Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

On November 4, 2008, Californian voters also voted to pass Proposition 9. For those of you who don't know, here's a little background on the ramifications of Proposition 9:

The ACLU welcomes the Bureau of Prisons’ recent policy change barring the shackling of pregnant inmates in federal prisons in all but the most extreme circumstances.

This new policy represents a sea change in the United States, where the shackling of pregnant women during transport, labor, and even delivery has long been routine in jails and prisons. Currently, only California, Illinois, and Vermont have enacted state laws restricting the practice of shackling pregnant women.

from Associated Press - October 24, 2008

I'll be facilitating a workshop and discussion on women, incarceration and resistance at the SUNY Social Justice Conference at SUNY Binghamton.

The conference takes place all weekend. My workshop will be on Saturday, November 8th at 2pm in Fine Arts 212.

I'll also be joining the discussion on the Prison-Industrial Complex from 5 to 6:15 pm at Fine Arts 258.

No upcoming events at the moment. In the meantime, here are some photos from the panel discussion on Incarceration, Resistance, Costs and Consequences in Oakland!

I don't usually forward around petitions, but in this case, I feel that not challenging the use of SAMs (especially when there is a tiny chance of their being lifted at the end of the month) basically condones and beings the process of normalizing their use.

More information is below and at: http://www.educatorsforcivilliberties.org/index.html

URGENT ACTION NEEDED

It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of…those liberties…which makes the defense of this nation worthwhile.

from another prisoner at La Vista:

A woman who was working on the farm crew died while on the job. I heard a few different "versions" of what happened. The first one I heard was from someone who was not out there. She said that the woman kept complaining that she did not feel well, but her boss kept telling her to keep going, that he didn't care, that she had to finish the row.

some background about the farm crews at La Vista Correctional Facility (from Tenacious issue 14, Spring/Summer 2008):

I should explain what exactly the farm crews are and how they came to be part of La Vista. As our country has been especially concerned with immigration issues, sometime within the past few years nearby farms have been raided and their owners were found to be employing illegal immigrants to work in their fields.

for all you Brooklynites and BC students: Join Silja Talvi, investigative journalist and author of Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of the U.S. Prison System, and Victoria Law, Brooklyn College alumna and author of the forthcoming Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women, for a discussion on the rise in women's incarceration in the U.S., the issues they face, new trends in incarceration, and women's organizing and acts of resistance.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

I'll be facilitating this event at Bluestockings Bookstore on Wednesday, September 17th! It's a joint benefit for Prison Legal News and Books Through Bars--NYC

Spotlight on Incarcerated Women: Conditions, Profiteering and Resistance

The number of women in prison has nearly tripled within the past 2 decades. Join investigative journalist and author of Women Behind Bars Silja Talvi, founding editor of Prison Legal News (and co-editor of Prison Profiteers) Paul Wright, former drug war prisoner Yraida Guanipa, and Books Through Bars co-founder (and author of the forthcoming Resistance Behind Bars) Victoria Law (that's me!) for a discussion on who profits from this increase, conditions inside and resistance both inside and out.