Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 – Letter-writing to Xinachtli

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: Tuesday, May 30th, 2023
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

This week, as state and federal politicians vie to be the foulest and furthest right, attacking the queer and trans folx for existing, denying the humanity of our un-housed or precariously housed neighbors, and restricting ‘migrant’ workers from working–though more often than not these ‘migrants’ are more indigenous to this continent than the wanna-be fascist yt’s seeking to exclude them–we are asking you to write to a long serving political prisoner Xinachtli.

Xinachtli (Nahuatl, meaning “seed”) is an anarchist communist community organizer and Chicano movement revolutionary, currently imprisoned in Texas. Also known as Alvaro Luna Hernández, he worked diligently in the barrio on civil and human rights issues, known widely for his legal skills. Gaining international recognition as the national coordinator of the Ricardo Aldape Guerra Defense Committee, Xinachtli was instrumental in helping to free Mexican national Aldape Guerra from Texas’ death row, where he had been framed for the murder of a police officer.

In July 1996 Xinachtli was arrested after disarming a County Sheriff who was attempting to shoot him. After defending himself at trial, Xinachtli was sentenced to 50 years in prison for aggravated assault, a charge he vehemently denies. While imprisoned, Xinachtli continues to write frequently, create beautiful visual art, has helped to organize multiple prison strikes, and has been held in solitary confinement for the last 19 years and counting. Xinachtli is a prolific jailhouse lawyer, as referenced by Mumia Abu Jamal in his book Jailhouse Lawyers: Prisoners Defending Prisoners v the USA. Xinachtli assists many prisoners in seeking new trials, and filing suits against the repressive, inhumane Texas prison system. In September 2021 his parole review was denied. More information at freealvaro.net.

Please join NYC ABC from wherever you are as we write letters to Xinachtli:
Alvaro Luna Hernández* #255735
W.G. McConnell Unit
3001 Emily Drive
Beeville, Texas 78102
*Address envelopes to Alvaro Luna Hernández, cards/letters to Xinachtli.

May 1st – May Day letter-writing for Anarchist Prisoners

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: May 1st, 2023
WHERE: your home (or wherever you happen to be)
COST: Free

“Give flowers to the rebels who failed,
Their sight fixed upon the break of dawn,
To the bold rebel who fights and works
To the far-seeing poet who sings and dies”
from Primo Maggio (The First of May),
by Pietro Gori, 1890

May Day is historically an anarchist holiday, which honors the date called for a nation-wide general strike for the 8 hour day work day in 1886. The tumultuous days that followed in the mid-western states resulted in multiple skirmishes and several casualties on both sides, and ultimately led to the railroaded conviction of 8 known anarchists from the Chicago scene. On November 11th, 1887, four anarchists were hanged—Albert Parsons, August Spies, George Engel, Adolph Fischer; Louis Lingg took his own life the night before to deny the state the satisfaction. Their sacrifice became symbolic of the sacrifices, struggles, and victories of anarchists the world over who have given their time, energy, and risked their lived and freedom for the Beautiful Ideal.

So this May Day NYC ABC is asking you to write letters to some anarchists and comrades currently held in U.S. prisons. Please drop them a line or send a card to let them know you are thinking of them. (Note: the addresses below are correct to the best of our knowledge as of the time of this posting, though in some cases links to info about their cases does not reflect this; ie, Casey’s address has changed due to new digitized mail protocols.)

Gage Halupowski #21894460
South Fork Forest Camp
48300 Wilson River Highway
Tillamook, Oregon 97141-9799

Alexander Contompasis 22-B-5028
Upstate Correctional Facility
Post Office Box 2001
Malone, New York 12953

Benjamin Varela #434577
Stafford Creek Corrections Center
191 Constantine Way
Aberdeen, Washington 98520

Eric King #27090-045
USP Florence ADMAX
Post Office Box 8500
Florence, Colorado 81226

Daniel Baker #25765-509
FCI Memphis
Post Office Box 34550
Memphis, Tennessee 38184

Marius Mason* #04672-061
FCI Danbury
Route 37
Danbury, Connecticut 06811
*Address envelope to Marie (Marius) Mason.

