{"id":4088,"date":"2010-12-21T03:52:28","date_gmt":"2010-12-21T03:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theredphoenixapl.org\/?p=4088"},"modified":"2010-12-21T03:52:28","modified_gmt":"2010-12-21T03:52:28","slug":"statement-of-solidarity-with-georgia-prisoner-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/2010\/12\/statement-of-solidarity-with-georgia-prisoner-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"Statement of Solidarity with Georgia Prisoner Strike"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"color:#0000ff\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.petitiononline.com\/wagesnow\/petition-sign.html?\">Sign the Statement!<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">A Moment for Movement-Building: Statement of Solidarity with Georgia Prisoner Strike <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">On December 9, 2010, thousands of prisoners in at least six Georgia state prisons initiated the largest prisoner strike in U.S. history, uniting across racial boundaries to demand an immediate end to the cruel and dehumanizing conditions that damage prisoners, their families, and the communities they return to. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Prisoners are demanding a living wage for work, increased educational opportunities, decent health care, an end to cruel and unusual punishment, decent living conditions, nutritional meals, vocational and self-improvement opportunities, access to families, and just parole decisions. These demands are not only fair and just, but mandatory under international human rights law and the U.S. Constitution. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">And it is not just Georgia where these conditions exist. Prisoners throughout this country are subject to routine dehumanization, violence, denial of basic medical care, separated from their families, exposed to illnesses, and obstructed from accessing the court. Jails and prisons throughout the U.S. are routinely in violation of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">It is imperative that members of the legal community, human rights advocates, social justice activists, faith communities, and concerned members of the general public mobilize in support of prisoners and their families in this urgent moment. Georgia prison authorities have reportedly reacted to the peaceful strike with violence. The threat of retaliation will remain for the foreseeable future, and we must rise to the occasion with increased vigilance and action. <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">We are especially asking that members of the legal community recognize their unique role and serious responsibility in working to support prisoners and communities targeted by policies of mass incarceration. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">We must also seize this opportunity to support and strengthen those forces fighting against race and class-based policies of mass incarceration. Under the cover of a cynical drug war, the U.S. has constructed the largest prison economy in the history of the planet, incarcerating more of its own people than any other nation in the world. And when evidence of the pervasive targeting of communities of color at every level of the criminal legal system is recognized for what it is, there is only one conclusion to arrive at: mass incarceration is the new Jim Crow. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Like the old Jim Crow, this system serves to perpetuate institutionalized racism, economic inequality, and political disenfranchisement. It seeks to pit poor whites and people of color against each other in order to keep working and middle class communities subordinate to a political and economic order that prioritizes profit at the expense of our communities and our democracy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">The transcending of the politics of racial antagonism by the prisoners in Georgia striking for their human rights and human dignity is a profound call for the renewal of visionary mass movements for social justice and freedom in this country. Our communities outside of these walls are in dire need of human rights as well: health care, educational opportunities, jobs, food, housing, peace, and a livable planet. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">In building an integrated, mass movement for human rights inside and outside the prisons we are also working to undermine the conditions of social, economic, and political inequalities that fuel crime and violence. <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">We are asking that others sign onto this statement of solidarity and make a commitment to take action in support of the prisoners in Georgia, to take action in support of prisoners\u2019 rights, and to help build a historic mass movement against mass incarceration and for universal human rights and dignity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Solidarity and Struggle, <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Center for Constitutional Rights <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Noam Chomsky <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Professor Michelle Alexander, Ohio State University <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Professor Jules Lobel, University of Pittsburgh Law School <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Professor Marjorie Cohn, Thomas Jefferson School of Law <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Rosa Clemente, 2008 Green Party Vice President Candidate <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">California Coalition for Women Prisoners <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Nkechi Taifa, Esq., Director, Legacy Justice Institute <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Justice Now (www.jnow.org) <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Drug Policy Alliance <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Human Rights Coalition-Chester <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Human Rights Coalition-Philadelphia <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Human Rights Coalition-Fed Up! Pittsburgh <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Vania Gulston, www.ontheblockradio.org <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Jordan Flaherty, Louisiana Justice Institute <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Paradise Gray, Executive Director One Hood <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Van Jones, author, The Green Collar Economy <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">MOVE Organization <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Prison Radio &#8211; www.prisonradio.org <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Redwood Justice Fund <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Noelle Hanrahan <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Pam Africa <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Suzanne Ross, Co-Chair, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC) Spokesperson <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Steven Gotzler, National Lawyers Guild National Vice President <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Heidi Boghosian, National Lawyers Guild Executive Director <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">James Rucker, Executive Director, ColorOfChange.org <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Annie Paradise, student, Anthropology Dept., California Institute of Integral Studies <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Paul Wright, Editor, Prison Legal News &#8211; www.prisonlegalnews.org <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Deirdre Wilson, Program Coordinator for California Coalition for Women Prisoners, and proud member of All of Us or None <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Bruce Reilly, Behind the Walls Committee-Direct Action for Rights and Equality, Providence, Rhode Island <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Andrew Grant-Thomas, Deputy Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">California Prison Moratorium Project <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Lois Ahrens, The Real Cost of Prisons Project <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">North Star Fund <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Women Who Never Give Up (www.wwng.org) <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network \u2013 United States <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Michael Letwin, Co-Convener, New York City Labor Against the War; Former President, Association of Legal Aid Attorneys\/UAW Local 2325 <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Andy Switzer <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Anthony Papa, author of 15 to Life <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Dominique Reed <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Pam Nath, Community Organizer, Mennonite Central Committee\u2014New Orleans <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Thousand Kites \u2013 www.kitescampaigns.org <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Amanda Rosenblum <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Laura Erickson-Schroth <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Ali Brooks, Madison, Wisconsin, Groundwork Anti-Racist Collective <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Bret Grote <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Dr. Rachel Luft <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Claude Marks, Director, Freedom Archives <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Jamie Kalven, Invisible Institute <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">National Lawyers Guild \u2013 University of Pittsburgh Law School Chapter <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Matthew Shelton <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Emily Zeanah Shelton <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Marlon Peterson <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Jeff Hitchcock, Executive Director, Center for the Study of White American Culture, Inc. <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Sarah Lomax-Reese, President, WURD Radio <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Tema Okun, Dismantling Racism Works, Durham, North Carolina <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Mollie Crittenden <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Gary Johnson <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Lisa Albrecht, University of Minnesota, Social Justice Program <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Survivors Village, New Orleans <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Russ Vernon-Jones, Alliance of White Anti-Racists (Hampshire Co., MA) <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Serena Alfieri, Associate Director of Policy, Correctional Association of NY <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Laurie Bezold, Baltimore, Maryland <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Christian Peele <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Amanda Johnson <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Geri Silva, Facts Education Fund: Families to Amend California\u2019s Three Strikes <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Prisoners are People Too, Buffalo, NY <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Camy Matthay, Wisconsin Books to Prisoners, Brooklyn, WI <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color:#000000\">Wendy Ake, Graduate Research Associate, Global Justice Program, The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, Ohio State University <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">Sincerely, <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\">The Undersigned<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Fuente: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.petitiononline.com\/wagesnow\/petition.html\">http:\/\/www.petitiononline.com\/wagesnow\/petition.html<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sign the Statement! A Moment for Movement-Building: Statement of Solidarity with Georgia Prisoner Strike On December 9, 2010, thousands of prisoners in at least six..<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[149,166,181,185,84,97],"tags":[357,347],"class_list":["post-4088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discrimination","category-government","category-labor","category-prisons","category-statements","category-us-news","tag-racism","tag-workers-struggle"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}