INCITE is a coalition of radical feminists of color who are dedicated to eradicating violence against women, gender-nonconforming individuals, and trans people of color. The group advocates for dismantling the policing system, contending that the “War on Terror” exacerbates violence against women of color and women in developing countries. ¹

Background

INCITE was stablished in 2000 as a nonprofit organization that focuses on empowering women, gender-nonconforming individuals, and trans people of color against sexual and domestic violence. ¹

The nonprofit promotes the involvement of grassroots organizations in addressing various forms of violence, such as “colonialism, police brutality, immigration policies, and restrictions on reproductive control.” ²

Drawing from its encounter with the Ford Foundation, which withdrew a $100,000 grant contribution due to INCITE’s backing of the Palestinian Liberation Movement, INCITE has a stance against state funding, arguing that it has become politicized. ³

Leadership

Andrea Smith is a co-founder of INCITE. ⁴ She faced allegations starting in 2008 that she had falsely claimed Cherokee ancestry. ⁵

Clarissa Rojas and Nadine Naber are also founding members of INCITE. ^{6 7}

Activities

In 2006, the nonprofit released a book urging organizations to address violence against women of color and trans people of color in all its forms, including interpersonal violence and state violence. The following year, INCITE published another book that popularized the Nonprofit Industrial Complex (NPIC) framework, contending that nonprofits serve as a mechanism of social control. ⁸

Claiming that “the state [was] the central organizer of violence which oppresses women, trans people and gender nonconforming people of color,” ⁹ INCITE promotes the development of community-based solutions to address violence rather than relying on law enforcement. ¹⁰

From August 6 to 12, 2018, the nonprofit organized an #FreeThemAll National Week of Action campaign to demand the immediate release of all criminalized survivors. ¹¹ In 2020, INCITE published a blog post asserting that to achieve safety for communities, policing must be abolished, prisons must be dismantled, ¹² and funds must be reallocated from the police to the community. ¹³

In 2021, Incite and Critical Resistance released a joint statement condemning “Gender Violence and the Prison Industrial Complex” while claiming that it is “impossible to seriously address sexual/domestic violence within communities of color without addressing these larger structures of violence, such as militarism, prisons, attacks on immigrants’ rights and Indian treaty rights, economic neocolonialism, and the medical industry.” ¹⁴ In the statement, Incite also advocated for an “imperialist abolitionist feminism” or claiming that “in order to abolish the prison-industrial complex we are going to need to dismantle the colonial heterosexist, racial and imperial underpinnings of carcerality. We believe that this approach can expand anti-militarist and abolitionist struggles through a politics of joint struggle or coalition.” ¹⁴ The statement further called for “A return to Indigenous stewardship of the land,” “Abolishing racial capitalism,” “Abolishing heteropatriarchy,” “Abolishing the military,” “An end to imperialist war,” “Abolishing ICE,” “Abolishing the very ideas of a crime and a criminal,” “Embracing…resistance movements,” and “Building collective consciousness and social organization.” ¹⁴

Following the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, the organization demonstrated solidarity with Palestine by distributing posters bearing the message “Feminists of color rise up, free Palestine” in both English and Spanish. ¹⁵

According to an INCITE blog post, the War of Terror increases poverty, attacks our health, and intensifies violence against women of color and women in developing countries. ¹⁶

1. “About.” INCITE!, July 31, 2018. https://incite-national.org/history/.
2.  “Analysis.” INCITE!, August 6, 2018. https://incite-national.org/analysis/.
3. “Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex.” INCITE!, August 3, 2018. https://incite-national.org/beyond-the-non-profit-industrial-complex/.
4. “IWS Invites to Campus Award-Winning Scholar and Anti-Violence Activist, Andrea Smith, as Part of the Women’s History Month Celebrations This March.” Institute for Women’s Studies. Accessed February 29, 2024. https://iws.uga.edu/news/stories/2015/iws-invites-campus-award-winning-scholar-and-anti-violence-activist-andrea-smith.
5. Viren, Sarah. “The Native Scholar Who Wasn’t.” The New York Times, May 25, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/magazine/cherokee-native-american-andrea-smith.html.
6. Woods, Wallace E. “Clarissa Rojas, Ph.D..” UC Davis Cultural Studies, January 26, 2024. https://culturalstudies.ucdavis.edu/people/clarissa-rojas.
7. “Incite! Women of Color against Violence: Critical Moment.” INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence | Critical Moment. Accessed February 29, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20070611060037/http:/criticalmoment.org/issue22/sussman.
8. “Books.” INCITE!, February 11, 2024. https://incite-national.org/books/.
9. “Principles of Unity.” INCITE!, July 30, 2018. https://incite-national.org/principles-of-unity/.
10. “Community Accountability.” INCITE!, July 31, 2019. https://incite-national.org/community-accountability/.
11.  “Aug 6-12: #freethemall Week of Action.” INCITE!, August 1, 2018. https://incite-national.org/2018/08/01/aug-6-12-freethemall-week-of-action/.
12. “Abolitionist Feminist Resources to Dismantle Policing.” INCITE!, July 7, 2020. https://incite-national.org/2020/06/11/abolitionist-feminist-resources-to-dismantle-policing/.
13. ^[1] “Byp 100 Hosting Virtual Book Club on Color of Violence!” INCITE!, April 16, 2020. https://incite-national.org/2020/04/16/byp-100-hosting-virtual-book-club-on-color-of-violence/.
14. Naber, Nadine and Clarissa Rojas. “To Abolish Prisons and Militarism, We Need Anti-Imperialist Abolition Feminism.” Truthout, July 16, 2021. https://truthout.org/articles/to-abolish-prisons-and-militarism-we-need-anti-imperialist-abolition-feminism/
15. “Incite!” INCITE! Accessed February 29, 2024. https://incite-national.org/.
16.  “Anti-Militarism Resources.” INCITE!, August 1, 2018. https://incite-national.org/anti-militarism/.