Tuesday, September 20th – Letter Writing for Veronza Bowers

What: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
When: Tuesday, September 20th, 2022
Where: YOUR HOME
Cost: Free

Just this last weekend, NYC ABC held our annual Big Event, Running Down the Walls. A great time had by all as far as we could tell—definitely by us—and a great boost to the anarchist and abolitionist morale. But more about that in a later missive. And please stay tuned for more events coming up soon!

For now we are thinking of Veronza Bowers, Jr., veteran of the Black Panther Party and long-serving political prisoner. But long-serving is a gross understatement: He has been in prison since 1973, convicted solely on the evidence of bribed government informants. He has now served almost two full decades past his parole date, kept inside on flimsy pretenses that do little to disguise the political nature of his continued unjust imprisonment. Veronza should be free, like all potential prisoners.

Please join NYC ABC and Page One Collective in writing him letters this week.

Veronza is a prisoner at the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a former member of the Black Panther Party incarcerated in federal prison for over 49 years, making him one of the longest held political prisoners in United States history.

Veronza was convicted for the murder of a U.S. Park Ranger. His conviction came as the result of testimony provided by two government informants, both of whom received reduced sentences by the Attorney General’s office for unrelated crimes. There were no eye-witnesses and no evidence independent of these informants to link Veronza to the crime. At his trial, Veronza offered alibi testimony which was not credited by the jury. Also not credited was testimony of two relatives of the informants who insisted that the informants were lying. In addition to having charges reduced in unrelated cases, the informants had all charges against them in this case involving Veronza dropped; one was given $10,000 by the government according to the prosecutor’s post-sentencing report. Veronza has consistently maintained his innocence, even at the expense of having his appeals for parole denied — an admission of guilt and contrition is virtually required if a prisoner has any hope of being granted parole.

What’s unique about Veronza’s case is that he has had the legal right to be released on what is known as “mandatory parole” since April 7, 2004. This is due to the fact that the Parole Commission failed to find that (1) there was compelling evidence he was likely to commit crimes upon release, or (2) he had frequently violated the rules of the prison system or (3) he had committed serious violations of prison rules during his incarceration. Only by making one of these three findings could the Commission lawfully deny him parole as of that date. What happened instead was that only a few hours before Veronza was to be released on April 7th, 2004, the Commission ordered the Bureau of Prisons to cancel his parole and indefinitely hold him in prison. This order was made without any explanation, justification or finding whatsoever.

Veronza has long passed his mandatory parole date, now by almost two decades.

For more information, visit veronza.org

Please write Veronza here:
Veronza Bowers, Jr. #35316-136
FCI Butner Medium II
Post Office Box 1500
Butner, North Carolina 27509

Tuesday, August 9th, 2022–Letter-writing to Black August Prisoners

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: Tuesday, August 9th, 2022
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

In an effort to maintain some semblance of normalcy we continue to encourage folks at home to write political prisoners every other week. As the pandemic surges yet again, we worry not only for our vulnerable communities on the outside but especially for those inside, forced to live at the mercy of their captors who have proven their disinterest in taking COVID seriously. Writing letters is a simple and effective way to connect our communities and remind those inside they are not forgotten.

In the spirit of Black August, NYC ABC and Page One Collective will be sending letters to Black revolutionary political prisoners, many of whom are elders and have survived COVID. There’s an easy way for you to help, just by writing from home. Black August honors fallen Black Freedom Fighters, calls for the release of all political prisoners, and condemns the oppressive and life-stealing prison system in this country. Black August was first observed in the 1970s to commemorate George and Jonathan Jackson’s assassinations and honor the centuries of Black resistance that preceded those events.

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 NYC ABC’s “Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War,” for up-to-date addresses.

Letter Writing in the Park for George Floyd Uprising Defendants

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter Writing in the Park
WHEN: 2:00-4:00pm Saturday, June 11th 2022
WHERE: Prospect Park – Lincoln Road/East Lake Drive, east of the Terrace Bridge (see the below map for exact location)
COST: Free

Join NYC ABC and Page One Collective on Saturday, June 11th for a letter writing in the park! We will be highlighting some defendants and prisoners of the George Floyd uprisings. We also encourage folx to write to those included in the June 11th International Day of Solidarity.

We will be meeting at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, the same location we host Running Down the Walls each year.

From the Q train, get off at the Prospect Park stop. Walk to Lincoln Road and turn right into the park. We’ll be about 700 feet away.

We will have surfaces to write on, pens, paper, postage, and information on the people we’re writing. Just bring yourself! And a friend!

BK/NY – Tuesday, November 2nd – Letter Writing for Daniel Baker

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, November 2nd, 2021
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

We all know that life outside the walls is one precarious step away from the other side. Some released former political prisoners have referred to being out not as “freedom” but as minimum security, and unfortunately they know exactly whereof they speak. Truly no one is free while any single person is not. We know it, and the agents of authority know it just as well.

So while it is no surprise that the State surveils and targets those who actively work against oppression, the case against Daniel Baker is particularly shocking. To be charged and convicted for a hyperbolic post on a corporate social media platform is egregious, and the silence from so many apostles of “free speech” across the political spectrum is both predictable and appalling.

Our commitment to solidarity won’t waiver though, so this week NYC ABC is asking you all to join us in writing to recently sentenced political prisoner Daniel Baker.

Daniel Baker is an anti-fascist activist who was arrested on January 15, 2021 for social media posts that called for defense against possible far-right attacks on the state’s capitol in the wake of the January 6th riots. Daniel was facing up to 10 years for two counts of transmitting a communication in interstate commerce containing a threat to kidnap or injure. On October 12th, 2021 he was sentenced to 44 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release.

If you can’t make it out, but still want to support Dan, you can write to him at:
Daniel Baker #25765-509
USP Atlanta
Post Office Box 150160
Atlanta, Georgia 30315

BK/NY – Tuesday, October 5th – Letter-Writing For Jessica Reznicek

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, October 5th, 2021
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

Aaaaaand…WE. ARE. BACK. After over 18 months of virtual events in support of political prisoners and prisoners of war, NYC ABC and Page One Collective are heading back to The Base, back to in-person events, and back to serving up some hot information on the folks we support. Speaking of hot, the world is on fire–figuratively and literally, largely the result of actions taken by greedy humans in pursuit of capital expansion and exploiting everything possible in the process. So it’s fitting that in our return to political prisoner letter-writing events, we focus on Jessica Reznicek, currently serving an eight year federal prison sentence for eco-defense.

Jessica Reznicek is a 40 year old land and water defender who has worked with and lived in the Des Moines Catholic Worker Community for the last 10 years. Jessica grew up in a small town in rural Iowa.

In 2016, Jessica took a stand against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline in Iowa. Jessica attended public comment hearings, gathered signatures for valid requests for Environmental Impact Statements, and participated in civil disobedience, hunger strikes, marches & rallies, boycotts & encampments.

When the process failed, she concluded the system was broken, and it was up to individuals to take action and protect the water. She and a fellow Catholic Worker then spent the next couple months disabling construction machinery along the pipeline route.

In early 2021, Jessica pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Damage an Energy Facility and on June 30 was designated a domestic terrorist by the court and sentenced to 8 years in prison, followed by 3 years supervised probation, and a restitution of $3,198,512.70 paid to Energy Transfer LLC. More information at supportjessicareznicek.com

If you can’t make it out, but still want to support Jessica, you can write to her at:
Jessica Reznicek #19293-030
FCI Waseca
Post Office Box 1731
Waseca, Minnesota 56093

Tuesday, September 21st – Letter Writing To Kamau Sadiki

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, September 21st, 2021
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

Fresh off of a return to in-person events with an outstanding Running Down the Walls, NYC ABC is back to our bread and (vegan) butter, generating direct support for Political Prisoners by encouraging folks to write letters.

This week, as part of our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinner, NYC ABC and Page One Collective will be writing to Kamau Sadiki, former Black Panther Party member and Black Liberation Army (BLA) soldier who is currently serving a life plus ten years sentence for the murder of an Atlanta cop in 1971. He was arrested and convicted over 30 years after the cop was killed based solely on the testimonies of former BLA comrades-turned-snitch that were not even present at the time of the action.

