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Prison strike calls attention to systematic injustices behind our nation’s bars

Sunday, September 9, 2018

Today marks the final day of a nationwide strike that relatively few people have heard about, because it has taken place behind prison walls.

The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee called for a strike in jails and prisons across the country from Aug. 21 through Sept. 9. On Thursday night, Mano Amiga members Karen Muñoz and Tomas Diaz de Leon, along with activist Tafari Robertson, held a discussion about the prison strike and a screening of the documentary “The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison” a film about life in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola.

A press release from Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, a group of incarcerated individuals who provide legal help and advice, explains the impetus for the strike: Seven inmates were killed in a riot at a prison in South Carolina that strike participants blame on overcrowding and the “lack of respect for human life embedded in our nation’s penal ideology.” Demands include immediate improvements to prisons; an immediate end to prison slavery and the payment of prevailing wages for labor performed by inmates; the end of racial discrimination in the judicial process, including gang enhancement laws; adequate funding for more rehabilitation services in state prisons; access to rehabilitation services for violent offenders; and the restoration of voting rights for inmates, pretrial detainees and ex-felons.

In a statement issued Friday, the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC) stated, “As the strike heads toward a close, organizers on the inside are urging supporters to pressure legislators and representatives to meet their demands at all levels of the U.S. political system. Inside organizers appreciate the ability of protest action to bring prison issues into the national consciousness, but the demands will not be met without legislative action to change related policies.”

Participants in the prison strike are taking action in a variety of ways, such as hunger strikes, work stoppages and boycotts. According to the IWOC website, actions have been reported in at least 25 prisons. In Texas, a work stoppage occurred at the McConnell Unit in Bee County, a prisoner in solitary confinement at the Michael Unit in Anderson County went on a hunger strike, and two inmates at a prison in the Gulf region went on a hunger strike (more details were not available, other than the strike was confirmed by a prisoner in solitary confinement).

During Thursday night’s discussion, Muñoz, de Leon and Robertson talked with audience members about ways that concerned members of the public can help, such as participating in or starting “phone zaps” — campaigns in which groups of people call prison officials to voice concerns about a specific prisoner. Becoming aware of businesses that use prison labor and pay workers pennies an hour — one of the issues the strike hopes to end — is another step concerned people can take. More information about the strike, the demands and ways to get involved, visit incarceratedworkers.org.

San Marcos Record

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