[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]
Uprising Defendants
Everyone should support the defendants facing charges related to their alleged participation in the George Floyd uprising – this list of our imprisoned comrades needs to be getting shorter, not longer. The status of pre-trial defendants changes frequently, but to the best of our knowledge they currently include:
David Elmakayes #77782-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105
Shawn Collins #69989-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105
Steven Pennycooke #69988-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105
When writing to pre-trial prisoners, do not write about their cases or say anything that you wouldn’t want to hear read out in court. If you have any updates, either about status changes meaning that people should be removed from this list, or about names that are missing and should be included, please reach out.
Upcoming Birthdays
Jarreau Ayers
Vaughn Uprising prisoner, one of the only two prisoners from the Vaughn 17 to be convicted.As one write-up put it, “Jarreau Ayers and Dwayne Staats, already incarcerated under the hopeless sentence of life without parole, took it upon themselves to admit to involvement to prevent the rest of their comrades being found unjustifiably guilty, which led to success – not guilty verdicts or their charges being dropped.”You can learn more about Jarreau in his own words here andhere.
Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going toconnectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NS9994”.
Birthday: June 15
Address:
Smart Communications / PA DOC
Jarreau Ayers – NS9994
SCI Huntington
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL, 33733
Ruchell Magee is one of the longest-held California prisoners who has been dubbed a political prisoner due to his spontaneous participation in the Marin Courthouse rebellion– the famous incident that spawned Black August. He is serving a sentence of 7 years to life for a nonviolent disagreement that landed him the wrongful charge of ‘kidnapping to commit robbery.’ Years later, he happened to be in the courthouse for unrelated reasons when Jonathan Jackson entered to free his brother and Black Liberation icon George Jackson. According to a sworn affidavit from one of the jurors, the jury voted for acquittal on charges from the Courthouse rebellion, however, this acquittal has been obscured and he continues his fight to expose this.
Ruchell is now 82 years old, and has spent more than 58 years in prison. From behind bars, he has been a positive force by helping many people with his tireless work as a jailhouse lawyer. He currently has a pro se motion pending review by the Supreme Court as well as a commutation application to be reviewed by the Governor. He is also parole eligible. Please join us Monday at Clark Park (stone platform near 45th and Chester) as we reach out to Ruchell to connect, offer solidarity, and see what all can be done to free him this year so that he can finally reunite with his family.
Joining the #PalestineStrike and day of action today, Philly ABC extends solidarity to the people of Palestine in their struggle for liberation. Israel’s ongoing policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing demonstrate to the world that settler colonialism is alive and well and needs to be condemned and confronted in every way possible. We vehemently support the rights to self-determination and self-defense for Palestinian people, and denounce Israel’s militarized police and egregious imprisonment practices including ‘administrative detention.’ We urge people to support organizations on the front lines of defending people from imprisonment for their actions and beliefs in freedom for Palestinian people – Addameer (IG:@addameer_pal T:@Addameer) and Samidoun (IG:@samidounnetwork T:@SamidounPP), as well as the people behind bars including Ahmad Sa’adat, Layan Kayed, Khalida Jarrar, Khitam Saafin, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, and Dr. Issam Hijjawi Bassalat.
In celebration of May Day this year a group of us had a noise demo behind the Juvenile Justice Center in West Philly. We wrote graffiti, shot fireworks, and made noise outside the dormitories and saw the silhouettes of kids behind the frosted windows. We left without any arrests or police attention.
-some anarchists
Thanks to everyone for your patience and generous offers of support during these last few quiet months ???? We want to keep everyone up-to-date and in touch with Lore while the government tries to hide her and slow her eventual release.
So! We’re offering a new option to subscribe to the latest updates as they come by email ???? and adding your FAQ’s, starting with the questions we’ve received the most below.
Don’t forget! you can always catch up with the latest on Instagram and Twitter, too.
What is Lore’s current status?
Lore is still detained at the Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Detention Center at 7th and Arch Streets in downtown Philadelphia.
Does she have a trial date?
No, neither the prosecutors’ office nor the courts have expressed any plans to hold a trial in the foreseeable future.
How is her health?
Lore is feeling fairly well after recovering from an untreated COVID-19 infection, but she now uses an inhaler daily and needs further testing to understand and manage her long-term breathing needs.
Is she vaccinated?
Lore has not received any COVID-19 vaccination at the time of writing and there is no timetable for her to receive one. She has expressed her desire to be vaccinated often and clearly.
How is her spirit?
