from In Contempt
This past month has seen an unprecedented rise in repression as Trump further consolidates authoritarian power and unleashes militarized fascist police violence on communities across the so-called US.
Following the closing of It’s Going Down, a new collective will continue publishing monthly “In Contempt” updates on this noblogs. People can submit updates and calls to action to the new email in_contempt at autistici dot org.
So much is happening so let’s jump right in!
George Floyd Uprising Prisoners
As far as we know, the remaining George Floyd Uprising prisoners’ addresses are:
David Elmakayes 77782-066
USP Lee
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 305
Jonesville, VA 24263
Smart Communications / PA DOC
Khalif Miller / #QQ9287
SCI Forest
P.O. Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733
Political Prisoner Birthdays
Dwayne Staats
One of the two Vaughn 17 defendants to be convicted for taking part in the Vaughn prison uprising of early 2017. Dwayne and his co-defendant Jarreau “Ruk” Ayers bravely admitted to their own parts in the uprising, and then, free to testify openly without fear of incriminating themselves any further, tore holes in the prosecution’s attempts to convict anyone else – as he put it, “we’d accept being stabbed in the chest to present others from getting stabbed in the back”. To learn more about Dwayne in his own words, you can follow his instagram, read his letter to the Kentucky Attorney General, or his contribution to the Vaughn zine, “Live from the Trenches”.
Birthday: November 10
Dwayne Staats #467005
Delaware DOC – 1101
P.O. Box 777
Las Vegas NV 89193
In Memoriam
Assata Shakur Returns to the Ancestors
In the words of Mumia Abu-Jamal,
Her name, Assata Shakur, has become an iconic symbol of Black revolutionary resistance to the white nation and American empire. Shot, beaten and threatened with death, Assata lived up to the meaning of her name: “She who struggles.” Born Joanne Deborah Byron on July 16, 1947, in Queens, N.Y., she came of age during the tumultuous 1960s, when young Black people joined movements and organizations devoted to Black liberation. She joined the Black Panther Party and later, the Black Liberation Army (BLA), and emerged as one of its best-known and best-loved members.
When three young Panthers were driving south on the New Jersey Turnpike, they were ambushed by state troopers, and a shoot-out ensued. One Panther, Zayd Malik Shakur and a state trooper, were shot and killed. Assata was also shot, under her arm. The third Panther, Sundiata Acoli, also survived the ambush. Both survivors were charged with murder. Assata endured some 10 trials or so, winning acquittal after acquittal after acquittal. She was convicted once, and the state threatened her with another conviction for killing of Zayd.
A BLA squad went to her jail and set her free. Shortly thereafter, she made it to Cuba, which granted her political asylum. She began teaching in Cuba, wrote riveting poetry, and prayed for social change in America, and of course, freedom for the Black Nation. She served her people and freedom’s cause with bravery, beauty and brilliance. She represented her generation as Harriet Tubman represented hers.
New immigrant detention centers
DHS is hoping to accelerate the expansion of its network of detention centers opening several new facilities as it considers renovating warehouses for “mega detention centers” and contracts $10 billion to the U.S. Navy to begin construction of what could include “soft-sided” tent setups in in Louisiana, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Utah and Kansas.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is holding people for ICE in at least five facilities at Miami, Atlanta, Leavenworth, Philadelphia and Berlin.
