Why Environmentalists Should Stand with Prisoners on September 9th

By Panagioti - Earth First! Newswire, September 7, 2016

September 9th is the 45th anniversary of the Attica Uprising in New York, where national attention was drawn to the problem of prisons in this country. This year there will public demonstrations in support of prisoners who have a called for a coordinated national work strike in response to extreme abuses they face, including toxic environments, discrimination, censorship, and literal slavery based on the 13th Amendment’s exemption of prisoners.

Prisoner-led groups like the Free Alabama Movement and the Free Ohio Movement have issued calls for “No School, No Work, No Shopping” on September 9, both to disrupt business as usual for the day and to encourage students and workers to participate in solidarity events.

Below is a listing of over 40 events being planned around the country.

The Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons (FTP) is calling for action in solidarity with the IWW Union’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC) and other prisoner-led groups in planning activities around Sept 9th.

As I have expounded on in a series of recent articles published over the Earth First! Newswire, prisons all over the country are coupled with environmentally hazardous land uses that threaten prisoners’ health and surrounding ecosystems. (Check out this map for a visual representation of the chronic prison pollution problem.)

At federal prisons, for example, UNICOR factories have been cited for unsafe working conditions and environmental hazards across the nation. For this reason, FTP is planning a demo at the Coleman prison complex, where over 7,000 people are locked up and subjected to slavery at the largest federal prison factory in the US.

In another prison/ecology example, the federal Bureau of Prisons is proposing to build a new maximum-security prison and slave factory on top of a former strip mine site in the coalfields of Letcher County, Kentucky. Any federal prisoner could, at any time, find themselves transferred to this prison, subjected to the health risks associated with a site where the air, water and soil are polluted by decades of coal mining and processing, which is still ongoing in the surrounding mountains.

Along with putting prisoners on a toxic site, that prison would also impact local people who live nearby, turning their community into a prison town. Construction alone will waste $444 million of federal tax dollars which could be used to address the crushing poverty that so often forces people into prisons in the first place.

The proposed site also sits a mile from a rare pocket of eastern old-growth forest that is home to dozens of Appalachian plant and animal species listed as threatened or endangered.

For more information on Sept 9th, Letcher County and other related issues, visit FightToxicPrisons.org

Also, for additional info on the topic of toxic prison slavery, check out these recent writings of Texas prisoner organizer Malik Washington.

Events Leading Up to September 9th and Beyond

(Listing from ItsGoingDown.org)

Olympia, WA:

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with striking prisoners. More info here.

Portland, OR:

• September 9th: Rally and march on corporations profiting from prison labor and in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.

Eugene, OR: 

• September 9th: Panel discussion event. More info here.

Eureka, CA:

• September 9th: Solidarity demonstration with national prison strike. More info here.

Oakland, CA:

• September 9th: BBQ to make banners, discuss strike, and watch films. More info here.
• September 10th: Rally and march on corporations profiting from prison labor and in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.

Santa Barbara, CA: 

• September 9th: Rally outside of Santa Barbara County Jail, 6:30 PM. More info here.

Los Angeles, CA:

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with the prison strike. More info here.

Phoenix, AZ: 

• September 9th: Rally outside of facility in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
• September 10th: Teach-in and info-night on mass incarceration and the prison strike. More info here.

Tucson, AZ:

• September 10th: March in solidarity with prison rebels. More info here.

Buckeye, AZ: 

• September 9th: Rally in support of strike and against toxic prisons. More info here.

Milwaukee, WI: 

• September 9th: Solidarity picnic and event. More info here.
• September 10th: Rally against prison slavery. More info here.

Bloomington, IN:

• September 7th – Strike Conclusion: Ongoing solidarity assemblies and agitation at People’s Park beginning 9/7 and continuing until the conclusion of the strike and the end of any retaliation against participating prisoners. Assemblies every night at 7:30 to share updates and coordinate actions, with public presence beginning earlier in the evening. Expect films, workshops, information tables, and smaller or larger actions launched at People’s Park.

Indianapolis, IN: 

• September 9th: Noise demo in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

Minneapolis, MN: 

• September 10: Noise demonstration outside of youth jail in solidarity with prison strike. More info here and here.

Denver, CO: 

• September 9th: Noise demonstration outside of youth jail in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.

Chicago, IL:

• September 9th: Rally and march in solidarity with the national prison strike. More info here.

East Lansing, MI: 

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

Cincinnati, OH: 

• September 9th: Hamilton County Justice Center, 11 am, bring signs supporting prisoners. Contact Sonny Williams for more info: 513 751-2090.

Kansas City, MO: 

• September 9th: Community event supporting the national prison strike. More info here.

Denton, TX:

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.

Austin, TX: 

• September 9th: Speak out and picket. More info here.

Houston, TX:

• September 10th: Prison strike solidarity speak out and noise demonstration. More info here.

Mount Olive, WV: 

• September 11th: Rally and demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

Atlanta, GA: 

• September 9th: Demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

New Orleans, LA: 

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with the national prison strike. More info here.

Nashville, TN:

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in support of prison strike. More info here.

Cumberland, MD: 

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with the strike. More info here.

Asheville, NC:

• September 9th: March in solidarity with national prison strike. 5:30 PM, meet at Aston Park, South French Broad Ave and Hilliard.

Durham, NC: 

• September 9th: March in Resistance to Prison Slavery. Meet at Durham Central Park, 7:30 pm. More info here.

Fort Lauderdale, FL: 

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity the national prison strike. More info here.

North/Central, FL:

• September 9th: Demonstration at Wal-Mart against Prison Slavery
• September 10th: Noise demonstration outside of Coleman Correctional Complex. More info here and social media event here.

Detroit, MI: 

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

Pittsburgh, PA:

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

Philadelphia, PA:

• September 9th: Noise demonstration. More info here.
• September 11t: Workshop on national prison strike. More info here.

Worcester, MA: 

• September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

Providence, RI: 

• September 9th: Rally and march in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

Camden, NJ: 

• September 9th: Rally and outreach event in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

Newark, NJ: 

• September 9th: Rally and outreach event in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

Rochester, NY:

• September 9th: Rally and noise demonstration. More info here.

Ithaca, NY: 

• September 9th: Rally and noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.

Brooklyn, NY:

• September 9th: Prison strike solidarity and noise demonstration out of jail. More info here.

Have something planned but don’t see your event listed? Email us at: info[at]itsgoingdown[dot]org.

Disclaimer:The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.