Pelican Bay Solidarity Rally and March

On July 15th, 2011, about 100 people rallied to show their support for hunger strikers at Pelican Bay State Prison. After the rally, attendees marched down Market Street to Union Square and back to the Powell Street cable car turnaround. About 30 police officers, canine units, and police cars, motorcycles, and buses accompanied the marchers.

Hundreds of prisoners at Pelican Bay and 12 other prisons statewide have been engaged in a hunger strike since July 1st, 2011. Alternative media reports that some strikers are ill and hospitalized. One report indicated that some strikers have died.

Strikers seek an end to collective punishment, sensory deprivation, and torture. Many of the strikers are held in solitary confinement--a punishment known to cause permanent psychological damage.