Archive
Illustrated Guide Version 12.2 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.
Action Alert Against Gov Cuomo’s Proposed NYS Visitation Restrictions
We have been made aware of an awful piece of the Governor’s budget proposal that that would affect thousands of folks in New York State (NYS) prisons, including all of the political prisoners in New York who we list in our guide. This call to action has been circulating and we hope that you will take part and pass it along as well:
Governor Cuomo has just proposed to limit visiting at New York State maximum security prisons to three days a week instead of the current seven. If passed, this measure will be awful for David Gilbert, Herman Bell, Seth Hayes, Jalil Muntaqim and thousands of other maximum security prisoners.
This proposal will seriously escalate suffering and family disruption. Under the current seven-day system, weekend visitors (many are women with young children) often wait two to three hours to see their loved ones. With reduced days, the wait will be longer, the visitor rooms more crowded, the visiting days and hours even more limited. This will be terrible for everyone and impossible for many.
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 3rd – Letter-Writing Dinner For New York State Political Prisoners
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, January 3rd, 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
Ah yes, 2017. Doesn’t the new year imbue such feelings of revitalization and a renewed sense of optimism? Yeah, right. We know better than that. Not only does 2017 mean looking down the barrel of an orange fascist presidency but it marks another calendar year that comrades who have fought for the revolution are stuck behind bars. This week NYC ABC will be writing to those closest to us, those held captive in New York State prisons: Jalil Muntaqim, Robert Seth Hayes, Herman Bell, David Gilbert, and Reverend Joy Powell.
Jalil Muntaqim and Robert Seth Hayes, both former Black Panthers, have been frequenting prison support news wires for the past few months; unfortunately for nothing positive. Jalil has been in the SHU (Special Housing Unit) since December 6th as a result of him teaching a Black history course. Although this course was approved by the prison administration, they have decided they didn’t like the accuracy of what he was teaching and threw him in the SHU as an ongoing effort to censor him. To read his explanation of the situation, read here.
Robert Seth Hayes continues to experience life threatening medical problems with (unsurprisingly) no help from the state. He was told on October 12th that he needs an insulin pump to help monitor his diabetes but the prison has still failed to deliver this life saving mechanism to him. Read more information and how you can support him fight for the medical care he requires here.
Herman Bell is also a former Black Panther who has been locked up for four decades. Like Jalil and Seth, he was yet again denied parole in 2016. Each time, the board – always made of up former law enforcement personnel and former prosecutors — reviews his very impressive record, the Bachelor’s and Master’s college degrees he has attained since being locked up, his job offers, his numerous letters of support from family, friends, and community members from many walks of life. They have before them evidence of all the ways Herman has helped so many people throughout the course of his confinement and is still leading a positive and progressive life despite being locked up now over four decades. See the petition for his latest parole request and hear from Herman his thoughts on his latest parole board appearance here.
David Gilbert was moved in 2016 to Wende Correctional Facility, luckily closer to some close comrades and unfortunately farther from others. David is a long time anti-racist and anti-imperialist who is serving a life sentence for his involvement as a white comrade to the Black Liberation Army during an attempted expropriation, better known as the Brinks Robbery. He has continued the struggle while held captive. For more information, see here.
Reverend Joy Powell was warned by the Rochester Police department that she was a target because of her speaking out against corruption. On many occasions, Rev. Joy held rallies and spoke out against the police brutality and “police justifications” in Rochester, New York. As a result, she was accused and convicted of 1st Degree Burglary and Assault. Rev. Joy has filed multiple grievances for sexual assault and religious discrimination among other things, as well as been repeatedly denied medical attention for her diabetes and asthma. For more information on how you can help support, read here.
We hope you’ll join us Tuesday to send these lifetime revolutionaries some love and solidarity. If for some reason you have something more “important” to do, then you can write to them from the comfort of your home office:
Jalil Muntaqim* (Anthony Jalil Bottom) #77-A-4283
Attica Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 149
Attica, New York 14011-0149
*Address the envelope to Anthony Bottom and the letter to Jalil.
