NYC – Free Leonard Peltier Event!

WHAT: Discussion and Presentation
WHEN: 1:00pm, Saturday, October 8th
WHERE: The People’s Forum–320 West 37th Street New York, New York 10018
COST: FREE

With Dan Battaglia, International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee Secretary

Kevin Sharp, Leonard Peltier’s Attorney

Lenny Foster, former Director of the Navajo Nation Corrections Project,
Leonard’s Spiritual Advisor

Other Speakers and Cultural Warriors To Be Announced

Watch the livestream from anywhere in the world!

BK/NY – Friday, November 30th – NYC 2019 Certain Days Launch Party!

WHAT: Launch Party
WHEN: 7:30-9:30pm, Friday, November 30th, 2018
WHERE: Interference Archive–314 7th Street, Brooklyn, New York 11215
NOTE: Interference Archive is on the ground floor, is wheelchair accessible, and has a gender neutral toilet.
COST: Free

Join us for the Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar launch party! The calendar is in its 18th year and is a joint fundraising and educational project between outside organizers in Montreal, Hamilton, New York and Baltimore, in partnership with a political prisoner being held in maximum-security prison in New York State, David Gilbert.

This year’s theme is “Health/Care,” and features art and writings by David Gilbert, Bec Young, Radical Indumentaria, Aviva Stahl, Debbie, Mike and Chuck Africa, Roger Peet, Addameer Prisoner Support & Human Rights Association, Leah Jo Carnine, Suzy Subways, Farha Najah, Ashanti Alston Omowali, Alec Ixnay Dunn, Barbara Zeller, Hikaru Ikeda, Giselle Dias, Micah Bazant, Justice for Alisha Walker, Fernando Martí, Sins Invalid, Tom Manning, Dave George, Laura Whitehorn, Frizz Kid, Abolitionist Law Center, Cindy Milstein, and more.

Local contributors to this calendar will be speaking about their art and articles printed in this year’s calendar. We will also have copies of the calendar for sale and holiday cards for political prisoners for you to sign.

This event will take place on the 19th anniversary of the Seattle protests that successfully shut down the World Trade Organization (WTO) meetings in 1999. We will have some audio and images playing from that historic moment.

This event is co-sponsored by NYC Jericho, ProLibertad Freedom Campaign, NYC ABC, NYC Free Peltier & Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

More info at certaindays.org
Order the calendar from Burning Books

 

Running Down the Walls 2016 – A Reportback

Running Down the Walls (RDTW) 2016 was a success in building relationships, feeling the solidarity of running as our imprisoned comrades did the same, and raising funds for the ABCF Warchest and the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP is a collective Alternative to Detention (ATD), detention center visitation, direct service, and community organizing project that works with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Two Spirit, Trans, Gender Non-Conforming, and HIV+ detainees and their families currently in detention centers, those that are recently released from detention centers, and undocumented folks in New York City).

The fear factory National Weather Service gave us pause and we considered rescheduling this year’s event with tropical storm Hermine looming just off the coast. As it turned out, we had no floods, no rain, no high winds, just perfect weather for running. Crisis averted!

We arrived early, to avoid getting beaten to a sweet spot in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, by the gaggle of goofs clawing to get to a food circus we refuse to name. This gave us time to set up our hand-painted RDTW banner and tables of literature & food. The aforementioned mall food court for the self-perceived well-heeled was dropped squarely in the middle of our run path last year, so we switched it up on ’em. This year, our 5k was more like 5.2k (sorry, distance nerds) and consisted of a single lap around what is known as the Main Loop.

Given that this was also a picnic—outdoors, breezy, and mildly unpredictable, we set up a scaled down version of our literature table. This meant our ubiquitous red wire rack of free literature, including copies of the recently published Conditions of Confinement (writings by anarchist prisoner Casey Brezik), the NYC ABC Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoner and Prisoners of War, and all of the tri-fold pamphlets about many of the prisoners we support.

We had printed bib numbers for the participants. The flipside of the bib numbers had information about NYC ABC and guidelines for writing to prisoners, making it both a memento and a useful reminder to write to folks.

A few serious runners arrived as early as 1:30pm, though the announced time of the event was 2:00-7:00pm and we typically use the first half hour to register folks and take sponsor forms from those who hustled to get sponsors. Even with this schedule in mind, anarchist time prevailed and the run actually started closer to 2:45, following a group photo around the RDTW banner.

Before the run, an NYC ABC collective member went over some basics, while also kicking facts about political prisoners and state repression. We then played a greeting from Jaan Laaman, recorded specifically for the event.

