This past year, Critical Resistance (CR) has worked hard to bolster solidarity with our comrades inside jails, prisons, and detention centers. We have strengthened our ability to run our primary lines of communication with imprisoned people:
Remotely-powered phone lines that answer collect calls from imprisoned people
Prisoner mail correspondence programs through our Oakland, Portland, and New York City chapters
The Abolitionist newspaper, a bilingual (English/Spanish) publication
Through consistent volunteer recruitment, CR has significantly increased our ability to coordinate and answer our remotely-run phone lines this year. We’ve held several rounds of orientation sessions, getting our phone line volunteers firmly grounded in the history and purpose of CR’s phone line program. We currently have a rotation of 40 volunteers answering phone lines 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Our prisoner mail programs are still going strong! While some chapters continue to host biweekly or monthly mail nights virtually, some of our chapters have been returning to monthly in-person mail days that maintain COVID protocols.
Over the past year, we’ve consistently had meetings between chapter mail programs to assess the programs’ effectiveness in facilitating political relationships and supporting our campaign and project work. We’re even sharing strategies with and learning from movement partners’ mail programs! Sign up to volunteer with one of our mail programs or our remotely-run phone lines.
The Abolitionist Newspaper, staying steady!
Additionally, CR is still publishing and distributing The Abolitionist newspaper – fostering inside-outside relationships and sharing PIC abolitionist analysis and strategy. The newspaper has been in print since 2005, and is CR’s longest running political education tool, which we send to 4,500+ people inside prisons, jails, and detention centers for free. This past summer, we released Issue #37 on housing justice and prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition.
Our fall edition, Issue #38 features a range of interviews, articles and resources covering labor struggles and PIC abolition - from the rise of background checks and discrimination against people with records looking for work, to sex work decriminalization, "feminist unionism" in Ecuador, resistance to police violence during and after the 2021 national strike in Colombia, and more. Subscribe today to receive your copy of this essential publication and organizing tool, and sign up a loved one inside to receive a free subscription!
Lastly, if you’re looking for ways to support prisoner solidarity organizing this month, look no further! CR is ready to send out our annual holiday postcard with beautiful art and a heartfelt message of solidarity to all our contacts inside prisons, jails, and detention centers. You can support this mailing by signing and mailing some of these postcards yourself. Join us at one of our December postcard events to join the effort! And thank you if you already signed up to receive postcards to send out from home. Your people power and donations sustain CR’s strong prisoner solidarity organizing.
In struggle and solidarity,
-Critical Resistance
More Announcements
TOMORROW, December 10 in Los Angeles: Join us for a release event of Issue 38 of The Abolitionist and panel discussion on prison closure!
Come through to La Casa Roja in LA's Korea Town, Saturday, December 10 from 12-3pm forCRLA's community event celebrating the newest issue of CR's newspaper and supporting the CA prison closure campaign.RSVP here!
Connect with CR this December: Support CR’s 2022 Prisoner Solidarity Annual Postcard Mailing! Nearly 200 volunteers signed up to help CR with our annual holiday mailing to thousands of prisoners! If you signed up already, be sure to join CR and a chapter near you for one of our in-person or remote prisoner solidarity mailing events. Thank you for the support! If you have questions email [email protected]
Bay Area: Join us Friday, December 16 at Understory for CR Oakland's Prisoner Solidarity Holiday Mailing!
CR Oakland is hosting an in-person prisoner solidarity postcard writing session at Understory, a worker-of-color-owned restaurant & bar. There will be yummy food, indoor/outdoor seating (plus space heaters), CR merch (discounted when you buy in-person), and 15% of drink sales go to CR!
This will also be a postcard pick-up station for folks who've already registered to write postcards, and there will be letters available for people to sign and send inside. Join us from 4-7pm at 528 8th St in Oakland, on Friday, December 16.
Buy CR merch and wear our gear: Bundle up this winter in a CR sweatshirt or select your holiday reading through our online store!
We have plenty of hoodies, crewnecks, shirts, and totes for purchase. You can treat yourself to this vibrant gear or gift it to a loved one. Buying CR merch is a great way to sustain our PIC abolitionist organizing and wear your abolitionist heart on your sleeve! Place your merch order by December 14th to receive it in time for a holiday gift.
Critical Resistance is majority grassroots-funded. Donate today!