Robert Seth Hayes #74-A-2280
Sullivan Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 116
Fallsburg, New York 12733-0116
Herman Bell #79-C-0262
Great Meadow Correctional Facility
11739 State Route 22
Post Office Box 51
Comstock, New York 12821-0051
David Gilbert #83-A-6158
Wende Correctional Facility
3040 Wende Road
Alden, New York 14004
Reverend Joy Powell 07G0632
Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 1000
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2499
Read more…
BK/NY – Tuesday, March 29th – Letter Writing Dinner for Seth Hayes and Jalil Muntaqim
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, March 29th, 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
How shocked can we really be that the New York State legal system will recommend house arrest for a few months and probation to a cop who murdered Akai Gurley for simply living in the projects while in the same week denying Herman Bell freedom once again by refusing him parole? The State has yet to shy away from their blatant hypocrisies. It is an unneeded reminder of why they have long outstayed their welcome.
Just because the parole system has continued its hubris by effectively re-sentencing our freedom fighting comrades year after year, it does not mean we should cease exhausting every possible option to bring them home to their families and community. Robert “Seth” Hayes and Jalil Muntaquim are both up for parole in the coming months. The parole process takes a lot of effort on both sides of the walls and Seth and Jalil can use all the support they can get.
Jalil Muntaqim is a former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member who, in 1971, was arrested in California and ultimately convicted for the killing of two New York City cops. In 1974, Muntaqim was convicted and received a prison term of twenty-five years to life. Jalil is a writer, a poet, a scholar, and an educator. He has taken the same persistence and dedication he had on the outside engaging in the Black Liberation struggle to the inside, dedicating his time there to improving the lives of those who have found themselves behind the same bars.
To find out more about Jalil’s parole campaign: http://www.freejalil.com/2016parole.html
Seth Hayes joined the Black Panthers following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He was drawn to the struggle of Black Liberation that was swelling at the time and put his body to work in the Panther’s medical clinics and free breakfast programs. When the FBI started infiltrating and cracking down on the Party and its supporters, Seth, like many others, decided to take the struggle underground and joined the Black Liberation Army. In 1973, following a shootout with police, Seth was arrested and convicted of the murder of a New York City police officer. Since his incarceration, Seth has continued the struggle by doing what he can to improve the lives of others on the inside by mentoring and educating them. Seth also has faced several life threatening health problems recently due to the medical neglect he faces while in the State’s custody.
For more about Seth’s parole campaign: http://www.jerichony.org/sethparole2016.html
Fundraiser for Seth’s fight for life and freedom: https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/810a58
If are unable to join us on Tuesday, you can still write to Seth and Jalil:
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.
BK/NY – Tuesday, September 29th – Birthday Cards for Imprisoned Comrades
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, September 29th, 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’s no secret that winter is the baby-making season and that leaves October as the month with the most birthdays. As we know, our imprisoned comrades are folks coming from the same movements as us, not some rare breed of super-human. As a result a disproportionate number of them also share October births. In fact, there are so many upcoming political prisoner birthdays that NYC ABC is focusing our entire upcoming political prisoner letter-writing dinner on sending cards to them. So come join us for some good food and sign a whole grip of cards. We’ll see you for supper.
Read more…
BK/NY – Tuesday, August 18th– Letter-Writing for Black August
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, August 18th, 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
Hopefully you’ve been training in preparation for Running Down the Walls 2015. The competition will be fierce, the food at the after party will be delicious, and the solidarity with our imprisoned comrades will be infinite. Please take this opportunity to get more folks to sponsor you as a participant and help build the ABCF warchest and help the Family and Friends of Maliki Shakur Latine. As a lead in to this year’s run, we are hosting another of our every other week Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinners. This week, NYC ABC will be hosting a Black August card signing.
As Black August began in remembrance of fallen Black liberation prisoner, George Jackson, and the San Quentin prison uprising of 1971– a prison uprising that included recently murdered San Quentin Six member Hugo “Yogi Bear” Pinell, we honor Yogi with this dinner.
