Episode 7: "Empty Every Cage, Break Every Chain"

TW: Be advised, this episode includes a sound-byte from Richard Nixon's chief of staff, Lee Atwater, spewing racial slurs from 22:02--22:22.

In this week's episode of Coffee with Comrades, Bree and Pearson discuss the #August21 Prison Strike and dissect the prison-industrial complex, the abolition movement, and transformative justice. But, first, a look at this week in current events:

• A migrant child died shortly after being released from detention by ICE
• Detained migrant fathers and sons stage a strike in Texas
• Facebook censors antifascists organizing to demonstrate in DC
• DC Metro union refuses to transport fascists

Bree and Pearson then provide a historical context for the prison-industrial complex before diving into the legacy and goals of the abolition movement. Ultimately, the hosts of Coffee with Comrades advocate for a system of transformative justice to truly address the root causes of "crime" and create a more humane and egalitarian society.

Get Involved:

• Educate others about the August 21st Prison Strike, the prison-industrial complex, abolition, and transformative justice
• Follow and promote the strike on social media using the #August21 and #prisonstrike hash-tags on social media and amplify the voices of incarcerated workers
• Endorse the strike by emailing your organization's statement to [email protected]
• Spread word of the strike both inside and outside--go to www.incarceratedworkers.org to print out stickers, flyers and posters
• Organize a phone tree in preparation for phone zaps
• Start an Anarchist Black Cross chapter
• Write to political prisoners
• Support the upcoming strike directly by promoting, attending, and/or creating a solidarity demonstration at a prison near you!

Resources:

• Incarcerated Workers Organizing Community
• Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• 13th Documentary on Netflix
• The Empty Cages Collective
• Critical Resistance

Intro: "I Ain't Got No Home in this World" by Woody Guthrie

Outro: "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)" by Run the Jewels