December 2024 Newsletter
December Newsletter
Letter From a Collective Editor
Hi everyone! I’m Anna, the collective editor for December. I can’t believe December, and 2024, is almost over - to me it feels like the days go by slowly but the weeks go by fast. I previously was part of the collective’s Texas Prison Mail Organizing Group. It was so great organizing virtually with folks to talk about the impact of Texas’ mail policy, as incoming paper mail was no longer handed out to recipients, and instead was sent to a central processing facility and scanned, resulting in delays, returned mail, or mail that was simply “lost.” Hearing from inside pen pals in Texas on how this was impacting them, as well as the impact on outside pen pals whose letters were frequently returned to sender, offered a space to commiserate and organize. I learned so much from everyone in the working group and it reminded me of the powerful impact our actions have when we come together in solidarity. I hope your December has offered you moments of quiet, joy, and relaxation as much as possible in these challenging times.
Your December editor,
Anna
Here’s What’s Up This Month
Meetings
New Pen Pal Orientation
Whether you’ve never been matched with a pen pal, want a refresher, or want to invite a friend to join the collective, you’re welcome at orientation meetings! If you can’t make these dates, please send us an email. We can often make small group meetings at different times happen.
Monday, January 13th at 8pm Eastern
Saturday, January 18th at 2pm Eastern
Saturday, January 27th at 6pm Eastern
Check our calendar for times and meeting links
Penpals Backend Working Group Meeting- Tuesday, January 7th at 8pm Eastern at this zoom link
Refer to the calendar website, Slack, and Instagram for any schedule adjustments
Volunteer
Newsletter Editors - Are you enjoying the monthly newsletters? Do you have ideas for new sections or want to share your own journey? We’re looking for people to serve as newsletter editors in the upcoming months of March 2025 and onwards — new and experienced pen pals are encouraged to sign up! We provide a template, and other collective members are happy to work with you on sections as you prefer. Use the link below to express interest and sign up, or reach out via email:
Resources
Inside pen pal Auner put together these instructions to help other inside pen pals apply for social security. (He shared them with us via his outside pen pal, Renee). It’s one of many resources for pen pals in our volunteer-created resource spreadsheet. If you have any resources you’d like to share with the group, please add them to the spreadsheet!
Support
We accept donations via OpenCollective, where you can view details of our expenses. More details on our webpage.
Pen Pal Spotlight
David D. & Anna N.
One of my pen pals, David and I have been writing to each other for almost four years now. He is a friend, artist, English teacher, and jailhouse lawyer. When I was in college, an organization I was a part of wanted to start corresponding with folks incarcerated at the correctional center in our college’s town. I remember at first feeling hesitant about this, which was something that I had to unpack and un-learn. Thanks to the support of my comrades, who taught me a lot about abolition, I decided to go for it. I’m so glad that I began penpaling, and learning about abolition, as for me it has shown how we can build a future based in transformative justice and liberation for all.
I remember passing by the local jail in my college’s town only once, briefly - on the bus to a swim meet, looking out the window - and the stark contrast between the jail and its surroundings. The vast prairie, with sprouts of trees and buildings here and there, seem to come to a stop at the concrete walls of the jail, designed to both keep people out and people in.
While I haven’t been inside of the jail before, I hope to visit David in person one day. We both live in the state of Illinois. David enjoys drawing, and he teaches English classes to fellow incarcerated folks. David is a wonderful teacher. He is bilingual in English and Spanish, and I studied Spanish in school. He patiently gives me feedback on my grammar when I write to him in Spanish. We mostly correspond over letters, but also sometimes exchange e-messages on Connect Network, or occasionally talk over the phone. Sometimes it takes me longer to respond to letters and messages than I would like, and I have to remind myself that penpaling is a long-term commitment, just like any other friendship. David also offers legal advice to fellow incarcerated folks and has been described as a jailhouse lawyer because he has his paralegal degree.
Additional Links
David’s contact info can be found here if you’d like to write him a postcard, short note, or letter as a pen pal. He also wrote some additional information about his case, and hopefully he will be released soon.
Abolitionist News
News - This recent op-ed on prison censorship is very illuminating.
Win - Palestine Solidarity Coalition Wins Major Local BDS Victory in California
Political Education
I wanted to share about a book I read when first learning about abolition - Writer, organizer, and movement lawyer Derecka Purnell’s book “Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom.” On her website, she explains that the book “details how multi-racial social movements rooted in rebellion, risk-taking, and revolutionary love pushed her and a generation of activists toward abolition. The book travels across geography and time, and offers lessons that activists have learned from Ferguson to South Africa, from Reconstruction to contemporary protests against police shootings.” I highly recommend checking it out!
Let’s Discuss!
Something to spark conversation with your penpal. Funny, random, serious, anything! This prompt will also be posted to Slack, Instagram, Twitter (X), and Facebook. Share your answer and your penpal’s answer with us there, if you want.
If you could accompany any animal/creature (fictional or real) into battle, which one would you choose?
Art From The Inside
David is an artist, and I’ve had the pleasure of receiving several of his drawings in his letters. He’s shared about his love of flowers and the beauty of nature, which has inspired these drawings:
Image descriptions: Three drawings made by David using colored pencils, one is a blue flower, one is a purple flower, and one is a yellow daisy.
Connect with us!
Email: AbolitionApostles@gmail.com
As your December collective editor, you can contact me via DM on the Letters for Liberation stack.