Working
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ki to
t Extend
E t d Democracy
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to
t All 
Volume
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2, N
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Number
b 8
8

August
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A
August
t 2013
2013
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GUANTANAMO - PELICAN BAY
“I don’t want to die. But I am prepared to die if that is what it takes. I
can’t take not knowing my destiny anymore.”

T

hese are the words of Nabil Hadjarab, one of my cleared clients in
Guantnamo Bay. At the start of this
week, after some long, painful, and heartfelt conversations, Reprieve and colleagues
took his case (and three others) to a US federal judge.
Take his tubes out, we asked. Stop the
force-feeding.
If we win, Nabil and my other clients
will have a choice: to eat, or to continue to
fast in protest.
This may strike you as extreme. It struck
me as extreme in the early stages of my
talks with these men. I have been visiting

CONTENTS
Guantanamo - Pelican Bay ......1
Guards Ask to Join Suit............2
Quote Box ................................2
Taken Hostage .........................3
Letters ......................................4
Editorial Comments..................6
Demo Photos from Seattle .......7
Ammiano Supports Strike ........8
Solidarity from Mass ................8
To Protest is a Right! ................8

them in Guantanamo for years, and trying
(and failing) to extract them from prison
for all that time.
For that effort to end in a client’s death
by starvation is probably the most heartbreaking failure I can imagine.
But just try for a moment, as I did, to step
into their shoes.
All the clients who are asking for this are
cleared - most under President Bush. For
them, each passing day is not time off a
determined sentence, a square crossed off
a finite calendar: it is one in a potentially
endless succession of days.
My clients see no end in sight. They have
stopped believing the government’s promises of imminent freedom. They have certainly stopped raising their hopes because
of rhetorical flourishes from President
Barack Obama.
What they are asking, then, is the most
bbasic choice of any human: the dignity to
ddecide what goes in their bodies.
“Is this who we are?” the president asked
iin a recent speech. Yet we have seen no
ssign from the White House of the one acttion within their power likeliest to end the
sstrike: the transfer of cleared people like
my clients.
m
All this is about to get even more troubbling, because Ramadan starts in a week.
Muslims traditionally fast between sunup
M
aand sundown. Will my clients be force-fed
iin these hours? All Obama’s Justice Deppartment would say on Friday was that they
w
would oppose my motion.
I know what my clients would say to Mr.
O
Obama: you can’t have it both ways. Like it
oor not, until you solve this crisis, this - the
w
withered man strapped in a chair - this is
A
America. ●
From: the Huffington Post

SUPPORT THE
PELICAN BAY
HUNGER STRIKE

I

n their ongoing plea for justice and humane treatment, the inmates confined in
the Security Housing Unit program at
Pelican Bay State Prison must continue to
use the only peaceful means available that
will draw proper attention to their plight, a
Hunger Strike. Going through a long term
hunger strike involves every aspect of your
being, physical, mental and emotional. It
requires a very strong will, determination
and a true purpose as a driving force. The
driving force in this is showing the world
what actually goes on within the concentration camps outside the view of those this
forced treatment would purportedly serve
and bring an end to this cruel and inhumane
reality once and for all. Over the years
there have been many attempts to gain assistance from the outside community and
place these issues within the domain of the
courts of law where change can be initiated. This purpose can undo decades of abuse
inflicted on inmates through the policies of
the State Department of Corrections and
the blind eye of the public. A hunger strike
sends the message that this is not a mere
protest of trivial circumstance with unreasonable demands. This is an extremely
serious and sensitive occurrence that must
be viewed as such by all concerned. With
men who have been caged in concrete and
steel sensory deprivation units, without the
feel of sunshine, wind or the touch of another human being for decades, this is not
a decision to be taken lightly. Most of the

men confined in this way suffer from one
ailment or another as a direct result of that
long captivity in modern day dungeons.
For these men there is no other way left to
them that will gain that most illusive need,
the compassionate awareness of the people
outside the walls and their willingness to
take that very crucial next step, progressive involvement. This, their mind, body
and soul felt appeal and plea goes out to
people in all walks of life, from Pelican
Bay to the world. The Department of Corrections being ever determined to silence
the noise that screams the truth of their
oppressive practices will stop at nothing
to end the strike with their unjust policies
maintained. In the states attempt to undermine the meaning and momentum of this
hunger strike, several people will be hospitalized will feeding tubes for the strikes
duration. Some of these men already suffer
from conditions like diabetes and may not
survive feeding tubes. The hunger strike
has gone from critical to intensely critical
because people in positions of power like,
Senators, Congress and most importantly
Judges are starting to look at the evidence
and acknowledge much more than punishment is going on inside California’s share
of the Prison Industrial Complex. It should
not matter who you like or don’t like, who
you work for or are friends with. The incredible issue is what these captives endure on a daily basis sunk in these holes of
depravity. Please don’t stand in the doorway when a step or two could unclog the
flow of information and materials possibly
beneficial to those whom for all intents
and purposes are bound and gagged. The
folks inside need every aspect of what we
are capable of giving and doing. There are
so many who have already responded to
the call for support and are doing all they
can. Your contribution is beyond measure,
greatly appreciated by the hunger strikers
and an inspiration to all others who would
stand against the injustice inflicted on them
as a policy. The Black August Organizing
Committee continues to stand in full solidarity with the hunger strikers and will always be a voice exposing the pain that not
only touches them but the lives of their
families and loved ones as well. Continue
to resist oppression, continue to grow!!! ●
Shaka At-thinnin, Chairman
Black August Organizing Committee
[CDCR admits to thirty thousand not
eating! Thousands more not working. Now
they are doctoring the numbers.]
2

GUARDS ASK TO
BE INCLUDED
IN SOLITARY
CONFINEMENT
LAWSUIT
By Paige St. John, LA Examiner, 6-27-13
he union that represents corrections
officers at California prisons seeks
to intervene in a federal lawsuit
over how long the state may keep inmates
locked up in solitary confinement.
A group of 10 inmates, each held a decade or longer in isolation at Pelican Bay
State Prison near the Oregon border, contend that the practice of indefinite solitude
is cruel and inhuman and violates their constitutional rights. A federal judge is hearing
their request to turn the case into a class
action.
The California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. this week asked the judge to include it as a party in the lawsuit. The guards
union contends that decisions on who is put
into Pelican Bay’s Security Housing Unit,
and how long they are kept there are a
matter of security that affects the safety of
union members throughout the state prison
system.
Prisoners argue that the state uses secret
evidence to determine who is a member of
a prison gang and therefore must be put in
isolation, and that long stretches of such
confinement cause severe psychological
harm. They urge limits on how long prisoners can be kept under such conditions.
That “eviscerates” the process of deciding whether an inmate presents a security
threat, the union argues. Limiting isolation
“jeopardizes the security of the institution
and CCPOA’s membership,” and would
“lead to increased violence throughout
prisons in California,” the union stated in
its federal court filing this week.
The CCPOA represents nearly 27,400
correctional employees.
In protest of solitary confinement conditions, inmate leaders in Pelican Bay’s isolation unit are calling for a statewide hunger
strike to begin in two weeks. U.S. District
Chief Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland is
currently requiring settlement negotiations
between some of those same Pelican Bay
inmates and corrections officials over the
solitary confinement lawsuit. Wilken has
set an August hearing for the class-action
motion. ●

T

Quote Box
“The first human who hurled an insult
instead of a stone was the founder of
civilization.”
Sigmund Freud
“What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good
idea.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“Of all injustice, that is the greatest
which goes under the name of law; and
of all sorts of tyranny the forcing of the
letter of the law against the equity, is the
most insupportable”
L Estrange
“There is no greater tyranny than that
which is perpetrated under the shield of
the law and in the name of justice.”
Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws
“Just look at us. Everything is backwards. Everything is upside down. Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy
justice, universities destroy knowledge,
governments destroy freedom, the major
media destroy information, and religion
destroys spirituality.”
Michael Ellner
“It is no measure of health to be well
adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti
“The liberties of a people never were,
nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed
from them.”
Patrick Henry
“Sunshine is the greatest disinfectant”
Louis D. Brandeis
“In America, the government belongs
to the people. Inherent in our system
of self-government is the idea that the
People have the right to know what our
government and government officials
are doing and to hold them accountable
for their actions”
Citizen Access Project
“Nothing so diminishes democracy as
secrecy.”
Ramsey Clark,
Former Attorney General
Rock!

TAKEN HOSTAGE:
AND MY CAPTORS EXPECT ME TO DO WHAT?
By David Carr #11818281
Snake River Prison, Ontario, OR
e are being held in solitary confinement and the State compels
us to reveal personal questions
or be held in isolation indefinitely. They
call this bi-weekly interrogation “programming” where we’re forced to reveal our
most personal information to our captors
“the State”, knowing that this information
can and will be used against us. They give
us “packets” containing personal questions
such as “Describe a specific incident where
you completely lost control of yourself and
lashed out in anger.” I’ll give an example
where this question was used...

