|
Dear community,
Join us in sending cards to our incarcerated LGBTQ+ and HIV+ community members in California who have birthdays in August, to remind them that they are loved and that we are together in this fight for our collective liberation. If you can sign up to send a card or two from home, please fill out this form. We will send you the address(es) - and some tips if it’s your first time. You will need to provide your own stamps and supplies, though we have plenty of both and can absolutely coordinate to get you some, if needed. ***COMMUNITY NEWS & RESOURCES*** This month is Black August, and we are inspired to share this reflection from Critical Resistance on the 50th year anniversary of both the assassination of George Jackson and the following Attica Rebellion: "In a time in which we’re seeing a surge of interest in prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition, it is a priority to continue to anchor it in some of its foundational political lineage and history. This past year was one of devastation from the ravages of capitalism and the manifestations of its latest set of crises, COVID19, poverty, climate catastrophe - which have moved through the PIC to irrevocably harm countless lives. It was also a year of mass uprising and resistance to capitalism and the PIC. It is necessary to ground today's abolitionist movement firmly in the tradition of Black August, the call for a recommitment to sharpening collective political analysis, and a deepening of political rigor and discipline. Read more here. Action alert from CURB regarding the Dixie Fires. CDCr has yet to make their emergency evacuation plans or safety protocols public, or offer regular updates related to the #DixieFire. Families are being left in the dark with zero access to crucial information about the health of their loved ones. Reports from the inside include: Hazardous smoke and no available N95 masks; ash from the fire blanketing the prisons; swamp coolers and electricity systems completely broken and malfunctioning; full lockdowns; loved ones being cut off from communications because the phones are located outdoors; and an end to video visits. Some family members report that they have not been able to contact their loved ones for more than ten days. Learn more and find ways to take action here: http://bit.ly/DixieFireDanger Join in demanding Biden grant clemency for thousands of elders today! Biden said he'd be the President to end mass incarceration. Instead, he’s sending thousands of our elders back to prison. Demand clemency for 4,500 people today! Come find us on September 3rd - we'll be tabling at A.B.O Comix's First Fridays Fundraiser for Queer Prisoners! Dancing, DJ, food and drinks, and a unique inside-outside art show! Artwork from a selection of A.B.O's 215 incarcerated contributors will be on view in the Classic Cars West Gallery, along with local vendors and raffle prizes. For those in the bay, join us in marching in the 3rd annual Oakland Trans March on Saturday, September 4th. Check out the link to get details as they develop and donate to support. From our comrades at Prison Radio: "Leonard Peltier is a 76-year-old Indigenous prisoner and member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who’s been unjustly held in detention for over 45 years...'Peltier is in need of IMMEDIATE medical attention and has been waiting for his request to get approved for months. We must continue to fight for him by pushing President Joe Biden to FREE LEONARD PELTIER!'...Despite the crushing reality of imprisonment, Leonard has flourished in his talents as an artist. Art has given him a purpose during internment, and his paintings are even available for sale online on a site hosted by the International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee. Sales of his art go to fund his legal defense. You can also donate directly to Peltier's commissary funds, his inmate number is #89637-132." A community member, Morion Jones, has been serving time, unjustly. Morion is a Black Trans Woman born and raised in New Orleans. For the past seven years, due to the deeply racist and transphobic prison industrial complex, Morion has been serving time at the Ellen Hunt facility, and is finally getting ready to come home! The barriers to re-entry, and barriers in general for Black Trans people are immense, let alone entrepreneurs and creatives. Help bring Morion's dreams to fruition. Now is the time, invest in Black Trans Futures! Go Fund me link: gf.me/u/zk8ugz Our partner collective, A.B.O. Comix, publishes the work of incarcerated queer and trans people with profits going back to them and their families. They have comic anthologies written and drawn by LGBTQ+ prisoners, including Confined Before COVID-19, as well as zines, artwork and merch. You can support the artists and buy copies for yourself or your penpals here. ***BECOME A PENPAL*** It is always a great time to become a penpal. If you want to start a penpal relationship, you can learn more and sign-up here anytime. Or if you want us to match you with a penpal, just reach out to us! Or check out our instagram page where we highlight potential penpals (@FlyingOverWalls). Once you become a penpal, you can join this fb group to stay connected to other outside penpals for support and resources. ***SUPPORT OUR CHAPTER*** You can donate here to support our local chapter, and we will continue to prioritize using these funds to support our incarcerated members as well as any support we can offer to our formerly incarcerated community. We have shirts (sliding scale $15-30) and tote bags (sliding scale $5-20) available by donation! The online store cannot take purchases yet, but you can contact us directly if you would like to order anything. Towards a world without prisons, Flying Over Walls
0 Comments
Dear community,
Join us in sending cards to our incarcerated LGBTQ+ and HIV+ community members in California who have birthdays in July, to remind them that they are loved and that we are together in this fight for our collective liberation. If you can sign up to send a card or two from home, please fill out this form. We will send you the address(es) - and some tips if it’s your first time. You will need to provide your own stamps and supplies, but we have plenty of both and can absolutely coordinate to get you some, if needed. ***COMMUNITY NEWS & RESOURCES***
