WORD: “We Won’t Contribute to Our Own Oppression” – Alabama Inmates Organize Multi-Prison Strike

by | May 11, 2016 | News, Politics News | 0 comments

Did you know that millions are made for the State of Alabama and private organizations from, what some call “slave labor”, prison labor.

These jobs are extremely low paid or not paid at all and the Free Alabama movement aims to expose this industry and it’s unfair work conditions.

Kinetik, Dhati and Brother M are threee Alabama inmates, held in isolation, who are heading this movement and organising a multi-prison strike.

Atlanta Black Star reported:

According to Solitary Watch, the strikes began at Alabama’s Holman, Staton, and Elmore Correctional Facilities on May 1, with additional stoppages scheduled to follow this week at St. Clair and Donaldson, among others. Organizers plan to stretch the protests for 30 days, but say the length ultimately depends on the response of lawmakers.
Kinetik told Solitary Watch,”We will no longer contribute to our own oppression. We will no longer continue to work for free and be treated like this.”
The Alabama Department of Corrections confirmed Holman and Elmore were on lockdown in a statement released on May 2. Department officials said inmates at the facilities did not help prepare breakfast Sunday and failed to report to assigned tasks the next day. The DOC also indicated it was not aware of prisoners’ demands or “reason for refusing to work.”
The Movement held similar labor protests two years ago, as the U.S. Justice Department investigated conditions in Alabama prisons. Salon held an exclusive interview with one of the group’s founders in 2014.
“We decided that the only weapon or strategy … that we have is our labor, because that’s the only reason that we’re here,” Melvin Ray, an inmate at the St. Clair correctional facility said at the time. “They’re incarcerating people for the free labor.”
Ray described the prison as “a hellhole” created “to destroy men.”

Source: http://atlantablackstar.com/2016/05/09/alabama-inmates-organize-multi-prison-strike-in-protest-of-prison-labor-we-wont-contribute-to-our-own-oppression/?utm_content=buffer5b6b4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

While some people obviously need to do their time using them for profit is, in my opinion, outrageous and I FULLY support this strike, what do you think?

PrisonProtest

Keep up to date with everything going on in the Urban Intellectuals Universe.

Blog post opt-in form 2 (#8)

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories