June 2026 Books Through Bars’ Pride Month book drive
2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Books Through Bars NYC, and while we will celebrate that milestone throughout the rest of the year, we return with our book bundle program to help support their mission. For $30 (aptly for 30 years!) we will purchase a variety of LGBTBQ+ titles.
Please help us stock up on LGBTQ+ titles in their anniversary year.
After a few months off from promoting book bundles (the last almanac campaign yielded 500 copies!), we are back to mark our 30th anniversary and efforts to provide the incarcerated with reading material–against a backdrop ever more stringent restrictions.
For June 2026 we reprise our Pride promotion with a variety pack of LGBTQ+ related titles. Your $30 will allow us to purchase three copies from a list narrowed down by Books Through Bars, including works of fiction (genre and literary), memoirs, humor, history, and even adult coloring books.
While donations of used books in this category continue to be dropped off at the store (and please keep them coming), prisons are establishing higher thresholds for the condition and wear-and-tear of the copies. These unstained, undog-eared editions will help guarantee their delivery to incarcerated readers.
Over 25,000 books to date purchased on behalf of NYC Books Through Bars
Since Freebird Books began this drive in June of 2020 in reaction to the COVID-19 quarantine (which shut down volunteer sessions and in-person drop offs at the store), NYC Books Through Bars has been able to keep up with the steady demand from incarcerated readers across the country. Between 200 and 300 packages per week are typically sent out.
This monthly program helps fulfill requests in categories we might be understocked in at a given time. Your generosity has helped us collect books for incarcerated, including 5,000 works on social and criminal justice, history, and ethnic studies, 3,500 novels, 2,000 graphic fiction and manga books, 2,500 dictionaries, 1,500 art appreciation and instruction guides, and now 2,000 almanacs
THEY TRIED TO BURY US ALIVE, NOT KNOWING WE WERE SEEDS…. -ANAHUAC WARRIOR, MEXICO AZTLAN, 1519
FRATERNAL REVOLUTIONARY GREETINGS IN STRUGGLE, FROM WITHIN THE TOMBS AND STEEL CAGES OF THE NEOCOLONIAL MILITARY SUPERMAX CONTROL UNIT GULAG OF THE IMPERIALIST BEAST !!!
You have probably heard of the serious medical issues that afflicted me by the genocidal design of my captors stemming from 24 consecutive years in solitary confinement, malnutrition, constant harassment by the pigs, no recreation or exercise, social isolation, censorship of my revolutionary writings, and a pattern of systemic genocidal torture and brutal repression designed to break my will and my spirit of resistance. I had a stroke in November 2025, at the McConnell Unit in Beeville. Before then, I had been struggling to get medical attention for a series of maladies I had developed as my physical and mental health began deteriorating, namely, bladder infections, neuropathy, B 12 vitamin deficiency, among other disabilities, all ignored by the prison.
On these issues. I have been going back and forth to the main Galveston prison hospital, to the Carole Young Medical facility for surgery and a series of tests and so forth. I am now at the Estelle medical unit (E2) in Huntsville, Texas awaiting to, again, be transferred to Galveston for the testing ordered since December 2025, delayed time and again, under a policy that when the prison is on “routine lockdown” for cellblock searches for contraband, all prior medical appointments are cancelled. For example, I had a scheduled test in Galveston for May 12 but on May 11 the unit went on lockdown, and all doctor’s appointments are cancelled. The unit warden runs this plantation-like gulag like his own kingdom. For more updates on my situation, please visit Instagram.com/freexinachtlinow, or at wwwfreealvaro.net.
My Xinachtli Freedom Campaign (XFC) in Houston has done, and continues to do, an excellent job in reaching out to others, building membership, staying in touch, holding forums, workshops, producing outreach materials such as T-shirts, posters, publishing my revolutionary writings, essays, etcetera, and coalescing the liberation movement of colonized, oppressed communities of Black, Chicano, Indigenous First Nations and supporting each other. My XFC meets every two weeks, online to discuss themes on our agenda and to hold revolutionary co-education discussions on fortifying the campaign and creating a core of cadres who are being trained as community organizers, LINKING THE POLITICAL PRISONERS STRUGGLES/MOVEMENT, WITH COMMUNITY STRUGGLES AS ONE AND THE SAME. I always refer to THE JERICHO MOVEMENT and the ZAPATISTA EXPERIENCES on all matters of community organization, and autonomy, including GLOBALIZATION OF OUR REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION AND FREEDOM FROM NEOCOLONIALISM, IMPERIALISM AND FASCISM.