W

Entrapment
Daniel Lunsford #11360357 a Native
American who is housed next door to me
in Oregon’s IMU as I write this. Daniel
is fighting an outside case where he was
assaulted (punched in the face) by a staff
member (CO Harrison) on camera and was
forced to defend himself. His “packets”
are specifically designed around questions
about lashing out in as anger previously
mentioned. Many are “multiple choice” answers that give no option for self-defense
and leave him exposed for self-incrimination. Yet he is coerced to either answer
these questions risking the real possibility
of incriminating himself and picking up
more time in prison or spend the rest of his
lengthy sentence in solitary confinement.
This tactic the State is using to interrogate,

is clearly coercion which is a felony crime.
ORS 163.275 Coercion: To unlawfully
and knowingly compel and induce an individual to abstain from engaging in conduct
to which they have a legal right to engage
in. [In this case the 5th Amendment right to
remain silent. Under the threat of the indefinite placement in solitary confinement
which has clearly been defined as torture
by the United Nations in 2011 and is widely known to cause lasting and irreversible
psychological injury.]
Just because we are incarcerated does
not authorize ODOC to dissolve or obstruct
our 5th Amendment right to remain silent
yet the State does this under the radar, by
implementing an internal rule #055 (IMU)
and calling these invasive questions “programming” thereby receiving public funding to commit the crime of coercion which
is a felony. Recently I asked the Assistant
Superintendent of Snake River Corrections
Judy Gilmore if it is “true that if I act in best
behavior and never receive a single misconduct yet simply choose not to answer
these invasive personal questions will I be
kept in solitary confinement forever and for
that reason alone.” Her response in writing
was “Yes it is true.” She then went on to
write “If you refer to rule #O55 (IMU) you
will see that an inmate must complete assigned programming to be considered for
release to general population.”

Oregon Joins the Fight
DOCs across the country violate our
amendments by skirtDare to Be
ing the law to accomWhen a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.
plish their goals and
When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.
have had next to no
When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.
consequences or reWhen something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.
percussions. We have
When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.
ALLOWED
them
When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.
to do this by just acWhen you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going.
cepting the actions
When times are tough, dare to be tougher.
they take against us.
When love hurts you, dare to love again.
Well everyone I have
When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.
spoken with about
When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.
this is ready to create
When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.
positive change and
When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.
we all agree the three
When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.
core demands are
When the day has ended, dare to feel as you’ve done your best.
worthy of our sacriDare to be the best you can fice to create lasting
At all times, Dare to be!”
meaningful changes.
Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
We have committed

Volume 2, Number 8

to the struggle and are participating in the
July 8th HS in surprising numbers. We have
stopped turning in our packets together, in
accord, as more and more people join us
because they realize that they are not alone.
DOC will begin to realize they must reassess their current strategy and consider our
3-Core because they ABSOLUTELY depend on us to complete these packets in order to maintain population control in IMU.
The July 8th HS will get us outside support.
Because our demands are reasonable and
this packet strike is the most effective solution to create lasting changes for our brothers and sisters across the state who will be
assigned IMU in the future.
In solidarity
We struggle for change
Oregon’s 3 Core Demands (Not Negotiable)
A date for release from IMU regardless
of participation/completion of packets, not
to excede 90 days beyond the calculated release date if one does complete their packets. Currently we are being held indefinitely
per Rule #055 (IMU) which states that an
inmate must complete assigned “programming” to be “considered” for release to GP.
Reduce the inadvertent placement of individuals in LONG TERM IMU by implementing a rule that calls for a decision by
IPC for the placement of an individual in
long term IMU (solitary) within 90 days of
initial placement in IMU. This will significantly reduce the number of long term assignments because currently they lead us to
believe we are working towards our relase
to mainline by completing their self help
packets “program” only to find out they
were waiting for a bed to become open to
place us. Chase the carrot, get the stick...
One (1) phone call within 2 weeks of attaining Level 3 and 1 phone call every 3
months if there are no DR’s and inmate remains at Level 3. This phone call must be
allowed from a list of 3 numbers approved
and must occur no longer than 2 weeks before or after said 90 days.
Special Provisions
(Negotiable)
Once an inmate reaches Level 3 he/she
should be allowed to purchase shoes from
commissary and photo tickets (for reprints
only) headphones. ●
3

