Letter From a Collective Editor
Hello and welcome to the Letters for Liberation March newsletter! I’m your editor for this month, and a fairly new volunteer — I signed up for a penpal at the end of last year, and have since gotten involved in the Penpals Back-End working group. I, personally, love some good administrative work; I find it very soothing to be concentrating on a spreadsheet. That’s just me though…I’m aware that others might have different interests. If you are like me, I highly recommend looking into this working group, and if you’re looking for more ways to get involved, be sure to click here for the various kinds of projects and teams that will suit you best.
The seasons all have their clichés, but it’s true that there’s something about spring that lends itself to newness. Whether you’re getting back involved or just getting started with L4L, below you’ll find more information about how you can keep going or start something new with us. Thanks for reading.
Your March editor,
Haley
News You Can Use
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, April 7 at 6pm Eastern
Saturday, April 12 at 2pm Eastern
Tuesday, April 15 at 8pm Eastern
Monday, April 21 at 6pm Eastern
Check our calendar for the most up-to-date times and meeting links
Penpals Backend Working Group Meeting- Sunday, April 6th at 8:30 pm Eastern/5:30 Pacific at this zoom link
Book Club is currently reading Parable of the Sower, and meets on Tuesday nights at 7:30 pm Eastern. Check out the #bookclub Slack channel for more details
Support
We accept donations via OpenCollective, where you can view details of our expenses. More details on our webpage.
Abolitionist News
The political prisoner Mahmoud Khalil dictated a letter over the phone from the ICE detention centre in Louisiana where he is currently being held. “My arrest was a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza, which resumed in full force Monday night,” he said. “With January’s ceasefire now broken, parents in Gaza are once again cradling too-small shrouds, and families are forced to weigh starvation and displacement against bombs. It is our moral imperative to persist in the struggle for their complete freedom.” Read more about Khalil here, and for ways to support him and his family, click here.
HellGate, a New York-based independent digital media publication, reported that a thirty-two year old man died while held in Brooklyn’s central booking. The man was waiting to be arraigned, and according to lawyers who spoke to journalist Nick Pinto, he had been transported between hospital care and the holding cell several times before his death. This is the fifth death of a person held in custody in New York during the month of March.
Political Education
I’ve just started reading Pirate Care: Acts Against the Criminalization of Solidarity, by Valeria Graziano, Marcell Mars, and Tomislav Medak. The first pages tell three stories that exemplify their definition of pirate care: First is Captain Carola Rackete had 53 passengers who needed care that was denied to them by Italy, and against their orders and despite a patrol boat trying to block her she got them all safely to land; then the organization Women on Waves, which offered reproductive healthcare to Irish women available through a loophole that allowed them to set up a clinic on their boat 12 miles offshore of Ireland; and the two ships Free Gaza and Liberty that successfully got through Israel’s blockade of Gaza in August 2008. Each example are “three uncompromising acts of grassroots solidarity that deft unjust laws and norms.” It’s a fortifying read — if you can pick up your own copy, I’d recommend it.
Another recommendation is The Visiting Room Project, “a digital experience that invites the public to sit face-to-face with people serving life without the possibility of parole to hear them tell their stories, in their own words.” After five years, there are currently more than one hundred interviews of people currently serving their sentences at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, which the site describes as being “in many ways, the epicenter of life without parole sentences worldwide.” Begin watching here.
Art From The Inside
Our friend, Kenneth West, was recently profiled by the Prison Journalism Project. In the Q&A, he spoke about his artistic practice, influences, and the logistical considerations he must take into account as a creative worker currently on the inside. Inspired by the prolific output of artists like Jean-Michael Basquiat and the permanence of works created by historical greats such as Albrecht Dürer, his materials are canvas, paint, and wood, from which he creates pieces that are “inflected with themes of incarceration, African symbology and contemporary pop culture.”
When asked what advice Kenneth might give to other artists on the inside, he responded:
“While your words can be suspect, your actions can never be denied. When you hear a song you like, you like it regardless of where it was made or who made it. That’s how it is for us if we keep producing high quality work. While there will always be those who won’t give us a chance because of our past, or where we are, talent is talent. It speaks for itself.
We got to keep grinding, pushing and believing in ourselves until others do. And if they fail to, well that’s their loss. Someone once said that it’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. That’s what we do when we create: light candles in the darkness.”
Lighting Candles - A Suggestion or Prompt
Kenneth’s point about lighting candles in the darkness really resonated with me. The wisest people I’ve known have always believed in the importance of a small, single action; I once heard it described in a way that I’ll paraphrase as “once you accept that you can’t do everything, you’re free to do anything.” What’s a small thing you’ve done recently that you found especially meaningful or impactful? Perhaps it’s a moment taken to finish a chapter of a book, or something special you shared with a new friend — think about it and share if/when you want. No contribution is too small! The teensier the better ;)
Thanks for reading, we’ll see you next month.
Letters for Liberation is a volunteer-run penpaling collective with this mission:
To spark & support meaningful connections between people inside and outside prison in a way that transforms us all, rooted in our abolitionist belief that no one is disposable.
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Email: AbolitionApostles@gmail.com