Revolution #241, July 31, 2011
Struggle against the inhumanity of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons must continue
Posted August 1, 2011
Today, August 1, actions in many different cities were held as part of an International Day of Protest and Solidarity with the Prison Hunger Strikers.
After the prisoner hunger strike ended at Pelican Bay State Prison on July 20, representatives of the Pelican Bay Hunger Strike leaders released a statement that said:
“We're counting on all of our outside supporters to continue to collectively support us and to carry on with shining light on our resistance in here. This is the right time for change in these prisons and the movement is growing across the land! Without the peoples' support outside, we cannot be successful! All support, no matter the size, or content, comes together as a powerful force. We've already brought more mainstream exposure about these CDCR-SHU's than ever before and our time for real change to this system is now!” (See the whole statement here: http://revcom.us/a/241/7-27_short_corridor_collective_statement-en.html.)
And as the San Francisco World Can’t Wait chapter wrote: “What is now most CRUCIAL: TO KEEP UP THE SUPPORT OUTSIDE. Only if the authorities see ongoing public support—grassroots and prominent, numbers, different organizations, a diversity of voices all backing the prisoners—is there any real chance of winning the changes these people have risked their lives for. The dynamic between what the prisoners are doing inside, and strong outside support, is key to the world knowing about their situation, and their resistance.”
Check back for coverage of the August 1 International Day of Protest and Solidarity with the Prison Hunger Strikers, ongoing news and analysis of the important struggle against the inhumanity of solitary confinement and the whole issue of mass incarceration in the USA.
To read all Revolution coverage of the prisoner hunger strike go to: revcom.us/s/pelicanbay-hungerstrike-en.html.
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