Tuesday, April 4 – Letter Writing to Joe-Joe Bowen

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, April 4, 2023
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

“I ain’t no angel, I’ll do my time. All we want is to be recognized as what we are, human beings.”
These are words of long-term U.S.-held political prisoner Joe-Joe Bowen. What the carceral system consistently seeks to do to political prisoners is deny their humanity. This applies to veterans of Black Liberation movements such as Joe-Joe, as well as to more recently incarcerated Forest Defenders or defenders against right-wing violence, or anyone else caught up for their part in struggles in defense of our communities and our planet. As always, NYC ABC continues our dedication to supporting and asserting the humanity of those imprisoned for their active association with anti-oppression movements in a country that claims to have no political prisoners. This week we ask you to write Black Liberation prisoner Joe-Joe Bowen.

A native of Philadelphia, Joe-Joe was a young member of the “30th and Norris” street gang before his incarceration politicized him. Released in 1971, his outside activism was cut short a week following his release when Joe-Joe was confronted by an officer of the notoriously brutal Philadelphia police department. The police officer was killed in the confrontation, and Bowen fled. After his capture and incarceration, Bowen became a Black Liberation Army combatant, defiant to authorities at every turn. In 1973, Joe-Joe assassinated Holmesberg prison’s warden and deputy warden as well as wounded the guard commander in retaliation for intense repression against Muslim prisoners in the facility.  In 1981, Bowen led a six-day standoff with authorities when he and six other captives took 39 hostages at Graterford Prison as a freedom attempt and protest of the prison conditions. More information here.

Please take the time to write a letter to Joe-Joe!
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Joseph Bowen AM4272
SCI Fayette
Post Office Box 33028
Saint Petersburg, Florida 33733
*Address cards/letters to Joe-Joe.

BK/NY – Tuesday, March 23rd – Letter Writing To Joe-Joe Bowen

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

As spring rolls in across the northern hemisphere, every bird seems to be busy building nests, streets and parks are filled with neighbors enjoying the warmer air, and the sun is shining longer and brighter. As much as those of on the outside welcome the seasonal renewal, it would be remiss of us to not also give time and energy to our friends and comrades for whom freedom is continually denied. Solidarity is perennial. In light of this, we keep going on with our bi-weekly letter-writing events, which remain socially distanced for the time being due to the ongoing pandemic. We will return to in-person events once it seems responsibly safe to do so, though we are not looking forward to returning to any “normal” that includes complacency with settler-colonial white supremacy.

This week please join NYC ABC and Page One Collective in writing to Joe-Joe Bowen. A native of Philadelphia, Joe-Joe was a young member of the “30th and Norris” street gang before his incarceration politicized him. Released in 1971, his outside activism was cut short a week following his release when Joe-Joe was confronted by an officer of the notoriously brutal Philadelphia police department. The police officer was killed in the confrontation, and Bowen fled. After his capture and incarceration, Bowen became a Black Liberation Army combatant, defiant to authorities at every turn. In 1973, Joe-Joe assassinated Holmesberg prison’s warden and deputy warden as well as wounded the guard commander in retaliation for intense repression against Muslim prisoners in the facility.  In 1981, Bowen led a six-day standoff with authorities when he and six other captives took 39 hostages at Graterford Prison as a freedom attempt and protest of the prison conditions. More information here.

Please take the time to write a letter to Joe-Joe (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Joseph Bowen AM4272
SCI Fayette
Post Office Box 33028
Saint Petersburg, Florida 33733
*Address cards/letters to Joe-Joe.

Illustrated Guide Version 14.1 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 prisoners to the guide this month–Plowshares activists Clare Grady and Martha Hennessy and Water Protector Steve Martinez.

Help Needed for Joe-Joe Bowen

We’ve received a letter from our comrade and political prisoner Joseph “Joe-Joe” Bowen, aka The Old Man. Last year, after four decades of continuous detention in solitary confinement, Joe-Joe was released into general population. Recently, after a verbal argument with a corrections officer (CO) over the content of a book Joe-Joe is writing, he was transferred to another prison and has been held in solitary confinement since. Joe-Joe needs our help.

• Call or email DOC Secretary John Wetzel: 717.728.2577
  Ra-crpadocsecretary@pa.gov
  pacontactdoc@pa.gov
  Demand that Wetzel not put Joseph Bowen AM4272 on the restricted release list or on permanent lock-down status. Please let us know what response you receive. NYC ABC can be reached by email at nycabc at riseup dot net, or on twitter, instagram, or facebook at @NYCABC
• Since his transfer, Joe-Joe has had no access to the very basics to get by in solitary confinement during a winter in Pennsylvania: thermal underwear tops or bottoms, shower sandals, t-shirts, a towel, or washcloths. Please donate at paypal.me/nycabc or send well-concealed cash, a check, or money order (made payable to NYC ABC) to:
  NYC ABC
  Post Office Box 110034
  Brooklyn, New York 11211Please note that the funds you are donating are for Joe-Joe.

NYC – Tuesday, July 22nd – Letter-writing to Joe-Joe Bowen

Artwork by Joe-Joe

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, July 22, 2014
WHERE: CAGE – 83A Hester Street (UPSTAIRS) New York, New York 10002 (directions below)
COST: Free

What’s that saying? Even a broken clock is right twice a day? Even less likely is a representative of the state being right, but here we are, watching a federal judge rule California’s death penalty unconstitutional. That doesn’t mean a remedy for freeing our comrades lies in waiting for the state– it is content to watch our elders die in prison. NYC ABC won’t wait for the state and continues to support our comrades. The cornerstone of that support comes in our every-other-week letter-writing dinners.

This week we are focusing on Joe-Joe Bowen. We’re very lucky to have a guest speaker who will present the history and recent updates of Joe-Joe.

If for some bizarre reason you can’t make it to dinner, please write to Joe-Joe (and/or send him a book) from home. His address is:

Joseph Bowen* #AM4272
SCI Coal Township
1 Kelley Drive
Coal Township, Pennsylvania 17866-1020
*Address card to Joe-Joe.

A Letter From The Old Man

Artwork by Joe-Joe Bowen

A comrade of ours, who does support work for Joe-Joe Bowen, aka The Old Man, recently asked him about working with the anarchist black cross. Here’s what Joe-Joe had to say:

Concerning the Anarchist Black Cross people. I first met these soldiers through one of my people who is in a different section of our infrastructure, about 20 years ago. Remember what I told you before, up until I met the soldiers from ABC, we in my section of the People’s Struggle against state oppression did not deal with people from the streets. The other section chief told me to get with these soldiers from Anarchist Black Cross and talk with them. I did that, and I like what they were talking about. After that first meeting, we’ve been operating ever since. We in my section of the People’s Struggle against state oppression like the way the soldiers in ABC takes care of the struggle business. They’ve been operating a long time in the struggle, and we in my section respect them for their work in the struggle.