Derecka Purnell
American lawyer, writer, and organizer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Derecka Purnell is a lawyer, writer, and organizer. She is best known for her 2021 memoir Becoming Abolitionists, which received positive reviews from Boston Review, PEN America, Kirkus,[1] The Guardian,[2] and others.
Early life and education
Purnell was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.[3] She received her bachelor's degree from University of Missouri-Kansas City.[4]
She became politically active in college after the killing of Trayvon Martin, and at the time advocated for police reform.[5] She also organized during the Ferguson Uprising after the death of Michael Brown.[5] Purnell began to study writers such as Rachel Herzing and Ruth Wilson Gilmore, who argue for police abolition.[6][5] She received her jurisprudence degree from Harvard Law School.[7]
Career
Purnell is a human rights lawyer and writer.[8] She advocates for defunding the police to invest in basic services thought to be the root of crime, such as housing and healthcare.[4] She co-authored the policy proposal #8ToAbolition.[9][10]
She published her debut book, a memoir called Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom under Astra House in October 2021.[3] She was inspired to write the book after widespread conversation related to prison abolition resulted from the George Floyd protests.[3] The book was selected as a Best Book of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews.[11] Purnell is a columnist for The Guardian, and her writing has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Teen Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and In These Times.[12] Purnell is an editor at Hammer & Hope, a magazine of Black politics and culture.[13]
During the coronavirus pandemic, Purnell co-created the COVID19 Policing Project at the Community Resource Hub for Safety Accountability. The Project racks police arrests and harassment through public health orders.[12]
Awards and recognition
Purnell was recognized for her work in 2017 with a National Lawyers Guild Massachusetts Chapter student award. She has also been awarded a fellowship from the Skadden Foundation.[14]
In 2022, the Marguerite Casey Foundation chose Purnell as a Freedom Scholar.[13]
Personal life
Purnell has two children.[3]
Works
- Purnell, Derecka (2021). Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom. Astra House. ISBN 9781662601668.
