MayDayFun

  • May 6, 2020 12:11 am

Submission

In a time where COVID-19 is sweeping it’s way through workplaces, shelters, and prisons.. wholefoods, amazon, and other large corporations are silencing their workers and trying to think of ways they can capitalize off of this pandemic. Houseless folks are being evicted from encampments regardless of the logical recommendations of the CDC. Prisons are death camps and our friends in cages are making masks in crowded conditions without the privilege to even wear one.
As a gesture of solidarity and an expression of our rage, we drop this banner for those on the inside fighting to get out, for the workers under the boot of the corporate masters at amazon and elsewhere, and the importance of practicing mutual aid. Not just now, but always.

Open squats!
Loot the Wholefoods!
Free the prisoners!
#Mutualaid

This Week in Fascism #55: Astroturfed Rallies Attract Far-Right

  • April 21, 2020 2:02 am

From It’s Going Down

[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire articles follow the above links.]

Twitter researcher Thirteen Roses documented the presence of Philadelphia Proud Boys and Three Percenters in several Pennsylvania Facebook groups associated with the [anti-quarantine] protests, including a Philadelphia Police Department Officer related to Zach Rehl, a leader in the Philadelphia Proud Boys.

The Facebook pages for the Pennsylvanians Against Excessive Quarantine, Minnesotans Against Excessive Quarantine, and Ohioans Against Excessive Quarantine also appear to be run by the Dorr brothers, who have a history of direct mail fundraising for conservative causes – gun rights, the pro-life movement, etc. – and then funneling the money back to direct mail services owned by the brothers. The brothers also appear to own a series of domain names for “ReOpen” protests in seven different states.

Call to Action

Deplatform Quarantine Protest Groups

In the past week, the far-Right has taken to a new tactic – public demonstrations against public health guidelines. As detailed above, the protests have often taken the form of blocking hospitals, which the far-Right believes is either responsible for new restrictions on gatherings, or else engaged in a massive conspiracy to restrict Constitutional freedoms.

While the classic Points of Unity long held by antifascist groups such as Anti-Racist Action demand that we confront the far-Right wherever they organize, we can’t ethically demand that our comrades gather to confront these rallies in-person. Any mass antifascist gathering would mean infection.

In the United States, the death rate of known cases hovers around 4.3%, but those numbers may be higher or lower, depending on access to medical care. Statistically, any mass gathering in sufficient numbers would mean that someone would die. Fascism has always been a death cult, and the public gatherings make that evident. The organizers of these protests – some true believers, some grifters – are more than happy to throw their followers on the corpse-fire of their quest for power.

But we can still disrupt their organizing. The protests center around social media pages, usually on Facebook. This week, we can disrupt far-Right organizing by mass reporting the Facebook pages spreading COVID-19 misinformation and putting our communities at risk by organizing live events.

Below is a list of the most active COVID-19 protest groups on Facebook, listed in alphabetical order by name of state. Find your state and report the groups active there, then share this list with friends and ask them to do the same. Though Facebook has yet to offer an official tool to report COVID-19 misinformation, the company’s VP of Integrity issued a blog post on Thursday, claiming that the company is tracking the potentially dangerous posts.

Reopen Delaware

New Jerseyans Against Excessive Quarantine

Pennsylvanians Against Excessive Quarantine

This Is America #114: We Would Prefer Not To

  • April 18, 2020 12:18 pm

from It’s Going Down

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

Welcome, to This Is America, April 18th, 2020.

In this episode, first we talk with people on rent strike in Philadelphia. We discuss how the rent strike came about, the process of getting organized, and so far, how the strike is going.

We then feature an interview from the folks at Perilous Chronicle with an inmate in ICE detention about their participation in a protest and hunger strike against the spread of COVID-19.

Finally, we switch to our discussion where we address Trump’s recent push to “re-open” the economy.

Philly Mayor and Judges Pressured To Release Inmates From Jail

  • April 16, 2020 2:43 am

from Unicorn Riot

By Chris Schiano, Unicorn Riot April 15, 2020

Philadelphia, PA – For the second time in a week, protesters have converged on city hall. They are demanding that Mayor Jim Kenney and judges in the First Judicial District move to immediately release prisoners from Philadelphia jails to avoid COVID–19 outbreaks. Several prisoners in the Philadelphia area have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Today, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that one Philly judicial official, Common Pleas Court Judge Marie Coyle, has denied every single request from inmates seeking to be released during the COVID–19 crisis.

