“Every dollar counts. Living on a ramen noodle budget you might know this better than most. So don’t let how ‘little’ you can give stop you from giving. There are 2.3 million people incarcerated in this country. If everyone of you gives a single dollar, that pays for about 4600 classes.”

Please spread word about this program through the inside if you can. More information can be found at prisonscholarfund.org or by contacting them at:

Ted Van Velzen, Director

360.893.3510

The Prison Scholar Fund

23517 Orville Rd. East

Orting, WA 98360

The inmates have taken over the asylum.

A privately-owned prison in Natchez, Mississippi has been taken over by prisoners after a riot broke out on Sunday. This prison is mostly occupied by Mexican illegal immigrants arrested on drug charges and awaiting deportation. As of May 21st, the prisoners still had control over the building.

Eight prison employees are currently inside of the building and one, a 23-year-old guard, has been killed, dying from blunt force trauma to the head. Five other prison employees and an inmate were injured and sent to a hospital outside the facility.

Witnesses and neighbors living near the prison say they have seen smoke coming from the prison after a fire was lit.

The company that owns the prison, Corrections Corporation of America, says they have deployed special response teams, including local law enforcement, to secure the area and protect the public from harm.

No reason for the riot has been determined yet.

Residents in Reidsville, North Carolina have begun receiving fliers inviting them to a May 26 Ku Klux Klan cross burning intended for “white people only.”

Reidsville Police Department Captain Ken Hanks confirmed to Raw Story that people in several neighborhoods had reported receiving the invitations.

Asked if the fliers had broken any law, Hanks replied, “Not that I’m aware of,” and added that the matter was not being investigated.

“I’m a little bothered by it,” Annie P. Pinnix, who received a flier, told the Winston-Salem Journal on Monday.

Pinnex said her husband found the flier in their driveway. It reads:

“Join us, the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, for a rally and cross lighting, Saturday, May 26, Harmony, North Carolina. Free Admition [sic]-White People Only. No alcohol, drugs, fighting, glass bottles or weapons. Free on site camping-all major motels in area. Souvenirs. Vendors. Food and beverages for Sale. Cross lighting at dusk-a white unity event. Live country band. Security provided by LWK.”

A recording on the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan “24 Hour Hot Line” confirmed the May 26 cross burning event.

“Always remember: If it ain’t white, it ain’t right,” the recording concluded.

Earlier this month, KKK members were seen rallying in nearby Eden, North Carolina.

Sexual misconduct by male correctional staff toward inmates at Alabama’s Tutwiler Prison for Women is “commonplace” and has resulted in numerous women becoming pregnant while incarcerated, a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Justice alleges.

Equal Justice Initiative, a private nonprofit organization, filed the complaint about the all-female prison in Wetumpka, Ala., Tuesday after receiving dozens of claims of sexual misconduct involving male staff between 2004 and 2011.

In interviews with more than 50 women incarcerated at the prison, EJI said it discovered “frequent and severe officer-on-inmate sexual violence,” ranging from women being coerced into performing sexual favors in exchange for contraband goods to rape by a male correctional staff member while another male officer served as a lookout.

Even in instances in which abuse was confirmed, perpetrators received little more than a slap on the wrist, EJI Executive Director Bryan Stevenson told msnbc.com.

“In the last two years, the person who received the harshest sentence was a man who got six months in jail,” Stevenson said. “This was for a woman who was raped and became pregnant. The baby was born, and DNA confirmed it was his.”

Had the rape occurred outside prison confines, the sentence could have been 50 years to life in prison, he said.

“It actually makes you think you can do this with impunity,” he said.

Instead of punishing the staff committing the offenses, Tutwiler punished the women when they tried to report the incidents, Stevenson said. Anyone who reported sexual abuse at Tutwiler was called a liar by the warden and routinely placed in segregated cells with privileges revoked.

Tutwiler Prison Warden Frank Albright did not return a phone call from msnbc.com on Wednesday, but the Alabama Department of Corrections said it has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual offenses.

