#49: September 9th National Prison Strike

The Ex-Worker is back! And just in time, because a potentially historic national prisoner strike is just around the corner. In our 49th episode, we discuss the upcoming September 9th strike to end prison slavery, with an interview with the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee. You’ll also hear a review of Dan Berger’s book Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing in the Civil Rights Era; an interview with an anarchist from the UK about the Brexit vote; listener feedback on Spanish revolutionary militias, Comintern, and parallels with Rojava; updates on Kara Wild, a trans anarchist incarcerated in Paris; a letter from trans anarchist prisoner Jennifer Gann; plus news, prisoner birthdays, event announcements, and plenty more. {August 24, 2016} -------SHOW NOTES------ The September 9th National Prison Strike is coming up! To learn more, check out the Support Prisoner Resistance site, in particular the zines Let the Crops Rot in the Fields by the Free Alabama Movement, End Prison Slavery with several articles about emerging prisoner movements, and Incarcerated Workers Take the Lead by Houston IWOC. In our interview with Azzurra from the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, she referred to several texts, campaigns, and other resources, including: the Houston IWOC zine about the history of prisoner rebellion since 2008, the Attica Rebellion, Black August, the Flikshop app for sending postcards to prisoners easily and cheaply, Chicano anarchist political prisoner Xinachtli Alvaro Luna Hernandez and his Twitter account, Mumia Abu Jamal’s struggle for Hepatits C treatment, Rashid Johnson’s article “On the Questions of Race and Racism: Revolutionary National Liberation and Building the United Front Against Imperialism”, checking the IWOC website for ongoing updates, Jeremy’s Hammond’s recent trip to solitary confinement for “encouraging rebellion and criminal activities,” and criminologist Nils Christie’s article Conflicts as Property about how the state has appropriated our conflicts. On the Chopping Block, we reviewed Dan Berger’s book Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing in the Civil Rights Era. It discusses, among many other things, the life, death, and legacy of George Jackson, whose books Soledad Brother and Blood in My Eye can be read in full online. We interviewed Jon Active from Active Distribution in the UK about the Brexit vote. If you want to read more anarchist perspectives on it, check out these articles: “Building an anti-fascist culture post-Brexit” by some folks from the Anti-Raids Network, “On the tragic and the farcical of the British referendum” by the Void Network, and anarchist reflections on Brexit on Reddit. Please support Kara Wild, a trans anarchist from the US imprisoned in France in connection with recent militant protests in Paris. Here’s a video of her in her former dwelling that she built and squatted in in Chicago. We’ll post more updates on how to direct support her way as soon as we get them. In our listener feedback section, we shared a message from Jennifer Gann, a radical trans prisoner in California, who is requesting support. Check out her website to learn more about her case, or write to her at: J. Gann #E23852 KVSP-D1–209U P.O. Box 5103 Delano, CA 93216 We also referenced some other queer and/or trans prisoner solidarity links, including Black and Pink, the Trans Prisoner Day of Action and Solidarity, and a publication focusing on the writings of incarcerated women and trans and gender variant prisoners called Unstoppable. Another listener suggested that folks interested in the struggles in Rojava, and their potential parallels with the Spanish Revolution & Civil War, check out these articles titled “The International Brigades and the social revolution in Spain, 1936–1939” and “News of the Spanish Revolution: Anti-authoritarian Perspectives on the Events.” And if you’re feeling down, just remember that in Phenix City, Alabama, an unnamed Taco Bell employee refused to serve four cops who came in to order food - because they were cops. That’s what we mean by Fight where you stand! Prisoner birthdays this month: Eric King # 27090045 FCI Englewood Federal Correctional Institution 9595 West Quincy Avenue Littleton, CO 80123 {August 2nd} Bill Dunne #10916–086 USP Lompoc 3901 Klein Boulevard Lompoc, California 93436 {August 3rd} Debbie Sims Africa #006307 SCI Cambridge Springs 451 Fullerton Avenue Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania 16403 {August 4th} Dr. Mutulu Shakur #83205–012 USP Victorville Post Office Box 3900 Adelanto, California 92301 {August 8th} Barrett Brown #45047–177 FCI Three Rivers Federal Correctional Institution P.O. Box 4200 Three Rivers, TX 78071 {August 14th} Hanif Shabazz Bey (Beaumont Gereau) #5161331 Seguro Correctional Center 1252 East Arica Road Eloy, Arizona 85131 {August 16th} Address envelope to Beaumont Gereau, address card to Hanif Maliki Shakur Latine # 81-A–4469 Shawangunk Correctional Facility Post Office Box 700 Wallkill, New York 12589 {August 23rd} Russell Maroon Shoatz #AF–3855 SCI Graterford P.O. Box 244 Graterford , PA 19426 {August 23rd} Ronald Reed #2195311 Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights 5329 Osgood Avenue North Stillwater, Minnesota 55082–1117 {August 31st}