When: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 @ 3:00 – 6:00 pm

Where: SEM II E1105 @ TESC

What:  This workshop will look at the ways the prison industrial complex not only specifically targets folks with disabilities but also actively props up ableism. We’ll also explore how ableism widens the pipelines (such as the school to prison pipeline) that help to create the PIC, by creating paths and norms in terms of who is criminalized, prison return rates, and notions of violence, justice and bodies. This workshop aims to help participants build a deeper understanding of both ableism and the prison industrial complex so that we can all move forward with clarity and motivation to link up prison abolition and disability justice work in shared struggle.

If we build it, they will come.

Those who reject this fundamental principle of life reject life itself.

When: Wednesday, May 21, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Where:  SEM 2 B1107@ TESC

What:  School-to-Prison Pipeline Workshop: As defined by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the S2PP is “a nationwide system of local, state and federal education and public safety policies that pushes students out of school and into the criminal justice system. This system disproportionately targets youth of color and youth with disabilities. Inequities in areas such as school discipline, policing practices, high-stakes testing and the prison industry contribute to the pipeline.” As suggested by that definition, the S2PP is a complicated and sprawling system, and this workshop only begins to interrogate how it works, what it does, and who it affects.

When: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Wednesday, April 16, 2014.

Where: Room 200, Olympia Community Center, 222, Columbia St., NW, Olympia

What:  Final part of the January 8th workshop–“The ABCs of Capitalism–in a series promoting economic literacy and inviting dialogue and discussion on inequality and the on-going crises of capitalism.

No economic background required!

Facilitated by Savvina Chowdhury & Peter Bohmer (members of the economic faculty at The Evergreen State College)

When: 8:00 am, Saturday, April 19, 2014
Where: TBA @ TESC
FEE: $10.00/$20.00 (Student:Poor/Working Stiff)
What: A discussion & workshop exploring the relationship between racism and the prison-industrial complex as a profitable means of oppression

Peace Works 2014 Speaker Bios

Angela Davis

Through her activism and scholarship over many decades, Angela Davis has been deeply involved in movements for social justice around the world. Her work as an educator – both at the university level and in the larger public sphere – has always emphasized the importance of building communities of struggle for economic, racial, and gender justice.

Professor Davis’ teaching career has taken her to San Francisco State University, Mills College, and UC Berkeley. She also has taught at UCLA, Vassar, the Claremont Colleges, and Stanford University. Mostly recently she spent fifteen years at the University of California Santa Cruz where she is now Distinguished Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness – an interdisciplinary Ph.D program – and of Feminist Studies.

Angela Davis is the author of nine books and has lectured throughout the United States as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and South America. In recent years a persistent theme of her work has been the range of social problems associated with incarceration and the generalized criminalization of those communities that are most affected by poverty and racial discrimination. She draws upon her own experiences in the early seventies as a person who spent eighteen months in jail and on trial, after being placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List.” She also has conducted extensive research on numerous issues related to race, gender and imprisonment. Her recent books include Abolition Democracy and Are Prisons Obsolete? about the abolition of the prison industrial complex, and a new edition of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. In 2012 she published a new collection of essays entitled The Meaning of Freedom.

Angela Davis is a founding member of Critical Resistance, a national organization dedicated to the dismantling of the prison industrial complex. Internationally, she is affiliated with Sisters Inside, an abolitionist organization based in Queensland, Australia that works in solidarity with women in prison.

Like many educators, Professor Davis is especially concerned with the general tendency to devote more resources and attention to the prison system than to educational institutions. Having helped to popularize the notion of a “prison industrial complex,” she now urges her audiences to think seriously about the future possibility of a world without prisons and to help forge a 21st century abolitionist movement.

Noura Erakat

Noura Erakat is a human rights attorney and activist. She is currently an Abraham L. Freedman Teaching Fellow at Temple University, Beasley School of Law and a member of the Legal Support Network for the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Refugee and Residency Rights. She has taught international human rights law in the Middle East at Georgetown University since Spring 2009. She is a Co-Editor of Jadaliyya.

