Archive
Tuesday, June 15th – Letter Writing for Imam Jamil Al-Amin
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday June 15th, 2021
WHERE: your home (or wherever you happen to be)
COST: Free
Sometimes it seems that the struggle for a free society is reduced to something so simple as the struggle to remember. The ruling class hates to be reminded that it wasn’t bootstraps but the ongoing violence of settler colonialism that bought them their Sunday brunch. Or that Stonewall wasn’t a commercial for a big box store, or an isolated event in the centuries of rebellions big and small by those on the losing side of patriarchal supremacy and its false binaries. And right now, as ‘we’ are ‘getting back to normal,’ the triumphalism that callously asserts the needs of domestic markets in the face of a still raging international pandemic insists that we forgot the suffering and wide scale preventable deaths that were all most of us could think about for the past year. We are told to take off our masks, get back to work, and go to brunch, and to forget those who got sick and especially the hundreds of thousands who died. In a very similar way we are told that Black Panthers are comic book characters and fashion symbols to appropriate, safely ancient history if they were ever real at all; that Indigenous resistance to genocide is a thing of the past; that de-colonial freedom struggles were a ’boomer fad, and that the “united states” doesn’t have any political prisoners.
But what if we choose to remember?
What if we insist on remembering that those who resisted and fell, those who were captured, are human beings?
What if we got to know them as people with aches and pains and senses of humor and wisdom won through decades of principled struggle?
What would happen if we remember that the struggle continues?
This week NYC ABC and Page One Collective are asking you write to Imam Jamil Al-Amin (formerly known as H. Rap Brown). Jamil Al-Amin is a long time community leader and organizer, falsely imprisoned for killing a sheriff’s deputy in Georgia. He was convicted in 2002 and after some time in Georgia state prison, the state decided to bury him in federal custody at the notorious Florence Supermax in Colorado before being held in Arizona. The Imam has bone cancer and other health issues, so his family and supporters are currently pushing for an appeal to his trial and for his return to Georgia to receive better medical care and to be able to take a more active role in appealing his case. More information on what you can do is available at whathappened2rap.com
We are asking folks to take the time to write a letter to Jamil (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online). Please note that as it states on his support site “Imam Jamil is not receiving proper medical care and is now blind as a result.” We are suggesting to send typewritten letters in a large font (size 18 font and over) to let him and those holding him captive know that he is far from forgotten:
Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin #99974-555
USP Tucson
Post Office Box 24550
Tucson, Arizona 85734
BK/NY – Tuesday, February 23rd – Letter Writing To Chip Fitzgerald
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free
Humans are such an amazingly adaptable species. We can collectively adjust and even grow accustomed to almost unimaginably challenging and calamitous circumstances, even as our comrades, friends, families and ourselves are adversely affected. As the pandemic rages throughout overfull prisons, jails and detention centers nationwide, and the increasing disasters of climate change disproportionately affect communities intentionally ‘disadvantaged’ by state capitalism, perhaps it’s time to adapt less and resist more. Resistance can come in many forms, including mutual aid and tangible acts of solidarity. One simple such act is to write a letter to a political prisoner.
So please join us and Page One Collective this week in writing to Black liberation political prisoner Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald, the longest confined former member of the Black Panther Party, who has spent 51 years behind bars. Though Chip has been eligible for parole for decades, and was declared “a low risk of committing offenses” by the BOP’s own psychologists, he remains locked up in a California prison. There is a petition campaign for his release, and more information available at:
https://www.freedom4chip.org/
Please take the time to write a letter to Chip (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Chip can be written to at this address:
Chip Fitzgerald* #B-27527
California State Prison – LAC
Post Office Box 4490B-4-150
Lancaster, California 93539
*Address envelope to Romaine Fitzgerald.
BK/NY – Tuesday, August 25th – Black August Letter Writing
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, August 25th, 2020
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free
Due to the pandemic and uprisings against white supremacist policing (redundant, we know), many of us are too overwhelmed to even notice the full-blown war being waged by cops and the ruling class. It is real and it is continuing. And of course there is another war—the war against folks imprisoned for their political beliefs and actions. And here’s where we bridge the two. Nearing the end of Black August, NYC ABC and Page One Collective will be sending letters to Black revolutionary political prisoners and there’s an easy (too easy? POSSIBLY!) way for you to help, just by writing from home. Please post a photo of your addressed envelope on social media and tag us (with your return address blurred out) and we will share it. Use Page One’s recent zine, “Current Political Prisoners of Black Liberation Movements,” for up-to-date addresses.
