Building workers' power in Roanoke, VA
The only practicable solution to the Covid-19 pandemic for all local jails, prisons, detention centers, and ICE concentration camps is decarceration (mass release). Those institutions are a hotbed for spreading viruses & diseases, they have no way to socially distance people, have horrible sanitation protocols normally, and cannot/do not provide the medical care needed for... Continue Reading →
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 →
Over the past two months two people locked up at Western Virginia Regional Jail (WVRJ) in Salem have reached out to us about the conditions they're being subjected to and asked for support and solidarity. Norberto Ruiz is being denied his medicated eyedrops repeatedly, which is causing blindness. 5.9.20: "I've been having an ongoing issue... 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 →
Roanoke Jail Solidarity Efforts During Covid-19 Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the so-called U.S. in March 2020, we've outlined a case & made a firm call for decarceration (releasing all incarcerated workers) of all jails, prisons, & detention centers in Virginia, we've co-sponsored a petition pushing 5 *ESSENTIAL* demands for people to survive during... 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 →
(photo: The Roanoke Times) We received a number of messages from an incarcerated worker in Roanoke City Jail in the past couple months thanking Roanoke Jail Solidarity organizers for our work and also confirming that unfortunately many of the inhumane conditions at RCJ, which a different incarcerated worker brought to public light in April 2019,... Continue Reading →
(art by: Melanie Cervantes, DignidadRebelde.com) On January 3rd, Qasem Soleimani was assassinated via a United States drone strike. Soleimani had been a Major General in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and one of the most influential figures in Western Asia. His assassination at the hands of the United States is an act of war. Immediately... 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 →