528 years, 22 years and all of our lives of endless struggle....Poor People built this with a poem- a poem that wound thru shelter beds and tents, poLice sweeps and the lie of rent....

Dear Loving Family/ComeUnity,

We are writing to you with love, gratitude and tears of unbelieving in our hearts that us poor, houseless, incarcerated, disabled and indigenous peoples got this far in building Homefulness. We need your help to make sure that 9 more houseless, indigenous families and disabled elders become homeful and we finish Phase #6. (Donate Here or poor-magazine on Venmo)

Herstory

A dream that started on a shelter bed, park bench, bus shelter and backseat of a car by two houseless indigenous women is made into a reality....now here we are....living into , breathing into Phase #6 and we are asking for support to finalize each unit- so more houseless families can move in and be HOMEFUL- WE NEED appliances, floors, light switches, etc- each family slated to move in is already helping to make this happen- from painting days to writing the Peoples Manifesto and working on healing from krapitalist violence that seems to never end.

Meanwhile since the ongoing violence of poverty, PoLice murder, poltricks and Covid19 rages on- POOR Magazine expanded our weekly Sliding Scale Cafe on BlackArthur to Mercadito de Cambio (Little Market of Change) and ongoing #RoofLESSRadio which has been sharing food and supplies since 2011 and is now sharing masks and hand sanitizers two days a week in addition to resources and food in encampments with our brothers and sisters in Oakland and San Francisco. All of this happens with the help of the Bank of ComeUnity Reparations which is supporting over 700 families a week with diapers, food, masks and love and have 120 families on the wait-list to receive diapers from the Po Mamaz Diaper Fund- We have published two powerful books and led PeopleSKool on Zoom, We have launched a Homefulness #2 liberation. 

This year there has been so much liberation and so much sorrow, prayer love and struggle. We hold all of you in hearts for standing with us, walking with us and changing/transforming with us... WE are still here! ....And none of this would have happened without your ongoing love and redistribution -

Lifting us all up in prayer for the next year to come!!!!!   

In Love and Struggle, POOR Magazine Family- 

Avan was a teenager with a kind soul who was alone and houseless. He lived in a tent in San Francisco and struggled greatly trying to navigate the winding road called life. According to his close friends he barely had any family support nor guidance, so he had to learn how to take care of himself, which was a difficult task because after all, he was just a kid. It was said that earlier this month he was near his tent and allegedly fell off a cliff, suffered a severe head injury and drowned in the freezing bay water. Avan’s friends were having a hard time accepting the alleged “freak accident” calling the fall “suspicious” and “not taken seriously.”

A candlelight vigil was held for the teen by the water and many of his peers and family members attended to honor Avan. Although there were mixed feelings about how he was casted out and forced to fend for himself, his friends remained respectful to the elders and other folks who had allegedly forgotten about him.

Unfortunately, It is difficult to obtain stability in an unstable nation and it doesn’t matter if you are a man, woman, child or elder. What is the real slap in the face is that the “powers that be” deliberately cut budgets and push the need for basic human rights on the back burner with a blazing flame. Many people have lost their jobs, homes, dignity and even their lives relying on a “Sssystem” that has shown us time and time again that we are nothing but “expendable assets”

But what happens to the kids that have no one to support them?  What about the youth who have been shuffled around from foster home to foster home only to be given the boot at the age of 18, under the “maxed out, ass out” protocol? Many of these youngsters wind up in the streets engaging in any activity that encourages self-medication and self-criminalization thus further desensitizing any part of the being that is human only to be blamed by those who have contributed in one way or another to the hell we are all catching.

It is the hell of seeing young folks give up on life completely after trying to hold down a job while living in a car because the rent is unaffordable, only to end up dying in a doorway from a drug overdose. Or the young female who is easily misguided by a “wolf in sheep's clothing” because she never had anyone in her whole life teach her about her worthiness so she bends to the will of those who exploit her just to have a meal and a roof over her head. 

These scenarios mentioned are all too common nowadays with not only the youth but full-grown adults as well. When you throw in the pandemic and the hopes of politicians passing a vote that won’t allow the people to starve to death that is enough nail-biting stress within itself.

Insead of it being against the law for folks to be poor and houseless, it should be illegal to have legislation put in place that allows for children to become houseless in the first place- and in some states removed from their families because of poverty. It also should be illegal to incarcerate kids just because their elders want to come to a “great country” to make a so-called “better life” for the generations that are to come- after all, Angelina Jolie cannot adopt all of the children.

