Monthly Archives: July 2016

Bend the Bars Conference Update on Asheville FM

from The Final Straw on Asheville FM

[Listen here]

This week we spoke with Alex about Bend the Bars conference which is taking place in Columbus OH on the weekend of August 26th-29th. This is a gathering which was called for in direct support for the September 9th national prisoner work strike, and is one of the only gatherings that we know of which explicitly centers the work of people doing direct support with incarcerated folks as opposed to NGOs and non profits. In this conversation we speak about the intentions for the conference as well touching on the prison condition in the US, the National Work Strike, and many other things.

You can learn more about this event by visiting https://bendthebars.noblogs.org/, and you can RSVP to this event or correspond with the organizers by emailing bendthebars@riseup.net

And, to visit the news sources that our guest mentioned, and to learn more about the upcoming national prisoner work strike to be called on September 9th, you can visit the following websites:
Free Alabama Movement
Support Prisoner Resistance
IWOC
Additionally there is Prison Legal News, which is a resource for folks who want more information about the day to day litigation that affects convicts and their families.

A Letter from Mothers and F.A.M.ilies

[Editor’s Note: what follows is an open letter to those incarcerated in Alabama from the organization Mothers and F.A.M.ilies.]

Greetings from Mothers and F.A.M.ilies:

May this letter find you in the best of spirit and health in spite of
your circumstance of being incarcerated in Alabama. We hope to lift your
spirit by letting you know that we are in this fight with you for
freedom, justice, and civil and human rights until the end.

Over the past 3 years, we have been fighting relentlessly alongside FREE
ALABAMA MOVEMENT and all others for justice in Alabama. Among our many
activities have been:
Continue reading

Promo Images for Sept 9th Strike

burning

s9-announce

s9-quarterimage

1/4 sheet flyer

A series of multi-colored FB profile picture size images…s9-yellow s9-white s9-violet s9-red s9-pink s9-orange s9-green s9-blue

11 x 17 inch posters
Anti-State STL Poster
Sep 9 strike!
1a- Strike Against Prison Slavery…
1b- same, with local info box
2a- Support Nationwide Prisoner Strike
2b- same, with local info box
3a- Strike a Blow Against White Supremacy3b- same, with local info box

8.5 x 11 posters
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3

Strike a blow poster

Prisons are for Burning Sticker

 

Logos for IWOC

s9-logo s9-IWOCsmoke

 

 

Call for solidarity with USA prison strike on the 9th of September

by Bristol Anarchist Black Cross

On September 9th, 2016 prisoners across the United States will be conducting work stoppages, hunger strikes and other forms of action in a call to end prison slavery. The call was originated by organizers from the Free Alabama Movement. A national coalition of community groups associated with the IWW’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, Anarchist Black Cross chapters and others throughout the country have come together to build a national support network to push for a final end to prison slavery.

To achieve this goal, we need support from the international community. We hope that prisoner support groups in the across the globe will hold solidarity demos and inform prisoners they are in contact with about the September 9th day of action. This spring and summer will be seasons of organizing, spreading the word, building networks of solidarity and showing that we’re serious and what we’re capable of. We ask that you organize some sort of solidarity action and help spread the word to prisoners in your area. We hope that the fires of prison rebellion spread from the United States to prisons across the globe! With one unified voice of rebellion we can send a strong message to captors across the globe that the iron bars of their cage cannot contain our thirst for freedom! Continue reading

Hunger Strike at Lukkkasville prison in Southern Ohio

Please contact Director Gary Mohr at ODRC Central Office # 614-752-1150, joellen.smith@odrc.state.oh.us

and

Warden Ronald Erdos at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF)  # 740-259-5544, Larry.Greene@odrc.state.oh.us

Express support for the hunger strike and request that they meet the striker’s demands. More information about the demands are below.

Letter from hunger striker Chaz ‘Abdullah” Burch

I am contacting you to make you aware of my “Hunger Strike” and my demands and to ring the alarm about the oppressive administration here. And to make sure my strike is “documented.”

