Kite Line

This week, we share part of a talk from two women organizing with prisoners. They speak candidly about the basics of supporting prisoners, and include some of the dynamics they noticed while working with those on the inside. We have more to share from these women committed to such solidarity, but we are offering this talk as a launching point for subsequent episodes covering the struggles inside women’s prisons.

One of the speakers shares information about the magazine Unstoppable, which is specifically by and for incarcerated folks who identify as women, gendervariant, and/or trans. This anti-authoritarian publication seeks to blend radical political analyses with personal experiences and observations.

Following this episdoe, we will start our exploration of PREA, the Prison Rape Elimination Act, covering its history, surprising strategic deployment and first hand accounts from prisoners on its impact.

In this episode we give follow-up information about the hunger strike at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. Then, we finish a conversation with Salomon X, a former prisoner in southern Illinois. Two weeks ago, he shared stories of different issues he faced in a variety of facilities. Now, he continues talking about his experiences behind the walls, and about his transition to life on the outside. You can hear the first part of his interview here.

In Wabash Valley, Shaka Shakur is maintaining his hunger strike, demanding an end to guard abuses and the isolation of active prisoners in camera cells. We spoke with his wife, Akili Shakur, who provided context for the struggle undertaken by Shaka and other prisoners, along with background on his imprisonment and the role of guards in targeting prisoners and stoking conflict. She also explains the importance of the hunger strike as a tool for prisoners to fight for their dignity and survival.

Updates on the movement at Wabash Valley and Shaka’s hunger strike can be found at idocwatch.org. IDOC Watch reports that there is still a request to call in and support the prisoners’ protest.

This week, we share the words and experiences of Salomon X, a former prisoner in Illinois. In the first of two episodes with Salomon, he describes poor conditions and exploitation in the Menard prison, site of many recent struggles, and compares it with other facilities. Many of his memories will be recognizable to Hoosiers; elsewhere, he has spoken of prisoners choking to death without receiving aid. A similar situation occurred in Westville, Indiana, sparking a round of protest there.

This week, we speak with Lill, a resident of Whitesburg, Kentucky. Whitesburg is located in Letcher County the proposed home to a new federal prison to be built on a mountaintop removal site. We have previously covered the strong local organizing in Letcher County that had helped put a stop to this toxic proposal. In light of recent efforts by the Bureau of Prisons to put the prison back on the table, we wanted to go in depth with a local organizer to help us understand the current situation and how others can support the struggle there.