“I’m starting to think that the rich in the world is safe, while the po’ babies resting in a early grave”- Tupac Shakur

CR- Queennandi Xsheba PNN KEXU

When criminal charges were filed last week against former SF police officer Christopher Samayoa for the shooting death of Keita O’Neil on December 1st 2017, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin received many praises for the decision, that is marked for being the first time in SF history that a officer has been charged with murder while on duty. Samayoa was patrolling the Bayview neighborhood along with Field training officer Edric Talusan when the two had observed Keita O’Neil allegedly carjacking a minivan. After O’Neil was eventually blocked in an alleyway by police, the unarmed man had allegedly attempted to flee and that is when Christopher Samayoa shot Keita to death. It was also alleged that Samayoa did not turn on his police body camera until after the shooting and that lack of following protocol raised suspicion amongst the concerned communities and subsequently he was terminated from his job in early 2018. 

The other charges on file that Officer Samayoa must stand to face are involuntary/voluntary manslaughter, firing a semi-automatic weapon in a negligent manner and assault. The O’Neil family is being represented by Civil rights attorney John Burris and has been waiting three years for some form of justice that was long overdue. There is no word on if FTO Edric Talusan will be held responsible for any wrongdoing or brought up on charges for misconduct.

The task is to reconstruct the lie of privilege being the excuse for violating human rights with impunity because officers were sworn in to represent “law enforcement” not the “outlaw enforcement” behavior that contributes to an already “spiritually unhealthy” society without rules or morals. How can citizens, especially those of color “obey” and “respect” a system whose “agents of the state” possess the mentality of the “you can’t break the law, but I can” double standards? And when you add the poisonous roots of the false sense of superiority and racism it is bound to grow into a toxic tree that shadows the whole nation in a very negative way.

Officers Sgt. Albin T. Pearson and Dwight A. Pitterson from Newport News, Virginia were also brought up on murder charges during the recent “police accountability sweeps” in the shooting death of Henry K. Berry III that happened late December of last year. The 43 year-old man was shot while inside of his home over an incident involving a tussle over a taser. Berry, who was known to have mental health issues was accused of resisting arrest after police had arrived to slap Mr. Berry with misdemeanor charges over repeated distress phone calls to 911. Perhaps law enforcement was more irritated that Henry Berry was calling excessively but the “professionals” completely overlooked the theory that maybe Mr. Berry was calling out for help and the way the police had responded possibly had triggered him in such a way that may have led up to his demise.

The bottom line is that holding police accountable for murdering and violating the people’s civil rights is centuries overdue and it is not easy, especially for the descendants of colonizers to unpack the deeply-rooted “training technique” that has always been used as a strategy to uphold the worldwide stranglehold of white supremacy and oppression. On the flip side it is very courageous of the people to become more empowered by utilizing our voices-to be the change this world needs and no longer shall we wait in bloody vain for the “unjust” to create the change on the people’s behalf because it is a suicidal way of thinking and unrealistic. All that said- Power to the People!

CR Queennandi Xsheba PNN KEXU

My name is Ziair and as I walk on the campus and get ready for summer camp at Deecolonize Academy, I sit down and eat. Then we did martial arts with Brother Mink.

Afterwards we all sat down and talked about how we're gonna go to Homefulness 2. When we got there we prayed. Everybody had goggles, shields and gloves. We brought trash bags, rakes and  weed cutters. We paired up into teams and got the garbage from off the site. We also cut the weeds.

We were cleaning up the site. There was a lot of shattered glass and old glass bottles, and the land looked like a jungle. We chopped all the weeds, cut and rake the grass, then took a break for the interview for the show about what we were doing. Everyone was hot and sweaty. But there was a goal we got it done because it was important. We got there at 11am and ended at 12pm.

Cleaning up  is fun and pretty good exercise. Starting at Homefulness #1, which we are still trying to build as poor and houseless peoples, to then make Homefulness #2 happen is a big Journey. But with all our family we made it happen and are liberating another small part of land.

Us all being homeless we never had a home that was stable or a place we could go to count on, so that's why we're providing it for the homeless now. Because we knew how it felt to not have anyone to lean on and have no support.

in conclusion: as we closed out the land, it looks better already. We shared our thoughts about what we did and then prayed. It was very needed that we did all that stuff, so that we can take care of our land and not junk It up. I'm glad I was able to help out.  