Xinachtli* #255735
W.G. McConnell Unit
3001 Emily Drive
Beeville, Texas 78102
*Address envelope to Alvaro Hernández

Casey Brezik #1154765
c/o Digital Mail Center- Missouri DOC
Post Office Box 25678
Tampa, Florida 33622-5678

Bill Dunne #10916-086
FCI Victorville Medium I
Post Office Box 3725
Adelanto, California 92301

Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 – Letter-writing to Xinachtli

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: Tuesday, May 17th, 2022
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

Within the past couple weeks the community of folks engaged in prison abolition and political prisoner solidarity work have experienced both incredible highs and devastating lows:

Longtime organizer, educator, and former political prisoner Kathy Boudin passed away, a huge loss to the movement and of course personally painful to her family, friends, and comrades.

While still reeling from Kathy’s loss, the incredible news came down that the New Jersey Supreme Court overruled the denial of parole for Sundiata Acoli, a huge victory for Sundiata and all of those who have worked so hard for his freedom. At 85, and after 49 years inside, it is better late than never, and we are overjoyed that Sundiata will soon be home!

And just before this writing we were notified that an elder comrade close to us has also just passed. This was one of those people that did the work of organizing and attending events, writing to prisoners to see what they need, and advocating for them in any way possible; year after year, decade after decade, courageously and joyfully doing the work, and cheering on her comrades and their efforts. We salute her memory and honor the struggles she spent her life engaged in.

Of course we are all mourning the 10 people murdered in Buffalo just a few days ago in yet another white supremacist massacre stoked by increasingly main-streamed fascist conspiracy theories, just one in a string of racist attacks nationwide.

With these victories and pains fresh, we are asking you all to join us as we write to Chicano political prisoner Xinachtli, one of those people who has been in the struggle for years, through highs and lows, and kept their faith throughout in the power of radical solidarity.

Xinachtli (Nahuatl, meaning “seed”) is an anarchist communist community organizer and Chicano movement revolutionary, currently imprisoned in Texas. Formerly known as Alvaro Luna Hernández, he worked diligently in the barrio on civil and human rights issues, known widely for his legal skills. Gaining international recognition as the national coordinator of the Ricardo Aldape Guerra Defense Committee, Xinachtli was instrumental in helping to free Mexican national Aldape Guerra from Texas’ death row, where he had been framed for the murder of a police officer.

In July 1996 Xinachtli was arrested after disarming a County Sheriff who was attempting to shoot him. After defending himself at trial, Xinachtli was sentenced to 50 years in prison for aggravated assault, a charge he vehemently denies. While imprisoned, Xinachtli continues to write frequently, create beautiful visual art, has helped to organize multiple prison strikes, and has been held in solitary confinement for the last 19 years and counting. Xinachtli is a prolific jailhouse lawyer, as referenced by Mumia Abu Jamal in his book Jailhouse Lawyers: Prisoners Defending Prisoners v the USA. Xinachtli assists many prisoners in seeking new trials, and filing suits against the repressive, inhumane Texas prison system. In September 2021 his parole review was denied. More information at freealvaro.net.

Please join NYC ABC from wherever you are as we write letters to Xinachtli:
Alvaro Luna Hernández* #255735
W.G. McConnell Unit
3001 Emily Drive
Beeville, Texas 78102
*Address envelopes to Alvaro Luna Hernández, cards/letters to Xinachtli.

Illustrated Guide Version 14.6 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 a prisoner to the guide this month–Water Protector Jessica Reznicek. We are thankful to remove Kings Bay Plowshares 7 prisoner Clare Grady (halfway house)!

Illustrated Guide Version 14.2.1 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 removing Chip Fitzgerald (deceased, REST IN POWER!).

Tuesday, July 14th – Letter-writing to Xinachtli

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, July 14th, 2020
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free
As efforts build to coordinate support for those arrested and facing repression as a result of the uprising against cops killing Black folks (and policing in general), the state is using federal grand juries and sending agents to knock on doors in hopes of gathering evidence. Locals cops and overzealous bootlicking reactionaries have murdered protestors in an attempt to directly stop them and intimidate others. And of course the state is using this moment in history to further punish those already imprisoned—with lockdowns, transfers, neglect, and outright brutality. One way to support those in prison is through the simple act of writing a letter. This week NYC ABC, in collaboration with Page One Collective, are encouraging you to write to Chicano political prisoner Xinachtli.