She has helped to initiate and organize several national formations including AMWAJ-Arab Women Arising for Justice and the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN). She currently serves on the board of the Trans-Arab Research Institute, is a Policy Advisor to Al-Shabaka, and is a founding member of the DC Palestinian Film and Arts Festival. Noura spent the Spring 2010 academic semester in Beirut, Lebanon where she worked with human rights attorney, Nizar Saghieh, on several issues including administrative detention of Iraqi refugees. She helped Saghieh establish the Legal Agenda, a Lebanon-based NGO dedicated to studying law and society that advocates for legal reform in the Arab world through civic and judicial empowerment.

When: Thursday, April 3 at 8:00pm – 11:00pm (20014)

Where: SEM II E1105 @ TESC

What:  This event will consist of:

~ a FILM SHOWING of an infamous feminist sci fi flick (title to be announced once it is official)

~ feminist science fiction book club planning

~ free zines reflecting themes of No One Wins in Patriarchy Week

When: Thursday, April 10 (5:00 pm-7:00 pm) 2014

Where: Lecture Hall 2/Longhouse @ TESC

What:  Policing & Counterinsurgency by Kristian Williams. Williams is the author of Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America and American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination (both from South End Press) along with “Hurt”.

HURT is Portland activist Kristian Williams’ collection of articles and interviews on the history, psychology, and current state of torture in democratic societies. Williams, author of Our Enemies in Blue and American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination, has pulled together a vast and comprehensive resource on this abominable act. Articles include David Cunningham’s “Prisons, Torture, and Imperialism,” a piece on the anarchist perspective taken from comments at the 2008 Anarchist Bookfair in San Francisco, and a great essay on writing about torture, among many others. This sober 64-page document is a heavy piece of work—dark, informative, and oft times harrowing. But it’s also about working hard to enact change. As says Williams in the Gyozo Nehez interview, “At the outset, I think it’s more important to have a sense of hope, that things can be different and through our actions we can contribute to that change. The joy comes later, from struggle itself as much as from victory.” HURT is a how-to manual on fighting and understanding torture—a piece of the struggle itself.

More by Kristian Williams

Kristian Williams Website

Ed Mead & Mark Cook, former prisoners & members of the George Jackson brigade

When: Wednesday, April 23 @ 3:00pm – 5:00pm

Where: Lecture Hall 2 @ TESC

What:  This event is a part of RETHINKING PRISONS MONTH – APRIL 2014!

Ed mead and Mark Cook, former prisoners and former members of the George Jackson brigade will discuss their experiences organizing against the prison system both from the inside and out.

Ed Mead is a former political prisoner who was arrested for his participation in actions done by the George Jackson Brigade in the northwest during the 70s. He spent 18 years in prison and while at the Walla Walla Correctional Facility helped found Men Against Sexism which stopped prisoner-on-prisoner rape while he was held there. He also co-founded Prison Legal News.

Mark Cook was born and raised in Seattle, growing up in a poor family and moving frequently from school to school. At the age of 17, he was arrested, sent to a state mental hospital, and subsequently abused by the facility staff. Later, he served a sentence for armed robbery.

Released in 1967, Cook became active in a growing leftist paramilitary underground in Seattle, which perpetrated a series of high profile bombings and robberies. In and out of prison, he was co-founder of the Black Panther Party chapter in the Walla Walla State Penitentiary and served as its Lieutenant of Information for many years. In 2000, he was released after serving 24 years in prison for his participation in a bank robbery and jail break associated with the George Jackson Brigade in Seattle. His interview provides a detailed and startlingly honest account of the social organization and violence of prison life, as well as his extensive efforts to improve the conditions for prisoners.

ABOUT THE GEORGE JACKSON BRIGADE

Ed Mead & Danny Atteberry on the Tier of Walla Walla’s Isolation Unit in the 70’s

from Earful of Queer Radio

**TRIGGER WARNING: discusses topics and stories around rape and sex slavery within prisons.**

Ed Mead is a revolutionary, Queer, Godless Commie and Ex-Political Prisoner who went to jail for his part in a group called the George Jackson Brigade, which carried out a number of bombings, prisoner liberation’s and bank expropriations to further anti-capitalist struggle in the Pacific Northwest.

Earful of Queer talked with Ed about the history of his incarceration and his work with the revolution prison group called Men Against Sexism, which used violence and the threat of violence to stop rape within prisons in the Northwest of America in the 70′s.