Dear Honorable Judge, 

CC District Attorney Jeff Rosen 

August 10, 2020

My name is Kimo Umu, a youth poverty skola from Decolonize Academy, and I pray that you release Joey Villareal from custody. He is the prime example of many incarcerated people who have been in the system for long periods of time who made a choice with integrity to turn his life around. From being portrayed as a villain, he flipped the script and became the role model for not only for other incarcerated folks but for the many future troubled youth to know that there's more to life than the streets. Jose Villareal is an innocent man and is very important to the health of many communities especially the Raza. I can say this because I am that troubled youth and he gives me the chance to see light.

Sincerely, Kimo Umu 

From: Ziair hughes 

Dear Honorable Judge 

Cc  District Attorney Jeff Rosen 

August 10, 2020 

I am a 11 year old Decolonize student and I pray that you release Joey Villareal from custody. Mr. Villarreal was always kind. No matter what he always would tell the truth. Mr Villarreal never sugar coded and he is a teacher to the community. Mr Villarreal did artwork for the Decolonewz newspaper for my school. Mr Villarreal read my book and said “I like what you're doing, keep up the good work.” He is a Grandfather, Uncle, Son and last but not least a mentor. Mr. Villarreal has had a criminal record but everyone deserves redemption. And he needs to come back home so he could teach the community

Sincerely,

 Ziair Hughes

August 8, 2020

From: Tiburcio Garcia

Dear Honorable Judge,                                                                              

I am a youth scholar at Decolonize Academy. I am a 16 year old, formerly homeless latino youth who has been a friend and student of Mr. Villareal while he was incarcerated and since he has been released. Mr. Villareal has made sure to talk to me and pay attention to my questions I had as a mixed race brown youth growing up in Oakland and San Francisco, and never failed to give perfect advice.  while after being released, he did an amazing piece of artwork and gave it to me as a gift for sending him letters when he was incarcerated. He has also helped me further as an artist, as one of my passions is painting. I look at the painting he made for me, propped it up in my room and It inspires me to pursue what I am passionate about and not give up, because although Mr. Villareal was incarcerated; he still drew beautiful art pieces. Also, Mr. Villareal is an inspiration to all young people of color who have struggled with poverty and racism which is why I'm praying that the court will release Mr. Villareal back to the community.   

Sincerely,

TIburcio Garcia                                         

In the early 1900’s David Wark Griffith’s film “A Birth of A Nation” was dubbed one of Hollywood’s most influential films. Although the title he received came with controversy, the silent movie still grew to be very popular amongst the MAGA supporters of that particular time.

The movie had depicted Black people, men for the most part, to be these savage-like raving beasts destroying the “good ole boys” way of life and raping white women only to be “defeated” by the “heroic” KKK.

The spirit of “A Birth of A Nation” continues to live on to this day as seen in the influx of police shootings involving Blacks and other folks of color with the latest cop-related killing of Jonathan Price. On October 3,, Price was tased then shot and killed by officer Shaun Lucas while trying to break up an altercation at a gas station in downtown Wolfe City, Texas. 

Witnesses state that Jonathan Price was not acting in a threatening manner nor was he armed but that he was trying to clarify the situation to police before he was tased then shot dead. Video recovered of the shooting had left Wolfe City police chief Matthew Martin “not happy” with what he saw. Officer Shaun Lucas was arrested and charged with the murder of Price and has since posted the 1 million dollar bail that was set in the case.  According to the loved ones of Jonathan Price, he was once a football player for Hardin-Simmons university in Texas and prior to his passing he had worked two jobs and was a well known, well loved active member of the community.

The murder of Price comes right on the heels of the “acquittal” of the police officers in the Breonna Taylor case and several other police related killings of people of color in which very few cops were held accountable for their actions. With Amerikkka’s history of the “ill-legal lynchings” of Black folks it is safe to say that this country will alway perpetuate its MAGA ways and continue to support the worldwide false propaganda that DW Griffith had displayed on film.

Many social media critics have posted very hateful comments about Black folks in general, saying how we “deserve” the treatment we have endured- from being stolen, enslaved, murdered, exploited, robbed of our language, culture and complete knowledge of self because we are “bad people who loot and commit crimes”

But to these same critics it is OK for the president of this “free” country to send a “shout out” to groups such as the “proud boys” who are supposed to be affiliated with the agenda of white supremacy. It was OK to murder Black men, women and children in the community of Rosewood, Florida, OK that many children were snuffed out in Atlanta in the mid-to- late 1970’s for no reason other than being African-descendant and that we are not worthy of reparations to compensate for the deliberate genocide that has taken place for centuries and still continues to this day because of the stigma of US being “bad people”- with dark skin.