BK/NY – Tuesday, March 19th – International Women’s Day Political Prisoner Card Writing Dinner
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, March 19th, 2019
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
With International Women’s Day having just passed, it is important to acknowledge the often forgotten radical history of the day itself, steeped in the political action and uprisings from anticapitalist women in the early 1900’s. The histories of the day itself, the participation of women in all revolutionary and radical struggles, and how the State incarcerates women are constantly being whitewashed. With fighting that tendency in mind, NYC ABC will be writing cards to six political prisoners at this Tuesday’s letter writing dinner.
Please join us to hear about and write to Janet Africa (MOVE), Janine Africa (MOVE), Red Fawn Fallis (Standing Rock water protector), Nina Droz Franco (Puerto Rico liberationist), Chelsea Manning (Grand Jury resister), Rev. Joy Powell (anti-police violence organizer), and Reality Winner (whistleblower).
If for whatever reason you cannot join us, we hope you will still write to them:
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Janet Holloway Africa #OO6308
SCI Cambridge Springs
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Janine Phillips Africa #OO6309
SCI Cambridge Springs
Post Office Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733
Red Fawn Fallis #16358-059
FMC Carswell
Post Office Box 27137
Fort Worth, Texas 76127
Nina Droz Franco #50427-069
FCI Tallahassee
501 Capital Circle, NE
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
Chelsea Elizabeth Manning #AO181426
William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center
2001 Mill Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Reverend Joy Powell #07-G-0632
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 1000
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2499
Reality Winner #22056-021
FMC Carswell
Post Office Box 27137
Fort Worth, Texas 76127
New T-Shirts in Solidarity with Indonesian Anarchist Prisoners and NYC ABC Available!
NYC ABC is pleased to announce that we have TWO (you heard it folks) TWO new t-shirt designs for sale!
Solidarity to All Anarchist Prisoners in Yogyakarta! NYC ABC is extending all of our solidarity to our Indonesian Comrades facing repression from the police.
International Solidarity to class war prisoners in Yogyakarta who are undergoing legal repression after being arrested while protesting against the monarchy- feudal society and the construction of the New Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA) which is actively going to displace the Kulon progo community.
We have X Small, Small, Medium, Large and XL shirts available featuring this design from the Palang Hitam Black Cross for only $20.00 and $25.00 for orders going to Mexico and Canada! All funds collected will be going to the Anarchist prisoners in Indonesia.
In addition, NYC ABC is rolling out new shirts for the collective also available in the sizes: X Small, Small, Medium, Large and X Large. They will also be selling for $20.00 and $25.00 for orders going to Mexico and Canada.
How do I get these rad new t-shirts and support political prisoners in Indonesia and the so-called united states?
The easiest way is to find us is at events that we’re tabling! For such news be sure to follow us on your favorite social media outlets: Instagram and Twitter @nycabc.
For those who live far or cannot make it to tabling events, you can send the appropriate amount to us here: paypal.me/nycabc. **Be sure to include the size, design, and shipping address**
BK/NY – Tuesday, March 13th– International Women’s Day Political Prisoner Card Writing Dinner
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, March 13th, 2018
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: FreeJoin us Tuesday as NYC ABC celebrates International Women’s Day by writing the female identifying political prisoners held captive here in the United States.
We’ll be sharing the stories of and writing to Debbie Africa, Janet Africa, Janine Africa, Red Fawn Fallis, Nicole Kissane, and Rev. Joy Powell.
