“A Brief Oral History of the El Zopilote Dock”

2024 Johnson, Alaya Dawn (b. 1982). “A Brief Oral History of the El Zopilote Dock.” Clarkesworld, no. 210 (March 2024). https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/johnson_03_24/ Audio version read by Kate Baker https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/audio_03_24c/

The story is set in a future in which Texas has seceded from the United States and bases much of its economy on prison labor, almost entirely, Black, Chicana/o, and Indigenous. It is written as if by a young woman writing a report for future generations on the development of the River Underground that helps free prisons and lead them to safety south of the border, as far as Patagonia. The focus is on two women prisoners and their lives both in prison and working with the Fiver Underground after it helped them escape. African American female author.