[Note: Names of letter writers will be
withheld unless the author of the letter explicitly approves printing of their name.]
Wasco Demands
To all who are standing in solidarity as
one. Last month we sent a letter to the
“Rock” news letter from Wasco State Prison/Reception Center, Ad-Seg Unit. (this
letter was a copy of our choosing to stand
in solidarity with the Pelican Bay short
Corridor Rep’s), addressed to the Warden
there (John Katavich) with additional demands for the institution as a whole, all
colors, all sides, as one. I’m/we’re not sure
if said document was ever received, along
with (9) signatures & C.D.V numbers?
As you can now see, CDCR attempted to silence another out spoken voice by
transferring me out to Corcoran SHU, only
a week after our letter was sent out, via Unit
Sergeant... Coincidental? Highly doubtful
at best… Needless to say, our captors here
still fail to see the Big Picture! Although
I’m no longer an inmate at WSP-R/C
“ASU”, our peaceful protest, which is nonviolent, will proceed no matter what prison
one is in… Our Hunger Strike/Work Stoppage reach out and touch all mainlines, all
levels, Ad-Seg, SHU’s, Receptions Centers and Camps, alongside with other prisons here in the United States across the nation, both men and women alike.
It is not ‘I’, one man, who will stand and
be counted for! No, it is us, one people,
one nation, all sides, who will participate
and leave everlasting impression upon the
body od CDCR’s penal institutions! I am
only one with the coalition, for a common
purpose, for reform, whose determination
is pure and right, for I am a human being
with a name and my own unique features.
It’s in our nature to socialize and speak
to other people and we should be able to do
so without fear of retaliation from correctional guards and so called gang investigators, who are on stand-by to slap and label
an individual as a :”Gang-Associate/Member” … Just to keep one chained down to
the SHU indefinitely, under torturous conditions. Our voices WILL BE HEARD ,
recognized and acknowledged this time
around, not just cut off mid-sentence, silenced and chalk-up like the usual norm in
these concrete/stainless steel environments
in which we’re forced to call home. The
4

Our Shine Will Illuminate
Beautify a thing is considered both more
virtuous and more honorable. Moreover,
the speaking human being himself equals
the non-speaking, yet his speech adds even
more to him. Some may say that the silent
person might keep himself safe (from sin
and contention) by observing silence and
refraining from speech. But such can also
be gained by a speaker who says good
things, who, by way of his or her good
speech , will also earn divine reward for
the good they have uttered not to mention
the admiration and appreciation of good
people.

A group of scholars debated
the merits of speech versus silence. Some concurred that silence is definitely better than
speech. But to this, others replied
that utterance, or speech, is not
only superior to silence but better than it. “Silence stays only
with its observer while good
speech serves and benefits innumerable listeners.” One scholar
said, “a knowledgeable man who
stays quiet is like unto another knowledgeable man who speaks. My hope is that the
speaker with knowledge is of higher rank
than the silent one on the day of judgment,
for his speech benefited people while the
other has benefited none but himself. “
“Silence is the sleeping of the mind and
speech is its awakening. Each state compliments the other,” meaning that both speech
and silence can save a good purpose, depending on the situation.
To see an unjust and to turn one’s head
from it and keep it from moving, only allows that unjust to round the bend to where
it finally lands on your door step. Human
beings, were given a voice to better humanity, for the collective. Modern life presents
a fundamental harshness, especially behind
these walls, and impatience with being human. This intolerant atmosphere toward
anything human has broken our spirits and
shattered our confidence. Which is why
many, inside and out, play it safe and stay
silent. A race without hope (human race),
mankind has lost what is so central to its
well-being, in this life and the next.
However, I firmly believe that if, “once”,
we get our shit together in here, our shine
will illuminate society. Yeah, believe it.
We, prisoners, dictate from within, the attitudes, the untrust, the hate, the violence,
that is seen in the outside world today.
Now, before you shout me down, allow me
to give you an example of my overstanding. One can’t help but be effected, after
living behind these walls for many of years
going through the trials of warfare between
the groups. “Race riots.” You know well
the hate and disdain that, or those encounters leave within us. Now, here comes our
woman up to visit, we pollute her with our
ordeal, she adapts our attitudes and takes
this back home with her. She passes the
pollution on to her friends, kids, peers, they
pass it on, man you got a wild fire now. And
that’s just one person, one contact. Now
multiply it.

LETTERS

LETTERS

struggle maintains as such and probably
will always be so, if we continue to hold
our tongue and stand as on-lookers while
the oppressor downcast us with ball and
chain, ignorance and blindness. We must
not summit and accept defeat… Then we
give back all the power to those dictating
our lives.
We’ve all lost one thing or another to the
failure of CDRC’s false images od “rehabilitation”.. For me, they sabotaged my
marriage and turned my own family against
me! For their mistakes I am held responsible and deemed just a statistic, unchangeable man, an animal, heartless and unaware
of his own actions. So not only am I paying
my depth to society with years of my life;
I’ve had to watch those I loved slowly fade
away into nothingness and become distant strangers. A sad reality, but an all too
common story for us behind these walls of
isolation, thanks to smear campaigns and
security breaches by guards, bored and in
need of entertainment. We’re tired of all
these lies and pretty pictures, no more illusions and playing the bad guys. We will
deface CDCR and Correctional Institutions
across the world as a unit/as one and show
the people once and for all who the monsters really are.
Please print my name and information
also no one here in my section receives the
Rock newsletter. If possible please send us
a free copy and we figure out how to properly subscribe, Thank you
Always In Solidarity!
William Nicholas Glass #T.31358
CSP-Corcoran/4B.4L. #45R
P. O. Box #3481
Corcoran, CA
[We did get the Wasco demands and your
letter. Both were circulated widely to supporters on the outside.]