“Bad people” cannot blame the “bad people” that were “created” in the name of hate, for “hate” itself is a bad deed no matter where it comes from. Low-key racists that are full of hypocrisy have been coming out in full force especially since they have a “grand dragon” for a president that openly supports the white supremacists’ ideology. And Trump doesn’t even wear a “mask” to hide it.

CR Queennandi Xsheba 2020

The youth did WeSearch about the vacant lots that were empty for days, maybe months.The youth skolas called the owners of the vacant lots. And Decolonize got one of the vacant lots and is building another Homefulness. 

I am Amir Cornish. I’m a student of Deecolonize Academy, and we are a group that helps the community. I live in West Oakland.  

Homefulness 2 is the same as Homefullness, and Poor Magazine created the first Homefulness ever. But Homefulness 2 is another extension for Poor Magazine. They’re both in East Oakland.

Homefulness 2 is going to be a wonderful place for a community and we hope this Homefulnes 2 will grow into the world and also bring all the community people together as a unit, to finally unsell mama earth around the world.

Homefulness 2 is a start for the community because we could tell the world we finally made it by ourselves and say we don’t need the government or gentrifiers that are breaking our community apart. 

Homefullnes 2 is a work in progress. The youth, adults and elders helped clean the Homefulness 2 place up, but this is a community that builds nothing into something also nobody  can really do that.

Me and my family were homeless, we lost our brother to Gun Violence and we have dealt with a lot of violence and poverty in our lives. When i came to Homefulness i felt safe.

Homefulness is a community launched by Dee and Tiny Garcia. Homefulness is a safe place for  people of color. And so many more folks that need a safe place could join us in the movement to free Mama Earth along with all of our Po Uncles, Aunties, Grandmas and Grandpas. I study at Deecolonize Academy - a liberation school for children in poverty on the land at Homefulness in East Oakland.

Homefulness is a place that helps homeless people on the streets. We give out food to see their smiles. They also have their own radio show led by youth skolaz and adult skolaz. Also we support our people in the streets.

Homefullness is not just a place, it’s much more than a place, it's like heaven. We save lives during this pandemic, we always help our community and never stop, always help the poor. Homefulness is a place where you can feel safe.

Deecolonize Academy  is different from the other schools.and housing It is led by our community from the streets. They are also teaching the young ones how to take care of the elders in our community. This school at Homefulness teaches so many things that are different from the regular schools.

Homefulness is a special space for all of us and this community fights the cruel injustice on our people. We are not a fake organization, we are the real deal, and we are always showing up and supporting anyone who needs our help.

*** Update: JV was finally released from the kkkage on Sept 24th with an INSANE ransom of $250,000.- tune in for a virtual press conference sponsored by POOR Magazine Tuesday, Sept 29th at 10am - Zoom Link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9432352233- Meeting ID: 943 235 2233

The HisStory-

Joey Villareal, a true community leader, teacher, author and what we at POOR Magazine call, a Poverty scholar is back in a kage.(jail ) being held on No Bail in Santa Clara County Jail.

He is a victim of the racist, classist "Gang Enhancements" and the extremely racist  "Injustice System that ensnares every poor person it gets.

Joey, like myself and many of us at POOR Magazine came from a life in struggle and poverty. He was incarcerated for much of his life and while incarcerated reached out to become a participant in our Notes from the Inside project, sending articles and original art while still incarcerated with the goal of teaching and sharing his struggle with other young men and women of color in poverty/struggle so as to change, transform and heal their journey. He did all of that and more. He was and is such a powerful voice that he helped countless youth while still inside, choose another direction and see clearly their worth.

As soon as Joey was was “free”, he was on the ground running, launching educational media projects, teaching youth and adults in poverty and creating art and building movements for further change and transformation of his community and the world. 

He has done so much powerful educational , media, radio  and community work with POOR Magazine, which is a poor and indigenous people-led media, arts, education and healing-based non-profit organization that my mother and i launched when I was a child and we were houseless. Our entire organization isl in grief without his voice. 

On the personal side, Joey changed my life. As a formerly incarcerated very low-income single parent, the struggle to stay grounded is very real. The struggle to stay inspired and on track is absolutely key and Joey has helped both me and my sun when we were in extreme depression due to the realities that poor families struggle with everyday. 

In addition, Joey was and is an amazing artist and was one of the illustrators of this powerful childrens book about poverty and homelessness The Hardworker/el Trabajador Fuerte that we released last year. 

Due to the system lies and twisting of the truth we are not able speak on any details on the case but suffice to say he was teaching, mentoring healing like he does every Sunday when he was re-caged.

