Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #PrisonStrike
Most recents (12)
Alright I'm going to make a thread on solid #PrisonStrike2018 articles today. Because for all the dime a dozen ones that didn't even take time to read press releases, demonized prisoners or presented state denials as having some validity, there were some really good ones too
I'll start with a new long form piece by Alejo Stark from @rustbeltradio & @MI_Abolition #PrisonStrike2018 abolitionjournal.org/like-a-game-of…
The Movement Against Modern Day Slavery by @thetous #PrisonStrike2018
jacobinmag.com/2018/09/prison…
jacobinmag.com/2018/09/prison…
We need to pay attention to--and work to end--the use of solitary confinement. It is there, in the long-term lockdowns & sensory deprivation conditions that daily house upwards of 100,000 people in US, where the cruel endgame of American punishment is made clear. 1/
Solitary has always been a part of American prisons. It was central to the Quaker notion of "penitentiaries," only instead of penitence isolation led people to mental & physical decay. As well as rebellion & romance. See @activisthistory upenn.edu/pennpress/book… 2/
Isolation has long been the weapon of abuse prison systems use to punish dissidents, from people engaged in political protest to those who violate prison rules of segregation and compulsory (but institutionally prohibited) heterosexuality. E.g. press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book…
7 incarcerated people were killed earlier this year in Lee Correctional in S.C.
It was the deadliest attack in a prison in 25 years.
Prison Strike 2018 is a direct response to the inhumane conditions inside prison walls, like how 7 people can be murdered with no consequences.
It was the deadliest attack in a prison in 25 years.
Prison Strike 2018 is a direct response to the inhumane conditions inside prison walls, like how 7 people can be murdered with no consequences.
Incarcerated folks across the nation are striking for their LIVES, we need to pay attention.
ICE detainees have, many have joined the #PrisonStrike2018 by going on a solidarity hunger strike.
We can take action right where we are too.
Our struggles are all interlinked.
ICE detainees have, many have joined the #PrisonStrike2018 by going on a solidarity hunger strike.
We can take action right where we are too.
Our struggles are all interlinked.
You can care about immigration and separated families AND fight for imprisoned folks, I promise.
If you want to know a secret, it’s really the SAME DAMN THING....
Join the #PrisonStrike.
If you want to know a secret, it’s really the SAME DAMN THING....
Join the #PrisonStrike.
I stand in solidarity with those currently participating in the nation wide #PrisonStrike.
Human rights are human rights and everyone deserves to be heard.
The day that these prisoners aren’t contained in private for profit prisons is the day I will reconsider where I stand.
Human rights are human rights and everyone deserves to be heard.
The day that these prisoners aren’t contained in private for profit prisons is the day I will reconsider where I stand.
#Resisters
If you weren’t aware there is a nationwide #PrisonStrike currently going on since August 21 and will continue until Sept 9.
Here are their demands. They depend on US to get this info out as they’re being mainly ignored by the media.
Please take the time to read.
If you weren’t aware there is a nationwide #PrisonStrike currently going on since August 21 and will continue until Sept 9.
Here are their demands. They depend on US to get this info out as they’re being mainly ignored by the media.
Please take the time to read.
Here's Why Inmates in the U.S. Prison System Have Launched a Nationwide Strike time.com/5374133/prison…
So given the number of reporters we've talked to about #PrisonStrike2018 who have never covered prisoner resistance before and in many cases have little to no experience writing about prisons, I'm making a list of writers I suggest editors try to commission for pieces (thread)
First is my mentor @bsonenstein who sets the bar in writing about prisoner resistance. He has years of experience including the most thorough reporting on the 2016 strike, where he broke many of the stories shadowproof.com/category/priso…
I think people should approach Mariame Kaba @prisonculture to write an essay or opinion piece on why the #PrisonStrike2018 presents an urgent call for a new form of (transformative) justice
@RobynElyse @WholeFoods @ATT @McDonalds @VictoriasSecret @BP_plc @Aramark @Walmart Boycott ☝️☝️☝️☝️
Buycott.com
Buycott.com
@RobynElyse @WholeFoods @ATT @McDonalds @VictoriasSecret @BP_plc @Aramark @Walmart 4 things to know about the U.S. prison strike fastcompany.com/90225285/4-thi…
#PrisonStrike #PrivatePrisonsMustBeShutDown
#PrisonStrike #PrivatePrisonsMustBeShutDown
@RobynElyse @WholeFoods @ATT @McDonalds @VictoriasSecret @BP_plc @Aramark @Walmart Here are 4 things 2 know about the nationwide strike:
1. The movement was created in response to a riot in a South Carolina prison that left at least 7 inmates dead in April 2018.
