Posts Tagged ‘prison abolition’

Pre-Fast Breakfast Potluck at the Wingnut Monday June 18th at 10am

Posted: June 14, 2012 in Uncategorized
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We will be hosting a pre-fast breakfast (confusing right) at the Wingnut on Monday June 18th from 10am-12noon. Please come and share a dish (vegan dishes are awesome, but not required). There will be coffee and delishes!!! Conversation about the 23 hour fast against 23 hours of solitary confinement, the prison industrial complex in general, and the rally and march in Richmond happening on Tuesday June 19th at 5:30pm!

All are welcome to come, whether you plan on actually fasting for 23 hours or not.

More details about Tuesday’s rally and march here: http://www.facebook.com/events/315681221848912/

Hope to see you Monday morning!!! 2005 Barton Avenue or call 804 303 5449 or email wingnut_collective@yahoo.com for more info!

June Political Prisoners Birthday Poster- Write a Prisoner a Letter!

Posted: June 3, 2012 in Uncategorized
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If you would like help with learning how to write a letter to an inmate, please feel free to contact the Richmond Anarchist Black Cross at 804 303 5449, rvaabc@gmail.com or come to a monthly meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7om at the Wingnut Anarchist Collective at 2005 Barton Avenue.

You can download a .pdf of the poster at http://www.prisonbooks.info

Much thanks to the hard workers of Internationalist Prison Books in Chapel Hill, NC for producing this resource each month.

Video from Press Conference in Solidarity with Virginia Prisoners on Hunger Strike!

Posted: May 22, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Here is a video of the press conference that was held outside of the Virginia Department of Corrections Office on Tuesday May 22nd at 11am. Folks from a variety of endorsing and supporting organizations showed up for the presentation of the information and demands.

Represented were SPARC Richmond (Supporting Prisoners and Acting for Radical Change), SPARC DC (Supporting Prisoners and Acting for Radical Change), ABC (Anarchist Black Cross), Wingnut Anarchist Collective, Virginia Defender, the Wayside Center, Occupy RVA and SONG (Southerners on New Ground).

http://virginiaprisonstrike.blogspot.com

Richmond Juvenile Detention Shut Down For a Year!

Posted: April 27, 2012 in Uncategorized
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It was announced April 26th that Richmond’s Juvenile Detention Facility, located across the street from the Richmond City Jail, is being shut down immediately for a year. There have been allegations of bad conditions, forged paperwork, unsafe conditions, and sexual relations between guards and under age inmates.

The Juvenile Detention Center being shut down might be something of a victory, except that the Juvenile inmates are all being transferred to different facilities throughout the state. There is no doubt that this will make it more difficult for the friends and families of the inmates to visit and support them. It is also important to remember that the new facilities where these kids will be sent will still be unsafe, inhumane, brutal, and traumatic places.

Here’s to hoping that Richmond’s Juvenile Detention Center never opens up again because we stop detaining juveniles and locking them in cages.

News story about the shut down here:

http://wtvr.com/2012/04/26/juvenile-detention-center-shuts-down-immediately/

Call for Submissions- Survivors in Solidarity

Posted: March 13, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Passing the word along – please check this out!!!

