No, its not a riot, its a strike.
Big difference.
The only rioting in this demonstration of solidarity will be by the the thugs in uniforms.
The following update is from prisoner Malik, about ongoing repression faced by political inmates in the lead up to the #PrisonStrike.
As organizers across the country step up preparations for the August 21st prison strike, prison officials and administrations will also be making plans for how to respond. Recent weeks have seen what appears to be a co-ordinated campaign of repression against prominent figures associated with the 2016 prison strike.
Imam Siddique Abdullah Hasan, a key figure in the 2016 strike who was thrown into solitary in September 2016 on the basis of clearly false accusations, has just been thrown into solitary confinement again, and Ohio IWOC are organizing to support him.
Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, a leader of the New Afrikan Black Panther Party (NABPP) and member of the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC), whose organizing was discussed in DHS/FBI fusion center “terrorism threat assessment” publications as far back as 2009 (page 50) is being kept in solitary confinement after being given an “inciting a riot” charge for writing an article about the Operation PUSH strikes in Florida, and has faced punitive transfer after transfer. Keith “Malik” Washington, a Texas inmate who is also involved with the NABPP and IWOC, has spent the past two years in ad-seg (solitary confinement) on a bogus riot charge connected to his involvement in the 2016 prison strike. He was due to be released from ad-seg, but then had his clearance abruptly revoked and was sent back to solitary on the grounds that the classifications committee had “received additional information” from the Fusion Center in Texas. He has also had issues with medical information about his health issues mysteriously disappearing,leading to the administration putting him in dangerous situations, and is currently being held in an extremely hot and humid punishment cell that he describes as being like “a living hell” and causing headaches, nosebleeds and dizziness. A full update on Malik’s condition is attached below.
Meanwhile, Jason Renard Walker, another Texas inmate involved with the NABPP and the 2016 strikes, and a contributor to the Fire Inside zine, has managed to get released from solitary, but faces constant threats and harassment from staff, including threats to send him back to solitary on bogus charges for things as simple as asking for water and medical attention, and trying to get back into his own cell so he can use a fan to cool down. Both Malik and Jason have reported having their mail tampered with, and the explicitly political nature of this censorship was made clear in a conversation with a prison official who told Jason that any writing containing the words “black panther” would be treated as gang material.
Supporting the prison strike means monitoring and opposing the repressive methods that the prison system uses to try and break it, and paying attention to the treatment of 2016 strike organizers like Rashid, Malik, Jason and others can indicate the tactics that are likely to be used more widely in the weeks to come.
What we can do:
Flood the system with messages of support
Malik has specifically requested a call-in campaign urging Texas legislators to investigate the conditions at the McConnell Unit. Below are some details of Texas legislators and TDCJ officials, along with a suggested script you can use:
John Whitmire, chair of the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee – (512) 463-0115 or (713) 864-8701
The story goes on from here.
It includes more contacts and a script of what to say.
If you can't get out in the streets to throw rocks at cops, at least put in a call.
Don't let the answer to the question of what you did in the great change be, 'nuthin'.
We have a chance to end being ruled by bullies, #pushback!