All in all, pretty great! ???? Your support continues to reach and uplift Lore there daily.
Right now she is especially inspired to win more and better access to COVID-19 information and vaccinations on the women’s unit. In the meantime she is forming strong bonds with some amazing women in her unit, writing letters to everyone she can, and creating a lot of artwork.
How can I help?
More than anything else, Lore wants us all to support our friends and allies leading the fights against police violence and mass incarceration.
You can also support Lore directly by writing and sending photos! Your love and solidarity make this fight possible.
And you can always donate to Lore’s commissary fund via PayPal or Venmo @WeLoveLore for food, clothes, and all the other essentials.
[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]
Welcome, to the fourth installation of In Contempt, a collection of updates and information in relation to state repression and counter-insurgency, especially in the wake of the George Floyd uprising last summer.
Uprising Defendants
Everyone should support the defendants facing charges related to their alleged participation in the George Floyd uprising – this list of our imprisoned comrades needs to be getting shorter, not longer. The status of pre-trial defendants changes frequently, but to the best of our knowledge they currently include:
David Elmakayes #77782-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105
Shawn Collins #69989-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105
Steven Pennycooke #69988-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105
When writing to pre-trial prisoners, do not write about their cases or say anything that you wouldn’t want to hear read out in court. If you have any updates, either about status changes meaning that people should be removed from this list, or about names that are missing and should be included, please reach out.
Upcoming Birthdays
Abednego Baynes
A former Vaughn 17 defendant. Baynes was found innocent of all charges in relation to the uprising, but he has still been punished with a move out of state, and deserves respect and support for staying in solidarity with his codefendants throughout the process and refusing to cooperate with the prosecution. You can read more about Baynes in his own words here.
Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going toconnectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections,” going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NT0594.”
Birthday: May 20
Address:
Smart Communications/PADOC
Abednego Baynes, NT0594
SCI Phoenix
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a former Black Panther and internationally recognized award-winning journalist known as “the voice of the voiceless” for his many years spent writing about racism in Philadelphia, the murder of local MOVE members, people in prison, and more. It is now urgent that we raise our voices for the freedom of Mumia as he faces serious health complications from medical neglect inside prison.
After years of denial of treatment for various chronic health conditions, Mumia had heart pain over last weekend. He was rushed to the hospital, and is expected to undergo heart surgery Monday, April 19, 2021. According to Dr. Ricardo Alvarez, Mumia’s chosen doctor:
There is significant evidence, both legal and medical, that Mumia has suffered severe harm because medical, legal, law enforcement, and judicial professionals have not met proper standards. Mumia has been recently hospitalized for COVID and Congestive Heart Failure and he already suffers from hypertension as well as liver cirrhosis and diabetes, both induced by court documented medical neglect. Freedom is the only treatment.
Due to public pressure, Mumia was able to call his wife last Thursday, but we need to continue the pressure to demand:
Mumia be allowed to call his chosen doctor, Dr. Ricardo Alvarez.
Mumia not be shackled to his hospital bed, as is the rule in Pennsylvania and across the United States.
His immediate release from prison.
Your support with calling and emailing prison authorities today and in the coming weeks is absolutely critical to ensure that Mumia gets the best possible medical care before, during, and after the surgery on Monday.
The it’s ALL OUT FOR MUMIA on April 23-25 – a weekend of action for Mumia’s 67th birthday.
Finally, join us on Monday, April 26th at 6:30pm in Clark Park (stone platform near 45th and Chester) as we gather to write letters of solidarity to Mumia. Move members will provide an update on Mumia’s condition and next steps for the fight to bring him home. If you are unable to make the event, please send him your solidarity at:
We will also send birthday cards to political prisoners with birthdays in May: Xinachtli (the 12th), Kojo Bomani Sababu (the 27th), and Doug Wright (the 30th).
[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]
Political Prisoner Birthdays
The only political prisoner’s birthday in April is that of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who will turn 67. Mumia recently contracted COVID-19 and his health has continued to deteriorate during his 37 years of wrongful imprisonment. As a Pennsylvania prisoner he will only receive scans of correspondence, but send him a birthday letter or card now to show your solidarity.
