Victories!

An e-mail from Critical Resistance.. Good news in really hard and lonely times..

February 2009 Victories!




Dear Friends,

One thing we want to do better this year is to share good news when we have it. Just this month, CR helped lead the way to four significant victories against the prison industrial complex that we want to make sure you know about, and know how to support.

From prison construction to youth curfews, we know that we have to continue squeezing the PIC from every direction we can. If you have an hour, a dollar, an idea, or a question, please share it with us!

With hope,

Critical Resistance
real safety CR's work to stop new prison construction helps compel historic prisoner release order!

For nearly a decade, Critical Resistance has prioritized stopping new prison construction. We know that if you build them; you fill them.

In early February, a federal court ruled that overcrowding was the primary cause of unconstitutional medical and mental health care for people in California prisons, causing needless deaths every week. The Court ordered what we have been arguing for years is the only real solution: reducing the number of people in prison.

Our role in stopping new prison construction helped lead the court to reject the state's position that it would build its way out of overcrowding, declaring that "there is no relief other than a prisoner-release order that will remedy the unconstitutional prison conditions." Noting that no new beds had been built, instead of building, the Court's order could reduce the number of people in prison by up to 56,000.

That's not to say this fight is over. We need to work harder than ever in the coming weeks and months to make sure that the state sends our people home, doesn't drag its feet, waste time with endless appeals, or, worst of all, proceed with prison construction to try to avoid sending people home or sending fewer people home.

It is more important than ever that we stop AB 900, California's massive prison construction plan. This is a huge win and a huge opportunity, and we can't miss it.

oscar grant CR Oakland helps defeat proposed youth curfew following the police execution of Oscar Grant.
On February 10, CR Oakland helped mobilize over 100 people to defeat a frightening proposal for a youth curfew in Oakland. The proposal came on the heels of mass arrests during the protests of the videotaped execution of Oscar Grant by police.
The ordinance would also make it a misdemeanor for a parent to allow a young person to violate the ordinance, and even expose business owners to prosecution if they knowingly allow youth on their premises during curfew hours.

"After what happened to Oscar Grant and many other youth killed by the police, how could we consider giving police yet another opportunity for racial profiling. Who will Oakland police stop at 10 p.m.? What neighborhoods will see a lockdown from 10 p.m. to 5 a. m.?," said CR member Ritika Aggarwal, 24.

Drop the Charges
Since Oscar Grant's murder, CR has also worked hard to make sure that our ability to protest and organize out of this tragedy isn't shut down by the police and city officials. Since early January, we have worked to defend every single one of the more than 130 people arrested protesting Oscar Grant's murder; to make sure that youth of color aren't further criminalized protesting police violence, and to make sure that the focus stays where it should be: on the real effects of policing, whether they're caught on tape or not.

Working with the National Lawyers Guild and the Oakland 100 Committee, we have organized a call-in campaign and court solidarity for every arraignment. From more than 130, there are now only 4 people facing charges. Over the next few weeks, we'll be back to stay with those final defendants until every case is dismissed.

No Jail in the Bronx or in Brooklyn
Finally, this month saw the Brooklyn House of Detention Coalition (BHOD) block plans to expand the Brooklyn House of Detention. CR-NYC played a big support role in this victory, sharing the strategies we used to stop jail construction in the Bronx with our neighbors. This marks the second victory in two years for the City's plan to build a new jail in every borough, and shows just how far we have come in the fight against endless cage building.


THIS WORK IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN 2009. Please, take a moment to help us - and yourself - in two important ways:

1. Get Involved! There is nothing more important to CR than our volunteer power. No matter where you live or what you like to do, we need your help. Find us at 510 444 0484, or email crnational@criticalresistance.org today.

2. Donate! Not in spite of but because of how bad the economy is, we need to pull our resources together more than ever. Please click here to give a gift that doesn't hurt your bank account, but does help us all - including you!

in response to Oscar Grant protests

Stacie, a dear friend of "the radical kids club" sends us this statement released by Critical Resistance. I need to think about pacifism and I need to figure out for myself what forms of resistance I think work in bringing attention to injustice. Regardless of our personal opinions on the matter WE MUST GET THESE CHARGES DROPPED NOW.


Stand against further criminalization of members of our community!
Drop the charges against all people arrested during the Oscar Grant demonstrations!

Oscar Grant’s execution is not an isolated event. Executions of people of color, particularly young people of color, are a brutal reality in our communities, and we are right to be angry.

More than 120 people, mostly young people of color were arrested on January 7th and January 14th; more than 120 people were not allowed to sleep in their homes those nights. Are we any safer without them?

Everyday the police terrorize our communities, and everyday we resist. January 7th and January 14th were a part of this resistance.