“This is a matter of grave concern to me,” Alabama Corrections Commissioner Kim Thomas said in a press release. “From the beginning of my watch, I have made it very clear to my staff that custodial sexual misconduct will not be tolerated and is an especially egregious offense to me. We take every action possible to prevent it from happening and if it does, we undertake prompt corrective employee discipline and pursue criminal prosecution where applicable.”

But according to EJI’s investigation, the Alabama Department of Corrections has been under-reporting data on sexual misconduct. None has been provided since September 2010, despite at least four Tutwiler employees being indicted on charges of abuse during 2011, according to court records.

The Department of Justice did not respond to msnbc.com’s questions about how they are handling the complaint.

It’s not clear from the EJI’s investigation how many claims of sexual harrassment the group has received from the prison, which has a capacity of 956 inmates.

In 2007, a Justice Department report ranked Tutwiler as the women’s prison with the most sexual assaults, and 11th among all the prisons studied.

Even after the 2007 federal report, Tutwiler policies on sexual miscconduct continued to be lax, Stevenson alleged.

“Male guards shouldn’t be going into the showers and exploiting the vulnerability of women when they’re naked and exposed,” Stevenson said. “Many states have regulations that restrict these kind of breaches. They haven’t done that at Tutwiler.”

In fact, Stephenson thinks sexual assault is even more widespread at the prison than his group has found.

“We think there are a lot more people who have information that they want to share that didn’t feel comfortable doing that,” he said. “I’m hoping the public exposure and scrutiny will make people feel comfortable to step forward.”

Since filing the complaint, EJI has heard from many women who alleged abuse.

“We’ve gotten some calls this morning from women who seemed so grateful and relieved that finally, some light has been shed on this.”

Solidarity with Virginia Prison Hunger Strikers has been formed to support and publicize the hunger strike being launched by prisoner comrades at Red Onion State Prison beginning Tuesday May 22nd when men in segregation refused their first meal.

Ten Demands of Red Onion State Prison (ROSP) Hunger Strikers

We (Prisoners at Red Onion State Prison) demand the right to an adequate standard of living while in the custody of the state!

1. We demand fully cooked food, and access to a better quality of fresh fruit and vegetables.  In addition, we demand increased portions on our trays, which allows us to meet our basic nutritional needs as defined by VDOC regulations.

2. We demand that every prisoner at ROSP have unrestricted access to complaint and grievance forms and other paperwork we may request.

3. We demand better communication between prisoners and higher- ranking guards. Presently higher-ranking guards invariably take the lower-ranking guards’ side in disputes between guards and prisoners, forcing the prisoner to act out in order to be heard. We demand that higher- ranking guards take prisoner complaints and grievances into consideration without prejudice.

4. We demand an end to torture in the form of indefinite segregation through the implementation of a fair and transparent process whereby prisoners can earn the right to be released from segregation. We demand that prison officials completely adhere to the security point system, insuring that prisoners are transferred to institutions that correspond with their particular security level.

5. We demand the right to an adequate standard of living, including access to quality materials that we may use to clean our own cells.  Presently, we are forced to clean our entire cell, including the inside of our toilets, with a single sponge and our bare hands.  This is unsanitary and promotes the spread of disease-carrying bacteria.

6. We demand the right to have 3rd party neutral observers visit and document the condition of the prisons to ensure an end to the corruption amongst prison officials and widespread human rights abuses of prisoners. Internal Affairs and Prison Administrator’s monitoring of prison conditions have not alleviated the dangerous circumstances we are living under while in custody of the state which include, but are not limited to: the threat of undue physical aggression by guards, sexual abuse and retaliatory measures, which violate prison policies and our human rights.

7. We demand to be informed of any and all changes to VDOC/IOP policies as soon as these changes are made.

8.  We demand the right to adequate medical care. Our right to medical care is guaranteed under the eight amendment of the constitution, and thus the deliberate indifference of prison officials to our medical needs constitutes a violation of our constitutional rights.  In particular, the toothpaste we are forced to purchase in the prison is a danger to our dental health and causes widespread gum disease and associated illnesses.

