I hope that this might make it a little easier to start that first letter. This is a tool for you to fill out after going to Pride and get connected with any of the 725+ prisoners on the list HERE Have fun with this!
Pride 2011 Madlib
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Bradley Manning is a U.S. soldier who has used his voice to speak the truth about atrocities committed by the U.S. government around the world. He has worked in collaboration with Wikileaks to expose the heinous violence, human rights abuses, and interference in international politics.
There is much to know about Bradley Manning and we all have the responsibility to learn about him. This month, the celebration of LGBT Pride, it’s important to recognize that Bradley is a young gay man who was coerced into the military because he felt he had no other options. Larry Goldsmith wrote an excellent article, “Bradley Manning: Rich Man’s War, Poor (Gay) Man’s Fight” That everyone would do well to read. It’s a travesty that the mainstream GLBT organizations fought so hard to repeal Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell but when a queer soldier actually stands up to violence of the U.S. military industrial complex they turn their backs on him — these organizations need to be held accountable for their silence.
You can learn ways to support Bradley by visiting his supporters website HERE. Daniel Ellsburg, who exposed the horrendous actions of the U.S. military in Viet Nam when he leaked the Pentagon Papers, and is now considered a hero, has used his voice to strongly advocate for Bradley’s rights. Our Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama, declares Bradley’s guilt before a trial has even occurred, watch a video of him saying so below:
This declaration makes it nearly impossible for Bradley to even get a fair trial, the reality of which is detailed well by Kevin Zeese, a lawyer in our movements for justice, HERE. Bradley’s own lawyer is David E. Coombs, and his website can be found HERE.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?!
1. Join the nearly 13,000 people who have signed the petition in support of Bradley Manning HERE
2. Write Bradley Manning letters… Express your love and support. Send him pictures you draw. Send him stories of Pride. Send him stories of puppies. Show your commitment to getting him free. He can receive letters at:
Bradley Manning 89289
JRCF
830 Sabalu Road
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-2315
If you have any questions on mail policy check out the regulations HERE
3. Educate your friends. Contact your Congressperson. Help build a movement to free Bradley Manning!
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As the FBI increases its surveillance and control every day it is important that queer and transgender communities remember the role the FBI has played in harming our own communities throughout time. FBI repression is far from over. It is our responsibility to know our rights when the FBI comes after us (which you can learn more about HERE).
This piece is not an exhaustive look at the FBI’s historic and ongoing repression of LGBTQ people, but it is an open door for ongoing conversation.
Know your rights and don’t ever speak to the FBI!
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On March 31st Black and Pink sponsored an incredible book event with Andrea Ritchie and Joey Mogul. We welcomed nearly fifty people to listen and have a dialogue about the criminalization of GLBTQ people in the United States. We also sold quite a few copies of the book! YOU can also buy a copy and support the work of Black and Pink at the same time.
The jacket price for the book is $27.95. You can pay this price by using our pay pal account, writing BOOK in the purpose and we will mail the book to you. You can do that by clicking HERE
IF you become a sustainer of Black and Pink then you get a discount on the cover price of the book. Becoming a sustainer of Black and Pink means YOU help us distribute the monthly newsletter to 700 prisoners, provide support to individual prisoners, and offer educational opportunities for our community about the reality of the prison industrial complex. YOU can become a sustainer today!
$5.00 monthly Sustainer – $20.00 for the book
$15.00 monthly Sustainer – $10.00 for the book
$25.00 or more monthly sustainer – FREE BOOK!
You can fill out the monthly sustainer form by clicking HERE. If you become a monthly sustainer at $5 or $15 monthly then click HERE to purchase your discounted book. If you choose the $25 or more monthly sustainer then we will send you the book immediately.
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Hi Friends!
Black and Pink is sending out a twice monthly e-newsletter to keep you updated about progress, action items and more great ways for you to get involved and stand in solidarity with our incarcerated LGBTQ community members!
Pen Pals!!:
This is a reminder to write your pen pal!! Sending mail is a great way for you to support a queer or trans prisoner.So if you haven’t written your pen pal recently; drop them a note!
If you don’t yet have a pen pal, there are lots of interesting, funny, smart, queer folks who would love to write with you! just scroll through the list and read some bios until you find some one or a couple of people who you’d like to write to!
Pen Pal Friendship:
Here’s a great story about one of the Black and Pink volunteer’s experience writing with his pen pal! You can watch Reed talk about writing Ken in this fun video!
Become A Sustainer!:
Black and Pink needs your help! As a volunteer run organization, we need the financial support of our community in order to continue our work. Your monthly contribution is an important part of the movement against the abuses and degradation of the Prison Industrial Complex. We appreciate your generosity! Visit our website to make a contribution and provide your support! Contributions can be made as little as $5/month and as much as $100/month, please give as generously as you can!
