Prison Activist Coalition

A Night for Student Jericho-A National Amnesty Movement for Political Prisoners

2007-04-20T05:39:00.000-05:00

Orange Night Live Presents:

A Night for Student Jericho-A National Amnesty Movement for Political Prisoners

Featuring: Keynote Speaker, Dr. Winston Grady-Willis

Department of African American Studies

Live Music

Poetry

Statements from political prisoners

Free event/free food and freedom

Open to public!

When: Join us Saturday evening, April 28th, 2007

Time: 8pm-10:30pm

Where: Syracuse University, Schine Student Center-Panasci Lounge

For more information contact: syracusejericho@yahoo.com

http://www.myspace.com/syracusejerichomovement

Lah Tere! Revolutionary Boricua Hip Hop- 4/28

2007-04-18T20:20:00.000-05:00

Unity Hour - 4/15

2007-04-08T11:25:00.000-05:00

Herman Ferguson Unity Hour

2007-04-05T10:37:00.000-05:00

Fred Ho Event, April 11th!

2007-04-04T12:01:00.000-05:00

New Outreach flier

2007-02-12T15:36:00.000-05:00

New Conference Poster

2007-02-12T15:26:00.000-05:00

website for panthers recently arrested

2007-01-30T02:03:00.000-05:00

http://www.cdhrsupport.org/

Meeting minutes from Oct 30 and Oct 27

2006-11-01T22:34:00.000-05:00

Friday, 10/27/2006

Attendance: Tony, Ptah, Kalisa, Sienna, Nina, Molly, Jen, Antonia, Graham, Ben

Discussion of Past Events
• Death Penalty Debate: In the future, we must make sure our representatives are even more experienced and are presenting info that PAC agrees with as a whole
• Africa Sisters and Harold Wilson: The Locks Conference and the talk on Friday were pretty similar, but all speakers were excellent and all provided some helpful information (i.e. info about Mumia Abu-Jamal, the MOVE 9, living on death row, etc.)
• Telephone Campaign: PAC could possibly hold its own workshops to educate the community on the problems with telephone companies

Future Events
• Linda Thurston: She is a prison activist who will be giving a talk at Cornell on Wednesday, 11/8/2006 or Thursday
11/9/2206.
o The event will be held in Ujamaa and topic/title will be: “Locked Up when the Levees Broke” (the problems prisoners
faced during Hurricane Katrina)
• PAC Training: will be held on Friday, 11/3/2006
• Real Law: PAC will be helping out with promoting the event and will be facilitating a discussion with Ithaca High Schoolers

Other Information/Updates
• Lansing: the first 4 weeks of events/plans have been set; we will be going on Saturdays between 10:30am and 12:30pm; any other interested PAC women are invited to contact Antonia, Jen, or Leslie or attend our meetings
• Dinner with James Turner: still waiting to hear from our point person
• Archiving: Kalisa has our folder; we will be placing minutes, flyers, and other documents into the folder and turning it in periodically

PAC logistics
• Meetings: will now be conducted in the following format:
o 6:30pm on Mondays: PAC meeting (focusing on logistics) starts
o 7:00pm: Mac and Lansing updates
o Ben will help us facilitate the first few meetings
o We will no longer be meeting at the Green Dragon; we will most likely hold our meetings at 291 Statler.
o We will also no longer have Friday meetings. All internal education sessions will be scheduled separately
Monday, 10/30/2006

Attendance: Ben, Danielle, Antonia, Jen, Molly, Graham, Troy, Tony, Nina, Melanie, Leslie, Lindsay, Kalisa, Nick, Jack

Non-PAC Event Announcements
• Real Law: PAC should attend on campus (11/6/2006, 5-7pm, Appel Multipurpose Room) and off-campus (11/16/2006, IHS)
• Prof. Roldan will be speaking on the impact of drugs on Latin America and the US on Thursday, 11/2/2006 at 6:45 pm, Watermargin

PAC event announcements
• Linda Thurston: Jen is still confirming the location of the talk; Antonia, Ben, and Jen can help with printing out flyers; Tony is still modifying the flyer
• Next week’s meeting: will be held on North Campus so we can meet directly after Real Law – more info on location pending
• PAC Training: will happen on Friday, 11/3/2006 in 291 Statler; it is IMPERATIVE that every PAC member attend (contact someone if you cannot attend); will have refreshments

Future educational programs
• Jen is still waiting on PAC’s copies of “Are Prisons Obsolete?”
• PAC will be having more informal get-togethers to discuss issues regarding the prison-industrial complex, politics, and other issues we should be educated about
o The Linda Thurston event can be our next internal education session

