Week of Actions in Solidarity with the Prison Strike and Beyond

So the week of action in solidarity with US struggles against prison slavery has just ended, and on a morning walk around Troopers Hill Park one of our collective spotted this banner, which had been hung on the old mine tower!

In case you can’t see the picture very well, it says “solidarity with incarcerated workers and all prisoners in struggle” This tower overlooks much of southeast Bristol, bringing the ongoing strike and prison struggles to the attention of 1000s of residents (as well as the many dog walkers that pass through the park every day).

 

 

Originally published to It’s Going Down

On September 9th, people all over the world answered the call for a strike against prison slavery. Prisoners all over the U.S. began hunger and work strikes, while on the outside supporters took action to express their solidarity. However, despite outside support quieting down significantly after the first weekend, prisoners continue to struggle fiercely against their conditions.

Three weeks into the strike, a call was published for renewed actions in solidarity with the prison strike. While it emphasized the arbitrary nature of any particular day or week of action, for simplicity’s sake the authors suggested October 15th-22nd as the week to concentrate actions.

This page will collect actions in solidarity with the prison strike that took place around this time frame, regardless of whether they were inspired by this particular call or not. You can view a list of events planned for the week here, and remember you can submit communiques anonymously to It’s Going Down here.

October 8th

Lucasville, OH: Graffiti painted. Communique with photo here.

October 13th

Lansing, MI: Rally in solidarity with queer & trans prisoners. Report with photos here.

Lansing, MI

October 15th

Berlin, Germany: Banner dropped, flyers scattered. Communique with photos here.

Melbourne, Australia: Posters wheatpasted on corporations that profit from prison labor. Report with photos here.

Merced, CA: Noise demonstration outside the county jail, site of an ongoing hunger strike. Report back with video here.

Merced, CA

Minneapolis, MN: Posters wheatpasted. Communique with photos here.

October 16th

Mexico City, Mexico: Incendiary attack. Communique in spanish here.

October 17th

Jena, Germany: Banner dropped during spontaneous housing occupation. Report on the occupation in german here.

Jena, Germany

October 18th

Philadelphia, PA: Graffiti spotted in solidarity with the strike. Photo here.

October 19th

Heraklion, Greece: Radio station occupied. Communique in greek here.

Philadelphia, PA: UPS lockers vandalized with paint. Communique here.

Rome, Italy: Graffiti painted. Communique with more photos here.

October 21st

Bern, Switzerland: Courthouse paint bombed. Communique with a photo here.

Bern, Switzerland

Jena, Germany: Rally outside McDonalds. Report back here.

October 22nd

Minneapolis, MN: Noise demonstration outside youth jail. Report back here.

Madras, OR: Noise demonstration outside Deer Ridge prison. Report back with photos here.

October 23rd

Austria: Poster published. Download it here.

October 24th

Denver, CO: Posters wheatpasted, McDonald’s ads and Trump lawn signs vandalized. Communique here.

Denver, CO: Starbucks vandalized. Communique here.

Denver, CO

9th of September condensed news reports

Send information about the recent US prison strike to folks inside! Here are some files of information that has been gathered about the strike formatted to fit on A4 sheets of paper per file so they can be printed and mailed in to prisoners (where prisons are not too aggressive with censorship, that is).

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

Update on the US national prison strike

On Friday, the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, the largest prison strike in US history was organised. Solidarity actions were planned in at least 50 US cities, and inside organisers like Siddique Hasan were put in solitary for their roles in agitating for the strike.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday the 7th, hundreds of prisoners rioted in anticipation of the strike in a Florida prison; riots lasted into the early hours of the morning and almost every dorm was damaged.

On the 9th of September itself, all inmates in Holman prison, Alabama, refused to report to their jobs without incident. Two Florida prisons were on lockdown for the day after work stoppages, with smaller revolts reported in prisons across the state. There was a riot in a South Carolina prison, with many more prisoners across the state refusing to go to work. On the 0th of September, hundreds of people rioted in Kinross Correctional Facility. For news of the many more revolts and resistances that happened in prisons across the US, as well as support actions from across the world, visit itsgoingdown.org.

Meanwhile in collaboration with IWOC in Bristol, we held a fundraiser and infonight in solidarity with the prison strike, raised a bit of cash for the strike fund in the US and watched this video about prison slavery from submedia TV

Dinner and infonight in solidarity with US national prison strike

On the 8th of September we are having a fundraising dinner and infonight in solidairty with striking workers who are fighting against the slavery of the United States prison industrial complex.

Come to Kebele Community Centre, 14 Roberstson Road, BS5 6JY, at 6.30 pm on Thursday the 8th of September for food and to find out more about their struggle. There will be a discussion with the importance of prisoner solidarity and the need for prisoners’ unions with Bristol ABC and members of the  Incarcerated Workers’ Organising Committee, who are involved in assisting with the prison strike from the outside in the US.

In the words of prisoners involved in the strike:

Slavery is alive and well in the prison system, but by the end of this year, it won’t be anymore. This is a call to end slavery in America. This call goes directly to the slaves themselves. We are not making demands or requests of our captors, we are calling ourselves to action. To every prisoner in every state and federal institution across this land, we call on you to stop being a slave, to let the crops rot in the plantation fields, to go on strike and cease reproducing the institutions of your confinement.

This is a call for a nation-wide prisoner work stoppage to end prison slavery, starting on September 9^th, 2016. They cannot run these facilities without us.

For the rest of the callout and for more information about the strike, visit iwoc.noblogs.org and itsgoingdown.org