Archive
Illustrated Guide Version 13.2 Uploaded!
We’ve finished the latest version of the NYC ABC “Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War” and it’s available for viewing (and download) by clicking on the tab at the top of this page. This update includes updated mini-bios, photos, and address changes for several prisoners. We are thankful to remove Chelsea Manning (judge’s order).
Over 100 in the streets for NYC ABC NYE Noise Demo
2019 started strong as we welcomed home water protector Dion Ortiz. Throughout the year, we saw more comrades released (Janet, Janine, and Eddie Africa; Little Feather, Connor Stevens, and Nina Droz Franco). And yet, as more elders age behind the wall, we lost a true warrior, Tom Manning. To close the year, NYC ABC organized a noise demo outside of Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in order to protest, celebrate, and let folks on the inside know they are not forgotten.
We got there a little after 8:30 and others were there waiting. We greeted old comrades and folks we’d yet to meet and by 9:00pm, a decent crowd had formed. The night was relatively warm by winter standards, but comrades from the Metropolitan Anarchist Coordinating Council (MACC) showed up with tea and hot chocolate to make sure everyone’s vocal cords stayed nice and toasty as we yelled and sang upward, into the steel and cement monolith that is MCC.
There were all manner of noise makers, most folks brought their own. Hell, we even had a makeshift drum corps to keep this noise demo moving.
Photo by NYC RAM
And while folks were there to celebrate and reach through the walls, signs and banners also expressed the brimming rage of the crowd. A crew from The Base showed up with black flags and banners to make sure all inside knew there were anarchists organizing in solidarity with them.
The demo lasted a couple of hours, but not before folks broke out sparklers and fireworks. And not before a fair amount of cops came to observe. They didn’t have riot gear or visible plasitcuffs, so the threat was more in what a bunch of preposterous goons they are than in any potential for arrest.
We’ve been told before, by comrades who were once held in MCC, that the noise demos light up the whole place and get through to the prisoners. If you’re thinking about organizing a noise demo in your town, do it.
Shortly before the crowd started to break up and head out, the following statement was read as a call and response, ensuring that our comrades inside could hear it:
“To many it feels like we live in a time like no other with surveillance and repression at every turn but also resistance, rebellion, and open revolt. This is neither the new golden nor dark age, it is simply another moment in time where we can collectively force conflict with a fucked up system.
Every day there are revolts of varying scale, most of which you never hear about. For those captured in revolt we come together in protest and celebration. Through the din of revelry and rage we tie ourselves to those who suffer systematized white supremacy and war against the working class
Prison is a means of social control to be absolutely destroyed.
Here’s to the total destruction of a prison-based society!
Tonight we bring with us the courage of Bill Dunne, the ferocity of Joe-Joe Bowen, the wisdom of Mutulu Shakur.
We remember in every act of rebellion against the state, our deceased comrades Tom Manning and Robert Seth Hayes your legacies will never be forgotten.
We hold in our hearts comrades soon to be or recently imprisoned—David Campbell, Joseph Dibee, Gage Halupowski, Chelsea Manning.
Illustrated Guide Version 14.2 Uploaded!
We’ve finished the latest version of the NYC ABC “Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War” and it’s available for viewing (and download) by clicking on the tab at the top of this page. This update includes updated mini-bios, photos, and address changes for several prisoners. Unfortunately, we are adding two prisoners to the guide this month–anti-racist Eric Hancock and grand jury resister Chelsea Manning. We are thankful to remove water protector Dion Ortiz (halfway house!).
BK/NY – Tuesday, April 2nd – Letter-Writing Dinner for Chelsea Manning
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, April 2nd, 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
Hey, everybody, jump in the car–we’re going on a road trip. Really? No. However, we are doing something fun and while we might not be heading cross country, the letters we write and mail at this weeks’ political prisoner letter-writing dinner are going all the way to…VIRGINIA. That’s because this week, NYC ABC is focusing our every-other-week event on Chelsea Manning, being jailed, in solitary confinement, for being principled in her resistance to a secretive federal grand jury.