9.  We demand our right as enumerated through VDOC policy, to a monthly haircut. Presently, we have been denied haircuts for nearly three months.  We also demand to have our razors changed out on a weekly basis. The current practice of changing out the razors every three weeks leaves prisoners exposed to the risk of dangerous infections and injury.

10. We demand that there be no reprisals for any of the participants in the Hunger Strike. We are simply organizing in the interest of more humane living conditions.

Eight days after my daughter was born, I sent this message to the organizing committee members of the Seattle Solidarity Network:

“I wanted to let you all know that I need to take a few week hiatus from coming to SeaSol meetings…. Baby is doing well, we just need to clear the decks while I recover and while we figure out this whole nursing thing. Thanks for understanding, and we’ll see you in a few weeks! (I’d estimate three.)”

Four months later, I had still not returned to SeaSol meetings more than a handful of times. I was an I.W.W. member and had been organizing with SeaSol since our first fight in 2008. I was the only female-identified person to consistently attend SeaSol meetings for our entire first year and for several more years for the IWW branch in Seattle. Both groups planned to pay for childcare, and I was committed to continuing my activism after giving birth, but somehow I was not managing to make it happen. What was the problem?

What follows are some reflections on becoming a mom while trying to continue work as a class warrior. Because my daughter is only six months old now, I can only base my reflections on these first months of parenthood. While I will mostly present ideas about how to make our organizing “baby friendly,” I’m sure there are many more topics to come about becoming “kid friendly” (e.g. I hope to reach “Teen humiliated by activist mom”). The following suggestions are also influenced by the fact that while my partner is on baby duty from 10am to 4pm, I am on duty from 4pm to 10pm every day. This system of “watches” is how we both manage to keep our sanity and our part-time jobs, but it also means that I am responsible for the bulk of childcare during prime meeting times.

This advice is for other individuals who would like to help support new parents in organizations such as SeaSol and the IWW, as well as newly expecting parents who might appreciate some suggestions to help smooth the transition from activist to parent + activist.

Step One: Childcare in meetings. Childcare is obviously an important part of helping any organization become parent- and baby-friendly. However, I’m not a believer in the “build it and they will come” style of organization building. If you start offering childcare in meetings, I wouldn’t expect moms, dads, babies and kids to just appear out of the woodwork. In SeaSol and the Seattle IWW branch we started providing childcare after four very active members of both organizations became parents within weeks of each other. That is, we based our actions on a current, felt need in the organizations rather than a hypothetical future need. (If anyone does the opposite and finds out that parent activists do come out of the woodwork, please let me know. That would be great!)

We also decided to do advance fundraising in order to pay for childcare. While several members (often women) volunteered to do the childcare for free, we didn’t want to lose out on the possibility of having those people participate in the meetings. We need everyone we can to do the organizing work of SeaSol and the IWW, so we decided it would be better to have the childcare done by someone who would not otherwise be involved with our organizations.

This is all well and good, but unfortunately, childcare isn’t really what I needed to come back to organizing. I’ve come to believe there’s a difference between being truly baby-friendly in meetings and simply providing childcare (however important that is). What I needed as a new mom was not just someone to hand the baby off to so that I could participate in meetings in a “normal” way. What I needed and still need is support for my new normal, which involves being in an extremely dependent and time-consuming nutritional and emotional relationship with a tiny human. Steps Two through Six are about supporting this new normal.

Step Two: Help with meals. It’s really hard finding time to cook any kind of meal, let alone a healthy one, while taking care of an infant. I mean, impossibly hard. Add to that the fact that our meetings are right at dinner time and you have me between a rock (hungry baby) and a hard place (hungry mama).