Current Call To Action:
Taking on the seemingly untouchable Prison Industrial Complex can, at times feel impossible. But there are ways to assist our friends on the inside by providing support and resources that folks in prison don’t have access to.
#1
Help eliminate prison rape by submitting your comments to the Department of Justice before Monday April 4th! Sexual Assault in prisons is an inexcusable and devastating practice, systematically perpetuated against incarcerated people, especially queer and trans folks behind bars. Please advocate for the end of abuse within prisons.Read Reverend Jason Lydon’s comments on the “Prison Rape Elimination Act National Standards” and submit your own comments through Just Detention International’s website. Quick, do it today!!
#2
Calvin Burdine received some national press nearly a decade ago when it became public that a sleeping lawyer and blatant homophobia led to his death sentence. Calvin was sentenced to death in 1983 as his public defender slept through significant portions of the trial. The prosecuting attorney was able to secure the death sentence while stating in his closing argument that, “sending a homosexual to the penitentiary certainly isn’t a very bad punishment for a homosexual.” When Calvin was sentenced to death his lawyer stood up and stated, “we have no objections your honor.” Homophobia in the court system can be a matter of life or death. After six dates with the executioner, in 1995 Calvin Burdine was finally granted a new trial. In 2002 Calvin’s sentence was commuted to life in prison with parole. A life sentence is 20 years, Calvin has now served, including good time credits, just over 49 years (which is 25 years in real passage of time). You can read the Village Voice story on Calvin HERE. So, what can you do?
Calvin has been given the opportunity to be paroled. However, he has no family, friends, or support on the outside. He is 57 years old and needs assistance creating a parole plan. This does not mean you need to be responsible for Calvin after he is released or that he be released to you address. What this means is helping Calvin find resources in Texas, taking some time to do some research and correspond through letters, and reviewing with him what the parole plan should look like. You can direct formal questions about the parole system to the Texas Parole Department – 512.406.5250. There are extensive resources about prisoner needs available HERE.
out please email Jason at blackandpink99@gmail.com.
It Really Works!! Report Back from Previous Call to Action:
Another pen pal of Reed’s wrote to him about threats she had received from her counselor. Reed asked Shaylanna if he could ask people on the outside to call the prison. After people called the prison, they began an investigation of the counselor’s behavior.
Reed says:
Shaylanna wrote me in November 2010 stating “I don’t talk to my counselor anymore. He’s such a jerk. He actually told me in my face, that if I wrote another complaint on him he’d rape me.” I had asked her how the mental health system was in her prison because she was feeling very depressed. Her request for a new counselor had been denied because the grievances weren’t followed up with properly. She asked me to contact the senior counselor, which I did, and now we I frequently call the counselor to check up on the situation, which should be resolved within a month. It was simple to do, and will make a big difference in her life!
Upcoming Events:
Sunday April 3, 11:30am-9:30pm
Silence Broken Conference; Legacies of Repression and Resistance
Northeastern University, Curry Student Center, 346 Huntington Ave
Speakers Include:
Ashanti Alston – Former Black Liberation Army Political Prisoner and steering committee member of the National Jericho Movement
Marta Rodriguez - Puerto Rican independence activist and member of the New England Committee to Defend Palestine
Jihad Abdul Mummit – Former Black Liberation Army Political Prisoner and chair of the National Jericho Movement
Viviane Saleh-Hanna - Activist Scholar and Assistant Professor of Crime and Justice Studies at the UMass Dartmouth
Jason Lydon - Minister of the Community Church of Boston as well as anti-racist, abolitionist, queer liberation organizer
Mauri Saalakhan – Director of Operations for The Peace And Justice Foundation; a Muslim-led, grassroots human rights organization.
Thursday April 21, 9pm-11pm
Newsletter Stuffing at JP Licks in Jamaica Plain
Come eat some ice cream or sorbet, stuff newletters and giggle with us on a Thursday night! It’s a great chance to hang out with people who also think that prison sucks while helping to send a newsletter to over 600 queer and trans prisoners.
thanks folks!
-black and pink volunteer crew
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This conference, that happened in October of 2007, was one of the most liberating spaces I have ever been part of. Watch this short documentary made from the conference and use the knowledge it gives you to feed your continuing work against the prison industrial complex!
Make It Happen! from Transforming Justice on Vimeo.
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Please take a moment to read and share the March Newsletter! Your contributions, by joining our sustainer program, can help keep this Newsletter going! Make a donation or become a sustainer today – HERE
March 2011 Black and Pink Newsletter
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