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The Prison Strike Is Over But The Fight Is Not

Banner reads End Prison Slavery, Support Prison Strike, Aug 21 – Sept 9

By C.T.

Prisons are one of the biggest systems in the US that cash out on hurting Black, Brown and poor white people in the US. People in prison are also forced to work for pennies a day while making corporations rich. This system of slavery is legal in the US because of the 13th amendment. The 13th amendment was written after the Civil War to lock up Black people making prisons the new plantations and prisoners the new enslaved.

From August 21 to September 9, prisoners across the US organized work and commissary boycotts, hunger strikes and other protests to demand better living conditions and the right of every prisoner to apply for parole as well as other improvements. This was a truly amazing protest because prisoners cannot just call each other on the phone, send a text, email or Facebook message whenever they want. Additionally, reporters do not want to write stories that are hard to verify. This means that many major newspapers were not interested in covering the strike because it is simply too hard to reach prisoners, especially when they are being punished inside the prison for being a part of the strike. Some newspapers even made up lies about the strike to make it seem less powerful than it was.

From what we know, prisoners were able to strike across over a dozen states; many were put in solitary confinement and even transferred to other prisons as punishment for fighting against injustice.

Yet the strike went on and people all over the US have been trying to support the strike by calling prisons, writing letters, protesting outside of prisons and showing support and bringing attention to the strike anyway they can. In New Orleans, the People’s Assembly and Workers Group held a solidarity protest in front of the Orleans Parish Prison on Aug 21st. During the last week of the strike, a banner was put up on I-10 facing the prison that demanded ‘the end of prison slavery.’ Celebrities like J. Cole used their platform to shine a light on the strike and murals supporting the strike can be found across the US.

Although the strike is over, there are still so many ways to support our brothers and sisters in prison that are fighting for a better life.

To learn more you can find information on: https://incarceratedworkers.org https://www.facebook.com/BlkJailhouselawyer/

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Stop the Israeli War on Gaza!

By C.T.

Gaza is referred to as the largest open air prison in the world by human rights organizations and freedom fighters globally, but what does this description really mean? What do we know about how truly dire the conditions in Gaza are, and what can the people of Gaza teach us about surviving an ongoing genocide?

Gaza has been under a blockade by both Egypt and the illegitimate state of Israel since 2007. Both Israel and Egypt receive billions of dollars from the United States to serve as guard-dogs for imperialist interests in the Middle East. Israel has led assaults on the people of Gaza several times a year for over a decade by way of US military aid.

For over a decade these attacks have destroyed hospitals, homes, schools, power plants and even the sewage infrastructure in Gaza. Israel’s blockade ensures no one is allowed out, and they closely monitor what is allowed in. Items not allowed into Gaza range from construction materials such as cement, bricks, wood, irrigation materials and pipes to life-saving medicine and even certain foods like chocolate. 98% of Gaza’s water supply is undrinkable, while the remaining 2% is projected to be undrinkable by 2020.

This month Gaza declared there are no more supplies to offer chemotherapy in all of Gaza. Israel has not allowed numbing medication or anesthesia into Gaza since 2017. This means that doctors must choose from the wounded who can be numbed and put to sleep while performing surgeries. This year alone 168 Gazans have been brutally murdered, while the wounded face a battle for survival with dwindling medical supplies.

How are the people of Gaza responding to this ongoing imprisonment and genocide? On August 9, Israel bombed Gaza’s the largest cultural center – Al Mis’hal, killing a pregnant woman and several others who were in the building. The community responded by holding a concert among the rubble the next day, with one performer declaring “The bombing did not stop the music.” Palestinians at the performances said these attacks on infrastructure and life are attacks on Palestinian identity, and this is why Palestinians resist with their culture and dignity as their most lethal weapons against genocide.

All power to the people of Palestine who are steadfast in the liberation of their minds, souls and bodies.