One of the best things helpers can do for new parents is to have food waiting for them at meetings. This would probably work best as a shift system where interested individuals could sign up to bring a dinner for one or two hungry mamas or papas per meeting. Shifts would not be as logistically challenging as providing food for everyone at the meeting, but I guarantee it would make it far more likely that your new mamas could attend meetings. (The breastfeeding ones are extra hungry, too!) We have not tried this in SeaSol, but we do have a monthly potluck meeting with food provided, and I am much more likely to attend those meetings.

Step Three: Help with rides or packing. I have a car but am still daunted by all the logistical challenges of getting out of the house with a baby. This includes everything from making sure she is fed and changed to visiting with her in the car seat so she doesn’t scream her head off on the way to the meeting. I also sometimes bring a giant exercise ball to meetings for bouncing her to sleep, a baby carrier, and so much other stuff that I feel like a pack mule trying to make my way into meetings. Helpers can offer rides and/or offer to show up early to help the parents gather things together. I’ve been lucky enough to have a fabulous SeaSol organizer helping me out with these sorts of pre-meeting preparations.

Step Four: Have supplies on hand at meetings. Parents and helpers can keep supplies on hand to help reduce the burden of packing before meetings. These care packages should contain extra diapers in several sizes, wipes, a couple of toys, and a few changes of clothing. There should also be snacks for emergency parent feeding as well. A very motivated helper could even show up at the parents’ house to help them pack such a bag.

Step Five: Volunteer to do childcare for events other than meetings. Meetings aren’t the only events that new parents want to attend. Often the help I most need is just an extra pair of hands, or someone to sit beside me and entertain the baby during an event. My baby never wants to be banished off to some “kid room” with just herself and a non-parental adult – she wants to be where the action is! A helper can simply offer to sit by a parent and entertain their kid for a little while, if needed.

Step Six: Don’t push it. It’s an understatement to say that new parents are “adjusting” to their new role. For me, especially for the first several months, it felt like my new life was a Picasso painting of my old life – there were many recognizable elements, but they were all mashed up and weird looking. I’m now figuring out how to weave activities I value back into my life, but there’s no going “back to normal.” I’m not going to be able to participate in exactly the same way I did before I became a mom. For example, I used to facilitate meetings regularly. Now, I will absolutely abandon that duty for a crying baby with no qualms whatsoever. But I can contribute in other ways that are meaningful and useful for the organization, such as writing, graphic design, and other activities that I can do during nap times or off duty. This is all to say – don’t feel too disappointed if your new parents can’t contribute to your organizing in their old way – hopefully they can find new ways that suit their new schedules and responsibilities.

In the first months of motherhood, I was too discombobulated to think of any of these suggestions. As a potential helper, you may find that new parents are too overwhelmed to think of these things or ask you for them. But if you offer, they will sometimes take you up on it. I can guarantee you it’s worth the effort. I might be biased, but I think during a tense moment in a meeting, there’s hardly anything better than having a baby go, “Fffppppttt!”

I have not written about the Marissa Alexander case on this blog though I have been closely following the developments in her trial. Well on Friday, Ms. Alexander was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

For those who are unfamiliar with the case, here is a very brief summary. Marissa Alexander is an African-American mother of 3 who tried to protect herself from an abusive husband by firing a warning shot into the ceiling after he had beat her up again. There is of course much more to the case including the fact that her attorney tried to use the infamous “Stand Your Ground” law as her defense and was prohibited from doing so by the judge in the case. You can read much more about the case here.

This is another example of the system re-victimizing survivors of violence and speaks to what I wrote about on Monday with respect to the inadequacy of the efforts to actually support survivors of rape and domestic violence. This case brings to mind countless other stories of battered women and rape survivors who I have known over the years. But there is also something more…

Danielle McGuire has written in her excellent book “At the Dark End of the Street” that there was a time in this country when it was presumed that black women could not be raped. The idea was that they were naturally promiscuous and that their bodies were inviolate. In other words, no never meant no for black and brown women (and some poor white women). This idea has carried over, I think, to the concept of “self-defense” as applied to women of color. If black women’s bodies can always be violated and if black women are easily killable, then the notion of self-defense can never apply. Black women do not have a “self” worth defending.