Rock!

Do you see in schools, junior high, elementary schools, man they have “race riots” that would put some I’ve seen inside
to shame. Man they really go at it. This end
hostilities agreement is a worthwhile effort
that needs to be given its full push and support by all, inside and out. We prisoners in
unison equals power. We can better humanity from right behind these walls. I believe
everything happens in seasons, you can’t
rush it, it just has to take its course. Support
July 8th, keep the respect in place and learn
to overstand one another. It’s a challenge,
but what I know about challenge and strife,
it brings and builds character in the people
who prevail through it.
Forward to a better day!
Kenneth Antonio Sexton
Tehachapi SHU
Unionize!
Sincerely I hope this letter will find you
and yours in the very best of the health and
in a positive state of mind. As for myself,
well I’m coping with being in the “belly
of the beat and with our oppressors” as
best I can. In your “newsletter” and your
efforts to keep prisoners informed is appreciated. Its importance can’t be stressed
enough! However, once again I write you
to inform you that once again that the cops
have disapproved your “June 2013” News
Letter, by alleging its contraband. Be in
such haste to disallow your newsletter, that
they don’t even complete the CDCR 1819
form. I send you these CDCR 1819 forms
on the mere fact that you may be able to use
them as exhibits in your litigation against
the CDCR.
I don’t even know if such a thing is feasible! But I’m a lifer whom has been incarcerated since 1984 – it seems to me if
feasible the prisoners across the state of
California need to “unionize.” One, to bind
us to act and move as one! Two, if every
prisoner paid a quarterly fee to fund our
struggles and etc., the prisoners can be an
effective tool against CDCR.
If the majority of prisoners be willing to
unionize and pay a quarterly fee for lawyers and etc., to an organization on someone such as yourself, who truly cares about
our plight – that will be most powerful and
beautiful. His long as CDCR got the prisoner classes divided – they have to worries.
However, if the prisoners should ever find
a way to bind the majority to be one and act
as one, it will be a bless day for all prisoners.
Myron K. Watts, AKA Sujoo Ajamee
Volume 2, Number 8

CDCR PUNISHES HUNGER STRIKERS,
BROWN GOES ON VACATION

A

t least 14 prisoners being held in
the Security Housing Unit (SHU)
at California’s notorious Pelican
Bay State Prison were forcibly removed
from their cells and placed in more punitive
isolation late last week, according to lawyers who visited their clients on Tuesday.
“They have been singled out for their
participation in the ongoing California
prisoner hunger strike and targeted because
they are outspoken prisoner activists,” according to Kamau Walton of the Prisoner
Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition. The 14
were placed in Administrative Segregation
last Thursday.
Prison officials, also confiscated legal
material from the prisoners, including attorney-client protected documents relating
to a highly publicized federal class action
lawsuit against the state of California. The
lawsuit contends solitary confinement is
a violation of prisoners’ 8th Amendment
rights against cruel and unusual punishment, as well as their rights to due process.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) continues to lowball strike participation numbers
– on the 10th day of the strike thousands
are still participating throughout the California prison system, with at least 30,000
participating last week. Prisoners continue
to call on the CDCR to negotiate over their
demands.
“This is a clear attack against a non-violent protest,” says Anne Weills, attorney
for several hunger strikers. “It is pathetic
that in response to prisoners’ calls for basic
human and civil rights, the CDCR responds
by violating those rights.” Weills also notes
that all 14 prisoners retaliated against had
signed onto last summer’s Agreement to
End Hostilities Among Racial Groups–
a document issued from the Pelican Bay
SHU, urging prisoners to resolve conflicts
peacefully amongst themselves and to
work to end wider violence in the prison
system. The CDCR has refused to distribute the Agreement among prisoners.
In a statement issued this morning, strike
representatives said, “on July 11, 2013, we
were placed in Administrative Segregation
(Ad-Seg), where we are subjected to more
torturous conditions than in the SHU. Despite this diabolical act on the part of the
CDCR intended to break our resolve and
hasten our deaths, we remain strong and
united! We are 100% committed to our

cause and will end our peaceful action
when the CDCR signs a legally binding
agreement meeting our demands.”
Governor Jerry Brown has been completely silent on the strike that has gained
international news attention. He remains
mired in multiple scandals in the California prison system. Brown will be taking a
European vacation, visiting among other
places, Dachau concentration camp in Germany. Family members and loved ones of
the strikers are outraged. ●
Prisoner Hunger Strike
Solidarity Coalition

