National Prisoner Strike Planned Friday: Michigan Locations Here

Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky once wrote that the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons. As thousands of convicts in 24 states — including Michigan — prepare to launch what some say may be the largest prison strike in U.S. history on Friday, Sept. 9, they hope that the world will remember Dostoyevsky’s warning.

According to organizers, the strike is being coordinated to coincide with the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising and is a “call to action against slavery in America.”

“On September 9, we will begin an action to shut down prisons all across this country,” organizers wrote. “We will not only demand the end to prison slavery, we will end it ourselves by ceasing to be slaves … They cannot run these facilities without us.”

While the list of the prisoners’ grievances is diverse, some common allegations include being served hazardous food and water, being exposed to deadly heat conditions in their cells, being exposed to cruel and excessive use of solitary confinement and being forced to work for free or cents on the hour in prison facilities, The Nation reported.

Citing recent incidents such as the 2010 Georgia prison strike, the massive rolling California hunger strikes and the Free Alabama Movement’s 2014 work stoppage, protest organizers are calling for non-incarcerated citizens to reach out and support the strike.

“To achieve this goal, we need support from people on the outside,” organizers wrote. “A prison is an easy-lockdown environment, a place of control and confinement where repression is built into every stone wall and chain link, every gesture and routine. When we stand up to these authorities, they come down on us, and the only protection we have is solidarity from the outside.”

Local Actions

A list of state-by-state solidarity actions planned for Sept. 9 can be seen here.
Here are the Michigan events:

• In Detroit, a noisy demonstration is planned from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the site of the stalled project for a 2,000-bed Wayne County Jail site at the corner of Gratiot and St. Antoine. Instead of providing more jail space, efforts should be placed on providing homes and job opportunities for the homeless, organizers of the event say. Participants are asked to bring anything that makes noise — their voices, as well as drums, whistles, pots and pans, airhorns, tambourines, musical instruments, noisemakers and anything else that’s loud. Participants will walk to the old Wayne County jail, handing out literature and making noise along the trek. “Once there, we’ll get extra amplified so those inside can hear us and know that they are not alone,” according to a Facebook event page.
• In East Lansing, a demonstration is planned from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Friday at The Salvation Army Family store, 2655 E. Grand River Ave. More on that event is found here.
• Also in Detroit, a potluck picnic with the theme, “No New Jails! No Old Jails” takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, at Clark Park, 1130 Clark Ave. Organizers say the event will provide a forum for discussion of tactics to “end the prison-industrial complex in all its forms, here in Detroit and beyond.” More on that event is found here.

How to Offer Support

According to the Support Prisoner Resistance blog, there are several ways that concerned citizens can support the striking prisoners:

• IWOC Hotline - prisoners facing retaliation for strike activities can call the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee's hotline anytime of the day or night at 816-866-3808. Send that number to your inside contacts, or call it yourself if you hear from someone needing help. You can also email IWOC at iwoc@riseup.net
• Mobilize Legal Aid - The National Lawyer’s Guild has offered to file an individual “notice of claim” on behalf of each prisoner against abusive and retaliatory prisons and guards. Filing a notice of claim tells the prison that a suit could be filed and puts them on notice that abuse has happened. It is not the actual suit, but it gives violated prisoners time to find local lawyers. Please send details to newjersey@nlg.org and to massdef@nlg.org. Prisoners can also reach out directly to: NLG Mass Defense, 132 Nassau Street, Rm. 922, New York, NY 10038
• Constant Pressure - IWOC has set up a phone zap system which can be seen here to make it easy to make all the needed anti-repression and support phone calls, and to get reminders. Please commit to spending 30 minutes every couple of days to making calls.
• Solidarity Actions - Join the over 50 actions across the country. March, rally, organize a mass call in or letter writing campaign, drop a banner, hold nightly assemblies to plan support or form an IWOC branch.
• Educate - Learn more about the strike, and tell others, share it on social media through #EndPrisonSlavery, #PrisonStrike, and prisonstrike.com
• Volunteer - There are dozens of easy, but time-consuming tasks involved in maintaining this support infrastructure. If you have any interest in helping out with checking emails, maintaining websites, transcribing letters, handling media people, answering calls or mail, please reply to this email: prisonerresistance@gmail.com

Written by Patch editor Eric Kiefer with additional reporting by Patch editor Beth Dalbey

Photo via United States Marshals Service