WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, October 20th, 2020
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

It is 2020 and there are still folks locked up due to the US government’s war on environmental activists and animal liberationists. A few of years ago NYC ABC and Sacramento Prisoner Support responded to the state’s repression with project FANG, a travel fund for earth and animal liberation prisoners and we have since provided funds to families and supporters to help ease the burden of visiting imprisoned loved ones.

With “Operation Backfire” defendant Joseph Dibee apprehended in Cuba and the continued imprisonment of Standing Rock water defenders, we are reminded of the backwards and arbitrary logic the State uses to deem who are “terrorists.” Corporate influence continues to drive policy, as recently seen in North Dakota where pipeline companies have pushed legislators to codify harsh punishment for actions such as “valve turning.” The truth is, those in power will always villainize those who seek to liberate and will always valorize those who seek to carry out real destruction.

In light of the coming holiday, we are asking you to send Halloween cards to targets of the Green Scare as part of our every-other-week political prisoner letter-writing events, this year with 100 percent fewer spooky snitches’ fingers cookies, but 100 percent more Page One Collective collaboration, as we collectively work to keep each other safe from COVID-19 by distancing and writing from home.

Since the early 1980s, public relations hacks have been working to reify the term “eco-terrorism.” By 2004, they became successful and a phrase that a decade earlier had no real meaning was now defined by the United States government and used to introduce legislation. In the face of global ecologic destruction and animal torture, those who try to end the suffering are the ones labeled terrorists. Join us in letting the ones who have ultimately been captured know that they have not been forgotten.

Please take the time to send cards to Marius and Rattler (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Marie (Marius) Mason #04672-061
FCI Danbury
Route 37
Danbury, Connecticut 06811
*Address card to Marius.

Rattler* #06280-073
FCI Sandstone
Post Office Box 1000
Sandstone, Minnesota 55072
*Address envelope to Michael Markus.

Its always a good time to write political prisoners to show your support and solidarity. You can check out our Political Prisoner list here or consult NYC ABC’s Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners. You could send someone a birthday card as well. If you have not sent a letter before, and need some help or ideas, check out this helpful guide.

Our wrongfully incarcerated comrade, David Cambell, is getting out on October 16th – and he needs our help! For the past year, David has been unjustly imprisoned for events that unfolded at the protest of a New York City alt-right event on January 20, 2018.

After almost two years of legal maneuvering, David took a non-cooperating plea for a sentence of 18 months in a local facility on Rikers Island to avoid a trial and a much longer sentence in an upstate prison for which white supremacist guards and Nazi gangs are known.

Despite these precautions, he is one of thousands of people incarcerated in NYC jails during the COVID-19 pandemic, left with little to no proper protection equipment or the ability to socially distance, further compromising health and safety in already bleak conditions.

It was his commitment to antifascism and his community that brought him out to the protest that night, and the combined support of his community that helped him through his sentence. He describes the broad contributions of letters, books, visits, and donations as leaving him both awestruck and humbled. We know the strength of our movement is determined by the continued support of our comrades.

Despite the precarity of the world David is coming back to, let’s give him the welcome home he deserves. If you haven’t already, please consider donating what you can to his fund, as there are still uncovered expenses resulting from the arrest, and any additional financial support will help make his transition easier.

Donate at https://freedavidcampbell.com/donate/

WHAT: NYC Anarchist Black Cross Political Prisoner Letter-Writing for Kamau Sadiki
WHEN: 7pm, Tuesday, October 6th, 2020
WHERE: YOUR HOME
COST: Free

This week, as part of 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.

Eric King’s amazing account of life in solitary confinement in the Bureau of Prisons (Flipping the Script) has been featured in Solitary Watch at
https://solitarywatch.org/2020/09/30/voices-from-solitary-flipping-the-script/

Read about the lived experience of people in the system and not experts! This article expertly describes the Kafkaesque existence of over 10,000 people being housed in segregation for at least 23 hours a day in the Bureau of Prisons. Eric is a friend and political prisoner and facing up to 20 more years in prison for being assaulted by BOP staff. More via supportericking.org.

Support the ABCF Warchest!

The Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) initiated the Warchest program in November 1994 to send monthly checks to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have been receiving insufficient, little, or no financial support during their imprisonment.

Its purpose is to collect funds from groups and individual supporters and send that money directly to commissary accounts of vetted Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War (PP/POW) via monthly checks. Since its inception, we have distributed over $130,000 in funds. The ABCF Warchest program distributes $50 in funds every month to 20 long-time political prisoners and has been doing so since 1994. 

Watch the Warchest video at https://tinyurl.com/y435rbf7

More info about the Warchest and the political prisoners who receive assistance.

Donate:
Paypal: paypal.me/abcfwarchest
Cash app: https://cash.app/$Timabcf
Venmo: TimFasnachtABCF

Our friends with Certain Days have announced that their new calendar is now available for pre-sales!

“We are happy to announce that pre-sales for the 2021 Certain Days calendar (OUR 20^th EDITION) have begun!  Order now and calendars will ship soon. 

In the U.S., order from Burning Books in Buffalo.
In Canada, order 1-9 copies from Left Wing Books. Order 10 or more copies (and raise funds for your own organizations and projects!)  via certaindays.org. 

Certain Days 2021: 

The Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar is a joint fundraising and educational project between outside organizers in Montreal, Hamilton, New York and Baltimore, with two political prisoners being held in maximum-security prisons: David Gilbert in New York and Xinachtli (s/n Alvaro Luna Hernandez) in Texas. Founding members Herman Bell and Robert Seth Hayes were happily welcomed home from prison in 2018. Learn more about them  at certaindays.org.

Your group can buy 10 or more for the rate of $10 each and sell them for $15, keeping the difference for your organization. Many campaigns, infoshops and projects do this as a way of raising funds and spreading awareness about political prisoners. Use the discount code “BULK” to get 10 or more calendars for $10 each. In Canada, you can order at our bulk rates at certaindays.org. 

This year’s theme is “A Generation of Support Through the Bars” and features art and writings by Grae Rosa, Herman Bell, Veronza Bowers, David Campbell, Saima Desai, Damon Locks, Tom Manning, Monica Trinidad, Nidal el-Khairy, David Gilbert, Gord Hill (aka Zig Zag), Eric King, Jaan Laaman, Paul Lacombe, Joy Powell, Richard Rivera, Laura Whitehorn, Linda Evans and Susan Rosenberg, Xinachtli and more!

While COVID-19 makes its way around the world causing massive shut downs, prison officials make measly attempts at controlling the spread to the most vulnerable inside.  Let’s raise the voices of prisoners, now more than ever. 

Proceeds from Certain Days 2020 were divided amongst Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Palestine), Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP), Civil Liberties Defense Center and the Rosenburg Fund for Children. This year’s proceeds will go to some of the same grassroots groups and more.

We’re happy to report the success of our third annual Philadelphia Running Down The Walls in support of political prisoners, held on September 6th 2020. Read the report back here.