ANTHOLOGY CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

Working Title: Challenging Convictions: Survivors of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Writing on Solidarity with Prison Abolition.
Completed submissions due: April 15, 2012.
Like much prison abolition work, the call for this anthology comes from frustration and hope: frustration with organizers against sexual assault and domestic violence who treat the police as a universally available and as a good solution; frustration with prison abolitionists who only use “domestic violence” and “rape” as provocative examples; and, frustration with academic discussions that use only distanced third-person case studies and statistics to talk about sexual violence and the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC). But, this project also shares the hope and worth of working toward building communities without prisons and without sexual violence. Most importantly, it is anchored in the belief that resisting prisons, domestic violence, and sexual assault are inseparable.
Organizers of this anthology want to hear from survivors in conversation with prison abolition struggles. We are interested in receiving submissions from survivors who are/have been imprisoned, and survivors who have not.  Both those survivors who have sought police intervention, as well as those who haven’t, are encouraged to submit. We are looking for personal essays and creative non-fiction from fellow survivors who are interested in discussing their unique needs in anti-violence work and prison abolitionism.
Discussions of sexual assault, domestic violence, police violence, prejudice within courts, and imprisonment cannot be separated from experiences of privilege and marginalization. Overwhelmingly people who are perceived to be white, straight, able-bodied, normatively masculine, settlers who are legal residents/citizens, and/or financially stable are not only less likely to experience violence but also less likely to encounter the criminal injustice system than those who are not accorded the privileges associated with these positions. At the same time, sexual assault and domestic violence support centers and shelters are often designed with certain privileges assumed. We are especially interested in contributions that explore how experiences of race, ability, gender, citizenship, sexuality, or class inform your understandings of, or interactions with cops, prisons, and sexual assault/domestic violence support.
Potential topics: (more…)

March Anarchist Black Cross Meeting- Tuesday the 13th at 7pm

Posted: March 10, 2012 in Uncategorized
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The March meeting of the Richmond Anarchist Black Cross will be on Tuesday March 13th at 7pm at the Wingnut Anarchist Collective- 2005 Barton Avenue.

Agenda topics-

Letter writing

Richmond Legal Support Website

Outreach

Fundraising

Green Scare Workshop

etc.

If you are interested in working with a non-hierarchical organization to do prisoner support as well as advocate for prison abolition please come out to find out more.

If you would like to join the ABC mailing list please send an email to rvaabc@gmail.com or search for Richmond Anarchist Black Cross on google groups.

The Wingnut is located at 2005 Barton Avenue. It is a sober, all ages space.

Call 804 303 5449 or email rvaabc@gmail.com for more information

Visions of Abolition Movie Screening- Snow Date-

Posted: February 20, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Richmond had it’s first snow of the 2011/2012 winter last night, which snowed out the Visions of Abolition movie screening. So we are going to push the whole event back a week and start next Sunday! Now it will be Sunday February 26th at 7pm and Sunday March 4th at 7pm.

Come out and join a community conversation about prisons!
Visions of Abolition is a new feature length documentary about the prison industrial complex and the prison abolition movement.

We will be screening the movie’s 2 parts on 2 different nights – Sunday February 19th at 7pm and Sunday February 26th at 7pm. Both parts of the film are less than an hour long, leaving time for group discussion afterwards.

We encourage people curious about the prison industrial system, political prisoners, women and prisons, race and prisons, what alternatives there are to prisons and more to come watch and then join in the discussion.

We will also have handouts and literature from the Richmond Anarchist Black Cross at these screenings.

The Wingnut is a sober, all ages space located at 2005 Barton Avenue. Please call 804 303 5449 or email wingnut_collective@yahoo.com for more information.

More about the movie:

Part I “Breaking down the Prison Industrial Complex” weaves together the voices of women caught in the criminal justice system, and leading scholars of prison abolition, examining the racial and gendered violence of the prison system. Our film features the work of Susan Burton, a formerly incarcerated mother who established A New Way of Life, a group of transition homes for women coming home from prison in South Los Angeles (39 mins).

Part II “Abolition: Past Present and Future,” documents the recent history of the prison abolition movement through the organizing efforts of Critical Resistance and explores the meaning of abolitionist politics. By focusing on the collaboration between Critical Resistance and A New Way of Life, (known as the L.E.A.D. Project) the second half of the film unfolds a vision of abolition in practice (48 mins).

February Political Prisoner Birthday Poster from Chapel Hill

Posted: February 8, 2012 in Uncategorized
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From Chapel Hill Books to Prisoners- the February Political Prisoner Birthday Poster! Please download and print the poster to send cards to political prisoners having birthdays this month. Or come by the Wingnut to pick up a hard copy.

Also, if you want some help with writing to a prisoner, you can come to Prisoner Letter Writing Night on February 22nd from 6-10pm at the Wingnut.