This should not come as a surprise as the State has never ended their war against Black people and continue to divisively target Black communities. An increased interest in what the State labels terrorism is what led to the increased interest of Kamau in 2002 when he was brought in for questioning on an unrelated matter. They were aware of his former relationship with the perennially Most Wanted Assata Shakur, with whom Kamau has a daughter. They attempted to extract information from him about Assata and tried to recruit him to lure her away from Cuba or else he “would die in prison.” When he refused to turn his back on his principles and his community, the state of Georgia vindictively moved forward with charges of the decades old crime.

Before Kamau’s time in the BLA, he was a New York City teenager who was deeply moved by the principles and organizing efforts of the Black Panther Party. At age 17 he joined up in Jamaica, Queens and volunteered in the Free Breakfast for Children program in the morning, hit the streets with BPP newsletters in the afternoon in an effort to organize his neighbors, and took part in political education classes at night. Once the FBI’s CoIntelPro was in full swing, decimating the Party and their ability to progress, Kamau and many others went underground to the more clandestine BLA for fear of being entrapped, framed, or murdered.

For more info on Kamau Sadiki, check out freekamau.com which gives an account of Kamau’s life from two former political prisoners, Safiya Bukhari and Claude Marks (freedomarchives.org).

Here is an excerpt of Kamau’s 2003 sentencing statement:
“My joining the Black Panther Party and consequently the Black Liberation Army was a response to the oppressive climate that existed in America at the time. The struggle of people of color evolved out of the legacy of slavery and the subsequent Jim Crow laws of the reconstruction period. Following decades of oppression, people of color in this country recognized they had to negotiate their liberation through armed resistance and it was during this period of history that the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army were major players.“

Please take the time to write a letter to Kamau (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Kamau Sadiki* #0001150688
Augusta State Medical Prison
3001 Gordon Highway
Grovetown, Georgia 30813
*Address envelope to Freddie Hilton

Tuesday, July 27th, 2021 – Letter-writing to Gage Halupowski

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, July 27th, 2021
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

On July 19th, 1936, right-wing authoritarian generals and their fascist allies revolted against the timidly left-leaning government of the Spanish Republic. Though no friends of the liberals in power, Spanish anarchists saw the existential threat to the working classes—and humanity—that fascism posed, and fought heroically not to save the government, but to repel the coup. What followed has been called revolution (as people in liberated cities and villages dramatically re-organized their social and economic lives), civil war, triumph, defeat, and folly, depending on who you ask and where their ethics lie. Whatever you call it, it was the first major international battle against fascism, and included some of the largest experiments in real-world anarchism the world had seen. This confluence is no coincidence, since every form of centralized government contains the seeds of fascism. As Buenaventura Durruti put it: “No government fights fascism to destroy it. When the bourgeoisie sees that power is slipping out of its hands, it brings up fascism to hold onto their privileges.” Y la Lucha continua…

July 25 is the International Day of Solidarity with Anti-Fascist Prisoners. In honor of this, NYC ABC and Page One are asking folks to write a letter to anti-fascist political prisoner Gage Halupowski.

Gage Halupowski was arrested along with two other protesters in the wake of clashes in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, later indicted on four criminal charges, including second-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, attempted assault of a public safety officer, and interfering with a peace officer. In November 2019, Gage was convicted and sentenced to six years in state prison.

Please take the time to write a letter to Gage (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Gage Halupowski #21894460
Snake River Correctional Institution
777 Stanton Boulevard
Ontario, Oregon 97914-8335

Tuesday, June 29th – Letter-writing to Russell Maroon Shoatz

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, June 29th, 2021
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

• 

One year and one month to the day of George Floyd’s murder the state sentenced his murderer to 22 1/2 years in prison. Are we supposed to be happy or feel relieved? Those of us engaged in prisoner support work know plenty of folks that spend much more time inside for much less, but also know prison is hell anyway you slice it (we don’t like to get caught up in the arguments of what constitutes a long sentence). Regardless, we trust he’ll be well cared for in there. And no, we’re not happy. And no, we’re not relieved. They sacrificed one of their own to take the fall for the rest still working their beats. Meanwhile, cops continue to murder, migrants are detained at an increasing rate, and Trump is still holding rallies. The uprisings of 2020 were a hopeful promise of what is to come, and now one year later we’re here wondering if anything has changed. All we can do is to continue our organizing projects, our mutual aid projects, and our solidarity work. For us at NYC ABC, that is supporting political prisoners through letter writing efforts.