Please help him be free by sending letters to DA Jeff Rosen demanding he be released back to into the community so he can continue his powerFULL work creating Po Peoples Radio #FreeAztlan, his books, his teaching and all the work Joey does all the time, because his healing work is so needed.

By Queennandi Xsheba PNN KEXU

I remember as a child, my Mama would always play the song “Earth Crisis” by Steel Pulse, a decades-old popular Reggae song that delivered a powerful “cause and effect” message that referred to the consequences “mankind” will face for the exploitation, theft (for settlement and profit) disrespect and destruction of Mama Earth. As my mother would sway to the song, she had me sit down, listen to the message behind the beat and “mentally marinate” off what the group was talking about. Being a kid, I wasn’t interested in “mentally marinating” lyrics to a song- I just wanted to dance to it like everyone else. I recall asking her- “Mama, are the things in the song really gonna happen?” She said “They are happening now and when you grow up, it will be much worse!” And she was right…

Here in California, many people have lost their homes due to the wildfires that have ravaged through at least seven counties including Alameda, Contra Costa and Stanislaus. Every year it seems as if the fires have become more treacherous and more difficult to contain, with the casualty rate rising steadily. It is heartbreaking enough to lose all of your possessions and years worth of memories but when life is lost it just adds to the pain and the struggle of trying to rebuild lives after surviving such devastation. If it’s not the wildlife that was nearly wiped out in the Australian fires it’s people and acres of land being wiped out everywhere a wildfire rear its ugly head, burning through Mother Earth like flammable paper. This indeed is an Earth Crisis.

Across the nation, millions of people are still at risk of displacement when massive flooding tore through parts of southern Louisiana, Missouri and Arkansas, breaking a levy there. Images of people fleeing their homes in boats while some had to be rescued by helicopter was all over mainstream media and the internet haunting all of the heartfelt sympathy from readers.

Across the world in India, over 2000 people lost their homes when they became submerged under water with one home being pushed off a cliffside after being leveled by a large wall. Several residents were swept away in the powerful tides and many fear a high death toll is iminent due to the magnitude of the flood and the lack of necessities. In the western region of Cambodia over 2000 people had to be evacuated with the help of authorities impacted by flooding that was waist-high in most parts. Food and water was distributed to residents in local and isolated communities and there were no reports of fatalities recorded. Central Vietnam was not as fortunate with hundreds of thousands of homes underwater, up to a million people have been affected and it is listed to have the most casualties- with another tropical storm on the way. Earth Crisis.

Research showed that climate change is a huge part of why we are living in the era of constant “mega storms” and “hellfire blazes” The thievery of Mama Earth by drilling holes in the ocean in search for natural gas for profit, along with the poisoning of the soil to create “frankenfood” while hoarding organic (natural) food behind expensive price tags and the gluttony of consuming living things not meant to be on any menu and calling it a “delicacy”- These are universal laws that are being violated by everyone on one level or another and that is why it is very important to “know thyself” so we can “heal thyself” to gain a better understanding of those who walked this earth before us and the universal laws that were followed in order to leave us with the magnificent “wonders” that we have yet to decipher.   

“Man and his ignorant state, signed and sealed his own fate”- “Earth Crisis” by Steel Pulse

Family Council/Elephant meeting is when families and teachers identify problems and conflicts and find a way to fix them non-violently. We have many other meetings for other things like revolutionary construction.

I've been in many family councils and seen many and it has changed my personality, but this one is about some different individuals.

One day me and my brothers were just chilling talking, but some conflict happened between two girls. They were talking about some boys and a certain name came up. So Girl 1* started trash talking and Girl 2 didn't, then got offended and said something back. Girl 1 swung on Girl 2 and then they started fighting,

We were surprised, it broke out fast. Girl 2 grabbed the broom and tried to hit Girl 1 with it and they were both throwing hands. Me and the other kids were hiding in a big container because the fight got so big. Amir tried to break it up but he got punched in the face. As the fight escalated adults came. 

We had our Family Council. First we read the rules of respect, and there was a lot of yelling going on but we fixed the situation and Girl 1 and Girl 2 both took ownership. 

Being at DeeColonize we have a lot of family councils, it’s normal at DeeColonize. Family councils are the only way we can solve issues without calling the police. And having these meetings carves you different and makes you think about things unlike your old self. That way you say oh, maybe I should not do that.

We love each other at the end and there are no hard feelings. To be honest I like our system because we do no violence and talk it out without harming each other and at the end we pray as a happy big family. I am blessed to be in the school system like this because we are different. Normally there will be cops when a situation is escalated and one of the children will be harmed by the police or arrested. But we just talk.