A poem by Toi Derricotte titled “On the Turning Up of Unidentified Black Female Corpses” is one of my favorites. It captures the idea that black women in our culture are so thoroughly devalued that our deaths go unnoticed and unpunished. One particular stanza is particularly moving for me:

a black woman, there is a question being asked
about my life. How can I
protect myself? Even if I lock my doors,
walk only in the light, someone wants me dead.

Read the entire poem if you have a moment, you won’t be sorry.

The Marissa Alexander case brings to mind another instance of self-defense by a survivor of sexual violence. Inez Garcia was a 30 year old Latina who had a child and was profoundly Catholic. Inez was an illiterate woman who had moved to California to be closer to her husband who was incarcerated in Soledad prison. In March 1974, she was beaten and raped by two men in California. She was tried for first degree murder for shooting and killing one of her rapists. A flyer created by her defense committee in the 70s describes the details of the incident.

Louis Castillo and Miguel Jimenez came to Inez’s house at 8 p.m., allegedly to talk to Fred Medrano, who was also renting the house [that Inez lived in]. While waiting for him, the two men started drinking and taunting Inez. When Fred arrived home, he was harassed and threatened and beaten up in the fight that followed. Inez, frightened, told Louis and Miguel to leave, and stepped outside to make sure they left. They forced her to come behind the house with them where, trapped, she was beaten, her clothes torn, and she was raped.

In a state of shock and hysterical from the attack, Inez went back inside and loaded her .22-caliber rifle. At this time she received a phone call from the two men who had just attacked her. They threatened to make it worse for her if she did not leave town. About one half hour later she found her attackers five blocks away, beating up Fred a second time. She saw Jimenez draw a knife and called out. Jimenez turned and threw the knife in her direction. Inez fired, killing Jimenez and missing Castillo completely.

Christa Donaldson Arrested at Inez Garcia Demonstration, San Francisco, 1975
Women’s rights advocates and others seized on the Garcia case as an example of the “justice” system run amok. Her Defense Committee(comprised of local feminists and other community members) maintained that it was unjust that Inez was accused of premeditated murder “for defending herself against brutal and senseless attack” while her rapist remained free. They added:

“Thousands upon thousands of women have been attacked and raped, and countless more live in fear of rape. Inez is one of the few to defend herself so bravely. Her case is an example to everyone, for until men stop attacking women, women must be free to defend themselves by whatever means necessary.”

Inez Garcia Marching in the Lesbian and Gay Freedom Parade, San Francisco, 1976

Inez Garcia was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to five years in prison. This sparked several “Free Inez” demonstrations. She spent two years behind bars until her conviction was reversed on appeal because the judge had instructed the jury not to consider her rape. Her case was retried in 1977 and she was acquitted. The Garcia case and the Joan Little case offer examples which illustrate that it matters what people on the outside do when unjust charges are brought against individuals. If you doubt this, I suggest that you read Vikki Law’s interview about three cases (including Garcia’s and Little’s) where outside pressure and activism helped to overturn convictions of women survivors of violence. Let’s hope that those fighting on behalf of Marissa Alexander will be successful in securing a reversal of her conviction on appeal.

From Anarchist News:

“Jeremy’s said he needs about $30 a week to pay for decent non-carnivorous food, stamps, sanitary supplies, and so on. Assuming a release date sometime in August, he’ll need somewhere near $500 all up from now til his release.

I’m assuming like roughly $100 will go to the ChipIn, Paypal, and jail percentages. We can minimize the amount of money wasted (and given to the state!) by donating it all at once.

So, put up some cash for our friend!”

Help make Jeremy’s time easier in jail by donating money so he can have phone privileges to call his family (collect!), write letters (paper & stamps cost dollars), and eat something vegetarian (mostly Cheetos & Ramen minus the flav packet).