Of the 60-70 folks who came to RDTW 2016, about 45 participated in the 5(.2)k. The age range was 4-72 years old. Hashtag multi-generational. Several runners were serious, several were fast, and the venn diagram of those two categories resulted in the same few folks running the fastest laps this year as last.

After running, bronchial passages fully dilated, what sounds better than a plate of barbecue and potato salad?

The picnic consisted of Texas-style barbecued jackfruit sandwiches with fresh pickles; potato salad; a variety of chips & cold drinks; and some outstanding cranberry blondies. Yes, a lot of folks came just for the food.

Before we got too deep into socializing, we read solidarity statements written for the event by Bill Dunne, Kojo Bomani Sababu, Hanif Bey, and Xinachtli.

One participant garnered over $1,000 in sponsors, and several others raised hundreds of dollars each. All told, we raised a respectable amount of loot.

Folks sitting around, talking, having just shared the run, felt good. The group consisted of folks from diverse backgrounds, many of whom were new faces to our collective. Instagram followers brought IRL friends, and comrades & allies turned up as well. Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP), NYC Jericho Movement, International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Malcolm X Commemoration Committee, Family and Friends of Maliki Shakur Latine, the campaign the Bring Mumia Home, Marius Mason’s support crew, the Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar, and the campaign to Free the MOVE 9 prisoners were among the represented organizations that explicitly work on political prisoner support. There were also folks from NYC Animal Defense League, the NYC Anarchist Book Fair, Black and Pink NYC, Rojava Solidarity NYC, Incarcerated Worker Organizing Committee NYC (IWOC), WESPAC, and Books Through Bars, among others. We were also thankful for the presence of Sekou Odinga and Susan Rosenberg, former political prisoners and consistent examples of solidarity through action.

Most folks had left by 6:30 and those who stayed did so to help clean up and transfer everything to the cars. So the event went as scheduled, almost to the minute.

Knowing the history of the run and the imprisoned comrades with whom we ran in solidarity elevated Running Down the Walls 2016 to an even more inspiring level.

And that’s how we get down (the walls).

NYC ABC

BK/NY – Sunday, December 14th – Send Love Through the Walls 2014

WHAT: Send Love Through The Walls Holiday Card-Writing For Political Prisoners
WHEN: 2:00-6:00pm, Sunday, December 14th, 2014
WHERE: 263 Eastern Parkway, Apartment 5D (Direction Below) phone: 718.783.8141
COST: FREE (Donations to cover the cost of stamps greatly appreciated)
In what many prisoners have told us is their favorite event of the year, Resistance in Brooklyn and NYC Anarchist Black Cross again join forces to bring you the annual holiday card-writing party for U.S. held political prisoners, prisoners of war, and prisoners of conscience. This event is always a lot of fun, the food outstanding, the camaraderie lively, and the handmade cards flat out amazing. This year will be no different. So plan to bring your friends, your creativity, and a healthy appetite. We’ll have updates on the pp/pow campaigns as well as paints, markers, crayons, and envelopes. We will also be holding a raffle to support soon to be released, 87 year old Mohaman Koti.

If you’ve been looking for a place to purchase the “Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar,” NYC ABC will have them for sale at the event. The calendar is a joint fundraising and educational project between outside organizers in Montreal and Toronto, and three political prisoners being held in maximum-security prisons in New York State: David Gilbert, Robert Seth Hayes and Herman Bell. The proceeds from Certain Days 2015 will be divided among The New York State Task Force on Political Prisoners, Addameer, and 4strugglemag. For more information, be sure to visit certaindays.org

Directions:
Getting to 263 Eastern Parkway is simple:
From the 2/3/4/5 or Franklin Avenue Shuttle:

Franklin Avenue Stop: Walk west on Eastern Parkway (away from Franklin Avenue, toward Classon Avenue). We’re about half a block down on the north side of the street. When you go into the building, take the elevator to your left.

For more information, contact:
Resistance in Brooklyn– resistanceinbrooklyn07 at gmail dot com
NYC Anarchist Black Cross– nycabc at riseup dot net

NYC ABC + Book Thug Nation Host Certain Days Calendar Release Party

WHAT: NYC Release Party for the 2012 Certain Days Calendar with folks from Toronto ABC
WHEN: 7:00pm, Monday, November 14th
WHERE: Book Thug Nation – 100 North Third Street (Between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue), Brooklyn
COST: Free. There will be copies of the calendar for sale at the event.

The theme for this year’s calendar is “COINTELPRO: Repression and Resistance, Then and Now” and folks from Toronto Anarchist Black Cross will give a brief presentation on the calendar project. For more information about the calendar, head to certaindays.org