2. The strike began on a symbolic date that marks the 47th anniversary of death of Black Panther..
1. The movement was created in response to a riot in a South Carolina prison that left at least 7 inmates dead in April 2018.
2. The strike began on a symbolic date that marks the 47th anniversary of death of Black Panther..
#PrisonReform is not an abstract issue for me -- it's personal. I believe in justice and dignity for all. I believe that the solutions live in the lives of those most impacted.
That is why, I stand in solidarity with all of the inmates taking part in the national #PrisonStrike.
That is why, I stand in solidarity with all of the inmates taking part in the national #PrisonStrike.
The disparities in the system are not new. They are not secret.
- 2.3 million people sit in US prisons and jails.
- 60% of people behind bars have never been convicted of any crime.
- Women are its fastest growing population.
This amounts to $182B in spending each year.
- 2.3 million people sit in US prisons and jails.
- 60% of people behind bars have never been convicted of any crime.
- Women are its fastest growing population.
This amounts to $182B in spending each year.
In MA, Black & Latino residents make up 17% of the population but account for a majority of inmates. In the #MA7, black residents are incarcerated at 6 times the rate of white residents. And low-income/minority communities account for a disproportionate # of inmates.
So we're three days in to the largest #prisonstrike in US history. This is really, really, REALLY fucking important, and we cannot let it slide from the news cycle because flashier things are happening right now.
SO PACK IT IN, WE'RE DOING STORY TIME.
SO PACK IT IN, WE'RE DOING STORY TIME.
Now, the prisoners are asking for a lot of very important things, having to do with shitty conditions and institutional racism. But their primary focus is LABOR and how little they get paid.
Partly because it's modern-day slavery, but also because it affects everything else.
Partly because it's modern-day slavery, but also because it affects everything else.
You see, back in the 90s, a conservative lobbyist group *representing business interests,* the American Legislative Exchange Council took a real big interest in criminal justice legislation and started pushing for a number of changes to the system.
The legendary Black revolutionary George Jackson was killed by the state on this day in 1971. In his honor, here's a thread on George Jackson, the #PrisonStrike that started today, & the racist prison system. [s/o to @HezakyaNewz for the footage]
George Jackson was kept in the infamous San Quentin prison. Prison officials & guards would justify their brutality by making false equivalencies between Nazis & the Black Panthers & portraying them as "extremists." In reality, the guards were racists who sympathized with Nazis.
Prison guards would (& still do) encourage violence between Black & white prisoners in order to prevent them from joining together & fighting the guards. The idea of prisoners rising up against the guards was especially scary to the authorities after the Attica uprising in 1971.
People in prisons across at least 17 states will start a #prisonstrike today to protest inhumane treatment, paltry wages, racist policies, among other things.
Spend less time on Trump tweets, and more time on this. Read their full demands below:
Spend less time on Trump tweets, and more time on this. Read their full demands below:
And read this explainer about why and how the #PrisonStrike is happening: vox.com/2018/8/17/1766…
This is a great look inside how you actually pull off a national #prisonstrike: motherjones.com/crime-justice/…
Interested in supporting the coming nation wide prison strike, but aren't sure what you can do to help as an individual or small group? Let's talk about phone zaps and forming phone clusters.
#August21 #prisonstrike
#August21 #prisonstrike
First, as always, @iwoc_oakland has put together a good pamphlet with background on the strike, including the original press release from @JailLawSpeak. You'll notice the first thing listed under Take Action is "Call during phone zaps!"
A phone zap is an action in which multiple people call a target (in this case, usually wardens and Departments of Corrections) in support of a cause or formation. This is an excellent tool for anti-repression. Because prison administrations are used to operating in the dark.
BREAKING - Work Stoppage at Largest Maximum Security Prison in the U.S.
C-Block prisoners at Louisiana State Penitentiary launched a non-violent work stoppage to demand an end to prison slavery. Prison administrators transported prisoners refusing to work to an unknown location
C-Block prisoners at Louisiana State Penitentiary launched a non-violent work stoppage to demand an end to prison slavery. Prison administrators transported prisoners refusing to work to an unknown location
In a separate report, a fight broke out today at Angola prison after the assistant warden called an "inmate a nigger" and "hit two inmate with a wooden stick."
A prisoner at Angola said, “they just pulled up with buses, with lots of orange jump suits" in response to the work stoppage. #August21