This week, NYC ABC and Page One Collective ask you to write to a Black liberation political prisoner, the truly implacable Russell Maroon Shoatz, himself accused of taking action against the brutality meted out by cops on Black communities. Russell Maroon Shoatz is a dedicated community activist, founding member of the Black Unity Council, former member of the Black Panther Party and soldier in the Black Liberation Army. In 1970, along with 5 others, Maroon was accused of attacking a police station, which resulted in a cop being killed. This attack was said to have been carried out in response to the rampant police brutality in the Black community. For 18 months Maroon functioned underground as a soldier in the Black Liberation Army. In 1972 he was captured. Twice he escaped—once in 1977 and again in 1980, but both times he was recaptured and today he is held in Pennsylvania where he is serving multiple life sentences. As with many of our imprisoned elders, Maroon faces health concerns and should immediately released. On June 17th 2021 there was an emergency action to get Russell his much needed chemo treatments which had been cancelled by DOC. Please stay tuned for more updates. 

Please take the time to write a letter to Maroon (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Smart Connections/PA DOC
Russell Shoats #AF-3855
SCI-Dallas
Post Office Box 33028
St. Petersburg, Florida 33733

Tuesday, May 18th – Letter Writing to Dr. Mutulu Shakur

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, May 18th, 2021
WHERE: your home (or wherever you happen to be)
COST: Free

With the COVID related restrictions and guidelines around this country beginning to be lifted or eased, it is as important as ever to recognize those inside prison walls who remain captive by the white supremacist structures that have continued to thrive throughout this pandemic. Between the proliferation of this deadly virus behind bars, the inequity in treatment of the disease to people of color, the unending stream of police killing Black folks, and the attempts to literally erase the already vastly understated mentions of America’s ongoing racist colonial history from school books, this country is having a historic year of maintaining white supremacy. Just this month it was revealed that the remains of the victims of the Philadelphia police bombing of the MOVE family’s house were either sent to be “studied” and gawked at by elite museums and universities or ordered by city officials to be burnt to ash. This latest obscene iteration of this country’s mission to control Black bodies with cruelty and indignity is just one of an immeasurable number. With these injustices fresh in our minds, we turn to political prisoner Dr. Mutulu Shakur, who has actively fought against that bodily control by dedicating his life to the physical, political, and social health and well being of the Black community.

From Dr. Shakur’s support site:

“Dr. Mutulu Shakur is a New Afrikan (Black) man whose primary work has been in the area of health. He is a doctor of acupuncture and was a co-founder and director of two institutions devoted to improving health care in the Black community.

Mutulu was born on August 8, 1950, in Baltimore, Maryland as Jeral Wayne Williams. At age seven he moved to Jamaica, Queens, New York City with his mother and younger sister. His political and social consciousness began to develop early in his life. His mother suffered not only from being Black and female, but was also blind. These elements constituted Shakur’s first confrontation with the state, while assisting his mother to negotiate through the maze that made up the social service system. Through this experience, Shakur learned that the system did not operate in the interests of Black people and that Black people must control the institutions that affect their lives.

Since the age 16, Dr. Shakur has been a part of the New Afrikan Independence Movement. As a part of this movement, Dr. Shakur has been a target of the illegal Counterintelligence Program carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (COINTELPRO). This was a secret police strategy used in the U.S. starting in the 1960s to destroy and neutralize progressive and revolutionary organizations. It is believed that Dr. Shakur’s resistance to this program led to his arrest and trial.

During the late sixties, Dr. Shakur was politically active and worked with the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM), a Black Nationalist group that struggled for Black self-determination and socialist change in America. He was a member of the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika, which endorsed the founding of an independent New Afrikan (Black) Republic and the establishment of an independent Black state in the southern U.S. Dr. Shakur also worked very closely with the Black Panther Party, supporting Lumumba and Zayd Shakur.

