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NEWS & LETTERS, NOVEMBER 2003Prisoner SolidarityOakland, Cal.--About a dozen different organizations working with or on behalf of women prisoners got together on Oct. 18 to hold the first state-wide strategy session on our work. The organizations represented included California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Justice NOW, Critical Resistance, California Prison Focus, Stop Prison Rape and others. Many former prisoners and some family members of prisoners were there. People came from San Diego, LA, Bay Area, and from Eureka. It was a truly state-wide event. Part of the day was spent on introductions and presenting the work of different groups. While we all work with or for women prisoners, the diversity was impressive: some offer direct legal help, some do community organizing, some offer a variety of services, including training and outreach. Most controversial was the presentation by Stop Prison Rape, which found some unlikely allies--religious groups--that are quite conservative in their outlook other than on this issue. The event created a space for discussion. We talked about how our work fits into the larger “landscape” of activism. We talked about the barriers preventing the participation of others, especially former prisoners who face hardship. The highlight for me was a young woman from Arcadia who asked, “is revolution even possible?” She was the only one to raise that question in that forum. She was born while Reagan was the president and never experienced first hand a mass movement and the kinds of possibilities it opens. And she is still asking is revolution possible! It shows that the idea of revolution is not what you learn about it (from either the Right or the Left), but that it keeps emerging from opposition to this society. --Urszula Wislanka |
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