BK/NY – Tuesday, January 5th – Letter Writing Dinner for Joshua Williams

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, January 5th, 2016
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

While it comes at no surprise, the fact is that in modern times Black people are not only being regularly gunned down by the State, but are also being kidnapped and caged for standing up for and defending  their communities. 19 year old Joshua Williams is a victim of the latter. Joshua became a vocal regular participant in the anti-police demonstrations following the murder of 18 year old Mike Brown in 2014. Later that year, Joshua was arrested for the arson of a convenience  store that was located across the street from the fatal police shooting of Antonio Martin just days before. In December 2015 Joshua pleaded guilty to arson and burglary and has been sentenced to 8 years in state prison.

While we believe that all political prisoners are in desperate need of support from our communities, Josh is in particular need right now. His age and high profile status as a Ferguson protester has made him an easy target for right wing media and blogging blowhards. They have been giggling to their empty selves at the idea of a young man who has been outspoken for peace being locked up for arson. They lack the understanding that peace sometimes comes at a cost. They lack the context that we are in a world where a young Black person is living in the reality that any violence to him by the State and other white supremacists would go virtually  unchecked and probably publicly applauded. The damage to a building that was empty of all others at the time is not even close to equivalent.

We expect to see you on Tuesday. If you can’t make it, please take the time to write a letter to Joshua:
Joshua Williams #1292002
Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center
2727 Highway K
Bonne Terre, Missouri 63628

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 the PP/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