Lowell Lawrence Anarchist Black Cross
P.O Box 1163
Lowell, MA 01853
[email protected]
https://twitter.com/LowellABC

Well I must say things are more crazy. More dangerous. More Sad. More lockdown than ever. In my 20 straight years for my radical actions to get funds for supplies to send SE Mexico – 2020 is the worse yet. 

But I am the SACRED PIPE holder here for all the Natives. So, I can’t fail or get sick. I have a lot of prayer requests. As you all know why. My people are highly affected by Covid 19. So, Run Down These Walls. It must be done. I love you all and I truly mean that. You are powerful. So, don’t give up! And Black Lives Matter! 

So, Let’s all Rock This!

Run the Walls Down…

Yona Unega

Oso Blanco

Since 2008, NYC ABC has been organizing annual events in solidarity with Running Down the Walls (RDTW), started by ABCF-Los Angeles in 1999. Over the years, our RDTW events have become more than fundraisers for the ABCF Warchest and local organizations: they’ve become hubs where folks from overlapping radical and revolutionary communities—multigender, multiracial, and multigenerational—come together and socialize after an enthusiastic five kilometers of running, walking, biking, skating, and rolling. Many of the folks who anticipate each year’s event do so knowing they will see folks they might not see more than once a year. So, with all that said, we regret to announce that for 2020 we will not be organizing a physical Running Down the Wall event. The stakes are too high and we have too many close comrades who are elders or otherwise at higher risk if exposed to Covid-19.

While recognizing the importance of the local event to various communities, it is ultimately the way by which we help build the warchest and directly support out political prisoners and prisoners of war (PP/POWs). Therefore we are calling on those communities to help us reach a goal of $3,000. Unless otherwise noted by the donor, all donations to paypal.me/nycabc through September 6th will go directly to the warchest.

Just as we support those facing repression in the fallout of recent uprisings, we must also support the PP/POWs who have been imprisoned for years, even decades. Please help us spread the word and direct your friends, loved ones, and colleagues to paypal.me/nycabc

Questions to [email protected]

Since 1999, the Los Angeles Anarchist Black Cross has organized our annual Running Down the Walls 5k run to raise awareness and support for political prisoners. This year, due to concerns over the coronavirus, our run will be done a little differently than our normal event. LA ABC wants to ensure the safety and health of our local community. As such, we will be organizing a social distance/virtual run. Details will be released as we get closer to the event on how you can participate.

But please, save the date and join us on the street all throughout Southern California and with all our comrades throughout North America cities and prisoners. Together we can raze the walls. We can make the walls crumble with every foot that hits the ground. Free All Political Prisoners.

The statement below was written by Jaan Laaman regarding the upcoming “Running Down the Walls.” Please join us on that day – running in solidarity with our imprisoned comrades.

Running Down the Walls 2020

A loud revolutionary shout-out, to all the runners, joggers, walkers, and others coming together this September 6th, for Running Down the Walls 2020. In the midst of this deadly COVD pandemic and the even more deadly centuries-long racist pandemic, we need to come together across the country and on both sides of the walls, this year more than ever. 

I believe this is the 21^st Running Down the Walls. In 1999, we had a real good solidarity run in Leavenworth and lots of political prisoners and prisoners overall, have been running down the walls in prison yards, control units, and other seg cells ever since. 

Here in USP McCreary and throughout the federal BOP prisons, we have been on a pandemic lockdown since March. Hard to say if yards will be open by September. If they are, I along with other conscious-minded convicts will be joining everyone else- outside and in, on September 6^th. If I am still locked down, I will join you all in my cell, throwing hard, high and fast kicks for 45 minutes straight! Well, haha, probably with a few breaths in between, but I will be with you all, in strong spirit and focused activity. 

OK, let’s kick it off- get to running. Let me finish by telling you about this button I used to always wear when I was a student in 1968- “Less talk, More action, SMASH RACISM”.

BLM, Jaan Laaman
Ohio 7 political prisoner

Sunday, September 6, 2020
11 am sharp (Yoga warm-up at 10am)
FDR Park
Register here.

Philadelphia Anarchist Black Cross presents our third annual Running Down The Walls (RDTW)! Join us for another revolutionary 5K run/walk/bike/skate and day of solidarity. In light of COVID-19, please bring a face mask and follow social distancing recommendations. If you would like to participate in light yoga and warm-up stretches before, please arrive by 10am and bring a mat if you can.

