On the long-term impacts of charges related to sex trafficking. With Dee Clarke, Founder, Survivor Speak USA and Samaa Abdurraqib, SUSSA board member and Associate Director, Maine Humanities Council.

The Freedom & Captivity Podcast presents conversations with people at the forefront of abolitionist organizing and visioning in Maine. A new episode is launched weekly during fall 2021. The episodes will cover a broad range of issues, from abolition’s history in Maine to current calls to end youth incarceration; from alternatives to punishment that prioritize harm reduction and a different approach to drug policy to the impact on families of the criminal legal system; from the disproportionate policing experiences by Black and brown people to the use of surveillance to monitor political dissent. The Portland Media Center sponsors the podcast, which is produced by Catherine Besteman, edited by sound engineers Josh Riddle and Dino Raymond, and accompanied by the music of Samuel James.

Stream the episode above or access it via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Audible, or the Portland Media Center website.

Resources for further learning:

• – INCITE (2016) Color of Violence, Duke University Press.
• – INCITE, Law Enforcement Violence Against Women of Trans People of Color: A Critical Intersection of Gender Violence and State Violence.’ An Organizer’s Resource and Tool Kit.https://incite-national.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/TOOLKIT-FINAL.pdf
• – Abolitionist Feminisms (2021), webinar with Beth Richie, Erica Meiners, and Sonya Clark.
• – Abolitionist Feminism: The Heart and Soul of Transformative Justice (2020) Webinar with Beth Richie, Shira Hassan, and Alisa Bierria and Nan Stoops.

Statement on the Passing of SUSSA Founder, Dee Clarke | November 3, 2021

We are bereft and we are grieving. It hurts our heart to share the news that Survivor Speak USA founder and director, Dee Clarke, died on Sunday, October 31st, 2021. Dee passed on in the presence of her eldest daughter and her sister. She was surrounded by love, all the way until the end.

Dee founded Survivor Speak because she wanted to see survivors – especially Black and Brown survivors – leading the movement to end sex trafficking and sexploitation. Dee has been a mentor, a friend, an agitator, and a beacon to so many. It is difficult to capture in words how large Dee’s impact has been in Maine and beyond.

We know that so many of you who came into contact with Dee are also grieving. For many of us, Dee was a hero, a parent, a confidante, a person who created pathways towards healing, and a person with an immense capacity for forgiveness. Her life, love, and legacy will not be forgotten; she will forever inspire and guide our liberation work.

A celebration of life for Dee is being planned for next weekend. We will share more plans about this celebration as they become available. Survivor Speak will provide a virtual forum for honoring Dee – the details of this virtual forum will be determined at a later date. We’re with you all in our shared love and admiration for Dee.