***BECOME A PENPAL*** It is always a great time to become a penpal. If you want to start a penpal relationship, you can learn more and sign-up here anytime. Or if you want us to match you with a penpal, just reach out to us! Or check out our instagram page where we highlight potential penpals (@FlyingOverWalls). Once you become a penpal, you can join this fb group to stay connected to other outside penpals for support and resources. Dear community,
Happy Pride Month! We're super excited to be tabling at the SF Trans March Resource Fair this year--if you're attending, be sure to stop by to pick up some merch and decorate Pride cards for our trans family inside! ***JUNE BIRTHDAY CARDS*** Join us in sending cards to our incarcerated LGBTQ+ and HIV+ community members in California who have birthdays in June, to remind them that they are loved and that we are together in this fight for our collective liberation. If you can sign up to send a card or two from home, please fill out this form. We will send you the address(es) - and some tips if it’s your first time. You will need to provide your own stamps and supplies, but we have plenty of both and can absolutely coordinate to get you some, if needed. ***COMMUNITY EVENTS*** June 12 - SATURDAY at 12 pm PDT: June Bloom: Pride Celebration & Arts Festival Fundraiser for LGBTQ Prisoners Join our partner collective, A.B.O. Comix for JUNE BLOOM, a summer art market and outdoor Pride event with a variety of local art vendors, DJs, food and drinks! Ticket sales will benefit A.B.O. Comix in their mission to support LGBTQ artists in prison through their publishing and advocacy. June 16 - WEDNESDAY at 6 pm PDT: FoW Workshop: Envisioning a World without Prisons Join us (Flying over Walls) for a presentation and discussion, in which we will introduce the PIC, talk about how prisons affect us as queer & trans individuals and as a society, and break down concepts like crime vs harm and punishment vs accountability. We will then open it up to explore alternatives to police and prisons, ways to get involved, and how letter-writing connects to our work as abolitionists. Click here to register and get the Zoom link. ***NEWS & RESOURCES*** Sign the petition to tell San Jose D.A. Jeff Rosen to Free Our People Now - Sylvia E., an incarcerated black trans organizer, and others could be freed under laws that the D.A. opposes. Call on him now to end his commitment to racist prosecution and mass incarceration. To mark the publication of a new book by Mariame Kaba, "We Do This 'Til We Free Us," there was an inspiring panel discussion on the deep work of abolition and transformative political struggle. Check out this organizers' toolkit from Critical Resistance on developing campaigns to abolish policing. Our partner collective, A.B.O. Comix, publishes the work of incarcerated queer and trans people with profits going back to them and their families. They have comic anthologies written and drawn by LGBTQ+ prisoners, including Confined Before COVID-19, as well as zines, artwork and merch. You can support the artists and buy copies for yourself or your penpals here. Sign up for the Prisoner Advocacy Network's bi-monthly announcement of CDCr news & resources, community events and ways to get involved. ***BECOME A PENPAL*** It is always a great time to become a penpal. If you want to start a penpal relationship, you can learn more and sign-up here anytime. Or if you want us to match you with a penpal, just reach out to us! Or check out our instagram page where we highlight potential penpals (@FlyingOverWalls). Once you become a penpal, you can join this fb group to stay connected to other outside penpals for support and resources. Dear community,
Join us in sending cards to our incarcerated LGBTQ+ and HIV+ community members in California who have birthdays in May, to remind them that they are loved and that we are together in this fight for our collective liberation. If you can sign up to send a card or two from home, please fill out this form. We will send you the address(es) - and some tips if it’s your first time. You will need to provide your own stamps and supplies, but we have plenty of both and can absolutely coordinate to get you some, if needed. ***COMMUNITY EVENTS*** May 21 - FRIDAY at 12 pm PDT: Beyond Alternatives: Disability, Madness and Prison Abolition Join The New Press for a panel discussion with Angela Davis, Beth Richie, Liat Ben-Moshe, Maya Schenwar, and Victoria Law, in conversation about disability, madness, prison reform and abolition. May 22 - SATURDAY at 2 pm PDT: Black Liberation Organizing Join the Catalyst Project along with SURJ, Organizing Upgrade, and Center for Political Education for a panel discussion with Black movement leaders, to hear about their work and how to support projects building Black Liberation in our lifetimes. Panelists include Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, Kayla Reed, Asha Ransby-Sporn, and Khury Petersen-Smith. May 26 - WEDNESDAY at 5 pm PDT: FTTOP Abolitionist Reading Club: We Do This 'Til We Free Us Series The first of a three-part book club discussing Mariame Kaba's seminal book "We Do This 'Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice". Please visit the website to learn more about each session's readings. June 12 - SATURDAY at 12 pm PDT: June Bloom: Pride Celebration & Arts Festival Fundraiser for LGBTQ Prisoners Join our partner collective, A.B.O. Comix for JUNE BLOOM, a summer art market and outdoor Pride event with a variety of local art vendors, DJs, food and drinks! Ticket sales will benefit A.B.O. Comix in their mission to support LGBTQ artists in prison through their publishing and advocacy. ***NEWS & RESOURCES*** To mark the publication of a new book by Mariame Kaba, "We Do This 'Til We Free Us," there was an inspiring panel discussion on the deep work of abolition and transformative political struggle. Check out this organizers' toolkit from Critical Resistance on developing campaigns to abolish policing. Our partner collective, A.B.O. Comix, publishes the work of incarcerated queer and trans people with profits going back to them and their families. They have comic anthologies written and drawn by LGBTQ+ prisoners, including Confined Before COVID-19, as well as zines, artwork and merch. You can support the artists and buy copies for yourself or your penpals here. ***BECOME A PENPAL*** It is always a great time to become a penpal. If you want to start a penpal relationship, you can learn more and sign-up here anytime. Or if you want us to match you with a penpal, just reach out to us! Or check out our instagram page where we highlight potential penpals (@FlyingOverWalls). Once you become a penpal, you can join this fb group to stay connected to other outside penpals for support and resources. Roses are Red
Gender's Performative Mass Market Romance Is Heteronormative This February, in honor of St Valentine, let's send some LOVE to our inside fam. We'll be sending birthday cards to our LGBTQ+ and HIV+ community members in California who have birthdays in February, but feel free to do it up hearts and cupid style and let everyone know they are loved and not forgotten . If you can sign up to send a card or two from home, please fill out this form. We will send you the address(es) - and some tips if it’s your first time. You will need to provide your own stamps and supplies, but we have plenty of both and can coordinate to get you some, if needed. ***COMMUNITY EVENTS*** Tuesday February 23, 3-5pm PST: We Do This Till We're Free Book Launch: "Celebrate the publication of We Do This 'Til We Free Us with a discussion about prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition, seeking justice beyond the criminal punishment system, and finding hope in collective struggle for abolition, featuring contributors and organizers from the book." ***BECOME A PENPAL**** It is always a great time to become a penpal. If you want to start a penpal relationship, you can learn more and sign-up here anytime: https://blackandpinkpenpals.org/ Or if you want us to match you with a penpal, just reach out to us! Or check out our instagram page where we highlight potential penpals (@FlyingOverWalls). Once you become a penpal, you can join this group to stay connected to other outside penpals for support and resources: https://www.facebook.com/groups/blackandpinkpenpalsupport/ ****DEMAND DECARCERATION***** 300,000 prisoners in state and federal prisons have tested positive for COVID, and over 2,000 prisoners have already died. Instead of releasing people, CDCR puts people in solitary confinement and in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, and punishes them for sharing crucial information with the public. This is a public health crisis, and Governor Newsom, CDCR, and the California State Legislature are failing to address it. The ONLY way that incarcerated people will be safe is if the state releases people NOW! WE CALL FOR MASS RELEASES, NOT MASS TRANSFERS. The #StopCDCROutbreak Coalition is coordinating a push for the CA department of corrections (CDCr) to stop transfers of prisoners, which has caused CA’s COVID-19 outbreak inside. Sign the petition here: change.org/StopTheTransfers and check out the toolkit to take action: Bit.ly/StopCDCROutbreak Between the neglect we have seen in response to COVID-19 and during last year's wildfires, NOW is a critical time to fight to get our people safe and free. In addition to the one listed here, there are many campaigns currently to decarcerate our folks from jails, prisons and detention centers. Please find a campaign or an organization and support it! Search these hashtags to connect to more info: #StopSanQuentinOutbreak #StopCDCROutbreak #StopCCWFOutbreak #CareNotCages #ReleasesNotTransfers and #BringThemHome ****SUPPORT OUR CHAPTER**** There have been major outbreaks at a number of prisons recently. This month, we will be sending solidarity funds to every B&P member incarcerated at CA Medical Facility in Vacaville. You can donate here to support our local chapter, and we will continue to prioritize using these funds to support our incarcerated members as well as any support we can offer to our formerly incarcerated community: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/blackandpinkfow ****EVEN MORE RESOURCES**** Check out this organizers' toolkit from Critical Resistance on developing campaigns to abolish policing: http://criticalresistance.org/abolish-policing-toolkit/ Our partner collective, A.B.O. Comix, publishes the work of incarcerated queer and trans people with profits going back to them and their families. They have comic anthologies written and drawn by LGBTQ+ prisoners, including Confined Before COVID-19, as well as zines, artwork and merch. You can support the artists and buy copies for yourself or your penpals at https://www.facebook.com/abocomix Watch this webinar from Boston Black & Pink, called "Queer Abolition: Building Love and Power.” It's a strategic discussion about abolishing police, prisons, and how how these systems target LGBTQ people, B/I/POC people, and those living with HIV: https://vimeo.com/435145000 Sign up for the Prisoner Advocacy Network's bi-monthly announcement of CDCr news & resources, community events and ways to get involved: https://www.prisoneradvocacynetwork.org/join-us.html Dear community,
Please join us on December 19th from 4-6pm PST for our Holiday Card Decorating party, quarantine edition, to send some extra love to our inside members this holiday season. We will congregate on Zoom while decorating and sending seasons greetings cards to our incarcerated LGBTQ+ and HIV+ community members across the US. Sign up here for instructions and to get the Zoom info, and check out more ways to plug in this month below p.s. want to host your own holiday party? Click here for the Black & Pink Holiday Card Toolkit for more information and instructions. ****SEND NOVEMBER & DECEMBER BIRTHDAY CARDS**** Prison visitation remains shut down and our inside folks are more isolated than usual. Even though we can't meet in person, we still want to get cards sent in. This month, we will send both Nov & Dec birthday cards, because in December we will focus on holiday cards! If you can sign up to send a card or two from home, please fill out this