Prison Break: Fighting Until They All Come Home

As you flip your new 2020 Certain Days calendar to February, you will see beautiful artwork by Ethan X. Parker, an illustrator based in Texas. Its vibrant colors inspire action under the banner #BlackTransLivesMatter. Our February essay, entitled ‘Still We Rise,’ was written by the Termite Collective, exploring the diverse ways in which relationships can cultivate between and through prison walls. If you have not yet picked up a calendar, they are still available here and all proceeds benefit political prisoners and grassroots groups!

Former political prisoner and founding editor of the Certain Days calendar project, Robert Seth Hayes passed away in December. Seth’s contributions to our movements and our lives will be deeply missed. You can read our collective statement and other tributes to Seth here, and be sure to save the date for a Jericho Movement Celebration of the Life of Freedom Fighter Robert Seth Hayes, Sunday, March 1, at The People’s Forum in New York City.

Here is a look at what is ahead in February.

Political Prisoner Birthdays in February

There are six political prisoner birthdays in February, so now is a good time to host a card writing party and to show your solidarity with those inside. Remember that prisoners at Federal prisons (USPs and FCIs) cannot receive cards, colored paper, or colored ink.

February 2:
Michael Markus, #06280-073
FCI Sandstone
PO Box 1000
Sandstone, MN 55072
*Address letter to Rattler

February 4:
Veronza Bowers, #35316-136
FMC Butner
PO Box 1600
Butner, NC 27509

February 15:
David Campbell, #3101900657
Robert N. Davoren Complex
11-11 Hazen Street
East Elmhurst, NY 11370

February 19:
Freddie Hilton, #0001150688
Augusta State Medical Prison, Building 13A-2 E7
3001 Gordon Highway
Grovetown, GA 30813
*Address letter to Kamau Sadiki

February 25:
Red Fawn Fallis, #16358-059
FCI Dublin
5701 8th Street – Camp Parks
Dublin, CA 94568

February 26:
Byron Chubbuck, #07909-051
USP Victorville
PO Box 3900
Adelanto, CA 92301
*Address letter to Oso Blanco

Releases

On Saturday morning, January 18, MOVE 9 political prisoner Delbert Africa walked out of prison a free man, after 42 years of incarceration. Please consider donating to Delbert’s relief fund if you are able. While his release is more than welcomed, it also highlights the one remaining imprisoned member of the MOVE 9, Chuck Africa. Free Chuck Africa!

Political prisoner Eric Hancock was released from prison in January. Hancock accepted a non-cooperating plea agreement and was given a one-year sentence, after he defended himself against fascist-affiliated white supremacists in Richmond, VA in January 2018.

Parole/Commutations

Longtime political prisoner, former Black Panther Party member and Black Liberation Army soldier, Jalil Muntaqim has filed an application to commute the sentence to time served with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Muntaqim has been imprisoned for over 48 years and has been denied parole twelve times since 2002. Read Muntaqim’s latest article in the San Francisco Bayview here.

Today is the 83rd birthday of political prisoner, Sundiata Acoli, who has remained in captivity for nearly a half-century.

As a BLA member fighting alongside Assata Shakur, his only crime was defending his comrades and community from the Amerikkkan police state.#FreeSundiata pic.twitter.com/o5eNTmN3fd

— ᴰᴱᴵᴼᴺ (@prolevoron) January 14, 2020

The NJ Appellate Court denied political prisoner Sundiata Acoli‘s release on parole on December 27, 2019. He gets a mandatory appeal to the NJ Supreme Court. Please donate to his offset the legal fees. You can send a donation via Paypal to [email protected] or checks or money orders can be payable to: Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign (SAFC) and mailed to: Florence Morgan, 120-46 Queens Boulevard, Kew Gardens, NY 11415

Please send him a letter/note (most federal prisons do not allow postcards or cards). Remind him that after 47 years in prison he is loved, especially with his recent parole appeal denial.

Clark Squire, #39794-066
FCI Cumberland
PO Box 1000
Cumberland, MD 21501
*Address letter to Sundiata Acoli

Ongoing Cases

As of this writing, whistleblower Chelsea Manning and hacktivist Jeremy Hammond remain imprisoned in northern Virginia for refusing to participate in a Federal Grand Jury inquisition into Wikileaks.

Certain Days art by Jeremy Hammond

Accused ELF saboteur Joseph Dibee – who was granted pre-trial release in December only to be taken back into custody days later – suffered a broken jaw after being assaulted at the Multnomah County Inverness Jail in Oregon. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it took over a week for prosecutors and the presiding judge to hear of the assault, while Dibee remained imprisoned with his mouth “wired shut.” On January 29, Dibee’s was denied pretrial release. You can learn more here, and be sure to write Joe to show your solidarity.

Joseph Dibee, #812133
MCIJ
11540 NE Inverness Drive
Portland, OR 97220

Fundraising

Making that transition from prison to the outside can be a very difficult switch. Any support that we can provide goes a long way towards showing solidarity with those who gave up so much fighting for our freedoms. Here’s a list of places to donate that directly support recently released political prisoners as well as those still inside.

• Delbert Africa
• Eddie Africa
• Janine and Janet Africa
• Debbie and Mike Africa
• Nina Droz Franco
• Connor Stevens
• Ramsey Orta

Transfers

David Campbell (see above under birthdays)

Ruchell Cinque Magee, #A92051
#T 115
California Medical Facility
PO Box 2000
Vacaville, CA 95696-2000

Dr. Mutulu Shakur, #83205-012
FMC Lexington
PO Box 14500
Lexington, KY 40512

Ramsey Orta, #16-A-4200
Mohawk Correctional Facility
PO Box 8451
Rome, NY 13440

Veronza Bowers, #35316-136
FCI Butner, Medium II
PO Box 1500
Butner, NC 27509

In Case You Missed It

Keith ‘Malik’ Washington, IWOC organizer and spokesperson for the End Prison Slavery in Texas Movement, recently wrote a piece for the San Francisco Bayview about Chesa Boudin, new San Francisco District Attorney, and son of our inside collective member, longtime political prisoner David Gilbert.

Night’s Lantern released their 2020 Suppressed News bulletin in January, which has important updates about political prisoners Imam Jamil Abdullah al-Amin, Dr. Mutulu Shakur, Russell “Maroon” Shoatz, and more.

ten months down – still going strong ✨?? as always thank you for your love and solidarityhttps://t.co/ENAF1IiQHv

— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) January 14, 2020

On December 22, Black Panther veteran Roger William Newman Smith passed on to the ancestors. He was 68. Smith was Deputy Chairman of the Newark, New Jersey Panther Chapter, where he worked on free food and clothing programs, welfare and tenants’ right, and mobilizations against the Vietnam War.

K’sisay Sadiki, daughter of imprisoned Black Liberation Army political prisoner Kamau Sadiki, was interviewed about growing up underground and how the struggles of her predecessors has impacted her own life and work. You can read the interview here.

Follow Certain Days on Social Media:

Facebook: facebook.com/certaindays
Twitter: @certaindays
Instagram: @certaindayscalendar

Certain Days to Keep in Mind

We start the month off with the 60th anniversary of the Greensboro, NC sit-ins at Woolworth’s whites-only lunch counter, a concrete reminder of the Civil Rights Movement and the importance of direct action. February 8th is the anniversary of the Orangeburg Massacre, when police murdered anti-segregation protesters in South Carolina. February also marks three years since the #NoDAPL camps at Standing Rock were cleared by police, and the 47th anniversary of the occupation of Wounded Knee. These any many more radical dates and movement anniversaries can be found in the Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners calendar.