Call for National 2022 Shut’Em Down Demonstrations

Call for abolitionist ‘Shut’Em Down’ demonstrations and teach-ins from August 21st through September 9th in 2022. See report from 2021, here and here.

We know it takes courage to continuously speak out and invoke change. People in U.S prisons are calling on you now to stand with us in strength and numbers in our ongoing historical struggle for ABOLITION!

How to Get Started

Organize a Shut ‘Em Down demonstration in the spirit of Abolition on or between August 21st, 2022 through September 9th, 2022 in your local area. We encourage outside supporters to join together, develop strategies to promote the closing of prisons, jails and immigration facilities. Organize a demonstration at your local jail, prison, immigration center, or a politician’s office. This list of places is not limited, be creative.

You can help by sharing this message far and wide within your networks. Can’t stop, won’t stop!

Demands

HALT the building of new jails and prisons.
REDIRECT prison and police funding to communities.
END prison slavery.

Prisoners on the inside will disrupt the system and demonstrate in several prisons alongside outside efforts by demonstrating:

1. Work refusals
2. Commissary boycott
3. Phone boycott
4. Food refusals as set by each demonstrator

Prisoncrats have minimized the number of people working in designated work areas inside the prison and outside prisoner work crews that vary state-by-state. Any refusals to work will look different based on the state and local place of confinement. We are not making an official call for a national work strike, however, we highly encourage labor unions join us in the call for Abolition by demanding the end to prison slavery via the 13th Amendment, a crucial focal point in the process to dismantle the prison industrial slave complex.

A Deeper Look

Police budgets have ballooned tenfold, this is translating into an increase in copaganda, arrests, flooded courts, packed prisons, increased home confinement and e-carceration which expands the walls of prisons to our communities.

As we stated in 2021, the Abolition perspective is the way to combat this extreme US pro-prison ideology called mass incarceration, also known as legalized slavery.

The Aftermath

After all the organizing and the hard work put into the demos, refuel yourself and keep the momentum going by staying connected with your local supporters and organizers. We must continue to push the movement forward by hosting Abolitionist workshops, study groups and seminars NOT ONLY for those who are seasoned in the movement but to welcome and educate people who want to know more in order to do more and create the impact we fight so hard to see.

Choose designated public places and continue to learn and educate yourself and others on Abolition. Jailhouse Lawyers Speak agrees with defunding the police campaigns because billions of police dollars could be utilized to rebuild devastated communities and raise the quality of life for families that have been grossly impacted by law enforcement and carceral systems. Poverty crimes are still filling jails and prisons. Reallocating those funds would be a monumental accomplishment in our lifetime!

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. FREEDOM NOW!
Dare 2 Struggle, Dare 2 Win!

In the spirit of Abolition and on the behalf of Shut’Em Down

JAILHOUSE LAWYERS SPEAK

Visit: iamweubuntu.com for updates and links
Updates will also be added to: shutemdowndemos.com

Contact Email: [email protected]