MacCormick
• Map: courtesy of jack; can be used in the meeting room at Mac
• Friday: Residents were receptive but the presentation of the material could have been better; in the future, it may be helpful to present the information in a less formal manner
• Saturday: topic went much better than Friday, most likely because of the way the material was presented; could also be because the residents are a lot more enthusiastic on Saturdays

M-1

2006-10-23T14:44:00.000-05:00

article from akua

2006-09-17T09:08:00.000-05:00

Minutes from 9/11/06

2006-09-17T08:58:00.000-05:00

Hi All,

Here is an attempt to briefly outline the initial pathway Dr. Harris
shared with us on Monday... (scroll down) feel free to add on if you
wish.

It is my understanding that this week we are going to start asking the
young men of B Unit about their perceptions of Africa. We are also
going to bring in some "props" to debunk a few myths... Tony was
considering showing a clip of Tarzan (Saturday). Akua talked about an
article she has she might want to share (Friday).

Any other ideas?
Kalisa = Friday point person (kmm93@cornell.edu)
Tony = Saturday point person (tam34@cornell.edu)

ALSO.... if you have NOT received orientation at Mac, please plan to
stay for a few minutes after Monday's meeting so we can go over the
days/times available. Everyone MUST go through orientation at the
facility in order to volunteer at Mac. If you have already completed
orientation, this DOES NOT apply to you. I will have copies of the
paperwork you will need to complete.

leslie

----------------------

the rough outline......

I. Ancient African History
Nile Valley
Egypt - Nubia connections + cross-influence
Egypt traditionally taught as a part of European civilization
West Africa - Ghana, Mali (Mansa Musa), Songhai
Southern Africa
Catalan Atlas (published in Europe in 1235)
II. Africa/African civilization pre/post European contact
Africa source of Europe's gold
early Christian churches in Ethiopia
spread of African civilization in to Spain + Portugal
III. "Age of Enlightenment" in Europe vis-a-vis emergence of racial
classifications
justification for trade in African captives
IV. Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
attempts to enslave indigenous populations
attempts to use indentured servants
change in laws to reflect social status maternally, instead of
paternally
impact of slavery throughout the African Diaspora

A Sweatshop Behind Bars

2006-09-17T08:55:00.000-05:00

A Sweatshop Behind Bars

By Chris Levister, New America Media

Posted on September 13, 2006, Printed on September 14, 2006

http://www.alternet.org/story/41481/

If you think prison inmates only make license plates, you're
behind the times.

As a child Ayana Cole dreamed of becoming a world class
fashion designer. Today she is among hundreds of inmates
crowded in an Oregon prison factory cranking out designer
jeans. For her labor she is paid 45 cents an hour. At a chic
Beverly Hills boutique some of the beaded creations carry a
$350 price tag. In fact the jeans labeled "Prison Blues" --
proved so popular last year that prison factories couldn't
keep up with demand.

At a San Diego private-run prison factory Donovan Thomas earns
21 cents an hour manufacturing office equipment used in some
of LA's plushest office towers. In Chino Gary's prison sewn T-
shirts are a fashion hit.

Hundreds of prison generated products end up attached to
trendy and nationally known labels like No Fear, Lee Jeans,
Trinidad Tees, and other well known U.S. companies. After
deductions, many prisoners like Cole and Thomas earn about $60
for an entire month of nine-hour days. In short, hiring out
prisoners has become big business. And it's booming.

At CMT Blues housed at the Maximum Security Richard J. Donovan
State Correctional Facility outside San Diego, the highly
prized jobs pay minimum wage. Less than half goes into the
inmates' pockets. The rest is siphoned off to reimburse the
state for the cost of their incarceration and to a victim
restitution fund.

The California Department of Corrections and CMT Blues owner
Pierre Sleiman say they are providing inmates with job skills,
a work ethic and income. In addition, he says prisoners offer
the ultimate in a flexible and dependable work force. "If I
lay them off for a week," said Sleiman, referring to his
workers, "I don't have to worry about someone else coming and
saying, 'Come work for me.' "

For the tycoons who have invested in the prison industry, it
has been like finding a pot of gold. They don't have to worry
about strikes or paying unemployment, health or worker's comp
insurance, vacation or comp time. All of their workers are
full time, and never arrive late or are absent because of
family problems; moreover, if prisoners refuse to work, they
are moved to disciplinary housing and lose canteen privileges.
Most importantly, they lose "good time" credit that reduces
their sentence.