Just wanted to share these updates with all of the members of JERICHO, and to thank you for your continued support and solidarity. My current attorneys SANDRA C. FREEMAN, and DUSTIN MCDANIEL (former!y with the ABOLITIONIST LAW CENTER, Philly) have filed suit in federal court in Galveston on my behalf on the issues of denial of adequate medical care, prolonged solitary, which is moving forward. By the way, my XFC facilitators, an all-women team in Houston, will be at the IN THE SPIRIT OF MANDELA mobilization to be convened as THE PEOPLE’S SENATE in Atlanta, GA for JULY 4th counterdemo to expose the true nature of AmeriKKKa’s hypocrite celebrations of its 250 YEARS OF SLAVERY AND WAR CRIMES AGAINST BLACKS (FREDERICK DOUGLAS ,THE TRUE MEANING OF THE FOURTH OF JULY FOR BLACKS. ,1852) , RAZA MEXICANA/CHICANA, AND INDIGENOUS FIRST NATIONS.
Stay in close touch
!!! TIERRA Y LIBERTAD !! MUERTE AL IMPERIALISMO YANQI !!! U.S. IMPERIALISM, HANDS OFF CUBA !!!
REVOLUCIONARIAMENTE, XINACHTLI (meaning “germinating seed” in NAHUATL)
Texas Department of Criminal Justice Alvaro Hernández #255735 Post Office Box 660400 Dallas, Texas 752660400
Priscilla Grim was arrested in Atlanta during the Stop Cop City week of action three years ago. She was jailed for a month on outrageous domestic terrorism charges, denied bond twice despite substantial lack of evidence, and endured brutal and unsanitary conditions in both Dekalb County and Fulton County jails.
This “blind date with a book” fundraiser will directly support her material and legal needs. How it works is that you will purchase one of the bundle options, and Priscilla will pull books from her personal library to be sent to you.
Topics range from labor history, Marxism, film, music, and more. You also get pins and stickers with every purchase! Scan the QR code on the graphic or visit the website to purchase https://www.priscillagrim.com/blind-date-with-a-book
Marius Mason has been released! AK Press is donating $2 to his re-entry solidarity fund for each item we sell during the month of May. There’s one more weekend to help.
Self portrait by Marius Mason, from the Certain Days Calendar
Anarchist trans prisoner Marius Mason has finally being released after seventeen years of a twenty-two year sentence!
Marius was one of the first people to be signed up for the Friends of AK prisoner support membership, and has over the years written reviews of AK Press books and been in friendly communication with collective members. In celebration of his release, and to help him land on his feet, we are giving Marius $2 for every item we sell on our website during the month of May (books, e-books, audiobooks, sweatshirts, you name it).
As of end of day yesterday, we’ve sold 1216 items this month (for a donation of $2432). Can we make it to $3000 for Marius in the last three days? Please help by ordering that book or shirt you’ve had your eye on, and spreading the word!
(You can also skip the AK Press-middle man and help him directly through his support committee, here.)
I am feeling some bittersweet feelings, having left prison after some 17 years. I met so many people, from so many communities and families, who found themselves incarcerated for a myriad of reasons. As we move into this time of contention, where there will be conflict between the state and the communities we know – there may be more of the people we love sharing that hidden world behind bars and kept apart. To recognize and remember them is important and it keeps those ties we have to them strong. Please help me this June 11th, to send some love, some hope and a promise to remember to all of our people who are living behind bars.
I am including a poem I wrote for my Yale poetry class in prison. At Danbury, we had a tradition of hugging a certain tree in the parking lot as we got ready to leave one of the three prisons there, the camp, the FSL or the FCI. I was able to hug this sycamore tree, and to tie a new crocheted wrap that a lot of people at the FSL had contributed, so many stitches, so many colors, so many lives maintaining hope for freedom and the embrace of our family and friends.
The Freedom Tree
It’s the sycamore tree that’s in the parking lot,
From two day’s warmth, has put out leaves.
The bleached bark, peeling and stark, is shot
Against the sky, arms lifted in a silent plea,
The “Freedom Tree”.
Willing time to move forward, we see it expand,
The days are in those fingertips.
Buds break to burgeon into hands
That sweep the sky, wide, now that wind no longer keens
And grass grows green.
There is a wild crocheted belt that encircles it,
Proof that one of us made it out,
And left behind a sign that’s spun
From everything we dreamed, while we longed to be
Touching this tree.
Bob Marley also sang of a sycamore tree that was part of his songs about freedom and history. I hope that you will participate in this event, helping me mark a day to remember all the friends I left behind, and all of the people we are missing from our movement, and our communities. Anything will do, as long as it is braided or crocheted or knitted to show how we are all part of a whole together, and stronger together than any one strand alone. There is no particular color combination, as many as you have to weave together. We are all different, but all of us belong together and free. Please help me mark this very first Freedom Tree event on June 11th.
If you consistently mail the latest updates to a specific prisoner, please let us know so we can insure there’s no overlap. The goal is to have copies sent to all of the prisoners we list.