Chelsea Manning, an anti-secrecy activist and former U.S. Army intelligence analyst whose release of classified information to WikiLeaks in 2010 sparked worldwide controversy over transparency in the military and whistleblower protections, was taken into custody at a federal court after a federal judge found her in contempt of court for refusing to answer questions before a secret grand jury. She can be imprisoned for the duration of the grand jury proceedings, up to 18 months. More information: https://xychelsea.is
If for whatever reason you cannot join us, we hope you will still write to Chelsea:
Chelsea Elizabeth Manning #AO181426
William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center
2001 Mill Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Illustrated Guide Version 12.4 Uploaded!
We’ve finished the latest version of the NYC ABC “Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War” and it’s available for viewing (and download) by clicking on the tab at the top of this page. This update includes updated mini-bios, photos, and address changes for several prisoners, as well as the removal of Chelsea Manning (Commutation!). Unfortunately, it also includes the addition of recently-imprisoned water defender Krow.
BK/NY – Tuesday, March 28th– International Women’s Day Political Prisoner Card Writing Dinner
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, March 28th, 2017 (POSTPONED FROM MARCH 14th)
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
For only the third time in over a decade, NYC ABC is not hosting our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinner. With public transportation shut down, we would rather folks stay safe and store up some energy to write more folks in the coming weeks. In the meantime, look through our Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War and use the snow day to reach out to imprisoned comrades.
Alright. It’s been 48 days, 10 hours and 34 minutes since the cheeto was inaugurated. Although many of us were working on the ground and in the streets long before that, no doubt efforts and numbers have increased since. The March 8th International Women’s Strike was no exception. Not only were there thousands of folks in attendance, but it seemed as though many of the groups doing the good work here in NYC had a contingent marching. Of course that included us anarchists marching alongside NYC Antifa and it was incredible to feel as though the march successfully represented working class, militant, and POC women, queers, and trans people. Join us Tuesday as NYC ABC continues celebrating International Women’s Day in that vein and write 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, Chelsea Manning, 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
Chelsea E. Manning 89289
1300 North Warehouse Road
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 66027-2304
Reverend Joy Powell #07-G-0632
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 1000
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2499
Illustrated Guide Version 12 Uploaded!
We’ve finished the latest version of the NYC ABC “Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War” and it’s available for viewing (and download) by clicking on the tab at the top of this page. This update includes updated mini-bios, photos, and address changes for several prisoners as well as removes Justin Solondz (halfway house!). Unfortunately, it also includes the addition of recently-imprisoned animal liberation comrade Nicole Kissane and the removal of Christopher Monfort (deceased, REST IN POWER!).
BK/NY – Tuesday, January 17th – Letter-Writing Dinner In Solidarity with the Trans Prisoner Day of Action
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, January 17th, 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
In honor of the second annual January 22nd Trans Prisoner Day of Action and Solidarity, NYC ABC will be writing letters to anarchist & environmental activist Marius Mason and whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Marius Mason, who initiated the Trans Prisoner Day of Action last year, had this to say about supporting trans prisoners:
Thank you for coming together today, to hold up those members of our community who struggle so hard behind walls to keep their sense of self intact. Sovereignty over our selves, our bodies is essential for any other kind of liberty to be possible. By reaching out to trans prisoners, you affirm their right to define themselves for themselves – and defend them against the overwhelming voices who claim that they do not exist, that they must allow others to define them. In the isolating environment of prison, this is toxic and intimidating, and amounts to the cruelest form of psychological torture. By offering your help and solidarity, you may just save a life. I know that for the last year and a half, as I have struggled to assert myself as a transman, as I have advocated for the relief of appropriate medical care for my gender dysphoria – it has been the gentle and loving reminders of my extended family of supporters who have given me strength and courage to continue. Please join me in offering this help to so many others who need it to keep going. Never underestimate the healing power of a letter, those letters have kept me going…and I want to pass that gift on, if you will help me.
