Beloit Books Behind Bars

08/29/2014

IWW Starbucks workers are coming together to demand scheduling improvements. Please sign to show your solidarity, and share this with your friends, especially baristas!

We’re Starbucks employees and we love our customers. Every single day, dedicated customers like Georgia, Chris, Jim, Herb, Colleen, Anna, Rob, Sandy, Charlie, Tim, Mike, Mark, Ashley, Lee, Andie and countless others come into our stores, order their drinks, and share a little bit of their day with u…

05/19/2014

Take 2 minutes out of your day today to make a call in support of IWW union barista and anarchist comrade Liberte Locke! Call 212-982-3753, before 5 pm today and ask to speak to store manager Maurice Franklyn. Demand that Maurice respect workers, stop the verbal abuse against Liberte, and ask him to resign if he can't comply with those terms. Be calm and polite, but firm! Thanks in advance!

Cause

01/21/2014

"Mumia Abu-Jamal and Angela Davis on the current criminal (in)justice system and socialist/community based alternatives.

"In sum, the present system drains public resources to pursue a chimera of public safety, when it actually is a legalized system of violence against unprivileged communities, who have been the historical bogeymen of the American body politic."

“Community justice initiatives emphasize attacking the causes of crime, rehabilitating individual offenders, and repairing the harm caused by crime rather than punishing offenders according to traditional retributive or deterrent concerns.”

by Mumia Abu-Jamal and Angela Davis The Feminist Wire offers an exclusive look at this new essay to be published in the forthcoming volume Imagine: Living in a Socialist USA, edited by Frances Goldin, Michael Smith, and Debby Smith. Read it here before it hits the shelves! We live in an era of meg...

10/30/2013

"Becca..." u have a letter!
come 2 905 to pick it up!

10/04/2013

A new video from the ACLU is hard to watch, but the problem is difficult to ignore.

09/10/2013

Do you want a new penpal? We just got a bunch of letters in the mail! If you're interested in the program, stop by Peace & Justice house (905 Church) at 9:00 tonight or email Katie ([email protected]) for more info!

08/05/2013

The are a group of undocumented young people who were detained when they tried to reenter the USA. They're currently in detention and on hunger strike (6 of the 9 are in solitary confinement) in Eloy, AZ. Please write to them!

Los Dream 9 están leyendo sus cartas—más que 150 envíos! Por favor, sigan enviando su amor. Les da algo que hacer y compartir con los otros adentro.

07/26/2013

"While jury makeup varies widely by jurisdiction, the organization, which studied eight Southern states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee — found areas in all of them where significant problems persist. In Alabama, courts have found racially discriminatory jury selection in 25 death penalty cases since 1987, and there are counties where more than 75 percent of black jury pool members have been struck in death penalty cases.

An analysis of Jefferson Parish, La., by the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center found that from 1999 to 2007, blacks were struck from juries at more than three times the rate of whites.

In North Carolina, at least 26 current death row defendants were sentenced by all-white juries. In South Carolina, a prosecutor said he struck a black potential juror because he “shucked and jived” when he walked."

The practice of excluding minorities from Southern juries remains widespread and largely unchecked.

07/22/2013

Have you ever doubted the power of a letter?

If so, read this note Amnesty received from Sami al Haj, who was held at Guantanamo without charge for years and finally transferred home to Sudan in 2008:

“I received more than 20,000 letters from members and supporters of Amnesty International during my last two years at Guantánamo Bay. These letters really encouraged me during my very difficult time. They made me feel as though I was not alone and not to give up. Also, I felt and could notice that from all these letters, the Administration of Guantánamo Bay changed and improved towards me, as they knew I was not alone and I had people who cared about me. The guards said to me that they could see I was someone who mattered and must be important because of all the letters–this made them respect me more.”

Read the full article from American Friends Service Committee at:
https://afsc.org/action/letter-writing-guantanamo-prisoners

Below are instructions for writing to prisoners at Guantanamo and a list of names of the prisoners.

07/22/2013

CeCe McDonald is a college student and African American transwoman being held in a men's prison for defending herself against a transphobic, racist attack. She has spent much time in solitary confinement due to her gender identity, and was sentenced to 41 months in prison last year.

Write to her at:
Chrishaun McDonald
OID #238072
Minnesota Correctional Facility-St. Cloud
2305 Minnesota Boulevard S.E.
St. Cloud, MN 56304

Learn more about her story here:
https://supportcece.wordpress.com/

Fight racist, transphobic violence!

07/21/2013

Marissa Alexander is a Florida woman and mother of three who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot into the ceiling while defending herself against her abusive husband.

Write to her at:
Marissa Alexander #2012033887
500 East Adam St.
Jacksonville, FL 32202

Learn more about her story here: http://www.justiceformarissa.blogspot.com/

Marissa Alexander has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Marissa is the victim here. Her husband beat her while she was pregnant. After yet another beating, Alexander fired a warning shot which traveled through a wall and into the ceiling. That shot saved her life. Prosecutor Angela Corey did not...

07/20/2013

In Beloit for the summer? We've gotten about 20 new letters in the last month, and it'd be great if we could respond to them all!

We also have letters addressed to Jordan B, Colleen, Madeleine K, Renee H, and Allison V- let us know if you plan to respond or not!