Critical Resistance invites you to our annual fundraiser: this year a virtual and international event with Charlene Carruthers and Marc Lamont Hill!
CR Oakland and the No New San Francisco Jail Coalition win historic victory in campaign to Shut Down 850 Bryant! (See below)
Join us from any location in the world for
"Celebrating Juneteenth: An Abolitionist Perspective on Movements for Black Liberation Past & Present"
Two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued ordering states in the confederacy to release their slaves, Black people in Texas achieved their liberation from chattel bondage. On June 19,1865, General Order Number 3 was read from the Ashton Villa balcony in Galveston, Texas, that demanded that slaveholders free their slaves. That day, Juneteenth, has become an annual occasion for celebration, reflection, and education about the meaning of freedom and the on-going, universal struggle for liberation from domination.
These questions about the true meaning of freedom are more relevant than ever to the work of abolitionists and those working to eliminate the prison industrial complex (PIC) and its attendant harms.
To explore the legacy of Juneteenth and ongoing struggles for Black (and international) liberation, CR is happy to host a conversation between two prominent Black thought leaders and firebrands, Charlene Carruthers (BYP100 cofounder) and Marc Lamont Hill (BET news host).
No one turned away for lack of funds. All contributions go to support the organizing of Critical Resistance Oakland chapter and all of Critical Resistance.
BREAKING NEWS: CR Oakland & the No New San Francisco Jail Coalition pass legislation to permanently close a county jail in downtown San Francisco!
Following over seven years of organizing against jailing in San Francisco, Critical Resistance Oakland and the rest of the No New SF Jail Coalition successfully organized to pass legislation that will close the toxic and unsafe County Jail 4 at 850 Bryant in downtown San Francisco. This victory comes after successfully defeating SF Sheriff's plan to replace 850 Bryant with a new jail in 2015 and could not have been possible without the effort of numerous organizations working in coalition with one another.
Since the fall of 2018, No New SF Jail Coalition has been calling on the Board of Supervisors to pass legislation to mandate permanent closure of the jail, and on May 13th, 2020, our ordinance passed 10-1! People locked up inside the jail and their family members have been speaking out about the horrible conditions--of severe flooding and sewage, asbestos, rats and roach infestations, guard enforced prisoner "fight clubs," and noxious fumes-- in 850 Bryant for years, and now it's set to finally close by November 1st. City officials have repeatedly avoided shuttering this decrepit facility for over two decades, despite a demolition order since 1996 and countless experts siting the building as an earthquake-unsafe death trap.The legislation ensures that when this violent institution closes, it cannot be replaced by a new jail and people inside cannot be transferred to another county. This is a monumental step towards a jail-free San Francisco!
As with cities and counties across the country, the city's discussions of closure often involved replacing it with new jail constructions, including "service-enriched" mental health cages, "behavioral justice" centers or more jail beds in existing jails.
Again and again, the coalition spoke out at rallies, city hall meetings and hearings, and on social media (especially since COVID19) that even "earthquake-safe" jails aren't safe. In San Francisco jails, 40% of the people inside are houseless and 56% of people inside are African American, in a city where less than 5% of the overall population is African American. By highlighting jails of all kinds as an attack on those targeted by criminalization and amplifying the voices of people inside over the years, we successfully defeated proposals for jail expansion. We are not only stopping new cages from being built, but closing down the long-standing cages too!
This historic victory in the Bay Area holds lessons for anti-jailing, decriminalization and abolition work across the US. Through sustained, committed and diligent organizing and coalition building, we've proven to cities across the country we can and will close jails without building new ones and without transferring our loved ones to other counties. The Shut Down 850 campaign demonstrates that a three-pronged strategy of legislative efforts coupled with strong, persistent community outreach, mobilization, political education and critical media work uplifting most-impacted communitiesas experts and insisting abolition as common sense makes material abolitionist gains. Closing a long-standing jail like 850 Bryant is materially chipping away at the prison industrial complex in the Bay Area, demonstrating that if a city doesn't need notorious and extreme cages like SF County Jail 4, it doesn't need any cage of any form for any reason anywhere.
What's Next?
In the upcoming months, we will be working with our allies to ensure that the jail closes ASAP and it results in real freedom.
