This Valentine’s Day we are gonna spread the tradition of sending love to people inside. Prisoner support and advocacy organizations have had similar events in the past and in 2012 we want to open up the opportunity for people around the country to send love to folks locked up. We want them to feel the love of the community and know that they are not forgotten.

Attend a party near you! Come join the fun!
Card-making parties are happening around the country in
- Jamaica Plain, MA (February 2nd; 7-10pm; Spontaneous Celebrations; Facebook)
- Brooklyn, NY (February 4th; 1-5pm; Ditmas Park Neighborhood; email lizafton at gmail.com for details)
- Binghamton, NY (February 5th; 2pm; Binghamton Congregation of MCCNY; Facebook)
- Boyds, MD (February 8th; 7pm; Open Door MCC, 15817 Barnesville Road)
- Washington, DC (February 8th; 7pm; Space Jam, 1313 Delafield Pl. NW; Facebook)
- Chicago, IL (February 3rd, 6:30-9:30pm; Mess Hall, 6932 N. Glenwood Ave.; Mess Hall is wheel chair accessible; Facebook)
- New Orleans, LA (February 5th; 5-9pm; Write hannahpc at gmail.com for details)
- Chattanooga, TN (February 4th; 7pm; Contact: 4chickensandacat at riseup.net for details)
- Phoenix, AZ (February 5th; Write phxrestorationproject at gmail.com for detail)
- Madison, WI (February 6th; 6:30-8:30pm; 417 Rodgers Apt. B, 53703)
- Ann Arbor, MI (January 28th; 6:30pm; http://www.facebook.com/events/176679229105933/)
- San Francisco, CA ( February 9th; 6 – 9PM; Mission SRO Collaborative, 938 Valencia Street; Facebook)

Click the interactive map below to see them all!

Host a party!
No parties scheduled in your city? Host your own! Here’s how we can help:
- We’ll send you a list of names and addresses of people inside. You can choose to send Valentine’s Day cards to a group of prisoners that is most relevant to you, whether that’s political prisoners, women inside, trans and queer prisoners, people incarcerated within your particular state, or anyone else who is locked up in and in need of some love from the outside. Tell us how many people you can commit to sending cards to and we’ll send you a list.
- If you want to make your party open to other folks in your area you can send us the date, time, and location and we’ll help you publicize it on blackandpink.org and in email announcements sent out to folks around the country.
- Send you a list of restrictions on what can and cannot be sent inside. Not Allowed: glitter, glue, staples, tape, (anything with adhesive), polaroids. Allowed: construction paper, printer paper

What do you need to do?
- Email blackandpink99@gmail.com and let us know what you’re planning
- Gather card-making supplies. We also have a PDF of 8 printable queer/trans prisoner-drawn cards we can email you!
- Gather your friends/people in your community
- Cover the cost of mailing the cards
- Mail cards by February 9th to make sure they arrive in time for Valentine’s Day

It began with the statement in a Bay Windows FAQ article by GLAD: “It also adds protections based on gender identity to Massachusetts’ hate crimes law. That means that people convicted of anti-transgender hate crimes will face added criminal penalties and increased fines.”

Reed Miller of Black and Pink wrote a critique of that statement:
Dear Editor,

This week’s edition ofBay Windows includes anFAQ on the Trans Equal Rights Bill from GLAD.

Discussing the inclusion of gender identity to the hate crimes law, it states, “that means that people convicted of anti-transgender hate crimes will face added criminal penalties and increased fines.” While correct, this is not the complete truth.

Supporters of hate crimes legislation often omit the reality that a whole class is protected — not just the oppressed people. That means that trans people can also face added criminal penalties and fines for “anti-cisgender hate crimes.” For example, self-defense situations may get construed as such. Statistics show increasing “anti-white” people “hate crimes.”

I am a transman, and I volunteer for Black and Pink, an LGBTQ prisoner support organization based in Boston. We did not support the bill due to its inclusion of hate crimes legislation, for the above reason and many others. That was a challenging thing to do because of the many positive aspects of the bill. A coalition of organizations including Sylvia Rivera Law Project, FIERCE, and Queers for Economic Justice put out a similar statement with regards to NY’s GENDA a few years ago.

We hope that the inclusion of gender identity in the hate crimes statute can be reversed, and that our community can realize that the police and courts and prisons are not our protectors — they never have been. We need to revisit our history and come together for real, community-based solutions to transphobia.

Sincerely,
Travis Reed Miller

Don Gorton offered a weak rebuttal of Reed’s letter, which will of course be challenged!  We’ll post it here for you.

To the editor:

Criticizing hate crimes laws that include gender identity bias in a letterappearing in the December 8, 2011 edition of Bay Windows, Reed Miller portrays the criminal penalties in the recently-passed Trans Equal Rights Law as a double-edged sword. He says advocates concealed the “reality” that Trans people can be prosecuted for hate crimes against cisgender people under the new statute.

Has anyone ever heard of a Trans person attacking a cisgender individual while shouting epithets indicative of bias against conventional gender expression? Has a Trans person ever has been prosecuted for “anti-cisgender” violence under inclusive hate crimes laws? Unless those two questions can be answered in the affirmative, the very suggestion that Trans people face legal jeopardy from the anti-hate crimes provisions of the Trans Equal Rights Bill is absurd.

Mr. Miller argues for “real, community-based solutions to transphobia” as an alternative to hate crimes laws. It is telling that he offers no specifics on what tactics (apart from vigilantism) could put a stop to crimes that are raging out-of-control, according to research data. While non-enforcement-related responses to anti-trans violence are an essential part of an overall protection strategy, the notion that such crimes can be stopped without the deterrent effect of criminal sanctions lacks credibility.

Don Gorton
Chairperson, The Anti-Violence Project of Massachusetts

It is with sadness that we, Black and Pink, are expressing our non-support for the Transgender Equal Rights Bill. We are making this statement public because we believe deeply and strongly in the need for protections for all members of our communities, especially transgender and gender non-conforming folks who are most directly targeted for violence. We absolutely believe in the right for all people to have access to discrimination-free housing and jobs. However, we do not believe that expanding Massachusetts’ Hate Crimes statutes will bring greater safety to our communities, but rather gives greater strength to the criminal justice system that causes great harm to our communities.

We are not the first organization to express non-support for a bill such as this. In April of 2009, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Queers for Economic Justice, FIERCE, Peter Cicchino Youth Project, and the Audre Lorde Project in New York all expressed their non-support for a similar bill. You can read the entirety of their statement at http://srlp.org/genda. The litany of Hate Crimes critiques is long, rather than go through them all we have attached a compilation of critiques following this short letter.

We would love to support an anti-discrimination bill that does not include a Hate Crimes inclusion. We would love to support and advocate for the full protection of all members of our communities who experience violence, including violence at the hands of the criminal justice system; from police harassment on the street to prison guard violence during incarceration. We are happy to engage in dialogue with other people and groups about how we have come to this conclusion.

It is with hope and a commitment to justice that we continue in our collective struggle for a world where we are all free from oppression.

With love and solidarity,

Black and Pink

—

This document is intended to be a bullet point compilation of materials put out by the following organizations (in no particular order): Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Audre Lorde Project, FIERCE, Queers for Economic Justice, Peter Cicchino Youth Project, Denver Chapter of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, Denver on Fire, and the article “Sanesha Stewart, Lawrence King, and why hate crimes legislation won’t help” by jack.

If a particular crime is deemed a hate crime by the state, the supposed perpetrator is automatically subject to a higher mandatory minimum sentence. For example, a crime that would carry a sentence of five years can be “enhanced” to eight years.
Plain and simple, hate crimes legislation increases the power and strength of the prison system by detaining more people for longer periods of time.

Trans people, people of color, and other marginalized groups are disproportionately incarcerated to an overwhelming degree. Trans and gender non-conforming people, particularly trans women of color, are regularly profiled and falsely arrested for doing nothing more than walking down the street.
If we are incarcerating those who commit violence against marginalized individuals/communities we then place them behind walls where they can continue to target these same people. It is not in the best interest of marginalized communities to depend on a system that already commits such great violence to then protect them.

Hate crime laws do not distinguish between oppressed groups and groups with social and institutional power.
This reality of the state makes it so that white people can accuse people of color of anti-white hate crimes, straight people accuse queers, and so on. Such a reality opens the door for marginalized people to be prosecuted for simply defending themselves against oppressive violence. This type of precedent setting also legitimizes ideologies of reverse racism that continuously deny the institutionalization of oppression.

Hate crime laws are an easy way for the government to act like it is on our communities’ side while continuing to discriminate against us. Liberal politicians and institutions can claim “anti-oppression” legitimacy and win points with communities affected by prejudice, while simultaneously using “sentencing enhancement” to justify building more prisons to lock us up in.
Hate crimes legislation is a liberal way of being “tough on crime” while building the power of the police, prosecutors, and prison guards. Rather than address systems of violence like health care disparities, economic exploitation, housing crisis, or police brutality, these politicians use hate-crimes legislation as their stamp of approval on “social issues”.

Hate crimes laws focus on punishing the “perpetrator” and has no emphasis on providing support for the survivor or families and friends of those killed during an act of interpersonal hate violence.
We will only strengthen our communities if we take time to care for those who have experienced or been witness to violence. We have to survive systems of violence all the time and are incredibly resilient. We must focus on building our capacity to respond and support survivors and create transformative justice practices that can also heal the perpetrator (though focusing first and foremost on survivors).