If for whatever crazy reason you cannot join us Tuesday, please take the time to write to them on your own time:
Debbie Sims Africa #OO6307
SCI Cambridge Springs
451 Fullerton Avenue
Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania 16403
Janet Holloway Africa #OO6308
SCI Cambridge Springs
451 Fullerton Avenue
Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania 16403
Janine Phillips Africa #OO6309
SCI Cambridge Springs
451 Fullerton Avenue
Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania 16403
Red Fawn Fallis
HACTC
110 Industrial Road
Rugby, North Dakota 58368
Nicole Kissane #20651-111
FCI Dublin
5701 8th Street – Camp Parks
Dublin, California 94568
Reverend Joy Powell #07-G-0632
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 1000
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2499 Read more…
BK/NY – Tuesday, February 27th – Letter-Writing Dinner For Water Protectors
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, February 27th, 2018
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
At the Framed In America: The Making Of Political Prisoners event in support of the political prisoners of the MOVE family over the weekend we were once again reminded by elders who either have spent time behind bars themselves or have supported those who have, that supporting folks snatched up by the State is of the utmost importance for any political movement and community. Throughout the history of European expansion across the globe indigenous folks have been putting their bodies on the line in order to stop the spread of colonialism. This struggle has shown itself in recent years in the fight against the expansion of American capitalist and colonial powers onto indigenous land to build pipelines that not only threaten the sovereignty and autonomy of those who live there, but also the water and ecology which sustains region. Time and time again we see repression chasing down the strength of those who fight against these forces in an effort to isolate folks and put a stop to these movements and those who are water protectors are no exception. With that in mind, NYC ABC will be writing to Red Fawn Fallis and Little Feather (Michael Giron) for our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinner.
On October 27th, 2016 Red Fawn and over 140 other water protectors were arrested on the front lines of Standing Rock during a massive police raid on a camp of resisters. Red Fawn was initially accused of firing on local cops while being arrested and charged with attempted murder but those charges have since been dropped and Red Fawn was then transferred into federal custody to face three federal charges related to possessing a firearm while being a felon. Red Fawn has been steadfast in her dedication to the struggle by putting her body on the line despite the endless attacks of the local cops and private security hired by the pipeline company and being arrested on two other occasions during her stay. In 2018 Red Fawn took a non-cooperating plea deal in which the State dropped the charge which carried the longest sentence (10yrs-life) with the stipulation that she plead guilty to the other two charges. The prosecution has recommended that the judge sentence Red Fawn to 7 years in prison. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 31st.
For more info on Red Fawn:
https://waterprotectorlegal.org/red-fawn-fallis/
http://indi.com/freeredfawn
Little Feather’s charges stem from alleged actions that took in the previously mentioned police raid at Standing Rock on October 27th, 2016. He was initially charged with Civil Disorder and Use of Fire to Commit a Federal Felony Offense. The latter carries a minimum of 10 years imprisonment. In 2018 Little Feather took a non-cooperating plea deal in which the State dropped the Fire charge he plead guilty to the Civil Disorder charge. The recommendation on his sentencing is 3 years and his sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 30th.
For more info on Little Feather:
https://waterprotectorlegal.org/michael-little-feather-giron/ https://www.freelittlefeather.com/
As always, we ask that folks be mindful of what they include in there letters given they are read by State officials and could be used to harm either the person who is in prison, the person writing them, or the communities in which we come from or support. DO NOT WRITE ABOUT THE ACTIONS THE STATE HAS ALLEGED THEY TOOK PART IN OR ANY OTHER ACTION THE STATE COULD DEEM ILLEGAL. This is especially important in writing to those with open cases or who have yet to be sentenced like Red Fawn and Little Feather.
If for whatever reason you are not able to join us, please write to Red Fawn and Little Feather:
Michael Giron
Heart of America Correction Center
110 Industrial Road
Rugby, North Dakota 58368
Red Fawn Fallis
Heart of America Correction Center
110 Industrial Road
Rugby, North Dakota 58368
BK/NY – Tuesday, December 19th – Letter-Writing Dinner For Mumia Abu-Jamal
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, December 19th, 2017
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
With folks lining up in droves to take part in their consumerist rituals for the holidays, one may think that all is well. The fact that political prisoners are still being held captive by the State tells us otherwise. In the spirit of love and solidarity we ask folks to join us this Tuesday as we end another year of our every-other-week letter writing dinners by writing to Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Mumia Abu-Jamal is an African-American writer and journalist, author of six books and hundreds of columns and articles, who has spent the last 30 years on Pennsylvania’s death row and now general population. Mumia was wrongfully convicted and sentenced for the murder of a Philadelphia cop. The demand for a new trial and freedom is supported by heads of state, Nobel laureates, distinguished human rights organizations, scholars, religious leaders, artists, scientists and, as important, millions of folks like you and us. For more information, be sure to visit bringmumiahome.com.