[Youtube Video]

On Friday, April 10, a similar protest saw people gathering outside city hall via their cars and bikes to demand Mayor Kenney and Philly judges speed up mass releases to prevent COVID–19 outbreaks in the city jails. See Unicorn Riot’s live coverage from Friday’s protest here.

[Youtube Video]

After protesting at city hall, many protesters got back into their cars and took the caravan up State Road to Philadelphia’s House of Corrections, where they honked their horns to show solidarity with those locked up inside.

Protesters have also continued to gather lately outside the Riverside Correctional Facility, where several female prisoners have tested positive for coronavirus.

Documents show that Philadelphia judges apparently lied about their choices to delay assessing prisoners for release. On April 3, the First Judicial District claimed it had not received a list of inmates eligible for release, when Krasner’s office had in fact provided them with a list.

On March 13, a prison employee just outside outside Philadelphia in Delaware County tested positive for COVID–19.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has also called for the release of “thousands if not tens of thousands of people in prisons across Pennsylvania who frankly should not be there“. Krasner and the Pennsylvania ACLU have both petitioned the state’s Supreme Court “to exercise its authority to the fullest extent in order to reduce jail and prison populations to prevent COVID–19 outbreaks…”

According to Philadelphia Department of Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney, “As of April 14, there are 54 current cases of COVID–19 among inmates.”

Pennsylvania prison officials last month refused to release Walter Ogrod, a death row inmate believed to be innocent, despite a court order for his release. The Department of Corrections is also refusing to test Ogrod for COVID–19, despite what his lawyers say are symptoms consistent with the coronavirus.

On April 8, a 67-year-old man from Philadelphia died from the coronavirus at SCI Phoenix, a state prison in Montgomery County. State prison officials declined to identify the name of the first loss of life to COVID–19 in their custody.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has floated using his executive clemency powers to temporarily release large segments of the state’s prison population, although PA Republicans are pressuring him not to do so.

Unless officials move swiftly to release prisoners, many Philadelphians fear their loved ones could be next.

#COVID19: A fork in the road

  • April 12, 2020 11:36 pm

from Enough 14

The COVID-19 pandemic is bringing us to a fork in the road. On one side we see the near future that power wants: an atomized and remote workforce, a drastic decrease in spontaneous in-person social life, a big increase in who is considered surplus population as “non-essential” work is cancelled, and a bunch more surveillance, policing, and social control. On the other hand, the state is scared, it’s showing that government is capable of providing social security when the choice is between that and an uncontrolled breakdown in the social order. Neither of these paths lead to places that we, as anarchists, can feel good about. As this pandemic runs its course and society changes because of it, a new normal will slowly congeal as things cool down. What that normal looks like and how it comes about is still up in the air.

Originally published in Anathema, Volume 6 Issue 3, March/April 2020. Anathema is an anarchist periodical from Philadelphia.

In the name of “public health” all sort of security measures are coming together to create an authoritarian wet dream. Internationally borders are becoming more difficult to cross, and anti-immigrant and specifically anti-Asian sentiment is on the rise as racists in the media and politics stir up fear hostility toward China. Earlier in the month video surfaced of an Asian couple being beaten by a group of people on a SEPTA platform, and Philly isn’t the only place seeing this sort of harassment, New York and Los Angeles have also experienced similar attacks. The state is encouraging what is being called “social distancing”. People are advised to stay home, cut down on social outings and gatherings, stay six feet apart, and digitize or give up on in-person social life. Schools and universities are closing left and right. At least one school is taking it even further, the University of Pennsylvania sent an email to its students March 14 explaining that social distancing is encouraged and that students “congregating on campus, or off campus, will face immediate intervention by Penn Police.” It would not be surprising to see other institutions or even the city itself take on similarly drastic measures. The Board of Health has made forcing people to quarantine legal. Many workplaces are asking their workers to work from home, reducing their hours, or laying them off. Workers that are considered non-essential are falling through the cracks financially. What we see forming is a way of life that is sterile, policed, mediated, and closed off. When this pandemic tapers off, who’s to say that bosses, cops, and politicians won’t like the peace and quiet enough to keep using all these new ways of controlling the population? Once those in power have the means and the compliance of the population, how easy would it be for them to simply keep the ball rolling? Is what we’re seeing as a crisis response a glimpse into the new “normal” we’ll live after the crisis?

