Tag Archives: virginia

This week, we honor the late Russell Maroon Shoatz. On December 17th, Russell Maroon Shoatz passed away. In 1970, Shoatz was convicted for the murder of a police officer in Pennsylvania and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. On February 20, 2014, Shoatz was returned to the prison’s general population after being held in solitary confinement …

This week, we share urgent messages – kites – sent by a range of people caught up in the prison system.  It’s important to listen for the voices of prisoners, whether it’s the hunger strike declaration by a longterm inside organizer like Shaka Shakur, Jessica Reznicek’s reflections as she is about to enter prison as an unrepentant water protector, or …

Today’s show is a repeat of “Roll Jim Crow” (April 30, 2019) about the very intentional practice of white supremacy by the corporate managers of the American Tobacco Company and how, via corporate imperialism, that same racial project found expression in countries all over the world, most notably China. Some of the topics covered are: James Duke and debunking the …

This week, we are trying something new so that we can cover the full range of increased prisoner struggles. We will be teaming up with Perilous Chronicle at the beginning of each month to give you headlines tracking disturbances in prisons, jails, and detention centers. Perilous is a project seeking to gather and track information on prison uprisings, riots, protests, …

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to change life on the outside for people all over the world, the prison population stands to suffer immensely in these times. Last week, we spoke to someone in Italy, who described the riots and protests inside and outside the prisons in areas around that country. This week, we are sharing messages from people all …

This week, we share two messages sent to us from the inside. We hear from Shaka Shakur about the issues he has been facing since being transferred to Virginia from Indiana. Afterwards, we play a statement by Khalfani Malik Khaldun recorded from the inside prior to his 50th birthday. We finish up this episode with thoughts from a Florida organizer, …

We begin with “My Old Kentucky Home” by 19th century songwriter Stephen Foster, performed by Paul Robeson. Sung like a love song to the state of Kentucky by the Derby crowd at Churchill Downs, its real historical meaning is bleaker. The lyrics portray heartbreak: A man, sold down the river to work at a sugar plantation in the deep south, …