form. We will send you the address(es) - and some tips if it’s your first time. You will need to provide your own stamps and supplies, but we have plenty of both and can coordinate to get you some, if needed. RSVP and spread the word on fb here. ***BECOME A PENPAL**** It is always a great time to become a penpal. If you want to start a penpal relationship, you can learn more and sign-up here anytime. It's a brand new system, so be patient as it gets ironed out. If you want us to match you with a penpal, just reach out to us! Or check out our instagram page where we highlight potential penpals (@FlyingOverWalls). Once you become a penpal, we encourage you to join this group to stay connected to other outside penpals for support and resources. ****DEMAND DECARCERATION***** Instead of releasing people, CDCR puts people in solitary confinement and in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, and punishes them for sharing crucial information with the public. This is a public health crisis, and Governor Newsom, CDCR, and the California State Legislature are failing to address it. The ONLY way that incarcerated people will be safe is if the state releases people NOW! In the October 22nd Von Staich ruling by the 9th Appellate Court, Justice Kline ordered that San Quentin reduce its population by 50%, without ruling how the reductions should be accomplished - whether through releases or transfers. We join the call from Sistas’ With Voices, and many other organizations, to demand MASS RELEASES, NOT MASS TRANSFERS. We cannot afford another Mass Transfer - that is how the situation at San Quentin started. Today more than 15,000 individuals have contracted this deadly virus in California’s prisons, and 77 families have been broken forever by the deaths of loved ones. Between the wildfires and COVID-19, now is a critical time to fight to get our people safe and free. There are many campaigns currently to decarcerate our folks from jails, prisons and detention centers. Please find a campaign or an organization and support it! Search #StopSanQuentinOutbreak and #BringThemHome or follow @nojusticeundercapitalism or @c_c_w_p on social media to connect to more info. ****STOP FEDERAL EXECUTIONS**** "The Trump Administration resumed federal executions in July after a 17 year hiatus, and carried out seven executions between July 14 and September 24, 2020. This unprecedented pace of executions make President Trump the most-executing president since the 1950's" (Action Network). Five more execution dates are pending, for Brandon Bernard, Alfred Bourgeois, Lisa Montgomery, Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs. Take action to stop these inhumane executions from happening! SIGN: general petition website: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/president-trump-please-stop-the-federal-executions/ Petition to Congress: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-congress-abolish-the-federal-death-penalty/ Write to your representatives: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/congress-abolish-the-federal-military-death-penalty Petition President-Elect Joe Biden to take action on his first 100 days in office: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/president-elect-biden-call-out-trumps-lame-duck-executions Read more at Death Penalty Info Center: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/trump-administration-presses-forward-with-death-penalty-despite-election-defeat-announcing-3-more-death-warrants-and-more-capital-prosecutions Individual Websites: A website put together by the defense team of federal death row inmate Brandon Bernard, lots of useful advocacy info: https://www.helpsavebrandon.com/ website for Lisa Montgomery: SaveLisa.org website for Dustin Higgs: http://www.savedustinjhiggs.com ----- Click here to share the petition on Facebook. Click here to share the petition on Twitter. Or you can send your friends this link: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/president-trump-please-stop-the-federal-executions?source=direct_link& ****EVEN MORE EVENTS AND RESOURCES**** Tues, Dec 8: Abolition in Action: Building Healing Collectives hosted by the No New SF Jail Coalition Tues, Dec 15: Pandemic as Portal: COVID-19 + PIC Abolition (The Abolitionist Issue #33 Launch Event), hosted by Critical Resistance Check out the new organizers' toolkit from Critical Resistance - Our Communities, Our Solutions: An Organizer’s Toolkit to Developing Campaigns to Abolish Policing—now available for download here. The Drop LWOP Coalition has been working hard to end Life Without Parole in California and beyond. If you would like to get involved, fill out their member survey. They have a growing coalition and you can join them to support people with LWOP, plan legislative meetings, and do community outreach. Check out the Prop 17 Panel from Initiate Justice. "Following up on our win for the Prop 17 campaign, we hosted a panel of activists and impacted people who worked on the Prop 17 campaign. Our panel included 3 of Prop 17’s communications fellows - Niki Martinez, John Windham and Ms. Betty McKay; our Inside Organizing Manager - Lee Gibson, who also just had his right to vote restored and can vote for the first time in his life; and an Outside Organizer with Initiate Justice - Zakiya Prince, who is now working on a ballot campaign to repeal 3 Strikes in 2022! We heard from the panel about their reflections on the journey and the win, the work that they invested in this campaign and advice for our members and organizers for working on future campaigns. If you missed the live meeting, Watch it on Our YouTube Channel Here!" Our partner collective, ABO Comix, publishes the work of incarcerated queer and trans people with profits going back to them and their families. They have comic anthologies written and drawn by LGBTQ+ prisoners, including the most recent Confined Before COVID-19, as well as zines, artwork and merch. You can support the artists and buy copies for yourself or your penpals here. Prisoner Advocacy Network has put together step by step guides to #prison #release and #decarceration for #covid19 here. PAN is also seeking administrative and communications interns! If interested please email PAN@nlgsf.org for more information. ****SENDING MONEY INSIDE**** Thank you to everyone who has joined us these past few months in sending money to hundreds of folks in CA prisons, both directly through FoW and in coalition with the Transgender Advocacy Group (TAG). To date, we have sent money to all of our local chapter's study group members and inside leaders, supported TAG’s work to send money to about 300 trans folks in CA, and most recently sent funds to each to our B&P members in San Quentin SP, where there has been one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks on record. We are deeply concerned for the lives and wellbeing of our loved ones inside prisons, who aren't able to practice social distancing and who don't have access to basic hygiene supplies unless they are able to purchase them. You can donate here to support our local chapter, and we will continue to prioritize using funds to support our incarcerated members as well as any support we can offer to our formerly incarcerated community. Dear community,
Join us for these important ways to show solidarity with our incarcerated LGBTQ+ and HIV+ community members in California! ****SEND NOVEMBER & DECEMBER BIRTHDAY CARDS**** Prison visitation remains shut down and our inside folks are more isolated than usual. Even though we can't meet in person, we still want to get cards sent in. This month, we will send both Nov & Dec birthday cards, because in December we will focus on holiday cards! If you can sign up to send a card or two from home, please fill out this form. We will send you the address(es) - and some tips if it’s your first time. You will need to provide your own stamps and supplies, but we have plenty of both and can coordinate to get you some, if needed. RSVP and spread the word on fb here. ***BECOME A PENPAL**** It is always a great time to become a penpal. If you want to start a penpal relationship, you can learn more and sign-up here anytime. It's a brand new system, so be patient as it gets ironed out. If you want us to match you with a penpal, just reach out to us! Or check out our instagram page where we highlight potential penpals (@FlyingOverWalls). Once you become a penpal, we encourage you to join this group to stay connected to other outside penpals for support and resources. ****DEMAND DECARCERATION***** Instead of releasing people, CDCR puts people in solitary confinement and in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, and punishes them for sharing crucial information with the public. This is a public health crisis, and Governor Newsom, CDCR, and the California State Legislature are failing to address it. The ONLY way that incarcerated people will be safe is if the state releases people NOW! In the October 22nd Von Staich ruling by the 9th Appellate Court, Justice Kline ordered that San Quentin reduce its population by 50%, without ruling how the reductions should be accomplished - whether through releases or transfers. We join the call from Sistas’ With Voices, and many other organizations, to demand MASS RELEASES, NOT MASS TRANSFERS. We cannot afford another Mass Transfer - that is how the situation at San Quentin started. Today more than 15,000 individuals have contracted this deadly virus in California’s prisons, and 77 families have been broken forever by the deaths of loved ones. Between the wildfires and COVID-19, now is a critical time to fight to get our people safe and free. There are many campaigns currently to decarcerate our folks from jails, prisons and detention centers. Please find a campaign or an organization and support it! Search #StopSanQuentinOutbreak and #BringThemHome or follow @nojusticeundercapitalism or @c_c_w_p on social media to connect to more info. ****EVEN MORE EVENTS AND RESOURCES**** Check out the new organizers' toolkit from Critical Resistance - Our Communities, Our Solutions: An Organizer’s Toolkit to Developing Campaigns to Abolish Policing—now available for download here. November 12th, 6:00pm: Join the No New SF Jail Coalition for celebratory Zoom happy hour. The first 50 people to RSVP will receive a commemorative t-shirt! Register here. The Drop LWOP Coalition has been working hard to end Life Without Parole in California and beyond. If you would like to get involved, fill out their member survey. They have a growing coalition and you can join them to support people with LWOP, plan legislative meetings, and do community outreach. Check out the Prop 17 Panel from Initiate Justice. "Following up on our win for the Prop 17 campaign, we hosted a panel of activists and impacted people who worked on the Prop 17 campaign. Our panel included 3 of Prop 17’s communications fellows - Niki Martinez, John Windham and Ms. Betty McKay; our Inside Organizing Manager - Lee Gibson, who also just had his right to vote restored and can vote for the first time in his life; and an Outside Organizer with Initiate Justice - Zakiya Prince, who is now working on a ballot campaign to repeal 3 Strikes in 2022! We heard from the panel about their reflections on the journey and the win, the work that they invested in this campaign and advice for our members and organizers for working on future campaigns. If you missed the live meeting, Watch it on Our YouTube Channel Here!" Our partner collective, ABO Comix, publishes the work of incarcerated queer and trans people with profits going back to them and their families. They have comic anthologies written and drawn by LGBTQ+ prisoners, including the most recent Confined Before COVID-19, as well as zines, artwork and merch. You can support the artists and buy copies for yourself or your penpals here. Prisoner Advocacy Network has put together step by step guides to #prison #release and #decarceration for #covid19 here. PAN is also seeking administrative and communications interns! If interested please email PAN@nlgsf.org for more information. ****SENDING MONEY INSIDE**** Thank you to everyone who has joined us these past few months in sending money to hundreds of folks in CA prisons, both directly through FoW and in coalition with the Transgender Advocacy Group (TAG). To date, we have sent money to all of our local chapter's study group members and inside leaders, supported TAG’s work to send money to about 300 trans folks in CA, and most recently sent funds to each to our B&P members in San Quentin SP, where there has been one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks on record. We are deeply concerned for the lives and wellbeing of our loved ones inside prisons, who aren't able to practice social distancing and who don't have access to basic hygiene supplies unless they are able to purchase them. You can donate here to support our local chapter, and we will continue to prioritize using funds to support our incarcerated members as well as any support we can offer to our formerly incarcerated community. Dear FoW community,
Check out the many ways to get involved, learn more, and take action this month! ****SEND OCTOBER BIRTHDAY CARDS**** We have cancelled all in-person letter writing events for the foreseeable future However, because prison visitation is shut down and folks are more isolated than usual, we still want to get cards sent in. This month, we will focus on October birthday cards! Join us for this important way to show solidarity with our incarcerated LGBTQ+ and HIV+ community members in California! If you can sign up to send a card or two from home for our September birthdays, please fill out this form. We will send you the address(es) - and some tips if it’s your first time. You will need to provide your own stamps and supplies, but we have plenty of both and can coordinate to get you some, if needed. You can spread the word and invite friends on fb here. ****UPCOMING EVENTS**** WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020 AT 2 PM – 4 PM Representing Incarcerated TGI People During COVID-19 "Learn how you can support our communities during COVID-19! As COVID-19 spreads through prisons and jails, outside legal information is critically important to people who are incarcerated in California. This training will train participants on the rights of people who are incarcerated in California, strategies to support incarcerated people during COVID-19, and technical rules regarding corresponding with people in California prisons and jails. Participants will also be briefed on transgender, gender-variant, and intersex (TGI) cultural competency and receive information that is necessary to support incarcerated members of this community, who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19" THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020 AT 12:30 PM UTC-03 Against the carceral state: Making (Black) freedom in a time of crisis and revolt | Robyn Maynard "The Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies is pleased to invite you to the Shirley Greenberg Annual Lecture in Women’s Studies" with a talk by Robyn Maynard. "Robyn Maynard is the author of Policing Black Lives: State violence in Canada from slavery to the present and has a long history of involvement in community activism and advocacy." ***BECOME A PENPAL**** Now is also a great time to become a penpal. If you want to start a penpal relationship, you can learn more and sign-up here anytime. Check out our instagram page where we spotlight some of our incarcerated members who are seeking penpals. Or if you want us to match you with a penpal, just reach out! Once you become a penpal, you can join this facebook group to stay connected to other outside penpals for support and resources. ****SENDING MONEY INSIDE**** Thank you to everyone who has joined us these past few months in sending money to hundreds of folks in CA prisons, both directly through FoW and in coalition with the Transgender Advocacy Group (TAG). To date, we have sent money to all of our local chapter's study group members and inside leaders, supported TAG’s work to send money to about 300 trans folks in CA, and most recently sent funds to each to our B&P members in San Quentin SP, where there has been one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks on record. We are deeply concerned for the lives and wellbeing of our loved ones inside prisons, who aren't able to practice social distancing and who don't have access to basic hygiene supplies unless they are able to purchase them. You can donate here to support our local chapter, and we will continue to prioritize using funds to support our incarcerated members as well as any support we can offer to our formerly incarcerated community. ****DEMAND DECARCERATION***** Instead of releasing people, CDCR puts people in solitary confinement and in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, and punishes them for sharing crucial information with the public. This is a public health crisis, and Governor Newsom, CDCR, and the California State Legislature are failing to address it. The ONLY way that incarcerated people will be safe is if the state releases people NOW! Call on Governor Newsom, CDCR, and the State Legislature to de-populate the prisons, release elderly and medically vulnerable people and #BringThemHome! Newsom’s Email: https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/ Newsom’s Phone: (916) 445-2841 Look up your state legislator here: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/ Form letter for representatives: https://bit.ly/ActNowNewsomLetter Search #StopSanQuentinOutbreak or follow @nojusticeundercapitalism or @c_c_w_p on social media to connect to more info. ****COMMUNITY NEWS & RESOURCES**** Now is a critical time to fight to get our people safe and free. There are many campaigns currently to decarcerate our folks from jails, prisons and detention centers. Please find a campaign or an organization and support it! The San Jose District Attorney Jeff Rosen and several of the San Jose judges working under presiding judge Deborah A. Ryan have been working together to challenge a couple of senate bills that aim to reduce life sentencing (Senate Bill 1391) and unjust felony convictions (Senate Bill 1437). The DA and Judges in San Jose have been working together to deny any relief to inmates under Senate Bills 1391 and 1437. Our community is being called to protest D.A. Jeff Rosen’s office, the San Jose Court building and write letters to the following two people asking that the DA’s office and courts stop challenging S.B. 1391 and 1437. D.A. Jeff