In 1970, Dr. Shakur was employed by the Lincoln Detox (detoxification) Community (addiction treatment) Program as a political education instructor. His role evolved to include counseling and treatment of withdrawal symptoms with acupuncture. Dr. Shakur became certified and licensed to practice acupuncture in the State of California in 1976. Eventually he became the Program’s Assistant Director and remained associated with the program until 1978.

From 1978 to 1982, Dr. Shakur was the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Black Acupuncture Advisory Association of North America (BAAANA) and the Harlem Institute of Acupuncture. Where, at Lincoln, Dr. Shakur had managed a detox program recognized as the largest and most effective of its kind by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, National Acupuncture Research Society and the World Academic Society of Acupuncture, at BAAANA he continued his remarkable work and also treated thousands of poor and elderly patients who would otherwise have no access to treatment of this type. Many community leaders, political activists, lawyers and doctors were served by BAAANA and over one hundred medical students were trained in the discipline of acupuncture.

By the late 1970’s Dr. Shakur’s work in acupuncture and drug detoxification was both nationally and internationally known and he was invited to address members of the medical community around the world. Dr. Shakur lectured on his work at many medical conferences, and was invited to the People’s Republic of China. In addition in his work for the Charles Cobb Commission for Racial Justice for the National Council of Churches, he developed their anti-drug program.

Dr. Shakur has five biological children and several grandchildren who he maintains loving relationships with despite his incarceration.  He was an inspiration for many of the positive messages in his late adoptive son, Tupac’s, musical work.”

In 1987 Dr. Shakur was sentenced to 60 years in prison after being targeted by US federal authorities with charges under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act and for aiding in Assata Shakur’s escape from prison.

Please join NYC ABC and Page One Collective from wherever you are as we write letters to Dr. Shakur:

Dr. Mutulu Shakur #83205-012
FMC Lexington
Post Office Box 14500
Lexington, Kentucky 40512

Though Dr. Shakur appreciates the mail that folks send him, he is unable to respond to every letter personally. Other ways to support Dr. Shakur can be found at mutulushakur.com

Tuesday, May 4th – Letter Writing to Sundiata Acoli

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, May 4th, 2021
WHERE: your home (or wherever you happen to be)
COST: Free

At the moment, there are 13 Black Liberation elders being held in federal and state prisons in the U.S. All have been inside for decades, and several are severely ill and being denied adequate medical care. Though the United States government claims to not hold political prisoners, the treatment of these men betrays the truth. Repeatedly parole is denied based on affiliations and statements that the state deems unacceptable. Mail is messed with, humane medical treatment is withheld, as if the state is still seeking to break their bodies and crush their spirits. As if it wants them all to die behind bars. The state wishes to deny that there are political prisoners, while punishing elders for maintaining their convictions. Our solidarity is our strength in the face of this ongoing repression. One simple but important act of active solidarity is to write letters to our imprisoned elders; it shows both our political prisoners and their captors that we have not forgotten them, and can help build bridges between generations and across movement divides. In this spirit, please join NYC ABC and Page One Collective in writing to Sundiata Acoli.

A New York Black Panther, Sundiata Acoli endured two years of prison awaiting trial for the Panther 21 Conspiracy Case. He and his comrades were eventually acquitted on all the bogus charges. The case was historic and a classic example of police and government attempting to neutralize organizations by incarcerating their leadership. As a result of this political attack and because of the immense pressure and surveillance from the FBI and local police Sundiata, like many other Panther leaders went “underground.”  On May 2, 1973, Sundiata Acoli, Assata Shakur and Zayd Shakur were ambushed and attacked by state troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike. Assata was wounded and Zayd was killed. During the gun battle a state trooper was shot and killed in self defense. Sundiata was tried in an environment of mass hysteria and convicted, although there was no credible evidence that he killed the trooper or had been involved in the shooting. He was sentenced to thirty years. Sundiata was ordered to be released on parole by a state appeals court in New Jersey in September 2014 when the court ruled the parole board had “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” when it previously denied him parole. The State of New Jersey appealed the decision and won. More information: https://sundiataacolifc.org

Please take the time to write a letter to Sundiata (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Sundiata Acoli* #39794-066
FCI Cumberland
Federal Correctional Institution
Post Office Box 1000
Cumberland, Maryland 21501
*Address envelope to Clark Squire