Send birthday greetings to: Kojo Bomani Sababu* #39384-066 USP Canaan P.O. Box 300 Waymart, PA 18472 *Address envelope to Grailing Brown.
Summary: Kojo Bomani Sababu is a New Afrikan Prisoner of War serving a 55 year sentence. Kojo was captured on December 19th, 1975 during a bank expropriation. He was subsequently charged with conspiracy for an alleged plan to use rockets, hand grenades and a helicopter in an attempt to free Puerto Rican Prisoner of War Oscar Lopez Rivera from the federal prison where he was serving a 55-year sentence for a 1981 conviction of seditious conspiracy.
Background:
New Afrikan Prisoner of War, currently serving a 55-year sentence for actions carried out by the Black Liberation Army and attempted escape from prison with Puerto Rican independentista Oscar Lopez-Rivera.
Sababu was born as Grailing Brown on May 27th, 1953 in Atlantic City New Jersey. He was born to Clarence and Edna Brown. Kojo described them as good parents. He described his father as a “diligent worker whose only indulgence was loyalty to the bosses.” Sadly tragedy would strike his family, fundamentally altering Kojo’s path in life. In 1962 his father died coming home from work. Two years later his mother was murdered. A guiding presence in his life, Kojo was devastated by the loss of his mother. Still, he continued to live out the lessons she taught him, that education is a tool with which to change society.
At a very young age, he began to develop a New Afrikan consciousness. Growing up in Atlanta City, New Jersey organizations like the Nation of Islam were strong within the Black community. The organization helped Kojo gain his first experiences in nation-building. The Nation of Islam also reinforced his passion for knowledge and education that was given to him by his mother.
In 1968, Sababu crossed paths with the Black Panther Party in Atlanta City. He began to participate in their political education course. However, at that time, he was still greatly influenced by cultural and religious nationalism.
In 1972, Sababu was sent to the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. There he met two Black revolutionaries, Kuwasi Balagoon and Andaliwa Clark. These two individuals greatly influence his political development. When he was released three years later, he joined the Black Liberation Army (BLA).
On November 15th, 1975, Sababu and another BLA member, Ojore Lutalo, were arrested after a high-speed chase. The incident began when police attempted to stop them after receiving a report of suspicious occupants in a car. The men were charged with eluding police and resisting arrest. A third individual managed to avoid escape. According to news reports five .32 caliber bullets were found in the car.
One month later, on December 19th, four members of the Black Liberation Army expropriated funds from the Broad Street National Bank in Lawrence Township. The action turned into a shootout with police, as police gave chase for over a mile and into the neighboring city of Trenton. Three members of the BLA (Kojo Sababu, Ojore Lutalo, and Larry Anderson) were arrested, while a fourth member was able to avoid arrest. The three men were charged with possession of stolen property, possession of a dangerous weapon and being a fugitive.
In addition to the charges related to bank expropriation, Sababu was also charged with the killing of a drug dealer and another individual. On September 17, 1975, the two individuals were killed in an apartment in Atlantic City. Another individual, Darryl Conquest, was also charged with this incident. Sababu claims this action was also done as part of his involvement in the Black Liberation Army.
In 1976, Kojo was sentenced to two life prison terms for the killings. In addition, the judge imposed an additional sentence of up to 17 consecutive years in prison on a charge of murder while armed.
While in prison Sababu became active in the Inmate Legal Association (ILA), a non-profit legal aid organization that provided free legal assistance to prisoners at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey. In 1981, took on the role of the director. Conditions in the prison were dire. New criminal statutes in the state established mandatory minimums, creating overcrowding of the prisons. Prisoners started to find ways of escaping, causing further tension between the guards and prisoners.
Sababu, as a representative of the Inmate Legal Association, was quoted in the newspaper raising these concerns to the outside world and warned that conditions were so severe that the “joint’s gonna blow.” Within a month of raising these concerns, Sababu was accused of being a ringleader of a plot to take over the state prison in Trenton, New Jersey. He denied the accusation and argued that this was merely an attempt to silence those who were speaking out.
He and two others leaders of the ILA were sent to a federal prison in Lewisburg, PA. Months after the incident, the warden attempted to shut down the ILA by making accusation s that its leaders were plotting to attack leaders of another prisoner rights organizations. Leaders of both organizations saw this for what it was – an attempt to undermine avenues for inmates to have their voices heard. The Warden’s plans failed and the organization exists today.
Plot to Self-Liberate
In July 1986, three individuals were arrested, and six others were being sought on charges that they were involved in a plot to liberate Puerto Rican prisoner of war, Oscar Lopez-Rivera and Kojo Sababu from USP Leavenworth in Kansas. According to the government, the plan was to have a helicopter drop into the prison recreation yard in Leavenworth in August of 1985. Grenades and rocket launchers were to be used to attack the guard towers as Lopez-Rivera and Sababu escaped via the helicopter.