Rosen 70 W Hedding Street West Wing San Jose CA 95110 Presiding Judge Deborah A. Ryan Hall of Justice 190 W Hedding St San Jose CA 95110 Sign up here to support TGI Justice Project. Our partner collective, ABO Comix, publishes the work of incarcerated queer and trans people with profits going back to them and their families. They currently have 4 comic anthologies written and drawn by LGBTQ+ prisoners, including the most recent Confined Before COVID-19, as well as zines, artwork and merch. You can support the artists and buy copies for yourself or your penpals at https://www.facebook.com/abocomix Watch the recent webinar from Boston Black & Pink, called "Queer Abolition: Building Love and Power.” It's a strategic discussion about abolishing police, prisons, and how how these systems target LGBTQ people, B/I/POC people, and those living with HIV. Prisoner Advocacy Network has put together step by step guides to #prison #release #decarceration for #covid19 here https://www.prisoneradvocacynetwork.org/covid-19.html Beyond Prisons - Prisoner Support Guide For The Coronavirus Crisis https://tinyurl.com/vb6yrpp In solidarity, FoW Dear FoW community,
We hope you are staying safe in this time of escalating local and global catastrophes. Check out the many ways to get involved, learn more, and take action! ****SEND SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAY CARDS**** We have cancelled all in-person letterwriting events for the foreseeable future However, because prison visitation is shut down and folks are more isolated than usual, we still want to get cards sent in. This month, we will focus on September birthday cards! Join us for this important way to show solidarity with our incarcerated LGBTQ+ and HIV+ community members in California! If you can sign up to send a card or two from home for our September birthdays, please fill out this form. We will send you the address(es) - and some tips if it’s your first time. You will need to provide your own stamps and supplies, but we have plenty of both and can coordinate to get you some, if needed. You can spread the word and invite friends on fb here. ****UPCOMING EVENTS**** BALIF Social Justice Summer: August! We are excited to join TGI Justice Project and ABO Comix for an evening of art, advocacy and abolition, hosted by BALIF, this Thurs, Aug 27 from 6-8pm. fb event and rsvp info here. Care Not Cages: Harm Reduction, Decriminalizing Survival & Liberating SF August 27th, 5:30pm How can we care for each other and our communities without relying on prisons, policing and punishment? How can we define and create safety to support our most vulnerable and help each other meet all of our needs for wellness? How can we strengthen existing harm-reduction and decriminalization work and continue to fight for abolition? Register for the event here. Black-Palestinian Solidarity: Abolition and Liberation. Aug 28 1PM ET. Join an international discussion about the connections between Black Lives Matter calls to defund the police and abolish the prison industrial complex, and Palestinian calls to tear down all apartheid walls and free Palestine. Register at www.bit.ly/AbLib B&P: Chicago's Civil Commitment working group has been archiving materials from people who are incarcerated at the Rushville Treatment and Detention Facility. They are working on turning these documents into a publicly accessible archive so that the public can learn about civil commitment through Rushville respondents' own words. They have also organized a teach-in to share some information about civil commitment. The event will take place from 6-7:30 PM CT on Tuesday, Sept 1st. If you're interested in attending, please register here. ***BECOME A PENPAL**** Now is also a great time to become a penpal. If you want to start a penpal relationship, you can learn more and sign-up here anytime. Check out our instagram page where we spotlight some of our incarcerated members who are seeking penpals. Or if you want us to match you with a penpal, just reach out! Once you become a penpal, you can join this facebook group to stay connected to other outside penpals for support and resources. ****SENDING MONEY INSIDE**** Thank you to everyone who has joined us these past few months in sending money to hundreds of folks in CA prisons, both directly through FoW and in coalition with the Transgender Advocacy Group (TAG). To date, we have sent money to all of our local chapter's study group members and inside leaders, supported TAG’s work to send money to about 300 trans folks in CA, and most recently sent funds to each to our B&P members in San Quentin SP, where there has been one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks on record. We are deeply concerned for the lives and wellbeing of our loved ones inside prisons, who aren't able to practice social distancing and who don't have access to basic hygiene supplies unless they are able to purchase them. You can donate here to support our local chapter, and we will continue to prioritize using funds to support our incarcerated members as well as any support we can offer to our formerly incarcerated community. ****DEMAND DECARCERATION***** Instead of releasing people, CDCR puts people in solitary confinement and in unsanitary and unsafe conditions, and punishes them for sharing crucial information with the public. This is a public health crisis, and Governor Newsom, CDCR, and the California State Legislature are failing to address it. The ONLY way that incarcerated people will be safe is if the state releases people NOW! Call on Governor Newsom, CDCR, and the State Legislature to de-populate the prisons, release elderly and medically vulnerable people and #BringThemHome! Newsom’s Email: https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/ Newsom’s Phone: (916) 445-2841 Look up your state legislator here: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/ Form letter for representatives: https://bit.ly/ActNowNewsomLetter Search #StopSanQuentinOutbreak or follow @nojusticeundercapitalism or @c_c_w_p on social media to connect to more info. ****EVEN MORE RESOURCES**** Now is a critical time to fight to get our people safe and free. There are many campaigns currently to decarcerate