Being falsely incarcerated since the age of 16-teen years old for a crime I didn’t commit, sentence to 100 plus years and fighting daily for my liberation which as been no easy task against this racist regime here at Southern Ohio Correctionala facility (S.O. C. F.) in Lukkkasville, Ohio. Continue reading

Hunger strikes protesting solitary confinement proliferate within Wisconsin’s prisons

[Find a current list of hunger strikers and contact information here: https://solitarytorture.blogspot.com/2016/07/list-of-hunger-strikers.html

Please call DOC Secretary Jon Litscher at Phone: 608-240-5000 docweb@wi.gov and demand that he meet the hunger striker’s demands.]

by Solitary Torture

Hunger strikes by some state prisoners protesting abuses of solitary confinement at the Waupun Correctional Institute are reportedly spreading to two other state prisons, according to prisoners’ rights advocates.

The Coalition of Prisoner Supporters has also received reports of dozens of hunger strikers at Columbia Correctional Institution, according to a letter from prisoner Robert Ward.  The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has refused to release the number of prisoners involved in the hunger strikes at any of the state prisons.

The so-called “Dying to Live” hunger strikes are an attempt by prisoners to abolish long term solitary confinement in Wisconsin, according to Coalition member Ben Turk of the Milwaukee Industrial Workers of the World. LaRon McKinley-Bey and Ras Uhuru Mutawakkil (state name Norman Green) have drafted a proposal of new rules for DOC’s use of solitary confinement. These rules were delivered to the DOC along with a rally and protest by 20 members of the Coalition of Prisoner Supporters on July 5  at WI DOC central office, according to Turk. Continue reading

Strike Against White Supremacy: Mobilize for the September 9th Prisoner General Strike

by It’s Going Down


Across the country freeways are blocked, people take the streets, law enforcement officers are confronted and their buildings are occupied, and more and more people are questioning the institutions of policing and incarceration. In the past month, nearly every major city and many smaller ones have seen some sort of protest, demonstration, or disruption in the wake of ongoing police murders that have recently included two African-American men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Helping set the context for this rebellion has been growing anger at both Trump and Clinton and ongoing resistance to white nationalist and fascist organizing which becomes more and more confrontational. At the same time, talk of abolishing the police and the prison system is no longer a fringe idea, as these positions are being discussed more and more broadly by wide segments of popular social movements. Continue reading

Update on Ely State Prison, NV Hunger Strike

AS OF JULY 22:
Yesterday, five of the original six protesters ended their hunger strike when personal demands had been met. Three strikers have since been moved out of Disciplinary Segregation.
Thank you to everyone who helped! They greatly appreciate your support.
The fight is not over:
Two of the strikers are still being held in Segregation. One of them, Marcus Hagerman, was told he’d be moved out before administration suddenly changed their mind with no explanation. Marcus strongly believes that he is being targeted. Guards are treating him differently, and Warden Renee Baker is alleging him to be the leader of these actions. As a result, Marcus has gone back on hunger strike (solo).

He will continue until ALL his demands are met.
Please take a few minutes to send him a letter and show your support:

Marcus Hagerman #1093533
Box 1989
Ely, NV 89301-1989

Continue reading

Give The Pigs Their Jobs Back: Resistance IS Key – The Passive Approach Just Isn’t Working In Texas Prisons

by Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, Minister of Defense, New Afrikan Black Panther Party (Prison Chapter)

 

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has been operating as a money making business, run by corrupt wardens and administrative personnel, since the beginning of the 20th century.

This revolving door style of bad actors in high places is no different than what we see in mainstream politics (notably the presidential campaign). Before one is elected; banquets are held, credentials are flashed, and promises are made to change the current state of the prison system – or in other words, make it better.

These phony baloney candidates pretend to be in opposition with one another but they all share the same goal – making money. This is the reason why Republicrat Hillary Clinton jumped on the Obama bandwagon immediately after losing her shot at being the first female president. She opportunistically took the secretary of state gig as a back door to pick up the pieces after Obama left.

Continue reading

Phone blast for Ely Hunger Strike

From Denver ABC

July 18 – July 19

As of July 12th, prisoners at Ely State Prison (Nevada) went on hunger strike in protest of the policies and conditions of the Disciplinary Segregation Units. We’ll be publishing their names shortly. We encourage everyone to send them letters to boost their morale and let them know they are supported. It’s been confirmed that six prisoners are still going strong with the hunger strike. Warden Renee Baker has given some prisoners their MP3 players back. She also said to send a kite if without shower shoes, and a free pair will be given. Both prisoners and supporters believe she is only doing this to dissuade them, but the hunger strikers have said they will NOT give up until all demands are met! Continue reading