Kite Line

This week’s story is that of Kara Wild. An anarchist prisoner from Chicago, Kara is a trans woman who has been in a French prison for over a year and a half. We first give some background on her case, and then hear from her friends and loved ones, who share some stories about Kara. …

We cover a range of news in this week's episode- from a brief history of Black August and the upcoming August 19th prison demonstrations, to current prison conditions in regards to education, visitation, and forced sterilization. We then read a letter from prisoner Keith Malik Washington about the continued suffering from extreme heat in Texas prisons.

The rest of the episode is about the alleged reforming impact of prison on those it holds captive. The voices you’ll hear in this program are students in a college course that brings incarcerated and non-incarcerated students together in the classroom. It is a course in the national “Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program,” this one a history class bridging Indiana University, Bloomington, and the Indiana Women’s Prison, taught by professor Micol Seigel from the American Studies Department at Indiana University.

We cover a range of news in this week’s episode- from a brief history of Black August and the upcoming August 19th prison demonstrations, to current prison conditions in regards to education, visitation, and forced sterilization. We then read a letter from prisoner Keith Malik Washington about the continued suffering from extreme heat in Texas …

We start this episode with a message from Angaza, a prisoner in the IDOC system who describes recent unfair changes in prison correspondence and what people on both the inside and outside are trying to do about it. As of April first, the Indiana Department of Correction is no longer accepting any correspondence for inmates that’s on colored paper or enclosed in colored envelopes. Incoming correspondence must be in a plain white envelope, and the letter inside the envelope must be on originally purchased, plain white, lined paper. Greeting cards are not permissible. Photos are permissible, but photocoopies are not. All letters must be handwritten.

Inmates are asking family members and supporters to protest this new policy, which prohibits incarcerated people from receiving typed letters, political documents or even drawings from their children. The inmates point out that it’s hard for elderly family members with arthritis and other medical conditions to handwrite letters; typing is the only way they can correspond. The inmates claim that the policy is also aimed to eradicate political education material that intends to educate, agitate and organize prisoners.

The inmates say the new policy is a blatant case of censorship and repression from the state. The IDOC says it’s going to see how the new policy goes from April to October before putting it into effect permanently. The inmates say a public outcry and resistance from people on the outside are critical.

The rest of the episode is devoted to the topic of the social collateral damage caused by incarceration. voices you’ll hear in this program are students in a college course that brings incarcerated and non-incarcerated students together in the classroom. It is a course in the national “Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program,” this one a history class bridging Indiana University, Bloomington, and the Indiana Women’s Prison, taught by professor Micol Seigel from the American Studies Department at Indiana University.

We start this episode with a message from Angaza, a prisoner in the IDOC system who describes recent unfair changes in prison correspondence and what people on both the inside and outside are trying to do about it. As of April first, the Indiana Department of Correction is no longer accepting any correspondence for inmates …

This week, we share a conversation with Ramona Africa, who talks about the MOVE 9 case, the 1985 police bombing of the MOVE house, and the relationship between this history and contemporary struggles against prisons and police violence.

We also hear updates on the struggle at the medium security facility in St. Louis, called the Workhouse. You can hear our coverage of the recent protests against the Workhouse in last week's episode of Kite Line, available here.

This week, we share a conversation with Ramona Africa, who talks about the MOVE 9 case, the 1985 police bombing of the MOVE house, and the relationship between this history and contemporary struggles against prisons and police violence. We also hear updates on the struggle at the medium security facility in St. Louis, called the …

In this episode of Kite Line, we cover the recent demonstrations outside the Workhouse in St. Louis, Missouri.

On July 21, police there used pepper spray to disperse 300 people protesting conditions in a medium-security jail called the Hall Medium Security Facility, known popularly as the Workhouse. The demonstrators demanded that the jail be closed, as prisoners inside chanted and held up banners through the bars. The noise demo was called partially because the Workhouse doesn’t have air conditioning and prisoners have regularly suffered temperatures well over 100 degrees. One of the protestors held a sign that said, “We treat animals better.” But many participants also linked this struggle for humane conditions to a broader struggle against prison as an institution.

The city’s poorest residents, who are unable to afford bail, stay in the jail for months. On July 21, two organizations, the Saint Louis Action Council and Arch City Defenders, bailed out 15 people after raising about $10,000. The groups have raised bail money before, but because of a recent heat wave, they recently received a hundred requests for bail. This week, we hear weave together first-hand accounts from several people who were at the Workhouse noise demo.

In this episode of Kite Line, we cover the recent demonstrations outside the Workhouse in St. Louis, Missouri. On July 21, police there used pepper spray to disperse 300 people protesting conditions in a medium-security jail called the Hall Medium Security Facility, known popularly as the Workhouse. The demonstrators demanded that the jail be closed, …

Maintaining contact with long-term prisoners is key to both their survival and to ongoing struggles across the prison walls. In this episode, we hear a statement from Cindy Crabb, supporter of long-term anarchist prisoner Marius Mason, who will soon enter his 9th year of incarceration. Cindy stresses the need for us on the outside to show continued care and support, and to reintegrate prisoners into our daily lives- even in small ways. We then hear from Shandre Delaney, mother of Carrington Keys of the Dallas Six, who are prison rebels in the Pennsylvania system. She talks about her son, and shares ways in which the communication she maintains with Carrington has positively affected his case, and the situation of others in struggle on the inside.

You can find out more about the Dallas Six at: http://scidallas6.blogspot.com/

And to stay updated on Marius Mason’s case, visit: https://supportmariusmason.org/