Xinachtli, fka Alvaro Luna Hernández, is a Chicano-Mexicano political prisoner sentenced to 50 years in prison for aggravated assault on a cop when he disarmed a sheriff attempting to shoot him.

Deeply effected by witnessing the murder of one of his friends by a known racist cop (yes, it’s redundant), Xinachtli dedicated his life to fighting police brutality, especially as it was manifest against the Chicano community. From 1976 through 1990, Xinachtli was falsely accused of murder (and after public outcry eventually released) and severely beaten by police, all the result of his work to end police brutality in Houston, Texas.

In 1996, some corny county sheriff came to Xinachtli’s house, allegedly to arrest him for robbery (side note: the robbery charge was summarily dismissed). The cop didn’t have an arrest warrant and when Xinachtli, unarmed, questioned the cop’s abuse of power, the cop pulled his gun. Before he could shoot, Xinachtli disarmed the cop without injuring him, and fled.

Upon his capture, Xinachtli was found guilty and sentenced to an unbelievable 50 years in prison. Since his imprisonment, he has been denied access to library materials, faced increasing censorship of his mail, and had to deal with retaliation from prison staff over his filing of grievances.

Most recently, the state is subjecting Xinachtli to a campaign of harassment and repeated discriminatory cellblock assignments, although he has violated no prison rule.

Please take the time to write a letter to Xinachtli (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Xinachtli* #255735
James V Allred Unit
2101 FM 369 North
Iowa Park, Texas 76367
*Address envelopes to Alvaro Luna Hernández, cards/letters to Xinachtli.

Illustrated Guide Version 14.9 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 a prisoner to the guide this month–Plowshares activist Stephen Kelly. We are thankful to remove Nina Droz-Franco (halfway house!).

Illustrated Guide Version 14.5 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 Standing Rock 6 prisoner Little Feather (halfway house!).

 

 

 

BK/NY – Sunday, September 17th – Running Down the Walls

WHAT: Running Down the Walls – 5k Run/Walk/Jog/Bike
WHEN: 2:00-7:00pm, Sunday, September 17th
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. In the last few years, we’ve had runs in Albuquerque (NM), Arcata (CA), Ashland (OR), Bellefonte (PA), Boston (MA), Buffalo (NY), Chico (CA), Denver (CO), Elmore (AL), Inez (KY), Los Angeles (CA), Marion (IL), Minneapolis (MN) New York (NY), USP Navosta (TX), Pelican Bay (CA), Phoenix (AZ), Tucson (AZ), Seattle (WA), 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 $4,000. You can donate online by going to gumroad.com/nycabc

This year’s run will take place on Sunday, September 17th 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 $4,000, we need your support.

* Promote – print and distribute this poster and/or this flyer to friends and local businesses, your doctor’s office, laundromat, food co-op, wealthy benefactor, et cetera.

* 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 online at gumroad.com/nycabc

* 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 5 Borough Anti-Repression Committee (5BARC).

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 two decades, the ABCF warchest has dispensed over $85,000 to political prisoners in the United States. Currently, there are 13 imprisoned comrades who receive a monthly stipend as part of the program; they are:
David Gilbert
Hanif Bey
Herman Bell
Jaan Laaman
Jalil Muntaqim
Joseph Bowen
Malik Smith
Oso Blanco
Robert Seth Hayes
Ruchell Magee
Sundiata Acoli
Tom Manning
Xinachtli (FKA Alvaro Luna Hernandez)

For more information, visit: abcf.net/warchest-program

5 Borough Anti-Repression Committee (5BARC):
The 5 Borough Anti-Repression Committee (5BARC) is dedicated to defending NYC #DisruptJ20 defendants who were mass arrested on inauguration day in Washington D.C. while protesting against everything Trump stands for. Each defendant now faces at least 8 felony charges which amount to 75 years in prison. 5BARC aims to build a local coalition of organized supporters who will voice their opposition to these absurd charges. #DISMISSJ20

We will be starting here:

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 one lap around what is known as the Main Loop, and will total five kilometers. For the curious, here’s what it looks like:

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail us at nycabc at riseup dot net.

See you there!

