This week, Kite Line welcomes the contributions of Mark Cook for a second time.  Mark is a former prison rebel, dating back to ambitious organizing on the inside in the 1960s.  Following his release from prison, he co-founded the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party and later went underground with the George Jackson Brigade.  Due to his guerrilla activities, he served another quarter century in prison before being released in the year 2000.  Since then, he has continued to organize and contribute to the prisoners’ movement.

This time, Mark speaks about how college classes in prison helped them to organize and talk to one another. As mentioned in his previous Kite Line interview, he was one of the prisoners who constructed a homemade printing press inside, used to make a newsletter that spread agitation. He also talks about the importance of prison newsletters, and communication between the inside and outside- how it’s the heart of any movement. Mark then moves onto current situations, including #metoo and the current prisoners’ movement, and the newsletter that they recently started prior to last year’s National Prisoner Strike, called The Kite.

We will have more with Mark next week, and you can hear previous episodes from Mark here, here, and here.