Hate crime law sets up the State as protector, intending to deflect our attention from the violence it perpetrates, deploys, and sanctions. The government, its agents, and their institutions perpetuate systemic violence and set themselves up as the only avenue in which justice can be allocated; they will never be charged with hate crimes.
The state, which polices gender, race, sexuality, and other aspects of identity, is able to dismiss the ways it creates the systems that builds a culture of violence against marginalized communities as it pays prosecutors to go after individuals who commit particular types of interpersonal violence. Hate crimes legislation puts marginalized communities in the place of asking the state to play the savior while it continues to perpetuate violence.

Hate crimes don’t occur because there aren’t enough laws against them, and hate crimes won’t stop when those laws are in place. Hate crimes occur because, time and time again, our society demonstrates that certain people are worth less than others; that certain people are wrong, are perverse, are immoral in their very being.
Creating more laws will not help our communities. Organizing for the passage of these kind of laws simply takes the time and energy out of communities that could instead spend the time creating alternative systems and building communities capable of starting transformative justice processes. Hate crimes bills are a distraction from the vital work necessary for community safety.

Passing hate crimes legislation will not bring back those who have been killed by hateful violence, it will not heal the wounds of the body or spirit, it will not give power to communities who have felt powerless after episodes of violence.
Organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and others take advantage of our pain and suffering to garner support for these pieces of legislation. Advocates in the campaigns for hate crimes legislation tokenize individuals like Sanesha Stewart and Angie Zapata while still pushing forward the white, class privileged, gay and lesbian agenda. To truly honor those we have lost and to honestly heal ourselves we must resist the inclination to turn to the state for legitimation or paternalistic protection; let us use the time to build our communities and care for our selves.

“I am teaching a class in Race, Gender, and Justice. This course examines how the prison industrial complex is shaped by systemic forms of sexism, racism, classism, homophobia, transphobia and ableism. Many of my students find the topics in class very upsetting, and they often express feelings of helplessness to me in confronting the terrible inequalities that fuel the prison system. Many also ask how they might get involved in helping to change the system. I give them a number of extra credit assignments, including collecting books for “Books 2 Prisoners” for extra credit. The extra credit assignment that is working the best is for students to take on prisoner pen pals. I’ve been using the wonderful website set up by Black and Pink that contains an excellent set of guidelines on writing letters, and it’s been a really useful way to help students combat their feelings of paralysis in the face of a growing prison industrial complex fueled by racial and economic injustice. It is also proving useful for those students who have difficulty seeing prisoners as people, as it introduces a human element to their interactions with the large (and often faceless) system that they are studying. So far, I have found this assignment to be incredibly rewarding for my students. I strongly recommend it.”

“Here are my assignment guidelines:
If you would like to be a pen pal to a prisoner, you can receive extra credit for this. For this project, I’d ask you to use a pseudonym. I’d like to ask you to commit to writing at least 3 letters during the semester. I’ll ask you to show proof that you wrote a letter. If you only write one letter, you will still get extra credit, but the amount of extra credit will be commensurate with the number of letters you write. I’d also encourage you to keep writing after the semester is finished. Part of this assignment would also require you to write to the person at blackandpink.org (Jason) organizing the pen pals (just a short note) to say how you found the experience. This is in order to help Jason to have the evidence required to help encourage other professors to get involved in this initiative.”

THANK YOU SHOSHANA!

The past few weeks have been really busy with Black and Pink. We hope that your summer is wrapping up well and you are enjoying corresponding with pen pals while we build our movement to abolish the prison industrial complex. Below, you will find a call to action as we try to hold the NYC Dept. of Corrections responsible for not having ANY plan of evacuation for the prisoners held at Rikers Island. Join our email list HERE.

CALL to ACTION:
According to Solitary Watch “News from a Nation in Lockdown, “We are not evacuating Rikers Island,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a news conference this afternoon. Bloomberg announced a host of extreme measures being taken by New York City in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, including a shutdown of the public transit system and the unprecedented mandatory evacuation of some 250,000 people from low-lying areas. But in response to a reporter’s question, the mayor stated in no uncertain terms (and with more than a hint of annoyance) that one group of New Yorkers on vulnerable ground will be staying put.”

It is NOT OKAY for prisoners to be put at risk! The Bloomberg Administration must be held accountable for their lack of action and their irresponsible behavior when the lives of prisoners are, literally, in their hands.

PLEASE CONTACT THE NYC COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTIONS, Dr. Dora Schriro, AND DEMAND A PLAN BE CREATED IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY! WE CANNOT HAVE ANOTHER KATRINA!

Send a message to Dr. Schriro HERE.

PEN-PAL REMINDER:
One of the greatest ways you can get involved with Black and Pink is to get a pen-pal. It’s also important to be consistent with your pen-pal, writing regularly helps create trust and build strong long-term friendships. These friendships are essential to our work to create the world we want! You can write to your pen-pal on your favorite stationary (keep in mind no glitter, stickers, or glue) OR you can write to them using this online form!
We want to make it as easy as possible for you to write to your pen-pal and hope you take advantage of this resource! Happy writing!!!