Running is not required! You can also walk, bike, skate or roll. 5K is two loops around the park and at a walking pace will take about 45-60 minutes. Light refreshments and socializing will take place in the park afterward.

This year’s event is co-sponsored by the campaign to Free Russell Maroon Shoatz — long-term Black liberation prisoner held in SCI Fayette. Join us as we celebrate the release of Chuck Africa earlier this year, commemorate the life of Delbert Africa, and raise some funds for the freedom struggle of another Philly comrade, Maroon.

After spending 48 years in prison, Maroon turns 77 on August 23rd while also battling cancer during a global pandemic. He needs our support now more than ever.

Fighting Stage 4 cancer, [I have] for 10 months been on various types of chemotherapy at SCI-Fayette, have watched 3 prisoners die of cancer, and my single cell was taken to make room for suspected COVID-19 prisoners, will be transferred to SCI-Dallas for another operation to remove a cancerous growth soon. The struggle continues!

– Political Prisoner, Russell Maroon Shoats/z

Philadelphia RDTW 2020 is dedicated to amplifying the voices of our comrades behind bars, lifting them up in their struggles, and maintaining material post-release support.

If you cannot make it to the event or would like to make an additional contribution, please sponsor a participant either outside prison or inside or one of each. Contact us for more information on sponsoring!

Proceeds will be split between the Warchest Program and the campaign to Free Russell Maroon Shoatz. The ABCF Warchest program sends monthly stipends to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have insufficient, little, or no financial support.

Register for the 5K

Thanks for your support by running/walking/biking/skating the 5K! Everyone must fill out the following form to register NO LATER THAN AUGUST 24TH so that you receive your official shirt the day of the event.

The registration fee of $40 confirms your place at the event and covers your t-shirt. We can accept credit/debit donations online or cash/check/money order on the day of event. Make checks and money orders out to ‘Tim Fasnacht’. Additional funds over the $40 base fee raised through sponsorships are more than welcome .

After submitting the following registration form, please allow 24 – 48 hours for your confirmation email. Check your Spam folder if the message does not appear in your Inbox. If you did not receive a confirmation email, please get in touch with us at phillyabc[at]riseup[dot]net.

Read this long and hard-hitting piece at https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/06/18/i-begged-them-to-let-me-die-how-federal-prisons-became-coronavirus-death-traps

Eric King wrote this regarding the Bureau of Prisons’ COVD-19 response.

March 29 2020

“They aren’t doing testing here, they aren’t doing shit really. No hand sanitizer, no mask, no ‘social distancing’, the tiers and showers aren’t being cleaned even semi-daily, we still only get 3 showers a week and only 1 hr outside a day, typically super early in the gloom or rain. Medical staff told me they can’t even order tests! They have to refer it to a doctor, who then refers it to Regional, who then reviews it and decides whether to test or not. Bureaucracy at its finest. They will let us die in the name of justice, blame it on the virus and move right along enslaving, business as usual.

Things here have been boiling a bit and almost went off today. There have been guards going out of their way to make things difficult, lying through their teeth, talking so reckless, small things that build and build. So today during our cell rotations (every 21 days we rotate cells) we just decided to slow burn them and not participate. It’s not much of a stand, but it gave us a chance to say “no” to these pig bastards and blow off a little steam.

We ended up moving cells, they will move you one way or another, but it felt good to air our grievances and make the day cops look like clowns who can’t handle the basic task of cell rotating. Here soon it could have been something much worse, so letting the small aggro out now was a good stress relief.”

More information about Eric:
https://supportericking.org
https://fundrazr.com/e1cKo1

If you have not seen it yet, we have a comprehensive list of political prisoners at https://www.abcf.net/prisoner-info/ It is always a good time to write political prisoners but especially now, when COVD-19 continues to ravage United States prisons.

Be sure to also check out the NYCABC Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners which is updated monthly and has great bios and more about US held political prisoners.

The Page One collective has a new zine of currently imprisoned veterans of Black Liberation movements. Print and hand out at protests! Send it to your mom. Spread the word. Write these folx, bring up their names, keep their struggles alive.
(*Print double sided along short edge*) https://pageone.noblogs.org/files/2020/06/BL_PPzine5.pdf