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Sep 16, 19
Filed under: Action, Incarceration, The State, US, White Supremacy
Responding to a call from Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, people across the US held demonstrations and took action to mark the 25th anniversary of the passing of Joe Biden’s Crime Bill. The 1994 bill, which extended prison sentences and allocated massive amounts of money towards mass incarceration and more police, marked a turning point and acceleration of State and police counter-insurgency strategy towards poor communities of color.
When advocating for the #94CrimeBill Biden said “unless we do something…tens of thousands of them born out of wedlock without parents, without any conscience developing, they will or a portion of them will become the predators 15 years from now. They are beyond the pale.”
— Amani Sawari ?? (@SawariMi) September 13, 2019
The bill, which was sold in the post-LA uprising era as a way to keep “super predators” from coming after and into middle class white communities, built many of the key legal aspects which have come to define our present era of mass incarceration. The bill put into place mandatory minimums, the three strikes law, gave money to states for incarcerating undocumented immigrants, allowed minors to be placed into adult prisons, and was also coupled with so-called community policing operations and infrastructure. This accelerated the War on Drugs and further militarized police departments and prisons, who received an influx of cash. The crime bill was also coupled with other Clinton era policies such as so-called welfare reform, the passing of NAFTA, and the militarization of the border under “Operation Gatekeeper.”
Responding to the call, people across the US organized various actions, from rallies, to banner drops, to outreach, and noise demonstrations. Check out our roundup here:
Oakland, CA:
Street outreach day for #burndayforbidenscrimebill passing lit at #laneycollege. No pics because we ran out of flyers in 90 minutes ?
The best part: talking to formerly incarcerated students who are using their education to make change. ✊#FridayThe13th— IWOC Oakland (@iwoc_oakland) September 14, 2019
Milwaukee, WI:
Report back from #BurnDay actions against Biden's Crime Bill in #Milwaukee. https://t.co/QMJrTZ8zpj pic.twitter.com/voyAhTXUqW
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) September 16, 2019
Gainesville, FL:
#BIDENBURNDAY Demand #4: Truth in Sentencing & Sentencing Reform Acts must be rescinded so that imprisoned humans have a possibility of rehabilitation and parole. No human shall be sentenced to Death by Incarceration or serve any sentence without the possibility of parole. pic.twitter.com/2cX3KfYzvG
— IWOC Gainesville (@iwoc_gnv) September 13, 2019
Wilmington, DE:
Banner drop in #Delaware marking solidarity between Vaughn 17 and #BurnDay actions against Biden's Crime Bill. https://t.co/np2bRu0L8y
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) September 16, 2019
Durham, NC:
Banners dropped today in #Atlanta and across #Durham in North Carolina in opposition to Biden's Crime Bill, in solidarity with @JailLawSpeak, and in support of the 10 Demands of the #PrisonStrike. https://t.co/uD8vBJYZrD pic.twitter.com/2wk0WvGA1t
— It's Going Down (@IGD_News) September 13, 2019
Atlanta, GA:
#BidenBurnDay
Atlanta banner drop to mark the 25th anniversary of the omnibus "Crime" Bill that stoked the incarceration boom. pic.twitter.com/WdsgFLQAge— IWOC (@IWW_IWOC) September 14, 2019
Brooklyn, NY:
Anarchists, #NoNewJailsNYC, & other abolitionists are outside of Brooklyn Detention Complex doing a #BurnDay noise demo in memory of the Attica uprising & in memory of those who have suffered because of Joe Biden’s Crime Bill. #FireToThePrisons pic.twitter.com/tHQCb0QBlF
— Ash J (@AshAgony) September 13, 2019
Here’s some pics from the #BurnDay noise demo last night outside of Brooklyn Detention Complex in memory of the Attica uprising & in memory of everyone who has suffered because of Joe Biden’s infamous Crime Bill. pic.twitter.com/DvzK5wSELP
— Ash J (@AshAgony) September 14, 2019