DONATE:
Black and Pink operates on a budget that is created by YOU! Your donations and monthly contributions make it so that OVER 1,000 prisoners get access to our monthly newsletter. Your contributions allow us to communicate with Black and Pink artists. Your contributions help us reduce the harm LGBTQ prisoners are experiencing. Thank you! Make a donation or become a sustainer TODAY! Click here to make your donation.

NEWSLETTER:
Join us for our monthly newsletter stuffing and mailing this Thursday, September 1st at JP Licks on Centre St. in Jamaica Plain, MA from 8:30 – 11:30. Your hands can make it so prisoners get access to a newsletter that affirms them for who they are. Read the newsletter here.

With love and solidarity,

Black and Pink

According to the LA Times the Hunger Strike has expanded to at least 11 more prisons! The resistance is continuing to grow! You can follow the Hunger Strike on the Solidarity website HERE

The Hunger Strike is indefinite, until their demands are met. These prisoners are willing to give their lives in the struggle for their dignity. The 5 Core demands are:

1. End Group Punishment & Administrative Abuse – This is in response to PBSP’s application of “group punishment” as a means to address individual inmates rule violations. This includes the administration’s abusive, pretextual use of “safety and concern” to justify what are unnecessary punitive acts. This policy has been applied in the context of justifying indefinite SHU status, and progressively restricting our programming and privileges.

2. Abolish the Debriefing Policy, and Modify Active/Inactive Gang Status Criteria -

~ Perceived gang membership is one of the leading reasons for placement in solitary confinement.
~ The practice of “debriefing,” or offering up information about fellow prisoners particularly regarding gang status, is often demanded in return for better food or release from the SHU. Debriefing puts the safety of prisoners and their families at risk, because they are then viewed as “snitches.”
~ The validation procedure used by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) employs such criteria as tattoos, readings materials, and associations with other prisoners (which can amount to as little as greeting) to identify gang members.
~ Many prisoners report that they are validated as gang members with evidence that is clearly false or using procedures that do not follow the Castillo v. Alameida settlement which restricted the use of photographs to prove association.

3. Comply with the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons 2006 Recommendations Regarding an End to Long-Term Solitary Confinement – CDCR shall implement the findings and recommendations of the US commission on safety and abuse in America’s prisons final 2006 report regarding CDCR SHU facilities as follows:

~ End Conditions of Isolation (p. 14) Ensure that prisoners in SHU and Ad-Seg (Administrative Segregation) have regular meaningful contact and freedom from extreme physical deprivations that are known to cause lasting harm. (pp. 52-57)
~ Make Segregation a Last Resort (p. 14). Create a more productive form of confinement in the areas of allowing inmates in SHU and Ad-Seg [Administrative Segregation] the opportunity to engage in meaningful self-help treatment, work, education, religious, and other productive activities relating to having a sense of being a part of the community.
~ End Long-Term Solitary Confinement. Release inmates to general prison population who have been warehoused indefinitely in SHU for the last 10 to 40 years (and counting).
~ Provide SHU Inmates Immediate Meaningful Access to: i) adequate natural sunlight ii) quality health care and treatment, including the mandate of transferring all PBSP- SHU inmates with chronic health care problems to the New Folsom Medical SHU facility.

4. Provide Adequate and Nutritious Food – cease the practice of denying adequate food, and provide a wholesome nutritional meals including special diet meals, and allow inmates to purchase additional vitamin supplements.
~ PBSP staff must cease their use of food as a tool to punish SHU inmates.
~ Provide a sergeant/lieutenant to independently observe the serving of each meal, and ensure each tray has the complete issue of food on it.
~ Feed the inmates whose job it is to serve SHU meals with meals that are separate from the pans of food sent from kitchen for SHU meals.

5. Expand and Provide Constructive Programming and Privileges for Indefinite SHU Status Inmates.

Examples include:
~ Expand visiting regarding amount of time and adding one day per week.
~ Allow one photo per year.
~ Allow a weekly phone call.
~ Allow Two (2) annual packages per year. A 30 lb. package based on “item” weight and not packaging and box weight.
~ Expand canteen and package items allowed. Allow us to have the items in their original packaging [the cost for cosmetics, stationary, envelopes, should not count towards the max draw limit]
~ More TV channels.
~ Allow TV/Radio combinations, or TV and small battery operated radio
~ Allow Hobby Craft Items – art paper, colored pens, small pieces of colored pencils, watercolors, chalk, etc.
~ Allow sweat suits and watch caps.
~ Allow wall calendars.
~ Install pull-up/dip bars on SHU yards.
~ Allow correspondence courses that require proctored exams.