Kite Line

This week, we hear from Leon Benson, who calls us from inside an Indiana prison. You might remember some of Leon’s story from a Kite Line episode we aired in December of last year, called “You Can’t Force the State to Abide by the Law” in which his sister, Valerie, introduced Leon’s story. Leon’s been incarcerated for decades for a murder he says he did not commit, and is still navigating the prison system in an attempt to win his freedom. Now, Leon tells us about himself, talks about the ruling, being stonewalled by the Indiana prison court system- as he attempts to regain his freedom through PCR (Post-Conviction Relief) court.

This week, we listen to Kathleen Rumpf share her stories of her time inside FMC Carswell, a United States federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas for female inmates with special medical and mental health needs. Kathleen shares her experiences and wisdom from her time with the Catholic Workers, where she participated in the plowshares movement, along with other anti-prison activism. She tells us some about other older women she befriended while incarcerated, and the physical toll and negative affects it can have on elderly inmates.

Today, we are sharing the next part of an interview with Talila Lewis and Dustin Gibson, two organizers and researchers addressing the intersection of disability and incarceration.  You heard their interview about the impact of prison on the Deaf community, and the organization they work with, HEARD- Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of the Deaf. Now, Dustin starts out speaking about the sometimes mortal consequences of being poor, and about some issues with juvenile incarceration. Dustin explains how important it is to be able to identify and name disability, and Talila tells us about various types of disability and where it intersects with prison. They also speak about their work with the Harriet Tubman Collective, and some of the issues they encounter while organizing around disability.

Today, we are sharing an interview with Talila Lewis and Dustin Gibson, two organizers and researchers addressing the intersection of disability and incarceration.  After TL describes the high stakes of being deaf in prison, they move on to sketch out the ways that children of color are disabled across society and pushed towards feeling inept and being housed in prison. They speak a bit about the organization HEARD- Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of the Deaf. We’ll be talking more about their work and more about the history of disability and incarceration in a later episode. We also hear statements from Greg Curry, both about his situation inside the Ohio prison system, and showing his support for the Vaughn 17.

In this interview, Elizabeth Hinton sketches the relationship between the civil rights movement, urban uprisings and the beginning of the “War on Crime,” with a focus on the Harlem Riot of 1964, and the1 965 Watts Rebellion, which was triggered by police brutality and became a key law-and-order talking point.  She then moves through a range of problems within the Black Power movement, focusing on overlooked experiences in the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement in Detroit and Huey Newton’s later reflections on the Black Panthers.  She also focuses attention on the FBI Counter Intelligence Program or COINTELPRO, and its role in breaking down Black Power organizations by spreading fear and conflicts inside and between them, as for example in the conflict between the Panthers and United Slaves Organization, or US.

In this interview, Hinton starts off by telling us about the Harlem Riot of 1964, which was a key starting point for other waves of disruption throughout the 1960s, including the Watts Rebellion.

She continues to research the linkages between state counterinsurgency programs and the maintenance of mass incarceration. Hinton released her celebrated history, “From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime,” two years ago.  You can hear her in-depth talk about this book in Kite Line episodes 63 and 64.