*Specifics and personal information such as names are confidential in all family council circles at Poor Magazine/Homefulness

We are all too familiar with the term “Road Rage,” an expression used to sugarcoat the inability for drivers to share the road in a safe manner and with common sense without injuring or killing one another. “Road Rage” is a stupid excuse for people with too much “entitlement” issues and not enough accountability being held for people behaving badly.

Now we have “Mask Rage,”  a terminology I personally coined used to define the unnecessary altercations between folks who are taking the precautions seriously in the effort to stop the spread of the deadly COVID virus, versus those who are not being mindful and lack the consideration of others when it comes to slowing down the spread of the respiratory disease. 

There has been a tidal wave of verbal and physical clashes both reported and unreported  between the “masked and unmasked” in the bay area and abroad since the COVID epidemic reared its ugly head. Even I myself had to chastise a few folks for being inconsiderate, similar to the tune of how “Sonny” tongue-lashed the big guy during the dice game scene in the movie “A Bronx Tale” when he said “Stop breathing on me! You’re killing me over here!!” Subsequently,  “Sonny” made the big dude go inside the bathroom in a quarantine-type of way.
 

What doesn’t make the situation any better when it comes down to staying safe and healthy is the fact that president Donald Trump has been saying half-witted things such as how children are basically “immune” to the disease and that the cases of COVID will not increase if we cease or fall back in testing, so to speak. If this way of thinking is coming from the “leader” of this country, who lacks the steady habit of wearing a mask himself then we are in big trouble because how are we to encourage and educate people on the importance of social distancing and wearing masks with Trump making “dum-dum” remarks like the ones mentioned above? 

According to research, in the state of California alone it has been reported that the cases of COVID have risen past the 500,000 mark (over 5+ million nationwide) with over 175,000 deaths (combined) while in other parts of the world, such as the Kingdom of Cambodia for instance there are only 273 cases of COVID with no casualties and in South Africa, the stats so far is 596,000 cases with over 12,000 deaths. 

The combination of folks being cautious, paranoid and the failure to be more consciously aware has created quite a bit of tension amongst the people. We must work harder together, if we are to nip COVID in the bud and lower the cases of infection. It is selfish and unfair of those who have no regard for others and blindly contribute to the rise of COVID due to the attitude of entitlement and ignorance that lead to the closures of more businesses, institutions and the threat of poverty on a more higher and tragic scale. Personally, I (over) do my part in combating the spread of  COVID by wearing not one mask, but two. I also wear two sets of clothing, wash my hands frequently, continue to practice the shelter in place order, going outdoors only for necessities and instead of giving other folks 6 feet of social distancing, I give 8 feet whenever possible amongst the other precautions I take. “Teamwork makes a dream work” as the saying goes and if we all do our part we will soon see positive results instead of pointing the blame at someone else with foolish stereotypes that gets us nowhere in the long run.

Queennandi Xsheba, Staff writer at POOR Magazine and co-founder of The Queen’s Consortium of Humanity

By Queennandi Xsheba PNN KEXU

President Trump is out- and Biden is the newly elected president of the United States along with Kamala Harris making history as the first woman of color to become the vice president of this nation. Before Kamala, Shirley Chisholm became the first African descendant woman to serve in New York’s 12th congressional district and did so successfully for seven terms. These historical accomplishments would probably be still a dream without the people’s voting voice. 

There were a lot of mixed feelings from the community regarding the new president and vice president with some folks saying that the Biden-Harris combo may turn out to be worse than Trump and Pence. One voter even said that with Kamala Harris district attorney background and infamous lockup rate she fears that “The whole country will get locked up.” 

Another voter from the community stated that Biden was “just as racist” as Trump and the fact that a woman of color is vice president doesn’t mean that the change the people anticipate will come to fruition. 

When we go down the list of past presidents it would be very difficult to name one “perfect” president regardless of cultural background or religion because there never was one, however it was the common thread of thinking amongst the voters that felt the need to put into office the politician that doesn’t “whip the people as hard” rather than to have a tyrant for a president who continues on with the agenda of oppression.

According to “Community WeSearch”, former president Donald Trump not only was a “Tyrant” but a boastful criminal who separated families fleeing famine and other life-threatening danger. He turned a blind eye to the uptick of police terror running rampant in Black and Brown communities enabling “law enforcement” to kill at will with impunity, he failed at providing aid to the people to help sustain themselves during a deadly pandemic. Trump had also downplayed COVID with idiotic tweets and parading around the nation maskless eventually contracting COVID-19 himself, putting all those around him at great risk and had the gall to send “shout outs” to White supremacists groups during a presidential debate. With all that said, there was no wonder why there was such a huge voter turnout to get him out of office because he was “a beast who lacked presidential integrity.”