our folks from jails, prisons and detention centers. Please find a campaign or an organization and support it! Sign up here to support TGI Justice Project. Our partner collective, ABO Comix, publishes the work of incarcerated queer and trans people with profits going back to them and their families. They currently have 4 comic anthologies written and drawn by LGBTQ+ prisoners, including the most recent Confined Before COVID-19, as well as zines, artwork and merch. You can support the artists and buy copies for yourself or your penpals at https://www.facebook.com/abocomix Black & Pink National has is partnering with the UCLA School of Law and other researchers to conduct a study around the sex offense registry. Registries are another disproportionate entry point into the system for low-income people, Black people, people of color, and trans and queer people. Conversations on sexual harm are difficult to hold, especially for people who have experienced it, but necessary. We engage in these conversations so we can meaningfully address sexual harm and implement strategies to prevent and respond to it when it happens. Registries are punitive systems that leave little space for transforming harm into healing, restoring lives, and rebuilding communities. We can’t achieve liberation unless we transform the conditions that allow harm to happen in the first place. There is a serious lack of data on the impact of the registry on trans and queer lives, but this study will help us understand that better. The goal of this study is to inform policymakers about patterns, pathways, and consequences of the registry on people’s lives. The Mission of the Sex Offense Registry Study (SORS): “The identification and punishment of registrants (people on sex offense registries) is an area of growing concern. Registration can affect where people live, whether they can get work, and their ability to connect with communities. SORS helps address an important knowledge gap in law, policy, and research by collecting anonymous information from registrants on pathways leading to registration and the impact of registries. Areas of interest include race/ethnicity, income level, sexual orientation, gender identity, and the lived experiences of registrants.” If you are registered for a sex offense, over the age of 18, and live in the United States, you are eligible to participate in this study! Survey information is completely anonymous and confidential. Research findings will only be reported for groups of people (e.g., by age group) and will never identify information for any specific participant individually. The survey takes 20-30 minutes to complete, and can be found here. You can find more information about the study here. Please send along to others in your network and help us reach as many people as possible who will be able to inform this study and our work! Watch the recent webinar from Boston Black & Pink, called "Queer Abolition: Building Love and Power.” It's a strategic discussion about abolishing police, prisons, and how how these systems target LGBTQ people, B/I/POC people, and those living with HIV. Prisoner Advocacy Network has put together step by step guides to #prison #release #decarceration for #covid19 here https://www.prisoneradvocacynetwork.org/covid-19.html Beyond Prisons - Prisoner Support Guide For The Coronavirus Crisis https://tinyurl.com/vb6yrpp In solidarity, FoW We write with a heavy heart to share that Orlando Romero, from our study group, died this past Sunday of complications related to COVID-19. He was 48 years old. He was the 20th person, I believe, to die at San Quentin from COVID-19. We have been re-reading his letters, and reflecting on his initial hesitation to join the study group. He wasn't sure if he had anything worth sharing or contributing. We wanted to share this excerpt: "Over the years, I’ve been around and seen, the worst conditions, which lead directly to the worst that could befall a human being. I’ve been in the middle of riots where people were trying to kill each other, all set in motion by cops who stood 2 floors up and watched with smiles. I’ve seen men drop dead after 3 steps seeking safety, with large holes in their chests, perhaps knowing they were already dead. But most of all, I’ve seen these walls, these cold steel bars suck and drain the energy, the life, the spirit from men, until their bodies gave out. Over and over seeing someone drop to their knees, heart attack or stroke, only to be told to wait, while the doctor is called. Dying alone, on the floor of a cage, is no way for anyone in this world to pass... Online or otherwise, please shout my words loudly to whoever will listen, because human beings matter. We all felt it as children, the injustice of neglect and pain, nobody had it perfect, but somehow many of us turned away from good, from love, from compassion and understanding! So here is my truth, bright light of day and in your face! The truth does not hurt, nor is it a tough pill to swallow, people just choose to ignore or turn away from it! And if they took the time to figure out how they got that way, maybe if we show the “enemy” some compassion or understanding, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did, then maybe one of them, and then another, might listen, might open their heart, and start a real revolution! A revolution worthy of our common humanity. Never give up the hope, because we are worth it, and our children and grandchildren depend on us! So for now, I send my energy and strong love to any and everyone who has ever felt sidelined, made to feel unworthy of a smile or simple joy, or different, because let’s face it, WE ARE DIFFERENT, AND PROUD FUCKEN OF IT!!" We mourn his loss together, and will let you know if we hear of any services organized for him, as he was connected to a number of other organizations, and was especially dear to those who were supporting him through his appeals process. We invite everyone to light a candle sometime this week in honor of his memory. May he rest in peace and rest in power. Below are three images - one of his art and a photo and the flyer from the rally that happened outside SQ on Sunday, the same day Orlando died. Much love, Toran
|