April 24
Mumia Abu-Jamal, #AM8335
Smart Communications/PA DOC
SCI Mahanoy
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733
Ongoing Cases
On March 17, lawyers for political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal filed a response in the hopes of re-opening appeals filed on Mumia’s behalf. You can read more about the struggles of Pennsylvania political prisoners Abu-Jamal and Russell Maroon Shoatz in the new Human Rights Coalition magazine, pages 33-38. On March 19th, Mumia issued a message to supporters who flooded phone lines and email inboxes, demanding his release. Here’s his statement:
Dear sisters, brothers, comrades, and friends and family on a MOVE! How can I thank you? These, my words, can hardly measure the flood of love that you have radiated on my behalf recently. I am almost — almost — without words, but I’ll try.
Thank you, Wadiya. Thank you, Pam Africa. Your support from Philadelphia to France, from points across the nation and literally around the globe, have pulled me from a prison cell and placed me in a hospital room to be treated for a condition I didn’t know I had.
In the age of pandemic as of January 2021, over 300,000 prisoners have tested positive for COVID-19. Imagine that in a cell, trying to breathe with a weight pressing on your chest. Imagine an elder man or woman, or even a young person, because yes, we are also in an age of mass incarceration, which day-by-day increases its infliction upon the elderly struggling, unsuccessfully, to breathe, to walk, to be.
I thank you all for reaching out and I urge you all, let our mission be abolition. I love you all. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart.
Philly ABC has been busy gearing up for this year’s Running Down the Walls 5K (save the date of September 12th with funds split between the ABCF Warchest and Mumia Abu-Jamal!), but we didn’t want to miss a monthly letter-writing so we are hosting the next event online this Wednesday the 31st.
Philly ABC is energized by building momentum towards abolishing the police. As prison abolitionists, we stand in solidarity with the many people who have taken necessary actions to defend themselves without engaging police or courts. We believe self-defense is a right, and recognize that police and courts do not provide viable options to ensure safety. Both are even more biased against people who are known to stand up against injustice.
This month we encourage people to write letters to Fran Thompson, who was sentenced to life in prison for self-defense in 1994. Prior to her incarceration, Fran lived on a farm in Knox County, Nebraska. She was a dedicated animal rights and environmental activist. After a man who was stalking her threatened to kill her and then broke into her house, Fran shot and killed him in self-defense but was charged with murder.
Fran’s case was highly politicized. Fran had taken on the prosecutor and local government during her activism, organizing against two big projects, the Walden Egg Factory and a nuclear waste facility, that would have brought the county big profits. She was treated harshly by the local court for her commitment to animals and the environment. She was not allowed to enter a plea of self-defense and received a sentence of life without parole.
This event will be held on Jitsi – we’ll post the meet link on social media the day of. You can also message us to get the link beforehand. If you are unable to make the event, please drop Fran a line and let her know she is not forgotten:
Fran Thompson #93341
Nebraska Correctional Center for Women
1107 Recharge Rd.
York, NE 68467-8003
We also encourage sending a birthday card to Mumia Abu-Jamal, as a U.S.-held political prisoner born in April. Sadly, the other political prisoner who we would have been sending a birthday card to– [Chip Fitzgerald] (https://www.prisonersolidarity.com/prisoner/romaine-chip-fitzgerald)– recently suffered a severe cardio-vascular event and passed away on March 31st, so we send heartfelt condolences to his loved ones.
[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]
Uprising Defendants
Everyone should support the defendants facing charges related to their alleged participation in the George Floyd uprising – this list of our imprisoned comrades needs to be getting shorter, not longer. The status of pre-trial defendants changes frequently, but to the best of our knowledge they currently include:
David Elmakayes #77782-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105
Shawn Collins #69989-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105
Steven Pennycooke #69988-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105
When writing to pre-trial prisoners, do not write about their cases or say anything that you wouldn’t want to hear read out in court. If you have any updates, either about status changes meaning that people should be removed from this list, or about names that are missing and should be included, please reach out.
Upcoming Birthdays
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia is an award winning journalist and was one of the founders of the Black Panther Party chapter in Philadelphia, PA. He has struggled for justice and human rights for people of color since he was at least 14 years old; the age when he joined the Party. In December of 1982, Mumia, who moonlighted by driving a taxi, happened upon police who were beating his brother. During the melee, a police officer was shot and killed. Despite the fact that many people saw someone else shoot and then run away from the scene, Mumia, in what could only be called a kangaroo court, was convicted and sentenced to death. During the summer of 1995, a death warrant was signed by Governor Tom Ridge, which sparked one of the most effective organizing efforts in defense of a political prisoner ever. Since that time, Mumia has had his death sentence overturned, but still has a life sentence with no opportunity for parole.
Mumia has a number of health issues as a result of medical neglect while in prison, and was recently diagnosed with COVID, lending a new urgency to the ongoing campaign for his freedom.
Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going toconnectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding Mumia as a contact by searching his name or “AM8335”.
Birthday: April 24
Address:
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Mumia Abu-Jamal #AM8335
SCI Mahanoy
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733
Janiis Mathis
A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the state has now given up on its attempts to charge Mathis in relation to the Vaughn uprising, he is facing continued retaliation, as he has been moved out of state to Pennsylvania, where many Vaughn defendants are being held on lockdown indefinitely (via placement on PA’s Restricted Release List) on vague and questionable grounds. Years after the uprising, these prisoners are still being abused for staying in solidarity with one another against the state.
Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going toconnectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NU0423”.
Birthday: April 24
Address:
Smart Communications / PA DOC
Janiis Mathis – NU0423
SCI Greene
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL, 33733
Submission
To our comrades in Philadelphia, Rockford and across the so-called United States,
In the wake of the election and the subsequent putsch on the Capitol, the establishment and media apparatus have set out to douse memory of the multi-racial insurgency that spread across the country last summer and dampen the social contradictions that lead to it with slogans of calm and unity. Harrisburg was not been exempt from this revisionist trend in the slightest. During the summer, grifters and Black counter insurgents tried to funnel the long growing discontent into dead end electoralism and the bureaucratic machinations that grind the ember of revolutionary change in their gears at any given opportunity. In spite of this, the community rose up in defiance of both law enforcement and their neoliberal lapdogs in ways that have not been seen here in recent memory – cop cars smashed, streets shut down and police forced into retreat by a hail of bricks and debris.
As the heat of the summer lowered (relatively) to a tempered simmer and the electoral distraction served its role as sociological vacuum, the city’s leadership set its agenda on almost completely ignoring the events of the past year in order to return to some prelapsarian concept of normal – (a state which if it existed would be an amoral hellpit by any honest summation)- the exception of course, being their ongoing plan of repression against the true revolutionaries who participated in the uprising. At writing, there remains many ongoing struggles in the courts for the freedom of participants charged for their participation in the protests, both in Harrisburg and elsewhere. This is particularly disheartening as the loss of momentum of the movement from the summer means individual cases are harder to rally around, making intercommunal support from committed radicals that much more important.
Congruently, the local prison system has been revealed as the cauldrons of deathrot we have always known them to be. As Covid cases spike, the prison refuses to provide hand sanitizer, soap, masks and other lifesaving supplies to its inmates, resulting in the languishing of dozens of incarcerated people. What’s worse, there have been recent reports of widespread sexual abuse of inmates by guards, as well as many other violations of dignity, aided by an M.O. cultivated by deposed Warden Brian Clark, a well documented sex pest in his own right.
We are not liberals. We are appalled but not shocked by the injustice system acting as it always has no matter what century, context or administration – forever a punitive apparatus to repress the colonized and exploited for the benefit of a racist carceral state. Whether a red or blue chain, the shackle remains the same. Recognition of this basic fact informs our work building a culture of resistance to the inevitable crackdown on abolitionists and revolutionaries by the neoliberal state operating in the name of “fighting extremism”.
We believe that times like this, the seeming lulls between mass protests, uprisings and other sparks of civil unrest are as ,and possibly even more important than those moments of social fissure and are probably not even be so neatly disconnected as they may be initially perceived. It is of the upmost importance that we are expanding our networks, supporting our comrades , and deepening our roots in the communities we live in order to create a movement capable of not only sustaining itself in the calm, but also protecting itself when the pigs come knocking. This means building community defense councils and war chests to support our accomplices kidnapped and harassed by the State through every stage of their struggle. It is equally important to deny space and momentum to obvious opportunists and collaborators who attempt to swallow the flame of radical change through cooptation and subterfuge with the intent to isolate radicals and those members of the community willing to take justice into their own hands. This commitment lives and dies on solidarity with those most affected, and this communique is an representation of that commitment.
We unfurled this banner calling for the end to abuse of prisoners in Dauphin County Prison and mass release of all incarcerated in the death camps of Pennsylvania and across the United Snakes. We also want to uplift the connected struggle of the #FreeAnt movement, in order to echo the many voices calling for dropped charges for all and add to the cacophony of dissent against the police state. Finally, we uplift the demands of the Black Philly Radical Collective to for the immediate release of Mumia Abu Jamal, Major Tillery, Arthur Cetawayo Johnson, Russell “Maroon” Shoatz, Omar Askia, Joseph “Jo-Jo” Bowen, and all Black Political Prisoners.