SHORT CORRIDOR
REPS MOVED
Greetings, solidarity, love and respect to
all our loved ones and supporters.
We want to provide a brief update on
our collective struggle to end the torture
of long-term solitary confinement. As expected, the CDCR has responded to the
resumption of our peaceful protest by retaliating against 14 of us here at Pelican
Bay, subjecting us to similar escalation as
in 2011.
Hunger Strike Rally Corcoran ‘Stop the
Torture’ 071313 by Urszula
On July 13, hundreds of people from
across the state rallied at Corcoran State
Prison to demonstrate to the prisoners inside and the public outside, whose tax dollars are paying for torture, their unwavering
solidarity and support – even in 103-degree
heat.
Specifically, on July 11, 2013, we were
placed in Administrative Segregation (AdSeg), where we are subjected to more torturous conditions than in the SHU. Despite
this diabolical act on the part of the CDCR
intended to break our resolve and hasten
our deaths, we remain strong and united!
We are 100 percent committed to our
cause and will end our peaceful action
when CDCR signs a legally binding agreement to our demands.
Please join us in our struggle to stop
CDCR from trying to destroy our lives and
the lives of our families.
We can only win our demands with your
support! ●
In Solidarity,
PBSP-SHU Short Corridor
Representatives
5

EDITORIAL 2-8

A

t this point the mailing list is at
500 plus readers. 355 of those subscribers are in California, primarily SHU prisoners, and the rest of them are
in Washington and Oregon prisons. This
means we have a lot of new readers from
the 100 we started out with. So you old
timers bear with me while I orientate these
newbies on how things work.
First of all, this paper ain’t free. There’s
no such thing as a free lunch. The Rock
newsletter is not produced by a group and
we don’t have an office. This rag is put together by me. I have some help with the
mailings from another ex-con named Mark
Cook. I’m 71 and Mark is 76 years old,
both of us are state raised, and our only income is social security. Between Mark and
me we’ve done about 80 years behind bars.
I started doing time in the Utah State Industrial School for Boys in Ogden, Utah
at the age of 13. Mark got his start in the
Green Hill prison for children in Chehalis,
Washington. (Incidentally, Mark and I were
protesting in support of striking prisoners
at Green Hill on July 8th). We both became
politically conscious during the late 1960s
and have been political activists since then.
We were both a part of the George Jackson
Brigade, whose first pubic act was to bust
into the headquarters of the Washington
department of corrections in the state capitol, Olympia, where a powerful bomb was
placed under the director’s desk.
The device went off at one o’clock in the
morning, nobody was hurt but structural
damage was done to the five story building. A communiqué was issued saying the
bombing was in support of prisoners being
brutalized in the segregation unit of the
Washington State Penitentiary. The brutalization stopped!
We financed ourselves by robbing banks,
we called it expropriation. The GJB did a
lot of bombings (including the FBI office
in Tacoma) and robbed a lot of banks. I was
captured during one such robbery, in which
a comrade was killed and another wounded
after a shoot-out with police. I served 18
years. Mark was subsequently convicted of
shooting a cop while successfully freeing a
comrade from police custody. He served 24
years. We are both socialists.
In addition to being the publisher of the
Rock newsletter, for the past 14 years I’ve
been an editor of the Prison Focus newspaper. Before that I’ve put out a long list
of publications aimed a prisoners, includ6

ing starting Prison Legal News. I am not
tooting my own horn; rather just letting you
know I’ve been here for the long haul.
I’m not going to ask you to bomb anyone, or start a prisoners union or anything
like that. All I’m asking you to do is to
materially support this newsletter. So far
this publication has not cost me a single
red cent to produce and distribute because
California prisoners have kicked down all
of the stamps and money needed to keep
it going.
Today the Rock is expanding into Oregon and Washington states. It is time for
you newer readers, no matter where you
are, to do your fair share. Take up collections of stamps on your tier and send them
to me. Sell subscriptions to prisoners you
think might benefit from news written
from the perspective of the convicted class.
Subscriptions are $15 a year or 30 stamps.
Get your people on the streets to subscribe
too. This is going to be a long and difficult struggle. It is time to start building the
base. This newsletter can be a part of the
scaffolding that will help build the structure we will need in order to win.
Some of my Washington State readers,
are at the prison in Monroe. As it happens,
I spent my last ten years of confinement at
that facility. While I was there the prison
remained single celled in spite of efforts
by prisoner-collaborators working handin-glove with the administration to get us
double celled. Monroe was the only single
celled prison in the state.
When the collaborators would try to sell
us out I would type up papers exposing
them for the traitors they were. And if that
did not work I would get the entire prison
to not eat (except for the six Jehovah Witnesses), or would do some other unified but
peaceful action. Thanks to me, and nobody
can deny this, we had personally owned
computers and printers in our cells. It was
the best prison in the state. When I was released, however, double celling was introduced and the computer program was discontinued. A lot of other stuff was lost too.
Which brings us to today and the sorry
ass collaborators that call the shots at Monroe. Prisoners at that prison were given the
opportunity to join with convicts in California, they were asked to go on a one day
peaceful work strike in solidarity with other striking prisoners up and down the West
Coast—only one day! They responded by
saying “solidarity is not enough for us to
jeopardize our privileges.” Shame on you
Monroe! Shame, shame, shame!

