Building workers' power in Roanoke, VA
Virginia had no public local police force until 1932, before then, policing was almost totally a private affair. The protection of private property & reinforcing the white supremacist social order were & are the two major functions of police in America. Roanoke has its contribution to that history in the form of the Baldwin-Felts Detective... Continue Reading →
We are continuously told in schools, by the media, and authority figures that police & prisons are here for public safety, but a look at their origins, function and current examples of such shows that is simply not true. Prisons were created in the 1700s as an alternative to corporal punishment. Police were created in... Continue Reading →
An incarcerated worker who's been in contact with us regarding the inhumane conditions in Roanoke City Jail for the past year, and has filed a lawsuit against RCJ was transferred to Western Virginia Regional Jail a few months ago. He sent us this letter from WVRJ (written on 2.15.20) highlighting that the inhumane conditions in... Continue Reading →
A Joint Statement from the Virginia Left on Recent Gun Control Measures “Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary.” - Karl Marx We, the undersigned, representing several groups of the anti-capitalist movement in Virginia, wish to make clear that we... Continue Reading →
"Inmate lives; lived; loved; cherished and lost! Prison incarcerations beyond capacity at what cost? Democracy, politicians, and leaders in hopes for a better tomorrow. As another mother weeps countless tears of sorrow. Living in a society of a justice system that's plagued. Yet the question remains [how]? The answer is vague. Who do I trust?... Continue Reading →
Over the past couple months we've bailed out our 2nd person from Roanoke City Jail using our Roanoke Community Bail Fund, launched a "Rehab, Housing, & Jobs Not Jails" campaign to make city council divest our tax money from RCJ, have sent care packages to a couple incarcerated workers, and have also received a couple... Continue Reading →
For those who don’t know: there’s a new giant fracked gas pipeline, the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), that was proposed by a private corporation (EQT) in 2014, “approved” by government regulators in 2018, and since then has been in the process of being forced through the Appalachian mountains & rivers stretching from WVa through VA,... Continue Reading →
Building the Revolving Fund After organizing a Mama's Day Bail Out in May 2018, Roanoke Jail Solidarity decided to launch a wider-ranging and continuous project: the Roanoke Community Bail Fund (RCBF). The idea with this project is to raise a large fund open to anyone locked up in a local jail who can't afford to... Continue Reading →
Since the last inmate testimony we published on 7.4.19 regarding the inhumane conditions in Roanoke City Jail (RCJ), we've received updates from 2 incarcerated workers there, and it sounds like we got a win *even if temporary*! However; it is worth reminding ourselves that humane conditions (including the basic means of sanitation) are minimum requirements... Continue Reading →
As the White House desperately tried to stoke patriotism by parading U.S. tanks in the streets of D.C., and we were encouraged by conservatives, liberals and capitalists alike to celebrate another year of a nation built on slavery, genocide, and colonization... and as even pediatricians and Congresspersons are affirming details of the continued crimes against... Continue Reading →