BK/NY – Tuesday, September 13th – Letter Writing Dinner for Chip and Cinque
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, September 13th, 2016
WHERE: The Base – 1302 Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11221 (directions below)
NOTE: The Base is on the ground floor, is wheelchair accessible, and has a gender neutral toilet.
COST: Free
We hope you all are recovering nicely from the amazing noise demo and march in solidarity with #PrisonStrike and #BX120. If you missed last night, we feel sorry for you. The amount of love and energy that goes through prison walls during a noise demo is indescribable. There were 100s of people there making noise in solidarity with those nationwide who were kidnapped from their daily lives to be chained and forced to work by the State. The folks inside were participating by flickering their lights and banging on their windows. That love and energy continued on to the streets, where folks burned the flag and chanted “Attica!” throughout the prison’s neighborhood and to oncoming traffic on the BQE for an hour. There was no shortage of solidarity in Brooklyn last night.
We will be continuing our every other week letter writing dinners this week by writing to two political prisoners, Chip Fitzgerald and Cinque Magee, located in California State system, which has a notorious history of prisoner resistance and rebellion.
Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald, born and raised in Compton, California, joined the Southern California Chapter of the Black Panther Party in early 1969 as a teenager who had just been released from the California Youth Authority. In September of that year, as a dedicated member of the Party, Chip was arrested in connection with a police shoot-out and tried for assault on police and related charges, including the murder of a security guard. He was sentenced to death.
Commonly regarded as the longest held political prisoner in the U.S., Ruchell “Cinque” Magee has been imprisoned since 1963. He was politicized in prison and participated in the August 7, 1970 Marin County Courthouse Rebellion— the attempted liberation of political prisoner George Jackson and the Soledad Brothers by Jackson’s younger brother Jonathan. Magee was seriously injured in the incident and subsequently pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping. He was sentenced in 1975 to life in prison and has been denied parole numerous times.
It is with great sadness that we remind people that in the past there was a third person, Hugo “Yogi Bear” Pinell on the list of California political prisoners that we would have written to this evening. Yogi Bear died on August 12th, 2015. Rest in Power Yogi Bear.
If you are unable to join us for our homecooked vegan meal, you can write them from the comforts of your ABC-less home at:
Romaine Fitzgerald* #B27527
Kern Valley State Prison
Post Office Box 5101
Delano, California 93216
*Address card to Chip
Ruchell Magee* #A92051
California State Prison – Los Angeles County
Post Office Box 8457
Lancaster, California 93539-8457
*Address card to Cinque
BK/NY – Tuesday, August 30th – Solidarity With International Anarchist Political Prisoners
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, August 30th, 2016
WHERE: The Base – 1302 Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11221 (directions below)
NOTE: The Base is on the ground floor, is wheelchair accessible, and has a gender neutral toilet.
COST: Free
We won’t let our excitement for this year’s Running Down the Walls (Sunday, September 4th) get in the way from having our every other week letter writing dinner for political prisoners. We won’t let our sharing of the sponsorship form, promotional flier, and updated online donation spot stop us from being psyched as always to see you all this Tuesday. For sure we couldn’t allow ourselves to remind you the importance of sustaining the ABCF Warchest Program, the 22 year long running fund that currently gives money to ten US held political prisoners on a monthly basis, in our announcement for our biweekly gathering. Have we mentioned the amazing work that the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP) is doing and how happy we are they will also be benefiting in this year’s Run? We have and we will again this Tuesday as we participate in the week of International Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners by sending cards to anarchist prisoners internationally.
Many imprisoned anarchists will never be acknowledged as ‘political prisoners’ by formal human-rights organizations, because their sense of social justice is strictly limited to the capitalist laws which are designed to defend the State and prevent any real social change. At the same time, even within our individual communities, we know so little about the repression that exists in other countries.
Here in the states, folks are being persecuted for possibly even associating with anarchists or animal liberationists. Around the globe, the state and capital collude in much the same way, and as a result rebels are imprisoned for acting on their desire for a free world. Please join us in sending cards to these imprisoned comrades. We’ll see you at supper! Read more…
Illustrated Guide Version 11.6 Now Uploaded!
We’ve finished the latest version of the NYC ABC “Illustrated Guide to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War” and it’s available for viewing (and download) by clicking on the tab at the top of this page. This update includes updated mini-bios, photos, and address changes for several prisoners and removes Luke O’Donovan (TIME SERVED!).
BK/NY – Tuesday, August 16th – Black August Card Writing Dinner
WHAT: Black August Card Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, August 16th, 2016
WHERE: The Base – 1302 Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11221 (directions below)
NOTE: The Base is on the ground floor, is wheelchair accessible, and has a gender neutral toilet.
COST: Free
Hopefully you’ve been training in preparation for Running Down the Walls 2016. The competition will be fierce, the food at the after party will be delicious, and the solidarity with our imprisoned comrades will be infinite. Please take this opportunity to get more folks to sponsor you as a participant and help build the ABCF warchest and the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project. As a lead in to this year’s run, we are hosting another of our every other week Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinners. This week, NYC ABC will be hosting a Black August card signing.
Maybe you’ve been working too many hours a week to even notice the full-blown war being waged against you by cops and the ruling class. It is real and it is continuing. And of course there is another war– the war against folks imprisoned for their political beliefs and actions. And here’s where we bridge the two. We will be sending greeting cards to Black revolutionary political prisoners and there’s an easy (too easy? POSSIBLY!) way for you to help. Just come by, eat some food, sign some cards, maybe meet folks you don’t already know, and show some base level solidarity with those behind bars.
Read more…
BK/NY – Sunday, September 4th – Running Down the Walls 2016!
WHAT: Running Down the Walls – 5k Run/Walk/Jog/Bike
WHEN: 2:00-7:00pm, Sunday, September 4th
WHERE: Prospect Park– Lincoln Road/East Lake Drive, east of the Terrace Bridge (see the below map for exact location)
COST: $10 registration (includes food and drinks afterwards)
Every year, prisoners and supporters of political prisoners organize solidarity events with Running Down the Walls. In the last few years, we’ve had runs in Albuquerque (NM), Arcata (CA), Ashland (OR), Bellefonte (PA), Boston (MA), Denver (CO), Elmore (AL), Inez (KY), Los Angeles (CA), Marion (IL), New York (NY), USP Navosta (TX), Pelican Bay (CA), Phoenix (AZ), Tucson (AZ), and Toronto, Ontario. This year we hope to expand the amount of runs in prisons and other cities, as well as increase the amount of funds raised for community projects. NYC ABC‘s goal with this year’s run is $3,000. You can donate online by going to gumroad.com/nycabc
This year’s run will take place on Sunday, September 4th at 2:00pm in solidarity and conjunction with runs that will take place in cities and prison yards across the country at the same time.
REGISTER AS, OR SPONSOR, A PARTICIPANT
To raise our goal of $3,000, we need your support.
* Promote – print and distribute this poster and/or this flyer to friends and local businesses, your doctor’s office, laundromat, food co-op, wealthy benefactor, et cetera.
* Run/walk/bike/roll in the 5k – We need participants who can run/walk/bike/roll the 5k and are able to collect financial pledges to offer as donations to the run. Download the brochure, complete with registration and sponsor form right here.
* Volunteer for the run – We need folks who are willing to staff a registration/literature table, hand out water, bike the route as street medics, and help chalk the route beforehand.
* Donate online at gumroad.com/nycabc
* Donate to the run/sponsor a participant – If you are not able to attend, but want to support this fundraising effort, please mail donations to:
NYC ABC
Post Office Box 110034
Brooklyn, New York 11211
Your donation of $10 or more entitles you to the celebratory picnic after the event.
Each year, we split proceeds between the Anarchist Black Cross Federation’s Warchest Program and a local organization. This year’s partner group will be the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP).
The Warchest Program:
The Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) has initiated a program designed to send monthly checks to those Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have been receiving insufficient, little, or no financial support during their imprisonment. The Warchest program was initiated in November 1994. Its purpose is to collect monthly funds from groups and individual supporters, and send that money to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War (PP/POW) via monthly checks. Over the last two decades, the ABCF warchest has dispensed over $75,000 to political prisoners in the United States. Currently, there are ten imprisoned comrades who receive a monthly stipend as part of the program; they are:
Joseph Bowen
Xinachtli (FKA Alvaro Luna Hernandez)
Herman Bell
Robert Seth Hayes
Maliki Shakur Latine
Ruchell Magee
Sundiata Acoli
Hanif Bey
Oso Blanco
For more information, visit: abcf.net/warchest-program
Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP):
The Queer Detainee Empowerment Project (QDEP) is a collective Alternative to Detention (ATD), detention center visitation, direct service, and community organizing project that works with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Two Spirit, Trans, Gender Non- Conforming, and HIV+ detainees and their families currently in detention centers, those that are recently released from detention centers, and undocumented folks in New York City. For more information, visit qdep.org
We’ll be starting here:
Directions:
From the Q train, get off at the Prospect Park stop. Walk to Lincoln Road and turn right into the park. We’ll be about 700 feet away.
The event will be one lap around what is known as the Main Loop, and will total five kilometers. For the curious, here’s what it looks like:
Of course, if you have any questions, e-mail us at nycabc at riseup dot net
BK/NY – Tuesday, August 2nd – Letter Writing Dinner for Ronald Reed
WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
WHERE: The Base – 1302 Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11221 (directions below)
NOTE: The Base is on the ground floor, is wheelchair accessible, and has a gender neutral toilet.
COST: Free
The every other week political prisoner letter writing dinner is happening this Tuesday. This week we will be focusing on Ronald Reed.