We hear about the rise and fall of Men Against Sexism, failed escape attempts by Ed Mead & other revolutionaries, and the state of prison resistance then and now.

This is a beautiful collection of stories of queers engaged in class war against the state, and of small victories in that struggle.

This is a 3-part interview, you can find the links to the audio on Media Co-op below:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Ed Mead’s Current Projects:

Prison Focus Magazine
Seattle Jericho Movement

When: Friday, April 11 at 11:00am – 2:00pm
Where: SEM II B1107 @ TESC (created by vannosta@evergreen.edu)
What: This event is a part of RETHINKING PRISONS MONTH – APRIL 2014!

Kristian Williams (author, Our Enemies in Blue: contributing editor, Life During Wartime: Resisting Counterinsurgency) will briefly outline the principles of counterinsurgency warfare and illustrate how they have both shaped and been shaped by police operations in the United States. Public discussion to follow.

Sponsored by Abolish Cops and Prisons (ACAP).

Learn martial arts-based self defense that includes basic escapes, strikes, and exercises to increase awareness of your own body and your abilities to defend it. Each of us is capable of defending ourselves if necessary. Within a community of resistance, we should be comfortable with our bodies—feel safe in them–and be confident in our physical strength as much as possible.

This is a dangerous world. Being prepared for confrontation is different than creating it. It’s a question of preparation. In a casual, non-competitive space we should be able to help each other learn how to defend our bodies and be more comfortable with our physical abilities.

ABOUT GREGORY C. LEWIS

Sensei Gregory C. Lewis has been involved in the martial arts since 1978. His studies have included Boxing, Taekwondo, Wing Chun Kung-Fu, Muay Thai, Bare-Knuckle/Full-Contact Karate, and Brazilian Jujitsu.

Gregor Lewis spe@king during r@lly in support of Seattle’s Grand Jury Resisters? (9-13-12 @ federal courthouse plaza)

In 2007, he began to spread his particular expression of real-world martial arts officially as “Sensei Gregory C. Lewis’ Modern Karate”. Since it is primarily a system of real-world self-defense, it is also known as “Shigaisen (‘street-fighting’) Karate”.

Sensei Lewis is also a certified wellness coach, group exercise instructor, radio show host, and human rights activist.

Gregory Lewis, M@rtial (A)rts Instructor

Gregory Lewis, M@rtial (A)rtist

Gregory Lewis, M@rtial (A)rts Instructor

When: Monday, April 7 @ 3:00pm – 5:00pm

Where: SEM II A1105 @ TESC

What:  Hosted by Abolish Cops and Prisons; In the wake of the current work and hunger strike involving 1,200 detainees at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, immigrant rights organizers from across the Pacific Northwest will be joining us for a panel discussion concerning the connection between immigration, migrant labor, and incarceration. This panel comes at a time when detainees at the Northwest Detention Center are struggling for human rights and dignity. Each panelist has their own experience organizing around these issues and will bring a unique perspective to the panel.

OUR PANELISTS:

Maru Mora Villalpando – Latino Advocacy and the Dignity Campaign
Maru Mora Villalpando is a bi-lingual statewide community organizer and trainer and Director of Latino Advocacy with more than ten years experience primarily focusing on immigrant rights and racial justice issues. She was one of the lead organizers for the 10th Annual March for Immigrant rights in Seattle, WA where thousands of people demonstrated their support for immigration reform. Ms. Villalpando has been instrumental in grassroots organizing efforts ranging from national health care reform to advocating for changes to the presence of ICE in local police jails through the Secure Communities program. Currently she has been the key community organizer in the recent hunger strikes at the GEO Corp. operated NW Detention Center in Tacoma, WA.
The Dignity Campaign is a national grassroots effort that has crafted a human rights based comprehensive immigration reform platform from the grassroots up, through the convening of Dignity Dialogues.

Edgar Franks – Formacion Civica, C2C
As part of the C2C Team Edgar is the Coordinator for the Formación Cívica (Civic Engagement) Project. He leads the coordination of the Campaign to End Racial Profiling in Whatcom County. Raised in Skagit County, WA, Edgar comes from a farmworker family and is proud of his farm worker roots. He was a member of MEChA throughout High School and College; a volunteer for the Farm Worker Solidarity Organizing Committee from 1999-2011 and Co-Chair of this committee in 2001-2003. Edgar also is a national leader through the Grassroots Global Justice and the National Planning Committee for the US Social Forum. Edgar represents c2C on various local community groups that look for policy solutions to the increased policing through racial profiling of Latino Youth.