We need to rethink real safety in Oakland and in our communities, just as we need to rethink what we call violence. We know the police value private property over human life. And though we might not agree totally with all the targets of people’s understandable rage, we cannot allow sensationalist media images to divide our communities and divert our attention. This is not about broken glass. This is about the police execution of an irreplaceable member of our community.

We need to build leadership as we stand face to face with cops in riot gear. We must collectively share our knowledge and experience so that we can make strong, more informed decisions. We need to stand together as we fight together for community self-determination.

We stand with our youth on the streets and we ask you to stand with us. Our youth cannot be left alone; we cannot leave them hanging or ostracize them for standing up. The police, the city, the state, want us to be divided, and they aim to separate us; that’s why they arrest us, shoot us, and beat us in the streets.

Given what happens in this city, in our communities and neighborhoods everyday, we must stand in the street, express our anger and organize for just, healthy, and sustainable communities. This is not an issue of one “bad” cop. This is about the violence of policing. The trial of this killer cop does not mark the end of our struggle. We must struggle together for collective liberation, to be free from policing, surveillance and incarceration, and to decide for ourselves what being safe really means.

What is happening in Oakland is happening all over the world. On New Year’s day, New Orleans police shot Adolph Grimes III, a 22-year old Black father, 14 times, including 12 times in the back. On this same day, police in Bellaire, Texas shot Robbie Tolan, another unarmed, young Black man, in the chest while in his driveway at home. Robbie Tolan is still in the hospital. While the police continue to terrorize our communities here, the Palestinian people fight for their lives in Gaza against genocide perpetrated by the US-backed state of Israel. We are united with our brothers and sisters in Gaza, with our indigenous relatives in North and South America, with a worldwide struggle for self-determination. We are strong because we know we are not alone.

if you haven't already, please call the following people and ask them to drop the charges.
Alameda County District Attorney Thomas Orloff (510) 272-6222
Mayor Ron Dellums (510) 238-3141



*This statement was written by active members of Critical Resistance Oakland, who are committed to abolishing the prison-industrial complex. (January 14th, 2008).

For more information about Critical Resistance visit: www.criticalresistance.org or call 510-444-0484.

Hunger Strike in Greek Prisons

I am under the impression that this is now an international hunger strike. This is specifically about the treatment of people in the prisons. There are so many ways to protest the treatment in prisons and so much those of us on the outside can do.

If you read Greek go here.

If you read English go here.

Here's a bit from Teacher Dude at Now Public.

Amidst the glam and glitter that go with the opening of any international event, the start of the Thessaloniki film festival was also marked by a march of between 500 and 1000 anarchist protesting conditions in Greece’s prison system. The demonstrations, which took place yesterday evening in most of the country’s major cities were aimed at bring public attention to the hunger strike taking place throughout country’s jails.

I was told last summer by a friend that prison abolition was not a good cause to take on because somethings are just the way they are and should be left that way. I couldn't disagree more.

CR10

Returned from "Struggle and Strategy to Abolish the Prison Industrial Complex"the CR10 conference in Oakland, CA this past weekend.
I learned so much this weekend its hard to know where and how to start. I attended a workshop on alternatives to the police which talked about building community and safety in a way that you know how you would actually call if you felt unsafe, in stead of calling the police. It was about knowing the people around you, it was about trust and it was about accountability to and for and with each other.

It was a very powerful weekend. The first workshop I attended was lead by the Rose city Cop Watch from Portland, OR and was called "Getting Real about Alternatives to the police." We talked about how to deal with unsafe situations with out involving the police and thus trying to prevent people from entering the prison and "justice" systems in the first place. We talked about creating community based initiatives, formal or otherwise that would help you actually answer the question of who you would call when you feel unsafe, other than the police. It was a discussion format and people talked about what they ALREADY do in their communities other than call the police and people talked about what they want to do. We talked about how to implement ideas that did not recreate hierarchical systems and use tactics similar to police and prisons. This is not an easy idea. People talked about communities in which people knew who was committing crime and that in those communities elders and "tough people" need to seek out those committing harm and give them a talking to. I was uncomfortable with this. Obviously violence and intimidation made me uncomfortable but I think it runs deeper than that. I said that I think while it is helping and important to "protect" those who have been robbed or hurt it is also important to think about why people are committing hurt in the first place. Why is someone stealing from my house? What do they need that they aren't getting? Is there something I could be doing to help with that? Is that responsibility? Who's is it? If we are against the use of "the state" for aid, who is responsible? Since the schools starting serving free breakfast we don't have the Panther's free breakfast anymore. Is that good? Is it important for resources to be institutionalized? What happens when those institutions fail?