Thank you again for coming together on this day, for connecting to those on the inside who truly need you, who need you to see them as they really are and striving to be. Until the prisons are gone, we need to work hard to support those of us inside – especially those of us who are not always as visible to the rest of the world. We are always stronger together.
Marius Mason
2016
Marius Mason is a revolutionary anarchist, avid community gardener, musician, parent of two, writer, Earth First! Organizer, IWW member, and former volunteer for a free herbal healthcare collective. He was an extended care assistant at a small Cincinnati school when arrested on March 10, 2008 by federal agents. Marius was convicted of involvement with a December, 1999 arson at a Michigan State University office in which GMO research was being conducted and a January, 2000 arson of logging equipment in Mesick, Michigan. Both arsons were claimed by the Earth Liberation Front.
Chelsea Manning is a whistleblower who played an integral role in a massive WikiLeaks release of military documents and files in 2010. This release included video of journalists being murdered, documentation of abuses and torture, and files exposing some of the spying done by the US. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison. This past year has been particularly difficult for Chelsea and she needs all of the love and support she can get.
If you are unable to attend the letter writing dinner, you can write to Marius and Chelsea at:
Marie (Marius) Mason #04672-061
FMC Carswell
Post Office Box 27137
Fort Worth, TX 76127
*Address card/letter to Marius Mason
Chelsea E. Manning 89289
1300 North Warehouse Road
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 66027-2304
BK/NY – Tuesday, March 1st – International Women’s Day Political Prisoner Card Writing Dinner
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, March 1st, 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
With International Women’s Day approaching is it important to acknowledge the often forgotten radical history of the day itself, which is steeped in 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, we will be writing cards to six women political prisoners at this Tuesday’s letter writing dinner.
Please join us to hear about and write to Debbie Africa (MOVE), Janet Africa (MOVE), Janine Africa (MOVE), Chelsea Manning (military whistleblower), Rev. Joy Powell (anti-police violence organizer), and Rebecca Rubin (ELF/ALF).
If for whatever reason you cannot join us, we hope you will still write to them:
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
Chelsea E. Manning 89289
1300 North Warehouse Road
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 66027-2304
Reverend Joy Powell #07-G-0632
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 1000
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2499
Rebecca Rubin #98290-011
FCI Dublin
5701 8th Street – Camp Parks
Dublin, California 94568
We would also like to remind people that anarchist political prisoner, Eric King was recently denied the request for new counsel and has been placed in the hole after his unit was on lockdown this week. There is a call out to send him postcards and letters to help him during this tumultuous time. We will have postcards available on Tuesday to send to him, but if you will not be joining us we encourage you to send some supporting words his way at:
BK/NY – Tuesday, December 8th – Letter-Writing Dinner For Chelsea Manning and Norman Lowry
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, December 8th, 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
This week we will be writing to two folks who are serving time for fighting against the strongest and most obvious example of the State’s power, the military.
Chelsea Manning is a whistleblower who played an integral role in a massive WikiLeaks release of military documents and files in 2010. This release included video of journalists being murdered, documentation of abuses and torture, and files exposing some of the spying done by the US. She was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Norman Lowry is a chaplain and an antiwar activist who is serving up to 7 years for blocking the entrance to an army recruitment center while attempting to dissuade the potential soldiers from signing up to carry out the murder by State in 2012. This is on the heels of him being released after doing 18 months for blocking the door at the recruitment center, which came right after he did 7 months time for smashing the windows of the recruiters cars. The judge laid out one condition for parole: that Norman promises not to disrupt the recruitment center again. Perhaps the judge will try to hold their breath until that happens…
If for some insane reason you can’t make it out, but still want to support the prisoners, you can write to Chelsea and Norman at:
Norman Edgar Lowry Jr. KN9758
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
NYC Anarchist Black Cross 