There have been many recent actions in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina. We encourage you to look on the website for more information about regional actions and prison issues:  www.prisonbooks.info

Hello Friends and Comrades,

Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for February. As always, please post this poster publicly and/or use it to start a card writing night of your own.

Good news, Mumia Has Been  Transferred to General Prison Population. This is the first time Mumia has been in General Population since his arrest in 1981.

Also, February 4th is an International Day of Solidarity with Leonard Peltier.The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee calls on supporters worldwide to protest against the injustice suffered by Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier. Gather on February 4, 2012, at every federal court house and U.S. embassy or consulate worldwide to demand the freedom of a man wrongfully convicted and illegally imprisoned for 36 years! More info here.

Lastly, Occupy Oakland has called for February 20th to be a “National Occupy Day in Support of Prisoners.” Occupies across the country are having demonstrations outside of prisons, jails, juvenile halls and detainment facilities and other actions. More info here.

Until Every Cage Is Empty,

The Chapel Hill Prison Books Collective

February Anarchist Black Cross Meeting- Next Tuesday at 7pm

Posted: February 7, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Just a reminder that the next monthly Anarchist Black Cross Meeting will be at 7pm on Tuesday February 14th at the Wingnut Anarchist Collective. February 14th is a day when there are lots of  events and parties, and which some people celebrate as VAlentine’s Day. If you are unable to make the February meeting, but are interested, please send an email, and plan to come to the March meeting- on Tuesday March 13th at 7pm.

If you are interested in working with a non-hierarchical organization to do prisoner support as well as advocate for prison abolition please come out to find out more.

Some possible agenda items include the Anarchist Bail Fund, upcoming court cases, the richmond legal support website, SPARC, this year’s ABC Conference and more.

You can email rvaabc@gmail.com or call 804 303 5449 for more information.

If you would like to join the ABC mailing list please send an email to rvaabc@gmail.com or search for Richmond Anarchist Black Cross on google groups.

The Wingnut is located at 2005 Barton Avenue. It is a sober, all ages space.

Tomorrow: Green Scare Presentation at the Flying Brick Library at 7!

Posted: February 1, 2012 in Uncategorized
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On Thursday February 2nd at 7pm (TOMORROW!!!) , come on out the the Flying Brick Library (506 S. Pine St) for a multimedia presentation and workshop on the Green Scare.

The Green Scare with the Richmond Anarchist Black Cross
This workshop will be a discussion of what the Green Scare is (think Red Scare) – the systematic repression of environmental, animal liberation, earth liberation activists by government and corporate agencies, how it affects activists today, and what can be done to fight it. There will be a lot of intro level material, but folks with more knowledge are encouraged to come share their thoughts and ideas. We are adding a multimedia aspect to this presentation to make it more interesting and engaging.

Recommended Reading List for further study:

Zines- The Green Scare Benefit Tour, Under Attack! The Green Scare and SHAC Canada, The SHAC Model: A Critical Assessment, Survivors Manual, The Green Scare  (These zines are available for reading at the Wingnut Radical Lending Library, Open Hours Wednesdays and Fridays from 4-9pm)

Books- Green is the New Red by Will Potter, Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? by S. Best, Making a Killing by B. Torres, Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth by S. Best, Memories of Freedom by Rod Coronado (All books also available in the Wingnut Radical Lending Library)

On the web- infoshop.org, anarchistnews.org, ecoprisoners.org, greenscare.org, shac7.com, midwestgreenscare.org, greenisthenewred.com, anarchistblackcross.org, prisonactivist.org, breakthechains.info, ecojustice.org, cldc.org, supportdaniel.org, supporteric.org, freemarie.org, supportmariemason.com, legitgov.org/vafusioncenterterrorassessmentb.pdf

The Richmond Anarchist Black Cross is a prison abolition and political prisoner support organization. The RVA ABC is non-hierarchical and works both locally and nationally to support prisoners and fight the prison industrial complex. The RVA ABC has been working in Richmond for over 3 years.

Contact at rvaabc@gmail.com

The Richmond Anarchist Black Cross has meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 7pm at the Wingnut Anarchist Collective, 2005 Barton Avenue.

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