If workers and union organizers back
in the 1930s had that attitude there would
be no eight hour day, no Saturdays off, or
paid vacations, child labor would still be
exploited, etc.
Harriet Tubman was an African-American abolitionist and humanitarian during
the American Civil War. She once said, “I
freed a thousand slaves; I could have freed
a thousand more if only they knew they
were slaves.” The collaborators at Monroe
might want to ponder their status as slaves
the next time they get to feeling they have
nothing to complain about.
You are all slaves of the state, a status
legitimized by the Thirteenth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished
slavery for all except for those convicted
of a crime. You are held in conditions of
dependency and irresponsibility, disenfranchised from the basic rights of citizenship
such as the right to vote, and you will not
protest even one day! And here I’m not
talking about all Monroe prisoners; there
are those who fought hard in favor of the
strike, all power to them. Here I am talking to the older generation of ass kissers
and traitors who would rather be comfortable slaves than empowered human beings.
They disgust me.
These collaborators need to be exposed
for what they are. Type up your exposés
and post them in the urinal on the yard and
other areas only prisoners have access to.
Start class struggle on the inside by exposing right opportunists and collaborators.
The only way forward is through struggle,
and prisoners who stand in the way of that
struggle must be swept aside. We must
build a national prisoners’ movement,
and each reader in each prison must take
personal responsibility for non-violently
building that movement. Like they say: If
not you, who? If not now, When?
Power is not something that is handed
down to you on some sort of silver platter.
It is, rather, something that must be struggled for. And in the process of that struggle
you learn how you wield that power—you
learn how to develop the responsibility
that comes with power. To change your
conditions of existence you need only exercise responsibility, to take responsibility,
and from that will come power. Frederick
Douglas noted that “Power concedes nothing without demand. It never has and it
never will.” It is time to make that demand.
California prisoners lead. Now peacefully
Follow. ●
Ed Mead
Rock!

Some of the photos from the July 8th demonstration in support of the hunger and work strikes in Seattle, Washington.

Volume 2, Number 8

7

PUBLIC SAFETY
CHAIR TOM
AMMIANO: ‘I JOIN
THE PROTESTERS’

S

acramento – Assembly member Tom
Ammiano, chair of the Assembly
Public Safety Committee, released
the following statement regarding the hunger strike of up to 30,000 California State
Prison inmates in support of prisoners in
the so-called Short Corridor at Pelican Bay
State Prison.
“Having visited Pelican Bay early this
year, and having held a second hearing in
February regarding conditions there, I continue to be concerned about the policies
being used to segregate prisoners who are
deemed – often on weak public grounds –
to be gang leaders.
“I don’t think officials of the CDCR have
justified the extremely long isolation sentences given to some of these prisoners, nor
some of the arbitrary rules – such as those
limiting personal photographs. The conditions are extreme and do not correspond to
the sentences given to these prisoners under our judicial system.
“When they reviewed cases after pressure from an earlier hunger strike, even
CDCR officials cleared hundreds of prisoners of participating in gang activities.
On the other hand, some advocates and
family members are claiming that CDCR
has broadened their use of solitary confinement.
“That it took so long to make any changes to policy at Pelican Bay is symptomatic
of a system that is slow to reform. We have
seen that with CDCR failing to make medical improvements, except under court order, and with its more recent hesitation to
move prisoners exposed to deadly valley
fever.
“I join the protesters in urging prison officials to make more progress in establishing fair and humane policies in the prisons
paid for by California taxpayers. We should
not be the focus of international human
rights concerns, like those expressed by
Amnesty International.” ●
[Contact Assemblyman Tom Ammiano
via Assembly Public Safety Committee,
1020 N Street (LOB), Room 111, Sacramento, CA 95814, phone (916) 319-3744,
fax (916) 319-3745.]
Source: S.F. Bayvew
8

STATEMENT OF
TO PROTEST IS A
SOLIDARITY FROM RIGHT
INCARCERATED
By Kevin Cooper, Death Row at San
Quentin State Prison - July 8, 2013
WOMEN ACROSS
MASSACHUSETTS
rederick Douglass once said, “It’s

A

s Prisoners across the country
prepare to strike, our hearts and
thoughts are with them. As incarcerated women we know first-hand many
of the abuses the strikers face on a daily basis—as well as many of the repercussions
they may face in retaliation for the action
against these abuse.
As incarcerated mothers we experience
lack of access to healthy food, lack of respect, autonomy and access to health care,
lack of access to children and are regularly
set up by the system to fail.

