Thu, 11 June 2020
Today we celebrate June 11th, an international day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners. While this is the sixteenth year this date has been observed, 2020 presents an unprecedented context: both the COVID–19 pandemic and the massive uprising sparked by the police murder of George Floyd have shifted our focus and sense of what’s possible. In solidarity with all prisoners, with particular care for anarchists in long-term confinement, we begin by sharing an excerpt from a history of June 11th as a day of prisoner solidarity along with the June 11th call issued for 2020. To these we add a short interview with a June 11th organizer and supporter of anarchist Green Scare prisoner Marius Mason. As politicians raise the specter of “antifa” to divide and defuse the militant anti-police resistance that has swept the US and beyond, we explore state repression of antifascists through an interview with antifascist prisoner David Campbell and his support crew. Another interview with a participant in the South Florida COVID–19 Hotline for Incarcerated People explores a model for prisoner solidarity in pandemic times. We conclude with updates on several long-term prisoners’ cases and upcoming birthdays. After today’s focus on prisoner struggles, next time we’ll return our focus to the Minneapolis uprising and the international movement to commemorate Black lives lost to police violence. {June 11th, 2020}
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Direct download: 78_June-11th_Prisoner-Solidarity-COVID-19-and-Anti-Police-Rebellion.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:48am PDT |
Wed, 10 June 2020
The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police has sparked a nationwide rebellion against the police and global solidarity efforts. One of the most striking developments is the announcement on Sunday, June 7 by a majority of Minneapolis City Council members that they intend to dismantle the city’s police department. In Episode 77 of the Ex-Worker—the first in a series covering the Minneapolis uprising and its national and global implications—we return to the question of abolishing the police. The episode kicks off with our reflections from these unprecedented first two weeks of rebellion, then shares an essay exploring the question we’re all asking: What Will it Take to Stop the Police From Killing? Next, we share an anonymous report on the siege of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis, analyzing how a diverse “compositional” crowd was able to defeat the police. An anarchist from Minneapolis who attended the rally where the City Council declared their intention to end the police department shares their take on the background and context leading to the announcement and how abolitionist organizers, rioters, artists, and others joined forces to make abolition imaginable. We conclude with our thoughts about how the struggle against police might unfold beyond Minneapolis in the months to come. Stay tuned for more episodes soon on the Minneapolis uprising, June 11th, and prisoner struggles, international solidarity with the rebellions, and more! {June 10th, 2020}
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Direct download: 77_Minneapolis-Uprising-Part-1_How-to-Abolish-the-Police.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:24pm PDT |