Classmates Not Cellmates!

Hi Friends & Family,

Hope this finds you well in the struggle. Thanks for checking out or blog. Make sure to subscribe as well as to visit it often to get the latest about our work & organizing.

Wanted to take this time to highlight our fundraiser, titled Classmates Not Cellmates!

We are raising money to get books & materials to set up study circles between folks who are incarcerated in Louisiana prisons as well as on the outside. These study circles will help build stronger relationships between inside and outside, and get us all "on the same page" for organizing going forward.

Education is a critical for many of us to fully understand what is happening in Louisiana (which has the highest rate of incarceration in the world) as well as around the rest of the country. There are 2.4 million people behind bars, that means we are locked up, and our many of our friends and families are locked up. This is based on a system of slavery, systemic racism, and unquestioned classism.

Decarcerate Louisiana seeks transformation. We want a world free of mass incarceration and the forms of state violence we see everyday from police to prisons to military occupation. We want the right to determine our own future and have support for our communities.

Help us set up these study circles by donating here!

Don't have money? You can help us spread the word by taking a photo of yourself holding a sign that says "Classmates Not Cellmates" and SHARE on social media with the hashtag #ClassmatesNotCellmates.

As always, thanks for your support. We couldn't do it without you! Onwards,

Decarcerate Louisiana Volunteers

Decarcerate Louisiana is Alive!

Greetings Comrades,

We are excited to announce our new blog! We are going to be posting some old content as well as new content coming soon! Come back to check it out and subscribe to our blog to get updates.

Onwards!

Decarcerate Louisiana

Quotes from Founding Members of Decarcerate Louisiana

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” - The Declaration of Independence, in U.S. Congress, July 4th, 1776

That being said, Decarcerate Louisiana is a freedom-movement of like-minded people, inside and outside the prison system, taking action against oppression in all its forms, enjoining right and forbidding wrong, and to the further the cause of human welfare so that the highest ideal of mankind can be realized. How do we apply this to our current situation as individuals, families, communities, society?

1. As long as there is life and one is in full possession of his God-given senses, for me, there is the immediate recognition of a moral recognition of a moral obligation to hope, to dream, to create, to innovate, to seek improvement and betterment in my character and in the affairs in my community and society. Where I err or fail, it is my duty to not beat myself up or submit to mean definitions of character but to learn from it and go forward. If a computer, automobile, or washing-machine suffers from a defect and breaks down, our scientific mind usually kicks in and we begin to figure what went wrong and how we might salvage, reform, or repair the product. Likewise, when the individual, family, community, or society breaks down, it is incumbent upon us to revive it, restore it, redeem it, and reclaim it. Therefore, with the God-given birth-rights that we retain by virtue of our breath, we are organizing across all identity lines and to hold society accountable and ensure that it works not to oppress or degrade but to refine and uplift humankind en masse. - Ishkaten, Founding Member of Decarcerate Louisiana.

2. In a country that prides itself on the notion that “all men are created equal,” is this really the case? You don’t have to look far to resolve this is far from true. A government that is supposed to be of the people, by the people, for the people is only for a few. We realize that as humans we are subject to error. But should we be characterized by the sumtotal of our mistakes? GOD FORBID! We are better than our worst mistakes. Therefore, simply because one may go astray those inalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness will forever remain intact, for they are inalienable (God-given), and whatsoever God giveth, let no man taketh away. - D.C., Founding Member of Decarcerate Louisiana

3. Simply put, I believe the majority of Americans are not conscious of their inalienable human rights to go after any entity, system or organization who has capitalized wealth and materialism off the BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS of the many freedom-fighters who’d fought against any form of discrimination, racism, or oppression in general. We as a People have to UNIFY AS ONE and uproot any seed of DEMONIC FORCES aiming to deliberately cause the middle and poor class communities to clash. Poor Blacks and other so-called minority groups have suffered enough. It’s all on us to take the first step towards LEADERSHIP BUILDING, and fighting with all available resources necessary to one day soon SLAY the DRAGON which oppresses and terrorizes the men, women, elders, and children of our communities. - Malik, Founding Member of Decarcerate Louisiana

4. As an individual and collective society, we must demand the enrichment of life and if failure or decline is seen, institute what’s necessary to enhance its qualities , reaching its highest fulfillment. As an example, imprisonment simply degrades the integrity inherent in the essence of life, liberty, and happiness. Prisons today means exploitation and warehousing of the poor under the guise of public safety, enriching the right and making the poor poorer—a return to antebellum slavery. This institution is destructive to the higher goals of society and the people have a right to alter it and lay a just foundation for the security, safety and happiness of life. As an individual, it’s obligatory to teach family, teach communities, and society as to what true liberty means and how it was understood by our true forebearers who championed the cause rightfully. Liberty, in its effects, allows all to live as desired, where no harm is inflicted on another by another’s actions. To each man his own law. The contrary is defined as oppression. Where the government deny liberty, it denies inalienable rights to life and create a cause for men to alter or abolish oppressive laws which repress and deny true liberty, and by that, Happiness. - C.S., Founding Member of Decarcerate Louisiana