Running Down the Walls 2016 – A Reportback

Running Down the Walls (RDTW) 2016 was a success in building relationships, feeling the solidarity of running as our imprisoned comrades did the same, and raising funds for the ABCF Warchest and the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP is a collective Alternative to Detention (ATD), detention center visitation, direct service, and community organizing project that works with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Two Spirit, Trans, Gender Non-Conforming, and HIV+ detainees and their families currently in detention centers, those that are recently released from detention centers, and undocumented folks in New York City).

The fear factory National Weather Service gave us pause and we considered rescheduling this year’s event with tropical storm Hermine looming just off the coast. As it turned out, we had no floods, no rain, no high winds, just perfect weather for running. Crisis averted!

We arrived early, to avoid getting beaten to a sweet spot in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, by the gaggle of goofs clawing to get to a food circus we refuse to name. This gave us time to set up our hand-painted RDTW banner and tables of literature & food. The aforementioned mall food court for the self-perceived well-heeled was dropped squarely in the middle of our run path last year, so we switched it up on ’em. This year, our 5k was more like 5.2k (sorry, distance nerds) and consisted of a single lap around what is known as the Main Loop.

Given that this was also a picnic—outdoors, breezy, and mildly unpredictable, we set up a scaled down version of our literature table. This meant our ubiquitous red wire rack of free literature, including copies of the recently published Conditions of Confinement (writings by anarchist prisoner Casey Brezik), the NYC ABC Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoner and Prisoners of War, and all of the tri-fold pamphlets about many of the prisoners we support.

We had printed bib numbers for the participants. The flipside of the bib numbers had information about NYC ABC and guidelines for writing to prisoners, making it both a memento and a useful reminder to write to folks.

A few serious runners arrived as early as 1:30pm, though the announced time of the event was 2:00-7:00pm and we typically use the first half hour to register folks and take sponsor forms from those who hustled to get sponsors. Even with this schedule in mind, anarchist time prevailed and the run actually started closer to 2:45, following a group photo around the RDTW banner.

Before the run, an NYC ABC collective member went over some basics, while also kicking facts about political prisoners and state repression. We then played a greeting from Jaan Laaman, recorded specifically for the event.

Of the 60-70 folks who came to RDTW 2016, about 45 participated in the 5(.2)k. The age range was 4-72 years old. Hashtag multi-generational. Several runners were serious, several were fast, and the venn diagram of those two categories resulted in the same few folks running the fastest laps this year as last.

After running, bronchial passages fully dilated, what sounds better than a plate of barbecue and potato salad?

The picnic consisted of Texas-style barbecued jackfruit sandwiches with fresh pickles; potato salad; a variety of chips & cold drinks; and some outstanding cranberry blondies. Yes, a lot of folks came just for the food.

Before we got too deep into socializing, we read solidarity statements written for the event by Bill Dunne, Kojo Bomani Sababu, Hanif Bey, and Xinachtli.

One participant garnered over $1,000 in sponsors, and several others raised hundreds of dollars each. All told, we raised a respectable amount of loot.

Folks sitting around, talking, having just shared the run, felt good. The group consisted of folks from diverse backgrounds, many of whom were new faces to our collective. Instagram followers brought IRL friends, and comrades & allies turned up as well. Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP), NYC Jericho Movement, International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Malcolm X Commemoration Committee, Family and Friends of Maliki Shakur Latine, the campaign the Bring Mumia Home, Marius Mason’s support crew, the Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar, and the campaign to Free the MOVE 9 prisoners were among the represented organizations that explicitly work on political prisoner support. There were also folks from NYC Animal Defense League, the NYC Anarchist Book Fair, Black and Pink NYC, Rojava Solidarity NYC, Incarcerated Worker Organizing Committee NYC (IWOC), WESPAC, and Books Through Bars, among others. We were also thankful for the presence of Sekou Odinga and Susan Rosenberg, former political prisoners and consistent examples of solidarity through action.

Most folks had left by 6:30 and those who stayed did so to help clean up and transfer everything to the cars. So the event went as scheduled, almost to the minute.

Knowing the history of the run and the imprisoned comrades with whom we ran in solidarity elevated Running Down the Walls 2016 to an even more inspiring level.

And that’s how we get down (the walls).

NYC ABC