1. In the video, Ruth Wilson Gilmore explains that racism and capitalism are deeply connected, which is why she uses the term “racial capitalism.” When she says capitalism would stop being racial capitalism once white people disappear from the story, I think she means that whiteness has historically been used to create advantages for some groups while exploiting and excluding others. Whiteness becomes tied to power, opportunity, and who society chooses to value more. Racism is not just about personal prejudice; it is also built into systems such as housing, jobs, education, and policing. Gilmore argues that capitalism benefits from inequality, and race has been one of the main ways those inequalities are justified and maintained. 
2. Gilmore argues that the prison system can actually create more “criminals” because prisons make it harder for people to successfully return to society. Once someone has a criminal record, they often struggle to find jobs, housing, education opportunities, and stability. Because they are constantly excluded and monitored, many people end up trapped in cycles of poverty and incarceration. Instead of solving social problems, the prison system actually deepens them. She also points out that society labels people as “criminals” permanently, which can shape how they are treated and how they see themselves. I do agree with her view to an extent because if people leave prison without support or opportunities, it makes sense that some may return to illegal activities just to survive. The system focuses more on punishment than rehabilitation, which can keep the cycle going.
3. From my understanding, when Gilmore talks about “liberation struggle,” she means collective efforts to create a society that is more fair, equal, and supportive instead of relying on punishment and oppression. She believes liberation is not only about ending prisons, but also about building better systems for education, healthcare, housing, and jobs so people actually have what they need to live stable lives. In the last part of the video, she talks about organizing, community action, and imagining new possibilities instead of accepting harmful systems as normal. To me, liberation struggle means people working together to challenge injustice and create long-term social change rather than only focusing on individual success. 

Ruth Wilson Gilmore asks us to look at racism not just as something that happens between people, but as something that lives in the systems around us. When she talks about whiteness, I think of it as a position in society that was built over time to decide who gets safety, power, and resources. Whiteness only really makes sense when you see how it fits into a bigger pattern of who gets what in our world. It is connected to how things like money and laws are set up to give some people more and leave others with less. Racism is not just about how people feel or act; it is woven into the rules and structures that keep giving advantages to what is seen as white, while putting others at risk or making life harder. In this view, whiteness is not just about identity, but about how unfairness keeps going, influencing many parts of society, including the criminal justice system.

Continuing this idea, when Gilmore talks about how ‘criminals are created,’ I see her point: the justice system does more than just react to crime; it actually shapes who gets called a criminal in the first place. This happens when police focus on certain neighborhoods, or when laws make some actions illegal for some people but not for others. Once someone is called a criminal, that label sticks and follows them, making it harder to find work, a place to live, or even to vote. That kind of exclusion makes life less stable and can push people back into the system again and again. I find myself agreeing with Gilmore here. Being labeled a criminal is not just about what someone did; it is about how the system treats them and how the rules are set up. Even though people make choices, the way the system works shapes those choices and their consequences. This connects directly to how we think about changing those systems, which is at the core of the liberation struggle.

Building on these ideas, when Gilmore speaks about ‘liberation struggle,’ I think of people coming together, not just to protest, but to change the systems that keep things unfair. It is about organizing for better housing, healthcare, schools, and a safer environment, and also about imagining a world without prisons. Liberation struggle means building something new while also standing up to what hurts our communities. It is not about waiting for someone in power to fix things, but about people working side by side to make life better, so that everyone has a real chance to grow and feel safe.

1. Ruth Gilmore says that capitalism will stop being racial capitalism, when all the white people disappear from the story. What’s the connection between “whiteness” and racism, do you think?

2. Gilmore makes the point that criminals are actually being created by the criminal justice and prison system (she says “the category of ‘criminal person’ can be perpetuated”). According to Gilmore, how does that happen, how does the prison system create new “criminals“? Do you agree with her view?

3. Describe how your understand what Prof. Gilmore – in the last part of her video – calls “liberation struggle”?