We demand that all protestors across the country be granted amnesty. All charges must be dropped. We have unconditional solidarity to all rebels, radicals and revolutionaries facing State repression.
*Content Warning: Sexual Harrassment and Exploitation of Vulnerable adults*
Correctional Officer Adams of the Dauphin County Prison, PA has been strip searching and video recording trustee inmates on several occasions starting February 15th, 2021. CO Adams also had 10 men from H Block strip down while video-recording them. This is sexual harrassment, this is predatory behavior, this is a violation of human rights. This is a direct violation of the DOC’s Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA).
We urge community to contact Dauphin County Prison and demand justice for these inmates.
Please Contact:
Dauphin County Prison Phone: (717) 780-6800
Dauphin County PREA Manager: J. Scott Burford T: 717-780-6307 Email: sburford@dauphinc.org
Department of Corrections
Central Office Main Phone Line: 717.728.2573
Central Office Email: ra-contactdoc@pa.gov
Demand the immediate termination of CO Adams, Demand that the PREA Manager for Dauphin County conduct an internal investigation as officers rarely act alone in these instances
Sample Script
“Hello,
I am a resident of _________ (county/city) and I am contacting you regarding the ongoing sexual harrassment and predatory tactics being used on inmates of Dauphin County Prison. CO Adams has repeatedly violated the Prison Rape Elimination Act by strip searching and video taping inmates. We demand the immediate termination of CO Adams and a full investigation by the DOC and PREA Contact J. Scott Burford. ”
From what we can tell so far: Biden admin transition team chose to keep this Trump pilot program to begin end physical mail in BOP, as is already happening in cruelest state prisons. It was probably easiest for Biden transition team to keep the company’s contract: these companies are powerful, BOP wants to surveil prisoner mail, they don’t care about families and prisoners, and b/c not enough people hold them accountable politically for this. Our staff still being barred from sending physical mail to a BOP institution and forced to send to this company–appears that BOP allows wardens to opt into or out of the pilot program. We are all so desensitized to this stuff that we don’t even recognize that, in a reasonable world, Biden transition would have immediately announced investigation and end to this profiteering instead of quietly continuing the contract that allows wardens to expand it. Keep in mind: Biden issued very mild (insufficient) order re: private prisons but didn’t touch all of the rampant profiteering inside and related to *public* prisons.
Although there’s not much coverage of this issue at the moment, it’s worth learning from the effects of the same policy when it was instituted in Pennsylvania, as covered in outlets such as The Appeal and Mother Jones. There, resistance to the policy included a number of lawsuits and a series of protests by families and outside supporters.
Call to Action from Jailhouse Lawyers Speak and Beyond
Nationwide call to action: August 21st, 2021 and September 9th, 2021 in the spirit of Abolition please clear your schedules to organize demos at your local jails and prisons. Time to raise the awareness levels during these dates. A full Jailhouse Lawyers Speak statement will be forthcoming!
Uprising Defendants
Everyone should support the defendants facing charges related to their alleged participation in the George Floyd uprising – this list of our imprisoned comrades needs to be getting shorter, not longer. Also, as this column was going to print, a post on Philly Anti-Capitalist brought our attention to the case of Anthony Smith in Philadelphia. Info on how to support them here. The status of pre-trial defendants changes frequently, but to the best of our knowledge they currently include:
Doug Wright left home at age fourteen and became involved in radical leftist activities and anti-war rallies in California. Shortly thereafter, Doug picked up train hopping and made his way all over the country. On one occasion he accidentally found himself in Anderson, Indiana where he met people with a music company that hosted all-age punk rock shows. These folks became Doug’s new family for the next five years.
Doug was then in Cleveland during the Occupy movement and became the target, along with three other activists, of an elaborate FBI setup operation. They were accused of plotting a series of bombings, including that of an area bridge. However the real story is that the FBI, working with an informant, created the scheme, produced the explosives, and coerced the four of them into participating. Doug received the longest sentence of all the Cleveland 4 – 11.5 years.
Doug’s life has been a series of tests, trials, and tribulations. Prison has been no different. He is luckily entering the last year of imprisonment, but his struggle is not over. Because he will be on lifetime probation, he will be unable to travel and live nomadically in the way that he loves again. Please join us in sending some heartfelt messages of solidarity to him.
This event will be held on Jitsi – we’ll post the meet link on social media the day of. You can also message us to get the link beforehand.
If you are unable to join us on Monday drop Doug a line at:
Michael “Safear” Ness is an imprisoned abolitionist organizer at SCI-Fayette in Pennsylvania. IA is an outside friend and comrade.
IA: When and how did you become an abolitionist in your thinking? And in your practice?
Safear: I’ve been radical since before abolition was in my vocabulary. Meaning, I was always someone who wanted to understand things from their source. The status quo of white society never appealed to me. However, I wasn’t politicized until I came to prison.
In prison I was introduced to the teachings of Islam. Islam teaches the principles of establishing justice and forbidding all forms of oppression. So, Islam gave me the principles of justice. Abolition showed me different areas to apply them.
From the greatest principles of Islam is preventing harm. Prisons don’t prevent harm. They haven’t made our communities any safer, nor the world any better. No, they cause more harm. That’s why we need to abolish the Prison-Industrial Complex.
IA: As you began learning about abolition, which ideas, readings, or lessons really hit you hardest?
S: You gotta learn the history. The real history. Not that bullshit you were taught in middle school. I’m talking Our History is the Future by Nick Estes, showing the true foundation of this country. And Rethinking the American Prison Movement [by Dan Berger & Toussaint Losier], showing the real history of prisons here. Reading about George Jackson and the prison rebellion years gave me motivation. Those comrades showed me it is possible to fight the best from within. Ruth Wilson Gilmore gave me the intellectual confidence. Of course George was an intellectual in his own right. But Gilmore’s current analysis of the Prison-Industrial Complex gives you the tools to converse from an academic standpoint. And Angela Davis gave me the spice. She is a wordsmith. I love adopting her the construction of her arguments because they are flawless.
IA: What are some traps or hangups you want to help others avoid?
S: Just because every person has the potential for redemption doesn’t mean that everyone has reached that level yet. Trust has to be earned. Your inner circle should only be people of integrity. Be mindful of who you disclose strategy to, and who you introduce to outside comrades. Make sure they are battle tested. Also, don’t get arrogant. Stay humble. Lower yourself to serve the people. When it rams the benefit flows to the valley. Don’t put yourself on a pedestal. The world will still spin when you’re gone, try to make a difference while you’re here.
IA: What makes a good abolitionist teacher?
S: I’m not impressed with eloquent speech alone! A good teacher acts upon the knowledge they’ve acquired. You’ll never know a person’s true intentions, but you can witness their actions. When you find a teacher leading by example, learn from them. You don’t know how long they’ll be around.
IA: How comfortable were you, in the beginning, trying to have conversations about abolition with other people on your block?
S: First, this work requires stepping outside of your comfort zone. If you’re always comfortable, you’re not doing enough. My advice is, either speak with knowledge or remain silent. If you don’t know, just say “I don’t know, but I’ll do some research then I’ll get back to you.” If you do that, people will recognize your speech is precise. Then they’ll start to listen.
Educational dialogue is an art, and like any art, it requires practice.
You can’t give what you don’t have. You can only speak according to the information you’ve acquired. Knowledge can be gained by study or experience. Take the time to acquire it before you open your mouth with an opinion.
IA: What advice can you give someone who wants to start an abolitionist study group from the ground up?
S: Build relationships first. This work is more than business, it’s personal. It’s creating a world where even the idea of sending someone to prison is far-fetched. Doing this requires changing the way we interact with each other. It’s removing this idea that other humans are disposable. This requires not only theory, but practical application.
Evaluate the condition of the people. Instead of entering a space thinking you have everything figured out, ask: What is needed? A scholar once said “Every field has its men, and a person speaks according to their level of knowledge.” Everyone has a part to play in community. People bring different skillsets to this work. Some may be teachers, some may be warriors, some may be both of these and more. Our job is to create space for each person to do what they’re good at.
Speak to the people in the language they understand. Some folks are pacifists, some are George Jackson. Address each person accordingly.
Prisoners are trained to sniff out bullshit. We learn quick how to tell if someone is running game. Are you really living what you’re teaching? Is your handshake matching your smile?
Be mindful of the authorities. They don’t take kindly to organizing the captives in their dungeons. Try to stay under the radar as long as possible. Build up the comrades to be as self sufficient as possible.
Pick your battles. If you’re truly living abolition, conflict with authorities is inevitable. Don’t let this discourage you. If you’re not getting any resistance you’re not doing something right.
IA: Why do you do this work, comrade?
S: We’re all gonna die sooner or later. We can’t control that, but we can control how we live. I want to die knowing I did my best to change the world.
