BK/NY – Tuesday, September 15th– Letter-Writing for Russell Maroon Shoatz

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, September 15th, 2015
WHERE: The Base – 1302 Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11221 (directions below)
NOTE: The Base is on the ground floor, is wheelchair accessible, and has a gender neutral toilet.
COST: Free

It has been great to be apart of and to attend so many inspiring events this September, and we are just barely through half of it.  From the amazing turnout and response to this years Running Down the Walls, to the wonderful vibes at the Dead Prez, Rah Digga, Rebel Diaz and Tef Poe show, to the discussion and call to action with the No New Animal Lab campaign, to the Party Against Prisons, and the upcoming The Promise Of Anarchism: An International Panel Discussion.  We have certainly kept ourselves busy, but could not feel better doing so.  We want to keep this momentum going in this week’s letter writing night for activist, author, and soldier Russell Maroon Shoatz.

Russell is a dedicated community activist and founding member of the Philadelphia based organization Black Unity Council, which eventually merged with the Black Panther Party (1969). In 1970, along with 5 others, Maroon was accused of attacking a police station, which resulted in an officer being killed. This attack was said to have been carried out in response to the rampant police brutality in the Black community. For 18 months Maroon functioned underground as a soldier in the Black Liberation Army. In 1972 he was captured. Twice he escaped—once in 1977 and again 1980, but both times he was recaptured and today he is held in Pennsylvania where he is serving multiple life sentences.

We expect to see you on Tuesday. If you can’t make it, please take the time to write a letter to Russell at:

Russell Maroon Shoatz #AF3855
SCI Graterford
Post Office Box 244
Graterford, Pennsylvania 19426-0244

The deal, as always, is that you come bringing only yourself (and your friends and comrades), and we provide you with a delicious vegan meal, information about the prisoners as well as all of the letter-writing materials and prisoner-letter-writing info you could ever want to use in one evening. In return, you write a thoughtful letter to a political prisoner or prisoner of war of your choosing or, better yet, keep up a long-term correspondence. We’ll also provide some brief updates and pass around birthday cards for the PP/POWs whose birthdays fall in the next two weeks thanks to thePP/POW Birthday Calendar.

Directions:
Getting to The Base is simple:
From the M Train:
Central Avenue Stop: Walk east on Myrtle Avenue (away from Hart Street, toward Cedar Street). We’re about two blocks down on the south side of the street.

Knickerbocker Avenue Stop: Walk west on Myrtle Avenue (away from Harman Street, toward Himrod Street). We’re about three blocks down on the south side of the street.

From the L Train:
DeKalb Avenue Stop: Walk south on Stockholm Street (away from Wyckoff Avenue, toward Irving Avenue). We’re about four blocks down, at the intersection of Stockholm Street and Myrtle Avenue.

From the J Train:
Myrtle Avenue Stop: Transfer to the M train and follow the above directions.