professor of Sociology at CSU Long Beach. He has written extensively on street organizations, policing, the so-called war on drugs, and the ravages of capitalism and neoliberalism. He also has experience organizing in the Philippine solidarity movement and other struggles.  Alejandro Villalpando is an assistant professor in the Department of Pan-African Studies and the Latin American Studies Program at Cal State LA. He earned his Ph.D. in Critical Ethnic Studies from UC Riverside, and an M.A. from Latin American Studies at Cal State LA. His work lies at the intersection of Black, Central American, and Ethnic Studies. He also organizes with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police. We have had previous conversations with Alejandro and Steven and will link those in the show notes as well. It is July. Over the months of June and May we released over 14 new episodes of material. We probably will not be able to keep that pace up for this month, but we could definitely use some support from our listeners. We unfortunately just missed our sustainability goal for June. So if you are listening and are able to support the show become a patron for as little as $1 a month at <a href="http://patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism</a> Links: Our presentation at the UCDC Abolitions Conference “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DELkdzEjcHs" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Advancing the Abolitionist Struggle, Everywhere</a>” (starts at approximately 4:31:30 into the recording) “<a href="https://millennialsarekillingcapitalism.libsyn.com/the-day-in-day-out-commitment-to-abolition-alejandro-villalpando-on-organizing-building-connection-and-the-abolitionist-horizon" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Day in Day Out Commitment to Abolition” - Alejandro Villalpando on Organizing, Building Connection, and the Abolitionist Horizon </a> <a href="https://millennialsarekillingcapitalism.libsyn.com/we-need-to-be-active-in-the-working-class-struggle-for-socialism-globally-steven-osuna-on-class-suicide" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">"We Need To Be Active In The Working Class Struggle For Socialism Globally" - Steven Osuna on Class Suicide</a> One alternative to an academic conference is the recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvX_qb3fkzc&amp;list=PL7_X-VeroWRsRQzKrjB74lSx80GCwwKWe" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Black Radical Organizing Conference</a>, you can find video of it on Black Power Media  Photos of panelists taken by Charles H.F. Davis III at the Abolitions Conference

“Back to Organization” - David Chávez, Steven Osuna, Alejandro Villalpando & Jared Ware Offer Reflections from the Abolitions Conference

In this conversation we interview Alejandro Villalpando.    Alejandro Villalpando is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pan-African Studies and the Latin American Studies Program at Cal State LA. He earned his Ph.D. in Critical Ethnic Studies from UC Riverside, and an M.A. from Latin American Studies at Cal State LA. His work lies at the intersection of Black, Central American, and Ethnic Studies. His co-authored chapter entitled "The Racialization of Central Americans in the United States,” can be found in the edited volume Precarity and Belonging (Rutgers University Press, 2021). He was also a co-founder, co-organizer, and co-facilitator for a year-long political education project entitled the Abolition Open School. Villalpando is also indelibly shaped and inspired to be part of and contribute to the crafting of a world rooted in justice, equity and dignity for all by his young child and partner who remain the bedrocks of his existence. This discussion is primarily about organizing around the issue of police violence in Los Angeles, specifically south of Interstate 10 where Alejandro is born and raised and continues to live and organize. Villalpando shares a bit about his own experiences growing up in Los Angeles around police violence and around the organized abandonment and criminalization of his community by the state. He also discusses organized violence from a transnational perspective that attends to everything from imperialist wars and CIA counterinsurgency wars in Central America to both interpersonal violence and state violence in the Los Angeles area. Pushing back against these forces through political education, mobilization, and grassroots organizing, Alejandro speaks of the abolitionist work he and his partner engage in, and in the work they do with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police and with many families who have had their loved ones taken by the state. Along the way Villalpando talks about a lot of the contradictions that come up when working to do abolitionist work in the real world with real people. And he talks about balancing some of the more practical day to day work of organizing around the vexed positions of responding to state violence, with the necessary work of world building and offering up the more expansive horizon of abolition. Alejandro and his partner are co-convening Heal Together's Anti-Carceral Care Collective which is a space for anyone who needs a grief processing space that’s anti-carceral. We just sent off our latest book to our incarcerated reading group. We want to thank Pluto Press for donating copies of Josh Myers Of Black Study. We also want to thank Massive Bookshop for kicking in for postage, and also the folks who donated some funds for postage to make that happen. And finally we want to thank our partners over at Prisons Kill. Lastly, there’s 5 days left in the month of February, we only need 2 more patrons to hit our goal for the month of adding 28 patrons to the show. So if you want to support the show, kick in $1 a month or more be a part of the amazing community of folks that make episodes like this possible on a weekly basis at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism. Other links: Steven Osuna's episode (mentioned in this discussion) Jury Nullification Toolkit (also discussed in the episode) Villalpando social media links: IG: @CentAmStudies IG  IG: @SouthCentralCat911 Twitter: @CSULA_LAS

In this conversation we interview Alejandro Villalpando.  Alejandro Villalpando is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pan-African Studies and the Latin American Studies Program at Cal State LA. He earned his Ph.D. in Critical Ethnic Studies from UC Riverside, and an M.A. from Latin American Studies at Cal State LA. His work lies at the intersection of Black, Central American, and Ethnic Studies. His co-authored chapter entitled "The Racialization of Central Americans in the United States,” can be found in the edited volume <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/precarity-and-belonging/9781978815629" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Precarity and Belonging</a> (Rutgers University Press, 2021). He was also a co-founder, co-organizer, and co-facilitator for a year-long political education project entitled the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/qWIc8NutV9w?feature=share" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Abolition Open School</a>. Villalpando is also indelibly shaped and inspired to be part of and contribute to the crafting of a world rooted in justice, equity and dignity for all by his young child and partner who remain the bedrocks of his existence. This discussion is primarily about organizing around the issue of police violence in Los Angeles, specifically south of Interstate 10 where Alejandro is born and raised and continues to live and organize. Villalpando shares a bit about his own experiences growing up in Los Angeles around police violence and around the organized abandonment and criminalization of his community by the state. He also discusses organized violence from a transnational perspective that attends to everything from imperialist wars and CIA counterinsurgency wars in Central America to both interpersonal violence and state violence in the Los Angeles area. Pushing back against these forces through political education, mobilization, and grassroots organizing, Alejandro speaks of the abolitionist work he and his partner engage in, and in the work they do with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police and with many families who have had their loved ones taken by the state. Along the way Villalpando talks about a lot of the contradictions that come up when working to do abolitionist work in the real world with real people. And he talks about balancing some of the more practical day to day work of organizing around the vexed positions of responding to state violence, with the necessary work of world building and offering up the more expansive horizon of abolition. Alejandro and his partner are co-convening <a href="https://linktr.ee/Heal_Together?fbclid=PAAaaw5ufywVCpyNvhruW7lYWnm-2jl1ygAWWiHIMP1ouRfnB7kmG4ouVjpfw" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Heal Together's Anti-Carceral Care Collective</a> which is a space for anyone who needs a grief processing space that’s anti-carceral. We just sent off our <a href="https://massivebookshop.com/products/prisonskill-book-club-donation" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">latest book to our incarcerated reading group</a>. We want to thank Pluto Press for donating copies of Josh Myers Of Black Study. We also want to thank Massive Bookshop for kicking in for postage, and also the folks who donated some funds for postage to make that happen. And finally we want to thank our partners over at Prisons Kill. Lastly, there’s 5 days left in the month of February, we only need 2 more patrons to hit our goal for the month of adding 28 patrons to the show. So if you want to support the show, kick in $1 a month or more be a part of the amazing community of folks that make episodes like this possible on a weekly basis at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism.</a> Other links: <a href="https://millennialsarekillingcapitalism.libsyn.com/we-need-to-be-active-in-the-working-class-struggle-for-socialism-globally-steven-osuna-on-class-suicide" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Steven Osuna's episode (mentioned in this discussion)</a> <a href="https://beyondcourts.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/Jury-Nullification-Toolkit-English_0.pdf" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Jury Nullification Toolkit (also discussed in the episode)</a> Villalpando social media links: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/CentAmStudies/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">IG: @CentAmStudies IG </a> IG: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/southcentralcat911/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">@SouthCentralCat911</a> Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/CSULA_LAS" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">@CSULA_LAS</a>

“The Day in Day Out Commitment to Abolition” - Alejandro Villalpando on Organizing, Building Connection, and the Abolitionist Horizon

Tech companies are divesting from California claiming bad governance and high taxes are the cause.  The gentrifiers leaving seems like a victory in the immediate but echo a history of colonization– invaders extracting what they want and leaving when everything is ruined–in the long term. How do people in the hood feel about big tech corporations and what does tech got to do with abolition? How do we frame our organizing around gentrification in the wake of these seismic economic shifts and environmental disaster? Abolitionist and scholar Alejandro Villalpando comes through to discuss these questions from the perspective of living in the same community he grew up in. Alejandro Villalpando received his Ph.D. from the Department of Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Riverside. He is a born-and-raised South Central Los Angeles and son of a Guatemalan immigrant mother and Mexican immigrant father. Dr. Villalpando is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pan African Studies and the Latin American Studies Program at Cal State LA. His work can be understood generally as lying within the intersection of Black, Ethnic, and Central American Studies.IG + Twitter: @WeBeImaginingSupport Us: On PatreonHost: J. Khadijah Abdurahman, Ilan MandelMusic: Drew LewisLinks for the Episode:Chicanx/Latinx CaucusThe Rams’ Stan Kroenke Represents the Worst of the NFLBusinesses Are Fleeing California. Blame Bad Government.The Abolition Open School: How We Spread the Message (an ASA 2020 Freedom Course)Living next door to Elon Musk's SpaceX is hellish. Musk's fans disagreeNumber of Latinos dying daily from Covid soars 1,000% in Los AngelesThe University of California has fully divested from fossil fuels. It's the largest school in the US to do it.If CalPERS Divested from Coal, Why Does It Still Have $6.5B Invested?On Dray: a remix + zineHuawei's surveillance tech in Africa worries activists — Quartz AfricaFacebook’s Role in the Genocide in Myanmar: New Reporting Complicates the NarrativeThe Gig Economy Is White People Discovering ServantsMargari Hill Muslim Anti-Racist Coalition (MARC)"East of La Brea" Is Changing How Writers Rooms are FormedCentral American Studies Twitter HandleCSU Cops Off Campus IG“Why Did You Kill that Boy?” Los Angeles Sheriff’s Officers Fatally Shoot Salvadoran-American TeenStop LAPD Spying CoalitionRecommendationsJoy Oladokun

Tech companies are divesting from California claiming bad governance and high taxes are the cause. The gentrifiers leaving seems like a victory in the immediate but echo a history of colonization– invaders extracting what they want and leaving when everything is ruined–in the long term. How do people in the hood feel about big tech corporations and what does tech got to do with abolition? How do we frame our organizing around gentrification in the wake of these seismic economic shifts and environmental disaster? Abolitionist and scholar Alejandro Villalpando comes through to discuss these questions from the perspective of living in the same community he grew up in. <a href="https://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/alejandro-villalpando" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Alejandro Villalpando</a> received his Ph.D. from the Department of Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Riverside. He is a born-and-raised South Central Los Angeles and son of a Guatemalan immigrant mother and Mexican immigrant father. Dr. Villalpando is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pan African Studies and the Latin American Studies Program at Cal State LA. His work can be understood generally as lying within the intersection of Black, Ethnic, and Central American Studies.IG + Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/webeimagining?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@WeBeImagining</a> Support Us: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45292504&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Famericanassembly.org%2Fwbi-about&amp;utm_medium=widget" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">On Patreon</a> Host: <a href="https://twitter.com/UpFromTheCracks" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">J. Khadijah Abdurahman</a>, <a href="https://americanassembly.org/wbi-about" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ilan Mandel</a> Music: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/4LFXb70Hkb3f93vpwexRVv?si=ZoEDEAexSOqXD-X4FRw5Jg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Drew Lewis</a>Links for the Episode: <a href="https://www.calfac.org/chicanxlatinx-caucus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chicanx/Latinx Caucus</a> <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/rams-stan-kroenke-patriots-super-bowl/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Rams’ Stan Kroenke Represents the Worst of the NFL</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-29/businesses-are-fleeing-california-blame-bad-government" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Businesses Are Fleeing California. Blame Bad Government.</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWIc8NutV9w" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Abolition Open School: How We Spread the Message (an ASA 2020 Freedom Course)</a> <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/culture/living-next-door-to-elon-musks-spacex-is-hellish-musks-fans-disagree" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Living next door to Elon Musk's SpaceX is hellish. Musk's fans disagree</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/30/los-angeles-coronavirus-latino-deaths-increase-1000" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Number of Latinos dying daily from Covid soars 1,000% in Los Angeles</a> <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/20/us/university-of-california-divest-fossil-fuels-trnd/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The University of California has fully divested from fossil fuels. It's the largest school in the US to do it</a><a href="https://www.inputmag.com/culture/living-next-door-to-elon-musks-spacex-is-hellish-musks-fans-disagree" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">.</a> <a href="https://yubanet.com/california/if-calpers-divested-from-coal-why-does-it-still-have-6-5b-invested/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">If CalPERS Divested from Coal, Why Does It Still Have $6.5B Invested?</a> <a href="https://americanassembly.org/black-siren-radio/on-dray-respectability-politics-zine" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">On Dray: a remix + zine</a> <a href="https://qz.com/africa/1822312/huaweis-surveillance-tech-in-africa-worries-activists/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Huawei's surveillance tech in Africa worries activists — Quartz Africa</a> <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/facebooks-role-genocide-myanmar-new-reporting-complicates-narrative" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook’s Role in the Genocide in Myanmar: New Reporting Complicates the Narrative</a> <a href="https://indica.medium.com/the-gig-economy-is-white-people-discovering-servants-d0bd47b154a" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Gig Economy Is White People Discovering Servants</a> <a href="https://www.muslimarc.org/margari_hill" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Margari Hill</a> Muslim Anti-Racist Coalition (MARC) <a href="https://popcollab.org/east-of-la-brea-is-changing-how-writers-rooms-are-formed/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">"East of La Brea" Is Changing How Writers Rooms are Formed</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CSULA_LAS?s=20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Central American Studies Twitter Handle</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/csucopsoffcampus/?hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CSU Cops Off Campus IG</a> <a href="https://elfaro.net/en/202006/internacionales/24573/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“Why Did You Kill that Boy?” Los Angeles Sheriff’s Officers Fatally Shoot Salvadoran-American Teen</a> <a href="https://stoplapdspying.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stop LAPD Spying Coalition</a> Recommendations <a href="https://joyoladokun.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Joy Oladokun</a>