As incarcerated women
we know first-hand many
of the abuses the strikers
face on a daily basis
As we stand in solidarity with striking
prisoners, we ask you to stand in solidarity with us. Not just on July 8th—but every
day of the year. To be in solidarity with us,
we need folks from outside to come inside!
Being behind the wall is hard and we need
support while we are here, so when we get
out we can be leaders. We need allies to be
here both inside and out, to support us in
creating space and community, to come together and be leaders. We need to be leaders because we are the experts.
We are here. We need folks to listen from
their heart and be by our side when we are
ready to speak, to strike and to stand out.
We need allies to rally in support of policies inside and out so we can survive while
we are here and thrive when we get out. We
need allies to help us break down the wall
between men and women inside—to help
us bridge the gap and support our families
through the realities of the criminal system.
Because of our experience, we are the
experts on these issues and we ask that all
allies, reformers, abolitionists, lawyers,
legislators and our families work together,
come together around the realities – not
rhetoric – and help us move mountains and
break down the walls in a supportive and
sustainable ways physically, spiritually, politically and personally. ●
www.theprisonbirthproject.org

F

easier to build strong children, than
it is to repair broken men.”
The same can be said for women, as they
are included in the oppression that has been
going on since the beginning of human beings oppressing each other.
Throughout the history of this world, at
one time or another, certain people from
every generation have had to fight for their
equality, their civil rights, and most importantly, their human rights!
Without these historical and current day
struggles, it’s safe to say that more people
would be oppressed than currently are. But
of those who are being oppressed, they are
tired of it! All over this planet, poor and oppressed people are standing up, and speaking out, and fighting back in every way that
they can, even non-violently, to gain what
was theirs at birth: their human rights.
Many have been broken, but many more
have not, and won’t be, because they understand that this ongoing struggle for their
human rights is bigger, much bigger, than
them as individuals. It’s about our collective humanity!
One thing is for certain, and history is
our best teacher in this. If there is no struggle, there will be no change! The fight for
one’s human rights is not always easy, but
it’s necessary. Especially when it comes to
people who have been targeted by the system.
To do, or say, nothing is to suffer in
silence while you’re treated like a nonhuman; a stereotype, a piece of trash. In
America, we have in this so-called democracy the right to protest for our rights, and
it’s a right that must be used to change the
system.
Because not only is protesting a right,
it’s your constitutional right. Which is so
very important for all of us to remember,
because the oppressors don’t seem to follow the constitution when it comes to us,
the oppressed!
So no matter where you are, if you’re
being repressed, undressed, suppressed, regressed, depressed and outright oppressed
by the powers that be - it’s in your best interests to PROTEST! ●
Rock!

CORCORAN DEMO

F

our hundred people made their way
to California’s Central Valley from
all around the state. Organized by
Prison Hunger Strike Solidarity they came
to show solidarity with the hunger strikers, to protest the treatment of at least five
thousand prisoners now held in solitary in
the state’s prisons, and to rally against the
prison-industrial complex that has every
interest in keeping them inside ... and adding to their numbers.
When they got there they found a godsforsaken facility baking in temperatures
variously recorded up to 103 degrees. ●

From all races and all regions, Californians come together to support the
hunger strikers and those on work strike.
Photos taken by various participants
of the Corcoran demonstration in support of the strikers.

Volume 2, Number 8

9

Prisoner
Artists!
Prison
ArtArt
is ais
nonprofit
Prison
a nonwebsite.
It chargesthat
a 10
profit website
percent
feeaiften
yourperart
charges
or
craftservice
sells. Send
SASE
cent
fee
if
for a free brochure. No
your art or craft
SASE, no brochure. This
sells.
Send
a SASE
offer
void
where
profor
free
brochure.
hibited by prison rules.

Sell Your Art
On the Web
Sell prisonercreated art or
crafts (except
writings). Send
only copies, no
originals!
Prison Art Project
P.O. Box 47439
Seattle, WA 98146
www.prisonart.org
sales@prisonart.org
206-271-5003

Free Electronic Copy
Outside people can read, download, or print current and back issues of the Rock newsletter by going
to www.prisonart.org and clicking on
the “Rock Newsletter” link.
Outside folks can also have a
free electronic copy of the newsletter sent to them each month by way
of e-mail. Have them send requests
for a digital copy of the newsletter to
rock@prisonart.org.

Notice
Articles and letters sent to the
Rock newsletter for publication are
currently being delivered and received in a timely manner. Please
do not send such materials to third
parties to be forwarded to Rock as it
only delays receiving them and adds
to the workload of those asked to do
the forwarding.

Ed Mead, Publisher
Rock Newsletter
P.O. Box 47439
Seattle, WA 98146

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