The FBI was aware of the plot from the beginning due to an informant. Undercover agents provided members of the plot with explosives and placed tracking devices on the vehicles of those involved in the plot. One of the tracking devices was discovered and those involved in the plot went underground. Charges against several of those allegedly involved were dropped, but seven individuals were indicted. Both Lopez-Rivera and Sababu were charged with involvement in the plot. Jaime Delgado and Dora Garcia, two Puerto Rican independence activists who were two of the three originally arrested were indicted.
Two others, Claude Marks and Donna Wilmott were also indicted. Another man, Richard Cobb, was also indicted, but he pled guilty and agreed to testify for the prosecution. Mark and Wilmott were able to avoid capture for six years until they turned themselves in to the FBI. The other four were tried and convicted together. Delgado was sentenced to 4 years in prison and Garcia to 3 years.
Puerto Rican Puerto Rican independentista prisoner of war, Oscar Rivera-Lopez received a 15-year sentence beyond his previous 55-year sentence. Sababu was sentenced to a 5-year sentence to run consecutive to the four life sentences. As a result of the attempted self-emancipation, both men were placed in solitary confinement at Marion Federal prison. After their capture in 1994, Claude Marks received a six year sentence for his role in the attempted liberation of Kojo Sababu and Oscar Rivera-Lopez. Donna Wilmott received a three year sentence.
The Last Remaining
In August of 2009, Ojore Lutalo, Sababu’s co-defendant from the bank expropriation was released from prison. Conquest, his co-defendant in the action against the drug dealer, was also released in the fall of 2015. Oscar Rivera-Lopez and all those associated with the attempted self-liberation at Leavenworth have also been released from prison. Sababu, however, remains behind bars for his participation in these actions. He remains committed and unawavering despite his imprisonment.
This update includes updated mini-bios, illustrations, and address changes for several prisoners. With this update, we are thrilled to remove Marius Mason (halfway house)! Welcome back, Marius!
After the Stop Cop City RICO failed, the GA AG is now prosecuting the Cobb County 3. What’s happening to Dr. Hannah Kass?
On April 24, 2026, the GA AG Chris Carr indicted 3 people in Cobb County for a protest that happened 47 months before. This same protest and group of defendants were included as an “overt act” in the massive RICO conspiracy in Fulton County.
The protest occurred on May 12, 2022. At the time, Dr. Kass was a PhD student researching social movements. She attended the protest, and police arrested her, as has occurred to hundreds of people who opposed Cop City. After being released on bond, the Cobb case was abandoned for almost 4 years.
This timeline is troubling:
For this 2022 protest, the GA AG indicted Dr. Kass and her 2 co-defendants in August 2023 in Fulton County.
The 2022 accusations were dismissed in December 2025.
The AG then appealed the dismissal in February 2026.
And then he indicted the Cobb County 3 for the same dismissed-and-appealed alleged conduct.
People’s Law Collective (PLC) is arguing that this violates Dr. Kass’ Due Process rights. The State of Georgia should not be allowed to take 2 bites at the apple. The Cobb indictment came days before the statute of limitations was set to expire, and only after another case for the same conduct was dismissed.
4 years later, Dr. Kass is a PhD. She has sued the officers who arrested her, but that case is frozen due to these unending criminal charges.
PLC will keep fighting against these political prosecutions!
Priscilla is selling her personal book library to raise money for her legal defense fund.
Her shelves hold the books that have kept her company through years of organizing, writing, research, performance, and resistance: books on labor, Marxism, culture, art, music, film, power, survival, history, fiction, theory, and revolt. There are political books and strange books, serious books and funny books, books with sharp edges and books that simply knew how to arrive at the right time.
Here’s how it works: you choose a level, and Priscilla chooses the books. $15 — The Pocket Agitator- One mystery book. $25 — The Comrade Pairing- Two mystery books paired by theme, mood or political chemistry. $35 — The Solidarity Stack- Three mystery books curated as a small reading stack from Priscilla’s shelves.
Each bundle will come with no title reveal. The point is to take a chance on a book you might not have picked for yourself, while helping meet a very real need. Priscilla continues to face the long, expensive, and exhausting process of defending herself against baseless charges connected to the Stop Cop City RICO case. Legal defense takes money, time, stamina, and community. This fundraiser is one small, tangible way to help carry that weight. In solidarity and hope, Heather and the comrades
PS: She is still $1583 short on rent for May. Don’t let a prosecutor ruin her life with a weaponized legal process. She is doing everything possible to survive this moment.Venmo PayPal cashapp Click here to give a tax deductible gift