5. As an individual, it is my responsibility to educate first myself, and learn organizational skills that best suits my personal situation. Realize my importance in the natural order of things and put forth the best of my abilities to benefit humanity as a whole. That leads to the care, rearing, educating, support and leadership of my family and society as a whole. - D.A. Founding Member of Decarcerate Louisiana

6. In order to stand up against an unjust government that upholds prison slavery over rehabilitation, it is my duty to learn all organizational, leadership, and social skills so I will be able to teach others that human dignity and human advancement is the better way to go than the practice of torturing and dehumanizing human beings. - W.F., Founding Member of Decarcerate Louisiana

A Note To Our Families, Friends, Comrades, Allies, and Supporters on the Outside:

This blog is open for everyone to participate and share their stories, perspectives, and/or experiences of any direct or indirect attacks or intrusions upon their human rights—e.g., land, food, water, air, affordable housing, a home, living wages, travel, to articulate our own future, to choose what we want to be, a safe place to dream, to work, to live without fear or persecution for our beliefs. - Ishkaten

Angry

Angry - Adrian Dunn, Angola Prison

Dear Reader,

Am I allowed to be angry while imprisoned? That's a good question. To get to the answer, let's start with who I am.

I'm a son, a brother, an uncle, and a friend. I'm an artist, a musician, a poet, and a writer. I'm also a man with a life sentence for murder. That makes me a threat to society, a burden to my family, and a slave to the system. Right? Well, it depends on who you ask.

When I use hindsight, I see that there was pain in my heart and confusion in my mind. I was consumed by anger and driven by greed during the years before I knew how to be me. So there was an opportunity for a robbery. There were co-defendants and unsuspecting victims. My hands were empty though not entirely clean. I shouldn't have been there... but I was. And toward the end, there was a lot of grief with no real satisfaction. There was no wisdom. There was no sympathy or rationale. There was no direction or courage. In short, there was no purpose. From childhood, there was little love and no attempt by those close to me to see the best in me. The result: I never loved or saw the best in myself. The force we call time pushed me forward with a distorted vision and, with a faulty education, I became an aged male who stood far away from manhood. Those are the facts. So should I be angry?

Even though I was miseducated, I wasn't unable to be educated. From the time of arrest to the moment of sentencing, I thought about the days gone by. What I found out was this: I'd abused my right to freedom but I wasn't ready to lose it. I needed to find out how to get it back, and how to make better use of it if allowed to possess it again. Then I came to prison, where I've been exposed to more knowledge than I thought I could take him. Through reading and meeting multiple personalities, I've been able to use my mind to travel around the world. Along the way, I've made many people's experience my own. They've changed me deeply. There's less pain, less confusion, and less greed. There's more wisdom, more sympathy, more love, and more courage. But there's also more anger. Here’s why…

Knowledge brings consciousness. And being conscious is the equivalent of bringing light to darkness. Because we're human, when light overtakes darkness, we can see better and be able to distinguish one thing from another. So, now that I can see better, I can move better— mentally and physically. I can see the wrongs that once dominated my character. They exist in so many people but come out in different ways. As I look at the world I see so much corruption. It's present in every system: government, education, financial, and judicial. The way they deal with certain situations proves what should be already thought of: our appointed leaders have agendas that undermine the Constitution's integrity and overlook the needs of the common people. And I alone can't change it. That makes me angry.

Being in a position where I can pinpoint most of the problems, with no ability to solve them, makes me angry. The courts continuously orchestrate proceedings to send people away for crimes that may or may not have been committed. Court-appointed lawyers are underfunded and overworked. More schools are closing while more prisons are opening. Police brutality and racism is still a problem. More money is put into technological advances for war and space exploration than is put into battling homelessness, hunger, miseducation, incurable diseases, mental illness, and drug abuse, combined. But I'm in prison. And if I stand on a platform to speak out against injustice, I'll be looked at as just another angry murderer who's showing no signs of rehabilitation. That’s the tactic they use to make society ignore me and those who see what I see. But instead of silencing, it only angers me and forces me to shout louder. The anger motivates me to keep challenging those oppressive systems. My love makes me hate all forms of injustice. And that won't change until those systems change and freedom in this country, and around the world, means we're really free.

I'm only one voice against many, and I have a lot to say. Yes, I'm angry. And, yes, I'm a prisoner. But I'm also a human with a soul that has guided me to manhood. I've embraced love. I feel sympathy. I show concern and believe in the power of good that lives in all of our hearts. In short, I found a purpose. So I wish for better days to come. I'm allowed to have anger if it helps me overcome fear. Without fear I can continue to stand strong in the face of adversity, and dedicate my life to helping people find what we’re all searching for: Happiness.

Thanks for caring.

Sincerely yours,

Adrian Dunn #400765

Angola Prison