Prisons on fire*, Haiti rising, MLK for jobs & justice – & more

On Dec. 9, thousands of prisoners in Georgia, linked stealthily by cell phone, stood up for their rights by sitting down and refusing to provide slave labor any more. Despite vicious retaliation – at least two of the strikers were severely beaten, one with hammers on his face while handcuffed, and 37 are still missing – the Georgia prisoners I’m in touch with are determined to keep up the momentum, even at the price of never seeing freedom again.

On Jan. 3, the Lucasville prisoners in Ohio condemned to death for their 1993 rebellion went on hunger strike, which ended yesterday when their demands were met – modest demands they’d made in vain for 18 years. Prisoners from other states’ death rows cheered them on. And prisoners who write and call here from around the country are getting organized.

On Jan. 7 in Mississippi, pressure from grassroots Black folks around the country and the world sprung the Scott Sisters from prison hell. Great stories about each of these historic events that could hasten the dismantling of the prison industrial complex are posted at http://www.sfbayview.com.


*On the CD, “Prisons on Fire: George Jackson, Attica & Black Liberation,” funded in part by the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media, hear the voices of George Jackson; Jonathan Jackson Jr.; Georgia Jackson (mother of George and Jonathan Jackson); Angela Davis; David Hilliard (former Black Panther Party leader); James Baldwin; Harry Belafonte; David Johnson, Hugo Pinell, Luis Talamantez and Sundiata Tate; Frank “Big Black” Smith (Attica Brother and prison activist); William Kunstler; Elizabeth Fink and Michael Deutsch (attorneys for the Attica Brothers); L.D. Barkley (Attica Brother, murdered in the retaking of the prison in September of 1971, and who announced the “Attica Manifesto” to the world); and Ruchell Magee (prison activist and leader, still in prison for his political activities). Learn more and order the CD from Freedom Archives.