Today, there are over 2 million people incarcerated in the
U.S., more than any other industrialized country. They are
disproportionately African-American and Latino. The nation's
prison industry now employees nearly three quarters of a
million people, more than any Fortune 500 corporation, other
than General Motors. Mushrooming construction has turned the
industry into the main employer in scores of depressed cities
and towns. A host of firms are profiting from private prisons,
prison labor and services like transportation, farming and
manufacturing.

Critics argue that inmate labor is both a potential human
rights abuse and a threat to workers outside prison walls
claiming, inmates have no bargaining power, are easily
exploited and once released are frequently barred from gainful
employment because of a felony conviction.

In one California lawsuit, for example, two prisoners have
sued both their employer and the prison, saying they were put
in solitary confinement after refusing to labor in unsafe
working conditions. In a nutshell John Fleckner of Operation
Prison Reform labels the growing trend "capitalist punishment
-- slavery re-envisioned."

The prison industry is not a new phenomenon, writes Fleckner.
He says mixing the profit motive with punishment only invites
abuse reminiscent of one of the ugliest chapters in U.S.
history. "Under a regime where more bodies equal more profits
prisons take one big step closer to their historical ancestor,
the slave pen."

In fact, prison labor has its roots in slavery. Following
reconstruction, former Confederate Democrats instituted
"convict leasing." Black inmates, mostly freed slaves
convicted of petty theft, were rented out to do everything
from picking cotton to building railroads. In Mississippi, a
huge farm, resembling a slave plantation replaced convict
leasing. The infamous Parchman Farm was not closed until 1972,
when inmates brought suit against the abusive conditions in
federal court.

Prison analysts say contract prison labor is poised to become
one of America's most important growth industries. Many of
these prisoners are serving time for non-violent crimes. With
the use of tough-on-crime mandatory sentencing laws, the
prison population is bursting at the seams. Some experts
believe that the number of people locked up in the U.S. could
double in the next 10 years. According to Prison Watch, the
expansion of the number of prisoners will not only increase
the pool of prison labor available for commercial profit, but
also will help pay the costs of incarceration.

"The main goal of prison work programs is to provide "a
positive outlet to help inmates productively use their time
and energies. Another goal is to instill good work habits,
including appropriate job behavior and time management,
according to the Joint Venture Program of the California
Department of Corrections. The program is responsible for
contracting out convict labor to governments, businesses and
non-profit organizations.

Federal law prohibits domestic commerce in prison-made goods
unless inmates are paid "prevailing wages" but because the law
doesn't apply to exports, prison officials routinely market to
foreign customers.

In California the prisons themselves are their own best
customers. The California Department of Corrections purchases
about half of what the prisons make, choosing from an online
Prison Industry Authority catalog.

Prisoners now manufacture everything from blue jeans, to auto
parts, to electronics and furniture. Honda has paid inmates $2
an hour for doing the same work an auto worker would get paid
$20 to $30 an hour to do. Konica has used prisoners to repair
copiers for less than 50 cents an hour. Toys 'R' Us once used
prisoners to restock shelves, and Microsoft to pack and ship
software. Clothing made in California and Oregon prisons
competes so successfully with apparel made in Latin America
and Asia that it is exported to other countries.

In most states prisoners receive little of the money they earn
working either for state-run or private sector corrections
firms such as the Corrections Corporations of America (CCA)
and Wackenhut. The labor prisoners perform is often
considerably cheaper than in the outside world. Case in point,
Texas-based Lockhart Technologies closed its Austin plant and
fired some 150 workers who constructed circuit boards because
it could relocate those jobs to a Wackenhut-run prison where
detainees did the work for minimum wage.

But even with the low pay and potential for abuse, the labor
programs are popular with prisoners, says California Prison
Watch, which monitors the state's prisons. "Prisoner idle time
is less, they earn spending money, and they can pick up a
skill."

Tony Matos, 45 convicted of robbing a Rialto liquor store
says, "When we step through the gates and into the shop, it's
another world. This is a company. This isn't prison. Guards
still keep watch, the capitalists still profit -- the critics
and supporters still debate. But in the end, I get a skill, a
few coins and a ray of hope and dignity."

(c) 2006 Independent Media Institute.

MOVE 9

2006-09-03T15:56:00.000-05:00

For more information on the Move 9, check out the rest of this booklet at www.freemumia.com/pdfs/MOVE9Booklet.pdf

More information on the MOVE 9:

image

2006-08-26T19:20:00.000-05:00

prison industrial complex

2006-08-26T18:57:00.000-05:00