[Pnews] On the Alabama Prison Labor Strike: Repression of a Movement and It’s Aftermath

[Prisoner News]

  On the Alabama Prison Labor Strike: Repression of a Movement and
  It’s Aftermath

June 25, 2014
*http://prisonbooks.info/2014/06/25/on-the-alabama-prison-labor-strike-repression-of-a-movement-and-its-aftermath/#more-4929*
<http://prisonbooks.info/tag/strike/>

As most readers of this newsletter know, in January 2014 prisoners in 
Alabama went on work strike. This work strike was called for by the Free 
Alabama Movement (FAM), and began on January 1st and ended on January 
15th, 2014. The strike was ended because the message was given that our 
free world supporters (ACLU, the Ordinary People Society, etc.) were in 
negotiation with State legislators and that these same legislators had 
committed to addressing the issues put forth by FAM that prompted the 
strike.

Then on January 15th, a special session of the Alabama legislature was 
called that was supposed to address these issues, and the free world 
supporters asked that the strike be suspended until the end of the 
session. The FAM in turn asked the striking prisoners to stand down. On 
the 15th we suspended the strike and the legislators put our issues on 
the back burner until a later unknown date.

In response to the treachery of the legislators in not addressing our 
issues, the work strike was planned to resume on April 1st, 2014 but 
failed to do so. This was due to divisions amongst prisoners (GDs, 
Bloods, Crips, Muslims, individuals) as well as repression by prison 
officials, such as placing influential and well-known prisoners among 
the gangs and Muslims in segregation, threatening prisoners with 
violence, spreading false rumors that FAM members were going to knife 
anyone that went to work, snitch jacketing, designating FAM and its 
members and supporters as a Security Threat GROUP (STG) and labeling 
them as terrorists with the intention of causing them to be denied 
parole. COINTELPRO tactics that proved quite effective.

Most prisoners that were instrumental in organizing the strike here at 
Holman were simply terrified and refused to continue to organize, 
thereby killing any chances of resuming the strike. Organizers James 
Pleasant, Robert Council, and Abdullah Sabir continue to remain in 
segregation.

Anyone reading this who hates repression can show their solidarity by 
calling Kim Thomas, Commissioner at 334 353 3883 and Warden Myers of 
Holman to demand that these prisoners be released from segregation and 
back into general population.

Until all are free!

Michael Kimble 138017

3700 Holman Unit

Atmore, AL 36503

-- 
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863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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