Wednesday, December 15, 2010

GA Prison Strike Update on Tuesday\'s Democracy Now Show

GA Prison Strike Update on Tuesday\'s Democracy Now Show.

The largest prison protest in history and a virtual blackout in media.  Solidarity with these men. No slave labor.

When the strike began, prisoner leaders issued the following call: “No more slavery.  Injustice in one place is injustice to all. Inform your family to support our cause.  Lock down for liberty!”

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/65925 - Listen to Elaine Brown on Hard Knocks Radio, (About 6 minutes into the audio).



Press Release

BIGGEST PRISONER STRIKE IN U.S. HISTORY—DAY TWO

Thousands of Georgia Prisoners Continue Peaceful Protest

Georgia Department of Corrections Responds with Violence

December 10, 2010…Atlanta, Georgia

Contacts: Elaine Brown, 404-542-1211, sistaelaine@gmail.com;Valerie Porter, 229-931-5348, lashan123@att.net.

Yesterday morning, December 9, 2010, thousands of Georgia prisoners refused to work, stopped all other activities and locked down in their cells in a peaceful protest for their human rights.  The December 9 Strike was the biggest prisoner protest in the history of the United States.

Thousands of men, from Augusta, Baldwin, Hancock, Hays, Macon, Smith and Telfair State Prisons, among others, went on strike to press the Georgia Department of Corrections (“DOC”) to stop treating them like animals and slaves and institute programs that address their basic human rights.  They have set forth the following demands:

·         A LIVING WAGE FOR WORK

·         EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

·         DECENT HEALTH CARE

·         AN END TO CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS

·         DECENT LIVING CONDITIONS

·         NUTRITIONAL MEALS

·         VOCATIONAL AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

·         ACCESS TO FAMILIES

·         JUST PAROLE DECISIONS

Despite that the prisoners’ protest was non-violent, the DOC violently attempted to force the men back to work—claiming it was “lawful” to order prisoners to work without pay, in defiance of the 13th Amendment’s abolition of slavery.  In Augusta State Prison, six or seven inmates were brutally ripped from their cells by CERT Team guards and beaten, resulting in broken ribs for several men, one man beaten beyond recognition.  At Telfair, the Tactical Squad trashed all the property in inmate cells.  At Macon State, the Tactical Squad menaced the men all day, removing some to the “hole,” and the warden ordered the heat turned off, and today, the hot water.  Still, men at Macon, Smith, Augusta, Hays and Telfair State Prisons say they are committed to continuing the strike, one inmate stating, “We’re going to ride it until the wheel falls off.  We want our human rights.”
When the strike began, prisoner leaders issued the following call: “No more slavery. Injustice in one place is injustice to all.  Inform your family to support our cause.  Lock down for liberty"

Thanks to:

http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/day-3-of-historic-prison-strike-in-georgia-blacked-out-by-media-guards-committing-violence/

Where I first saw this.

2 comments:

  1. GA Prison Strike Update on Tuesday\\'s Democracy Now Show | Sixathome!...

    Here at World Spinner we are debating the same thing......

    ReplyDelete
  2. The December 9 Strike became the biggest prisoner protest in the history of the United States. Thousands of men from Augusta Baldwin Hancock Hays Macon Smith and Telfair State Prisons among others initiated this strike to press the Georgia Department of Corrections DOC to stop treating them like animals and slaves and institute programs that address their basic human rights.

    ReplyDelete

Impressions from friends, thanks.