Angelica Villa – Community to Community
Angelica is a farm worker and is originally from Oaxaca Mexico and arrived in the United States in 1989 at the age of 18 to start a family in Los Angeles, CA. She is a single mother with four children, ages 10, 14, 17 and 20. She has worked many jobs to provide for them; in the fields, restaurants, and hotels. Angelica lives in rural Whatcom County, which borders Canada and she sees on a daily basis the harassment of workers by the Border Patrol and the cooperation of local police officers with them in detaining farm worker families, many of them Mothers with small children. She is a community organizer with C2C and sees first- hand how quickly hardworking farm workers are racially profiled and labeled criminals and deported. She accompanies them to immigration court hearings and supports their families when they are detained at the NW Detention Center.

Ramon Torres – Familias Unidas por la Justicia
Ramon was elected President of Familias Unidas por la Justicia by over 300 farm workers that went on strike in July of 2013 at Sakuma Bros. Berry Farm. They have since
Formed their own organization and continue to organize for fair wages in the fields and also oppose the federal guest worker program – h2a – which they believe is being used
To displace local experienced farm workers. Most of the members of Familias Unidas por la Justicia are indigenous people from Oaxaca and undocumented. Ramon works daily with entire families that have to deal with making a living while undocumented and also are trying to create a happy life for their children.

Tara Villalba – Raices Culturales Youth Project C2C
Tara leads the Raices Culturales Youth project at c2C. She develops programming that develop leadership within the Latino youth in Whatcom County.
As the key organizer with Latino youth Tara understand the intersection of race, class and gender when it comes to how local police agencies deal with enforcement of
Community policing responsibilities.

This event is a part of RETHINKING PRISONS MONTH – APRIL 2014. Thanks to our co-sponsors Fist Atevergreen, MEXA de Evergreen, EPIC – Evergreen Political Information Center, and Students for a Democratic Society.

2nd wave of hunger strikes begin at NWDC; report of suicide attempt; AFL-CIO supports vigil

For immediate release //
Contact: Jessica Ramirez (206) 617-5898

March 25, 2014

Second Wave of Hunger Strikes Begin at Northwest Detention Center

Tacoma WA – Immigrants held at the Northwest Detention Center are once again adding their voices to the mounting outcry for President Obama to stop deportations. Seeing little change in their conditions following the hunger strike that began on March 7th, about 70 people rejoined the hunger strike on Monday, March 24th. Hearing of others rejoining the strike, hunger strike leader Ramon Mendoza Pascual began eating after more than two weeks of fasting. Jesus Gaspar Navarro remains in isolation after 20 days on hunger strike.

When visiting with hunger strikers on Monday, attorney Angelica Chazaro learned of a suicide attempt in the facility that occurred around 9 a.m. that morning. A witness to the attempt who spoke to Chazaro described seeing a man hanging over a second floor railing with a sheet tied around his neck. The man was pulled back over the railing, and taken out of the facility on a stretcher. Detainees heard a helicopter leaving the facility shortly thereafter. The witness reported to Chazaro that guards informed him and other detainees that the man was still breathing, and that he was taken to the hospital. “This case underscores our deep concern at the treatment of those held in the detention center, as well as the importance of the hunger strike in bringing this treatment to light. The fact that this person was detained when he attempted suicide means that ICE and GEO Group officials hold some responsibility for his attempt,” Chazaro said.

On Sunday, Jeff Johnson, president of the Washington State Labor Council, and Tefere Gebre, executive vice president of the AFL-CIO, joined the daily presence outside the detention center to express their support for those held inside and add their voices to the growing outcry for the President to stop deportations. They vowed to help spread the word of this protest.

That same day GEO Group vans unloaded dozens of detained women into the detention center, while hunger strike supporters looked on through the chain link fence, chanting, “You are not alone!” Up to 200 people, mostly women, many of whom are seeking asylum, are transferred from the U.S.-Mexico border to the Northwest Detention Center each month.

Maru Mora Villalpando
Latino Advocacy
www.latinoadvocacy.org
206-251-6658