We’re one month away from this year’s June 11th International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason and all long-term anarchist prisoners!
The essence of the day is that many seemingly separate events and actions can resonate within a wider network of efforts in solidarity with our imprisoned fighters. In this way, we make real the proposal of a multiform anarchist solidarity – one in which banner drops and bake sales, spray paint and sending letters, demonstrations and destruction can, together, show the diversity and power of anarchist solidarity. Every year, we are amazed at what people do. From big cities to small towns to lone individuals, anarchists put their hearts, minds, and hands to work, showing that anyone, no matter their circumstances, has something meaningful to contribute to freeing our imprisoned comrades.
We wish to express our support for the International Day of Solidarity with Eric King on June 28.
We also express our solidarity with the call for a Dangerous June in solidarity with anarchist, revolutionary and rebel individualities.
We’ll be unveiling new posters, flyers, and an interview series in the coming weeks, but until then, we wanted to share some ideas for anyone out there who may be wondering what they can do for June 11th. For this year’s call-out (currently in English, Spanish, and Portuguese), check out our site.
Please send us an email at june11th [at] riseup [dot] net to let us know about any events you have planned!
Fundraising
One of the primary concerns that we come up against as anarchists is how to generate the funds necessary to offset the deprivation our comrades in prison are forced into. Obtaining healthy (or vegan) food, buying basic necessities like toothpaste, affording phone calls that help break isolation, purchasing stamps and stationery, and buying books all cost money. With so few people doing consistent support for anarchist prisoners in the US, this requires constant work on top of what is already necessary to create real solidarity with imprisoned comrades.
June 11th offers a focused day in which all those who feel compelled to can organize events to help with these constant material needs. Those who can’t commit to regular correspondence or consistent organizing around a prisoner’s case can host an event to raise funds for them. Each year, June 11th proves essential to maintaining a few of our comrades’ well-being for the rest of the year.
Ideas: music shows, dance parties, dinners, poetry readings, bake sales, movie screenings, performances, karaoke, college speaking gigs, asking for money from someone that has it.
Informational Events
The reality of many anarchist prisoners’ cases is that they are unlikely to garner support from liberals due to the actions they undertook or their uncompromising stance while in prison. This leaves it up to us to generate support among those who see no problem with actively confronting the state, economy, and prison society. With the full weight of state and capitalist media disinformation against us, we must offset this by keeping our comrades’ situations constantly present in our lives, explaining their actions, and offering news of their current conditions.
Informational events allow us to spread news and strike a hammer blow against the isolation fostered by prison and its world.
Ideas: tabling at events, presentations on one (or many) comrades’ situations, flyering on the streets, talking to friends and family about prisoners, pirate radio, microphone demonstrations
Letter writing
One of prison society’s primary functions is to isolate those held within its walls. Establishing contact with imprisoned comrades is a vital first step in undoing that isolation. Whether this means writing consistently to one person, writing one-off letters, or hosting public letter writing events – every letter, postcard, news article, and photograph sent to an imprisoned comrade is a step toward creating the sort of solidarity we need to tear down the walls once and for all.
Ideas: Writing a letter, printing photos of the world to send to imprisoned comrades, hosting letter writing nights, setting up letter writing tables at events
Resources: Prisoner letter writing tips by NYC ABC
List of long-term anarchist prisoners
Propaganda
It has been said that no one should ever be able to walk down the street without seeing the faces and names of our comrades on every wall. There are many ways of keeping our comrades present in our daily lives and in the world around us. Experiment, stay safe, and have fun!
Resources: How to wheatpaste
Direct Action
The most essential element of revolutionary solidarity is keeping our comrades’ struggles alive and vibrant; to confront, directly, the control imposed upon us by the state and all institutions of control and exploitation. Every June 11th, the outpouring of solidarity-in-action from anarchists internationally shows the many diverse forms that solidarity can take.
Ideas: Work within your context and capacity, in line with your desires, by yourself or with people you trust.
Resources: Some helpful texts on doing things and staying safe
Free ‘em all,
the June 11th crew