We expect to see you on Tuesday. If you can’t make it, please take the time to write a letter to Mumia:
Mumia Abu-Jamal #AM 8335
SCI Mahanoy
301 Morea Road
Frackville, Pennsylvania 17932
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
BK/NY – Tuesday, May 9th – Letter Writing to the Cleveland 4
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, May 9th, 2017
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
Coming on the heels of the 5th anniversary of the Cleveland 4 being captured by the State after a coordinated effort to entrap them, we ask that you join us in sending some love their way as we write to Brandon, Connor, Skelly, and Doug.
From cleveland4solidarity.org:
On the 5th Anniversary of the arrest of the Cleveland 4
April 30, 2017. Tonight marks the fifth anniversary of the arrest of Brandon Baxter, Connor Stevens, Doug Wright, and Josh “Skelly” Stafford—the young men who came to be known as the Cleveland 4. Their arrest was the culmination of an FBI-created plot to place (fake, government-supplied) explosives under the base of a bridge and brand Occupy activists as “terrorists.” On this anniversary, we should pause. Take a moment to think about what was done to the Cleveland 4, the consequences they continue to suffer and the support they need, and how their case is a reflection of the bigger political moment in which we are living—and what that requires of us.
The plot to blow up a bridge was the result of months of coercion by a paid government informant and elaborate orchestration by the FBI. In a common pattern since 9/11, the FBI created a terrorism plot, entrapped vulnerable people in it, supplied the materials, and then supposedly heroically captured the made up “terrorists”—reassuring the public that the government would protect them…from a threat that never really existed. In addition to being used against the Cleveland 4 as anarchists in the Occupy movement in an attempt to quell it, this pattern has repeatedly been used to entrap young Muslim men and manufacture Islamophobia. And the pattern will surely continue to be used and adapted. As long as the FBI issues press releases that smear people across the media as “terrorists,” the State will continue to use the crafted narrative to justify its Orwellian surveillance and COINTELPRO tactics that tear apart individuals, communities, and movements.
We have a responsibility to see through the smoke and mirrors, to criticize and expose how the State uses so-called “terrorism” to suit its interests by stirring up fears—and recognize that this political landscape is not an accident, but a State power that our organizing must take into consideration. And we have to not let Brandon, Connor, Doug, and Skelly be lost in the smoke and mirrors; rather, our support of them should be a beautiful showing of resistance through taking care of each other. When the State tries to take our loved ones from us, we have to still hold on in all the ways that we can through the walls of prison.
Through the narrative that the States creates in terrorism prosecutions, it seeks to tell a certain story. In doing so in the case of the Cleveland 4, the government succeeded in putting Brandon, Connor, Doug, and Skelly in prison, but that does not mean that it gets to write the rest of this story. That’s for us to do—to turn a government-crafted plot into a setting that’s lighted by an unwavering commitment to making sure that every anniversary of the arrest of the Cleveland 4 marks another year of tangible acts of solidarity.
Write and send books to the Cleveland 4, donate to their support fund, and let our solidarity with each other be stronger than the forces that would tear us apart. Take care of each other and make sure that Brandon, Connor, Doug, and Skelly know that we are here to take care of them.
If for some insane reason you cannot join us on Tuesday, please write them from home:
Brandon Baxter #57972-060
FCI Pekin
Post Office Box 5000
Pekin, Illinois 61555
BK/NY – Tuesday, April 25 – May Day Card-signing for Anarchist Prisoners
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, April 25th, 2017
NOTE: The Base is on the ground floor, is wheelchair accessible, and has a gender neutral toilet.
WHERE: The Base – 1302 Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11221 (directions below)
COST: Free
You’ve probably been working too many hours a week to even notice the full-blown war being waged against you by the ruling class. It is real and it is continuing. And of course there is another war– the war against folks imprisoned for their political beliefs and actions. And here’s where we bridge the two. This week, NYC ABC will be hosting our annual May Day card-writing night. We will be sending greeting cards to anarchist political prisoners and there’s an easy (too easy? POSSIBLY!) way for you to help. Just come by, eat some food, sign some cards, maybe meet folks you don’t already know, and show some base level solidarity with those behind bars.
If there’s absolutely no way you can come eat our home cooked vegan meal and sign a lot of May Day cards, but still want to support political prisoners, please consider sending some books from their wish lists.