At the same time, power is scared. The state and capitalists have made some proposals and offers that would have seemed outrageous a few months ago. Comcast is offering free access to its internet networks to the poor, offering unlimited data, and has put a hold on shutting off connections. Verizon is making a similar offer. PECO, PGW, and Philadelphia Water Department have all pledged to not disconnect utilities even if they are owed money (for the time being). A resolution has passed that prevents utility shutoffs and also places a moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, and tax-lien sales until the pandemic clears. This means that the issue of losing ones housing during the crisis could be less likely if your landlord doesn’t decide to lock you out illegally (although rent and tax debt will continue to drain our wallets). Federally the state is expanding who qualifies for unemployment, and figuring out how to send $1200 to millions of US citizens. These offers and proposals go to show that the means of existence — shelter, warmth, water, and communication — could be provided to everyone by the state and capital. Of course these kinds of actions by the state are unlikely to last, the aversion of US politicians to anything that remotely resembles consideration for social well-being is derided as socialism or communism. Either way the services and infrastructure to take care of each other and our needs exist and outside a capitalist economy could be much more accessible than our current setup. With that in mind why would or should we entrust our health and social life to the institutions that could, but do not and never will, meet our needs? This pandemic only makes more clear the absurd priorities of the state and capitalists. In the unlikely event that the state and capitalists decided to adopt a welfare state model we still have no guarantees that this wouldn’t be coupled with intense policing and isolation, that it would last, or would include those who are most oppressed.

There is a third way: resisting the isolation and policing, and also sidestepping a social safety net that could be pulled out from beneath us as soon as we’re well enough to work and pay, we can take responsibility for ourselves and self-organize. As we lose our hours or jobs we are still expected to pay to live, to eat, to move about the city. As we worry for our individual and collective health, we can figure out how to meet our needs outside the systems that would rather see us sick and alone. Schools, offices, stores, and many other places are sitting empty. Can we imagine open-sourcing test kits and occupying labs to make them readily available? People are already organizing rent strikes and opening up squats to make life without work go from a crisis imposed disaster to a joyful freeing of our time and space? When food and health care supplies are in short supply, will we have squatted gardens and autonomous clinics to meet our needs?* Will the local pharmacy continue to profit off our fears and desire to take care of ourselves, or will it be taken over to provide medicine, snacks, and hygiene supplies to whoever needs? Will we take advantage of the crisis to leave the city to start a farm or food forest on some under-policed plot of land? This pandemic is making power’s disdain for free and healthy life more than clear. Will we respond by folding into ourselves, losing ourselves behind glowing blue screens and locked doors or will we make our lives our own and create the health and freedom we need to life in the midst of crisis?

*Since this article was written at least one autonomous garden has been squatted 🙂

Read the full Anathema, Volume 6 Issue 3, March/April 2020 (PDF file)

West Philadelphia Tenants Declare Rent Strike

  • April 9, 2020 2:15 am

from It’s Going Down

Statement from group of tenants renting from the Constellar Corporation who have declared themselves on rent strike.

A group of tenants in the West Shore neighborhood of West Philly, all renting from Constellar Corp, are initiating a rent strike in response to the current public health and economic crises. Most of us have lost our jobs outright or seen huge reductions in working hours. Meanwhile, we are expected to pay or owe rent on properties managed by Constellar and owned by Hast Investments, owned by a millionaire real estate developer named Guy Laren.

We have attempted to collectively communicate the need for total rent forgiveness to Constellar, and were offered none. To be clear, deferred payment is not going to work for us. We cannot possibly know when we might be able to regain financial security during an ongoing pandemic, and we should not be expected to prioritize rent payments over our other immediate needs such as food and healthcare.

