NYC – Tuesday, August 6th – Letter-Writing to Jason Hammond

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, August 6th, 2013
WHERE: CAGE – 83A Hester Street (UPSTAIRS) New York, New York 10002 (directions below)
COST: Free
With Running Down the Walls 2013 under a month away, we in NYC ABC have our hands full. But before we move forward, we give a strong Black August salute to our imprisoned Black liberation comrades. And while the state’s types of repression may have become more refined and better concealed over the decades, they still exist and are still heavily used. NYC ABC responds to the repression of comrades with unflinching support, most commonly with our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing dinners. This week we are writing to Jason Hammond, the recently-jailed brother of alleged Anonymous and LulzSec hacker Jeremy Hammond.

On July 11th, Jason Hammond was arrested and charged with armed violence, aggravated battery and mob action. The arrest was made in connection with Hammond’s alleged role in the Tinley Park Five case. Over a year ago, in May, around 20 anti-fascists attacked a meeting of known white supremacists at a restaurant in Tinley Park, Illinois. Jason is charged with participating in the action against white supremacists and neo-Nazis attending the “5th annual White Nationalist Economic Summit and White Nationalist Meet-and-Greet.” Not a particularly catchy name, but then again, look who you’re dealing with.

As of now, Jason Hammond’s bail is set at $100,000 with no bond. That means in order to be released before his trial, his supporters have to come up with the entire $100,000.

To many folks close to Jason–- family, friends, close comrades, the timing of the arrest is simply too coincidental as his brother, Jeremy, is facing sentencing in mid-November. Jason has been steadfast and tireless in supporting his brother.

If for some insane reason you can’t make it out, but still want to support Jason, you can write to him at:
Jason Hammond #2013-0712237
Cook County Department of Corrections
Post Office Box 089002
Chicago, Illinois 60608

BK/NY – Sunday, September 1st – Running Down the Walls 2013!

WHAT: Running Down the Walls – 5k Run/Walk/Jog/Bike
WHEN: 2:00-7:00pm, Sunday, September 1st
WHERE: Prospect Park– Lincoln Road/East Lake Drive, east of the Terrace Bridge (see the below map for exact location)
COST: $10 registration (includes food and drinks afterwards)

Every year, prisoners and supporters of political prisoners organize solidarity events with Running Down the Walls. Last year, we had runs in Albuquerque (NM), Arcata (CA), Ashland (OR), Bellefonte (PA), Boston (MA), Denver (CO), Elmore (AL), Inez (KY), Los Angeles (CA), Marion (IL), New York (NY), USP Navosta (TX), Pelican Bay (CA), Phoenix (AZ), Tucson (AZ), and Toronto, Ontario. This year we hope to expand the amount of runs in prisons and other cities, as well as increase the amount of funds raised for community projects. NYC ABC’s goal with this year’s run is $2,000.

This year’s run will take place on Sunday, September 1st at 2:00pm in solidarity and conjunction with runs that will take place in cities and prison yards across the country at the same time.

REGISTER AS, OR SPONSOR, A PARTICIPANT

To raise our goal of $2,000, we need your support.

* Run/walk/bike/roll in the 5k – We need participants who can run/walk/bike/roll the 5k and are able to collect financial pledges to offer as donations to the run. Download the brochure, complete with registration and sponsor form right here.

* Volunteer for the run – We need folks who are willing to staff a registration/literature table, hand out water, bike the route as street medics, and help chalk the route beforehand.

* Donate to the run/sponsor a participant – If you are not able to attend, but want to support this fundraising effort, please mail donations to:

NYC ABC
Post Office Box 110034
Brooklyn, New York 11211

Your donation of $10 or more entitles you to the celebratory picnic after the event.

Each year, we split proceeds between the Anarchist Black Cross Federation’s Warchest Program and a local organization. This year’s partner group will be The Base.

The Warchest Program:
The Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) has initiated a program designed to send monthly checks to those Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have been receiving insufficient, little, or no financial support during their imprisonment. The Warchest program was initiated in November 1994. Its purpose is to collect monthly funds from groups and individual supporters, and send that money to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War (PP/POW) via monthly checks. Over the last decade, the ABCF warchest has dispensed over $60,000 to political prisoners in the United States. Currently, there are eleven imprisoned comrades who receive a monthly stipend as part of the program; they are:
Joseph Bowen
Russell Maroon Shoatz
Tsutomu Shirosaki
Alvaro Luna Hernandez
Herman Bell
Maliki Shakur Latine
Ruchell Magee
Sundiata Acoli
Hanif Bey
Sekou Kambui
Oso Blanco

For more information, visit: http://www.abcf.net/abcf.asp?page=warchest

The Base:
The Base is a new sociopolitical space in Bushwick, Brooklyn, committed to the dissemination of radical-left ideas and organizing. The mission of the space is to spread ideas and practices to the broader populace and provide a place where individuals can learn, grow, and organize outside of traditional activist and educational institutions. For more information, visit: thebasebk.org

We’ll be starting here:

Directions:
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.

The event will be two laps around what is known as the Inner Loop, and will total five kilometers. For the curious, here’s what it looks like:

Of course, if you have any questions, e-mail us at nycabc at riseup dot net