Even with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris preparing to run the “free world” folks still have the “nail-biting” vibe that change will still continue to progress slowly, or stagnate altogether once again. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as “perfection” and what this country really needs is “progress, equality, consciousness and loyalty” to the people without holding “votes” regarding our fate. And if the two newly-elect are to fail at the agenda of “humanity” it would be up to US to utilize our voting voice and continue on with our uphill battle for real change.

Hello my name is Amir Cornish, and I’m from West Oakland. Family Council is a meeting that solves problems that we have with each other. The organization doesn't involve the police because they don’t solve problems.

Family council is an organization run by Aunties, Uncles, Grandpas and Grandmas. This is a community that solves problems within an organization called Homefulness. I have been in many of these family councils.

I even had a family council about me because a friend wrote something bad about me and we had to have a family council to resolve this problem with me and this friend. Some feelings were said and I was kind of relaxed because we got this problem out the way. 

I felt safe in family council because we solve the problem and we were back to being friends. And sometimes in family council things don't go as well as we thought, but some parts are solved. 

Family council is a model for other people too. We are trying to show examples to the world that we do not need cops to be involved  in solving problems that we could solve within the community. 

Tiny is the person who created family council for the organization, and family council involves youth and families. I learn so much from these family councils as a student and as a community member. Being in these meetings, I have changed. These meetings are hard to be in but it's worth it .

Emmett Till, the Scottsboro Boys, the Central Park 5, and the list goes on. The ramifications of being falsely accused of a crime in America can be, and often has been, deadly for Black people. Since the horrors of the European capitalist-economic enterprise, known as the Atlantic Slave Trade, Black people (primarily Black men) have been lynched, burned alive, castrated and every other form of torture imaginable, and as a result of being falsely accused of a crime. On the surface, these accusations seem to be rooted in fear and ignorance, but when investigated, are proven to be rooted in nothing other than a device on behalf of the dominant capitalist, white supremacist, patriarchal culture to maintain a position of power.

Not too long ago, we witnessed an attempt at jeopardizing the life of a Black man in Central Park (just hours before George Floyd was murdered by four Minneapolis police officers) by a white woman, who, not out of fear or ignorance, but due to a boldness provided by her knowledge of how Black men in particular are viewed now and historically in this country. Her attempt on the life of this Black man reveals the ever-present reality of what it means to be Black in America; to live in fear of being hunted. Media outlets immediately noted that things could, and likely would have been drastically different, had the incident not been caught on camera. Protesters and activists throughout the world held up, and continue to hold up signs asking this very question about the latest string of televised crimes against Black people, “How many weren’t caught on camera?” But what about places where there are no cameras?

As an incarcerated person, I immediately began to reflect on my present reality, and what those who are incarcerated know all too well: namely that what occurs in public throughout America has been taking place in the darkness of America’s prison system, since its inception. “The prison is the place where state power is perhaps more forcefully experienced and publicly legitimized without being seen . . .” writes Dan Berger in ”Captive Nation,” He continues, “in other words, the prison is an example of how state power at its most violent extreme, as well as an example of the way that power cloaks itself in invisibility.” The lens through which we have been allowed to look into California’s prison system is of the darkest of opaques. Oftentimes, it takes a major incident for light to be shone on prisons: a riot, stabbing, major contraband bust, etc., anything to slant public opinion against the incarcerated. But when something takes place that puts the integrity of correctional officers, and ultimately the entire system itself into question, silence abounds.

In the aftermath of the violent 3 a.m. raid on approximately 200 incarcerated Black people at Soledad State Prison – if it wasn’t for the tireless effort of my wife, Tasha Williams, whose article in the San Francisco Bay View first alerted the world to what happened here at Soledad, as well as the tireless effort of countless wives, family members, and loved ones sharing her article and the stories of their incarcerated friends and family who were brutalized, the world would, without doubt, still be in the dark about what happened to us. Prison officials, on the other hand, waited an entire week before releasing a statement, and still it was only after, and in response to receiving thousands of phone calls and emails from across the country culminating in protests in front of the prison, that the spokesperson for Soledad State Prison released a statement to the public, a statement that denied the injuries, a statement that denied we were targeted because of our race, and most telling of all, a statement that would not have been released had it not been for the continuous pressure from both inside, and more importantly, outside organizers against a system that thrives in silence. Their silence was an attempt to “cloak itself in invisibility,” and yet their public statement was an attempt to do the same.