Most of us are rent burdened just like so many Philly tenants, and are unlikely to find employment that would allow us to resume regular rent payments on top of back payments — let alone to a man who once stated, “I buy stuff and figure it out later,” and whose net worth exceeds the cash and assets of all of us combined. It’s time for him to figure out that there is no ethical argument against full rent forgiveness for the duration of this crisis. The financial distress to Laren, Hast Investments, and Constellar Corp does not compare to that faced by poor and working people.

We hope that Laren and Constellar recognize this urgent need to move toward rent forgiveness. We also hope that the city council and state government move in the same direction and implement a moratorium on rent collection.

In making the difficult and stressful decision to go on rent strike, we join others in cities and towns throughout the country and world. We extend solidarity to and draw strength from fellow strikers in New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, Austin, and more, including those whose fight is happening behind bars.

In the hope of avoiding retaliation, the 13 households currently on strike have opted not to sign our names on this open letter. We continue to organize with other tenants of Constellar throughout the city, including commercial tenants, and with other renters in our neighborhood. We’re very excited to coordinate with other renters in the city organizing on their own terms and can be reached through the contact information below. Media inquiries can be addressed to the same contacts.

Solidarity, and spread the strike!

– West Shore Rent Strikers

CCTenants@protonmail.com

Killing time as high art during quarantine

  • April 7, 2020 1:20 pm

Submission

In times like these, no work to be found even if we want it, not enuf weed and acid in the world to make time pass fast enuf, we must dig deep and remember play as a method of killing time. You could fill your night with such activities as: 1. Walking around your neighborhood til you find a nice banner
2. Cut it down and bring it to your sacred spot
3. Smoke weed until you come up with a cool thing to say on it
4. Remember There’s a bridge over the trader joe’s That’s good for dropping stuff
5. Make a banner encouraging looting of said trader joe’s
6. Bike over and drop that banner

7. Make your way over to the property Joel Freedman owns on 21 and locust.

8. Add your words to those of the crew who got there the night you originally wanted to
9. Steal some snacks to keep you sustained
10. Spray over a security camera at a Wells Fargo
 11. Engage in a low effort cat and mouse type game with a police car

12 haviing come to a spiritual awakening

As a result of these actions , become resolutely committed to sharing the stories of them as well as the tactics involved
 in solidarity with every laid off restaurant worker, and with everyone who’s ever turned a trick,
the anticapitalist contingent of the philly mural arts program


Disturbance at Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center During COVID-19 Quarantine

  • April 6, 2020 1:44 am

from Perilous Chronicle

Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
April 3, 2020

Nine prisoners under quarantine at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center threw commissary containers at the windows of their cells in an apparent effort to break the glass. Guards responded in riot gear and used pepper spray on the prisoners. According to city officials, no prisoners or staff were injured during the conflict.

The description of the confrontation was related to media by two corrections officers who were not authorized to discuss the incident publicly. The event comes in the midst of the city frantically trying to manage the spread of COVID-19 inside the city’s jails. And as of April 3, the day of the disturbance, 31 prisoners in Philadelphia’s jails and an unspecified number of guards had tested positive for COVID-19 disease. This makes the rate of infection in the city’s jails four times the rate of the rest of the city.

Brian Abernathy, the Managing Director of Philadelphia, told media that the jails have adopted some measures to address the health of prisoners and prison guards and staff, such making masks available and enacting a “shelter in place” policy where prisoners must remain in their cells except for access to showers and phones.

Citations:

“As the coronavirus gains strength in Philly’s jails, panic and fingerpointing mark efforts to avert crisis by thinning inmate population“, The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 4, 2020.

“Philly inmates in quarantine create disturbance as coronavirus concerns spread through jail“, The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 4, 2020.

Article published: 4/4/20
Header photo source: Sign of the Times

tacks

  • March 26, 2020 1:30 am

Submission

Following the example of someone in Hickory, North Carolina, tacks were spread around several Philly police station parking lots. Hopefully we have been as successful in flattening their patrol car tires.

News that the cops began disrupting homeless encampments at the Philadelphia Convention Center the morning the Covid-19 stay-at-home order was to be observed provided a catalyst, but it is not the reason. The very existence of the police is a reason to target them. Cops are violent antagonists of the living and enemies of freedom, in collusion with judges, prosecutors, bosses, landlords, and politicians.

We have no demands short of their destruction, and know that such a victory will never be handed to us. We react for now, but look forward to taking the offensive.

