Hunger for Justice Events Around the World Support the Prison Hunger Strikers

August 3, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

On July 31, Hunger for Justice events took place in Los Angeles, Oakland and Santa Cruz in California, and in several other U.S. cities including Philadelphia and Jackson, Mississippi, as well as in London, Guyana, and Germany. The call for the day of protests and a fast in support of the hunger strikers in prison was issued by family members of the prisoners and endorsed by James Cromwell, Angela Davis, Mike Farrell, Danny Glover, Elliott Gould, Chris Hedges, Alice Walker, Cornel West, and many progressive organizations. The call said, in part, "We fast knowing the criminalization that killed Trayvon Martin, and the criminalization that justifies the torture of prisoners in solitary confinement are one and the same."

In Los Angeles, over 200 people gathered to hear the voices of families with loved ones in solitary confinement and prominent voices of conscience. Dolores Canales of California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement said, "We come together, all races, as we work toward bringing an end to injustices everywhere, from solitary confinement to racial profiling to mass incarceration." Actors Danny Glover and Mike Farrell spoke out to the crowd and to the media.

July 31 was Day 24 of the California prisoners' hunger strike, and this event occurred at an acute juncture. The state of California and its prison authorities have refused to negotiate with the hunger strikers. Instead, they have conducted systematic and vicious retaliation, in prison and in the media, against those on hunger strike, including by declaring hunger strikers as "murderers," "criminals," "gang leaders," and "terrorists" through as many public news channels as possible. The Hunger for Justice events, and the participation of notable people of conscience as well as many families with loved ones in the SHU and a range of organizations, need to be built upon, and urgently.

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