Philadelphia schools host prison abolition workshops featuring convicted activist and radical educators

The Philadelphia public-school system collaborated with the self-described political education program W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction to deliver a set of "Liberation" workshops to more than 150 students from several district schools and two private schools. Sessions such as "Imagining A World Without Prisons" featured facilitators like convicted felon Anthony Smith, University of Pennsylvania student Eliana Atienza, and former Drexel lecturer Geo Maher.

Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey MacFarland and social-studies director Ismael Jimenez, who sits on the Movement School board, approved the events. The curriculum promotes revolutionary ideas, citing Marx and Gramsci, and includes activities on restorative justice and community empowerment. Critics point to the program’s radical content amid a congressional probe into antisemitism and a recent federal discrimination settlement involving the district. Emails show teacher Hannah Gann coordinated the workshops and offered volunteer support for lesson planning.