I know he and all of his loved ones will really appreciate it.

http://jeremycommissary.chipin.com/mypages/view/id/00c7a462ca2f7222

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“Jeremy had his sentencing hearing today. The judge found it appropriate to comment on Jeremy’s political views as an anarchist, telling him that this ‘society is governed by laws’ and that he should rethink his affiliations. The prosecutor, Chris Toepp, felt it was necessary to defame Jeremy’s character, insisting ‘he shows no remorse’ for a crime he maintains he is innocent of. He also demanded Jeremy go straight to jail, despite the fact that Jeremy’s father testified that he was very closely involved with his family, and being Easter Weekend, he would like Jeremy to spend it with the family. The Commonwealth of VA got their wishes mostly, denying Jeremy’s request of work release, and only suspending 6 months of the jury’s recommended 12 months in jail. We did not even get to say goodbye to our friend before he was taken to be processed, for a nonviolent crime he did not commit.

About 20-25 people showed up to support Jeremy, including his mother and father. Many were Jeremy’s close friends, others were comrades in the struggle. Most of us are both.

So what is left to us now? We organize. Jeremy’s close friend Pablo will be setting up a commissary fund for Jeremy to be able to purchase the supplies he needs while he is serving time. Ellen and Janissa will be gathering the paperwork and rules regarding visitation and letter writing, and will be making small business cards to be made available to anyone who would like to send Jeremy literature, zines, or whatever else may be allowed. This blog will make sure to give timely updates on any developments, and allow anyone who wants to show Jeremy support to get the information they need to do so.

Until then, take care of each other, and don’t give up the fight. Jeremy hasn’t.”

From Don’t Frack NC

Join us in the capital to march through downtown Raleigh and raise awareness about the resistance to fracking in North Carolina.  We’ll be assembling near Nash Square around 11:30 a.m. and  around 12 noon marching to the Legislative Building at 16 West Jones Street.

We encourage folks to bring musical instruments: drums, violins, trumpets, colorful banners and signs, puppets… anything that will make this fun.  The march is family friendly and fully permitted.

If your group would like to officially sign onto the march as a co-sponsor contact us at dontfracknc@riseup.net or call 919-200-0061 for more details.  We encourage everyone to share this event on their facebook or on listserves they are on.  This date is within the legislative session that begins in May where legislators plan on disregarding public outcry by legalizing fracking and wastewater injection in our state.

It’s time to let them know we won’t let this happen here.  See you in the streets!

This event is also co-sponsored by Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League & Cumnock Preservation Association.

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012, Youngstown OH- OSP Hunger Strike Ends. After long negotiations with Warden David Bobby on Monday, May 7th, the hunger-striking prisoners at Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP) began eating again. Two of the men held out through Tuesday, unsatisfied with the agreement. The warden met with them separately, and they agreed to come off the strike. Warden Bobby reported that “by lunch time today, everyone was eating.” This was confirmed by two prisoner sources.

At this point, details on agreements are unclear, but sources inside say that the hunger strikers are satisfied and feel they achieved results. One source described the demands and the Warden’s response as “reasonable”. Without going into detail, the main concerns were in regards to commissary costs, state pay rates, phone costs, length of stay, and harsh penalties for petty conduct reports. The Warden said that he discussed “many things” at Monday’s meeting with strike representatives, “many things beyond the main demands” but he would not share any of the details.

The strikers are resting and recovering, but have mailed detailed information to outside supporters at RedBird Prison Abolition, which will be released to the public as soon as possible. The Warden admitted that one of the hunger-strikers was transferred to disciplinary segregation for an unrelated rule infraction, but stated that there were no reprisals or punishments for participating. One prisoner source agreed with this statement.

The hunger strike began on April 30th and was timed to align with May Day protests outside. Prisoners have stated an interest in “joining hands in struggle toward common goals” with protest and resistance movements like Occupy Wall Street.