Wooden Shoe Temporarily Closing

  • March 18, 2020 1:46 am

from Instagram

The Wooden Shoe is temporarily closing due to growing public health concerns in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. As anarchists we assert that in times of crisis people have the capability of taking voluntary action, both collectively and individually, to mitigate the risks posed by an outbreak such as this. We understand it is imperative to slow the spread of contagion to lessen the chance of the catastrophically unprepared healthcare system becoming overwhelmed. It is in the spirit of these concerns that we make this decision. However, we are also aware that state and government forces are more than willing to exploit crises by abusing tools like quarantines and other states of exception. This often comes at the expense of the most vulnerable, especially those detained and imprisoned in overcrowded jails, prisons, and concentration camps. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and critically and encourage all to do the same. We apologize to all of those in the community who rely on this space.

Philly ABC Events Postponed

  • March 14, 2020 9:31 pm

from Twitter

We are postponing the Legacy Ball and this month’s letter writing. Please go to prisonersolidarity.com/ and write someone, strike a conversation and make a friend. We will announce a new date for the show when things settle down ????????????
Image

Neighbors helping Neighbors: Request For Aid – Philly Mutual Aid for Folks affected by COVID-19

  • March 14, 2020 9:22 pm

from Google Docs

Though COVID-19 is only just beginning to impact our city many of our neighbors have already been affected. This means we need to show up for each other. Especially for those who are at great risk.

If you would like food or other supplies dropped off at your door, need prescriptions picked up, transportation assistance please use this form.

How this works: When a request for aid is made we will go into our network of community members who have offered services ranging from delivering groceries/medicine, providing transportation assistance, donating money etc and we match the person who made the request with the people/people who can provide support.

We are simply neighbors helping neighbors. The aid provided comes from community support and solidarity thus we cannot guarantee to meet each request but we will be trying our best to do so . We are not funded, we are not a government or medical agency, we are simply neighbors connecting neighbors to neighbors who can help (and we happen to be organizers).

We are prioritizing those most vulnerable and affected by COVID-19 : the sick, disabled, quarantined without pay, those limited in work, undocumented, queer, Black, Indigenous, and or people of color.

Philly mutual aid update!
First over 100 people have filled out the form offering services and support! Keep sharing, sharing.

Second, here is a form for folks who need to request services.
http://bit.ly/phillymutualaidcovid19request

How this works: When a request for aid is made we will go into our network of community members who have offered services ranging from delivering groceries/medicine, providing transportation assistance, donating money etc and we match the person who made the request with the people/people who can provide support.

The important disclaimer: We are simply neighbors helping neighbors. The aid provided comes from community support and solidarity thus we cannot guarantee to meet each request but we will be trying our best to do so . We are not funded, we are not a government or medical agency, we are simply neighbors connecting neighbors to neighbors who can help (and we happen to be organizers

We are prioritizing those most vulnerable and affected by COVID-19 : the sick, disabled, quarantined without pay, those limited in work, undocumented, queer, Black, Indigenous, and or people of color.

We know that some of the most affected and most high risk people may not have access to the internet so please make sure to these point resources to those folks. We’re depending on people to be good faith actors. Don’t request help if you don’t need it. Please, we are trying to help those who need it.

If you would like to become a part of the support network and provide support services to those affected by COVID-19 fill out this form http://bit.ly/phillymutualaidcovid19 and we will connect you with some one in need of assistance.

Thank you to the rad folks at the Seattle area Mutual Aid Solidarity Network for making the request form inwhich this form was modeled after.

*This form was created by Tamara Baldwin on March 12, 2020
Managed by Tamara Baldwin (tblj1234@gmail.com), Rianna Salm (mlsnnr3@gmail.com) and Tab (tabsk@protonmail.com)

Wooden Shoe Events Update

  • March 13, 2020 8:00 pm

from Facebook


Dear friends of the Wooden Shoe,In the past week, we have had a number of event cancellations due to coronavirus-related concerns. We will keep you posted when these are rescheduled. In the meantime, we do a have a few events coming up in the next week at the Shoe. See below for more info.

Also, please check out this local mutual aid resource: Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Philly Mutual Aid for folks Affected by COVID-19: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLScfKlHLhLMEyXyLFN…/viewform

Love and rage,
The Wooden Shoe collective

* * *
Sunday March 15th, 7 pm
Live show & reading with That Bastard, Lexi Spino, OK Mistakes, & Jane-Rebecca Cannarella

A gathering of emotional misfits and anarchists just wanting to have some fun while sharing some words and music

That Bastard aka Tony Strouse aka degenerate from York, Pa. Musician, punk, rambler, ready to scream and scrap. Don’t feed him after midnight

Lexi Spino is a poet from York, PA currently on tour for her newest book release The Electra Complex. She writes on mental illness and suicidal tendencies to bring awareness and help connect to others who may be struggling with the same.

OK Mistakes is an Acoustic folk pop duo originally from York PA and now one half lives in Philly. They sing about love, death, and not much else.

Jane-Rebecca Cannarella is a writer living in Philadelphia. She is the author of the flash fiction collection Better Bones and the poetry chapbook Marrow (both Thirty West Publishing House). She is also the editor for HOOT Review and Meow Meow Pow Pow Lit. She enjoys cats and playing the piano and cats who play the piano.

Thursday March 19th, 7 pm
The Story Hole: Planting Seeds

Take a break from all the hand-washing and get ‘em dirty with us at The Story Hole: Planting Seeds starring Vernon Payne and Katherine Williams! Join us to hear and share stories of new ideas, perspectives, journeys, and plans taking root…or rotting in the pot. Open mic spots will be available.

Vernon Payne is a comedian and storyteller from Brooklyn, NY. He got his start in Albany, NY in 2009 and has gone on to perform at the Emerging Artist Festival “Teenage Love” and “Hilariously Mediocre,” Union Hall, Under St Marks Theater, The Duplex, New York Comedy Club, The Duplex, and other Venues along the east coast. He has also written comic strips for “Spaz Comics.” Vernon’s brand of comedy is set to make you think about the word we live in while laughing at the same time. You can find him on social media as cool_ass_ vern.

Katherine Williams is a Philly-based storyteller, stand-up comic, and writer. She is a two-time winner of the Moth’s StorySlam. She has performed in festivals all over the country, including the Boston Comedy Festival, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Laughing Skull Comedy Festival and Philly’s Phunniest. She was a finalist in the 2014 Ladies of Laughter competition and She-Devil Comedy Festival. Notable NYC productions include Williams’ full-length play My Dead Mother is Funnier Than You, which got a shout-out on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and two solo shows: Call Me (selected for Midtown International Theatre Festival and Plus One Solo Show Festival) and sold-out hit of the New York International Fringe Festival, SHIKSAPPEAL: Getting the Chosen to Choose Me, which garnered a mention in the New York Times and New York Post. Her work has been reviewed by Show Business Weekly, The Jewish Daily Forward, and nytheatre.com. TV appearances include AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live and online credits include Morgan Spurlock’s series Failure Club and BADMomLife, in which Williams discusses life as a new mom.

The Story Hole is Philly’s shameless monthly storytelling event blending curated and open mic spots. It’s a free show: free to get in, free to say what you want (except bigotry). Come, dump your stuff, and let shit go.

Send questions and pitches to thestoryhole215@gmail.com. Now accepting pitches for April 22 “Oops” and May 21 TBD.

Hosted by Moth-champion and Risk! podcast alum, Vara Cooper. For more about Vara, visit varacooper.com

Friday March 20th, 7 pm
Reading w/ Kirwyn Sutherland & Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey

Kirwyn Sutherland is the author of Jump Ship, published by Thread Makes Blanket Press in 2019. He is a Clinical Research Professional and poet who makes poems centering the black experience in America. He is a Watering Hole fellow and has attended workshops/residencies at Cave Canem, Winter Tangerine, Poets House, Philadelphia Sculpture Gym, and Pearlstein Art Gallery at Drexel University. Kirwyn’s work has been published in American Poetry Review, Blueshift Journal, APIARY Magazine, The Wanderer and elsewhere. Kirwyn has served as Editor of Lists/Book Reviewer for WusGood magazine and poetry editor for APIARY Magazine. Kirwyn is currently teaching Spoken Word/Poetry Performance at the University of the Arts.

Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey is an Iowa based spoken word poet that has performed in multiple cities in over half a dozen states, including Chicago and New York City. He is a winner of the Des Moines Poetry Slam, the Iowa City Poetry Slam, and finalist for the UNESCO City of Literature Global Slam – Iowa City. Caleb is the author of two books, Look, Black Boy, and Heart Notes along with publications in Best Emerging Writers in Iowa 2019, the Little Village, and Black Art; Real Stories.

* * *
For updates and more info: http://woodenshoebooks.com/calendar.html

Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Philly Mutual Aid for folks Affected by COVID-19

  • March 13, 2020 7:42 pm

from Google Docs

This for members of the Philly community to offer skills, resources,supplies, space and time to community members who are affected by COVID – 19 and those most vulnerable among us.

Though COVID-19 is only just beginning to impact our city many of our neighbors have already been affected. This means we need to show up for each other. Especially for those who are at great risk (the elderly, the immunocompromised, those with chronic illnesses, those with little to no access to health care)

How can you care for your neighbor?
Can you pick up groceries or medication for people who it’d be a great risk for them to do so themselves?
Can you help provide transportation for folks. Via your own care or maybe hooking someone up with septa passes (new or unused)?
Are you an herbalist who can make immune system boosting drinks? Can you share recipes?
Could you provide temporary housing to someone in need? (Many colleges are closing their campuses for the semesters and some students do not have homes to go to or meal plans to rely on)
Maybe you have board games or toys that can be loaned to families with children who are affected by COVID-19?
Could you connect with local food banks to provide meals for those in need?

To request aid please fill out the Neighbors helping Neighbors: Request For Aid – Philly Mutual Aid for Folks affected by COVID-19
http://bit.ly/phillymutualaidcovid19request

*This form is managed by Tamara Baldwin and was created on March 11th, 2020*

Any questions or concerns, email : tblj1234@gmail.com

[Fill out the mutual aid form by following this link]

COVID19 AND THE PA DOC

  • March 13, 2020 7:30 pm

from Dreaming Freedom | Practicing Abolition

From: Wilson, Stephen

Date Received: 03/12/2020 06:22 PM

Subject: COVID19 AND THE PA DOC

For the past two days, the PA DOC has finally thinking about the coronavirus and how to protect prisoners from it. Only over the past two days! Announcements have been played over the prison television station reminding prisoners to wash our hands frequently and cover our coughs. The usual mandatory co-payment for medical services has been suspended for those with flu-like symptoms. A post up relating what COVID19 is and how it is contracted is circulating too. Lastly, the monthly van and bus visits have been cancelled. We are anticipating a possible lockdown too.

But here’s the thing. We, prisoners, are already quarantined. The only way we will contract the virus is if one of the employees of the PA DOC brings it inside. We have repeatedly stated this to staff. All these precautions they put in place are to keep prisoners from spreading the virus to one another. What are they doing about the only avenue for the virus to get inside? What are they doing to insure their staff don’t infect us? Because if the virus gets inside, we are done. When anyone on the block gets a cold, almost half the block ends up with it. We are crammed together in cells, on blocks and in rooms. Our ventilation system is the worst.

What is more ironic is how here, at SCI-Fayette, prisoners are not given adequate time to clean their living space. Once a week, 32 cells are given 15 minutes to clean their entire cell. The prisoners must share 1 mop, 2 brooms, 2 spray bottles and one toilet brush. 15 minutes! How are we expected to keep clean living spaces with with less that 30 seconds a piece to clean up? It makes me wonder how concerned is the DOC about our health. Moreover, we are prohibited from possessing any cleaning materials or supplies. And now there’s COVID19.

The PA DOC has to put on a show of concern for prisoners’ health. If there were truly concerned, they would allow us to clean ourselves and our living spaces thoroughly. If they were truly concern, they wouldn’t make prisoners choose between hygiene products and a co payment for medical services. A prisoner must work 40 hours to cover the cost of a sick call visit and a prescription for ibuprofen. If they were truly concerned about our health, we wouldn’t be housed next to over 400 acres of coal ash dust. But as usual, when disaster strikes, prisoners are an afterthought.

I hope that people understand how vulnerable prisoners are in situations like this one. We need people to advocate for responsible health services for all prisoners, even when there is no pandemic. .

In Struggle,

Stevie