The following is a detailed first-hand account and contextualizing of what really happened in the early morning hours of 7-20-20 at Soledad CTF, as well as the events that followed. When I was violently snatched out of my sleep and slammed into the wall head first off the top bunk, I thought I was dreaming. I didn’t know what was going on; all I heard was yelling and felt

hands grabbing my arms and legs. With a knee in my back my hands were zip-tied and I was forcefully snatched up by my throat and dragged out of the cell, but not before my eyes were able to adjust enough to glance to the right – hearing my cell mate; a 55-year-old man with degenerative disc disease in his spine, a chronic shoulder injury, and who is a diabetic, crying out that they were hurting his arm – to see what I believe were two men wearing helmets, equipped with night vision, wearing fatigues, and black marks covering their faces entirely, doing to him what had been done to me. I was carried out of the housing unit barefoot, wearing nothing but boxer briefs, forced to walk on a filthy floor down the central corridor, towards the dining hall. 

Along the way I could see and hear the same thing happening in every unit we passed, officers yelling “drag him” referring to people who had already been ripped violently from their sleep. The atmosphere was filled with fear and uncertainty. To my surprise, when we turned into the dining hall there were close to 200 incarcerated people looking as shocked as I was. Shocked that it was so early in the morning, and at the fact that we were raided in a way never before seen at Soledad. Never has a group of people who haven’t been involved in any disruptive activity, and who haven’t even been arrested for committing a crime, been raided the way we were. Even when someone commits a crime they are not raided the way we were raided. I have been in prison going on 19 years and I have never seen or heard of a group of people having been raided the way we were. But walking out of the dark housing unit, into the brightly lit corridor, I noticed patches across officers’ chests that told me this wasn’t a normal raid. This was an inter-agency operation, a joint team or special ops, security squad officers (SSU/IGI) from both Soledad CTF and Salinas Valley State Prison, as well as CDCR Sacramento, Office of Correctional Safety (OCS), and Special Service Unit Gang intel ops (SSU). But even more so than that, we were shocked at the fact that every single person sitting there was Black. Every age group from early 20s to late 70s. Nobody knew anything. Everyone was complaining about their injuries and the way we were raided. Zip-tied, sitting on stainless steel stools, practically naked in a freezing kitchen during the worst pandemic to hit the world in over one hundred years, we soon realized something that was clearly not the concern of whoever was in charge of this operation, we were sitting next to each other without our masks. We immediately began to demand that we be provided face masks, but just like our demands for medical attention, we were ignored.

We sat there in anger, frustration, fear, and possibly more than anything else, confusion. No one could make sense of “why.” Why after the prison’s Black population was congratulated and praised by the warden on institutional television for helping maintain a peaceful and positive program, were we being treated so inhumanely? But the longer we sat there, a troubling picture began to emerge; people spoke to being told by masked officers “Black Lives Don’t Matter.” Listening to everyone’s experiences, I thought to myself, “this can’t be happening!!!” at which point I heard an officer tell one person who was complaining about the fact that we were crammed next to each other without masks that: “I hope you motherfuckers get COVID!!!” The environment was hostile; an officer was in the guntower pointing his rifle at us, which led to an uproar and chant of “Black Lives Matter,” which resulted in Black buddies being carried away. It was around this time that one Brother from my building, Bernard Harris, told me my hands were purple – I was so cold that I couldn’t feel that my hands had lost circulation due to the tightness of the zip-ties. I immediately walked over to an officer named Brown and showed him my hands and he helped another officer, who looked horrified, cut off the zip-tie and replaced them with a looser pair. This was the only relief experienced while sitting in that dining hall and I don’t believe this could be separated from the fact that Brown was the only Black correctional officer present during our entire ordeal in that dining hall. Brown is a regular correctional officer, not as part of the Security Squad (ISU/IGI) or the extraction team, which also included members of the Security Squad, as well as Sacramento’s Special Service Unit Gang Intel Ops (SSU) all of whom were either white or of an ethnicity that possesses an inroad to whiteness.

While there are cries throughout the world of “defund police” and diversify the ranks of police forces, making them more “racially inclusive,” what happened in the early morning hours of July 20, 2020 here at Soledad begs the question; how much more humanely would our Black bodies have been treated had there been more Black officers present?

When I returned to where I was seated, almost every other individual in that dining hall had to have their zip-tie cut off due to loss of circulation. We sat in that cold dining hall shivering for six hours, some of us zip-tied the entire time. When we raised hell to use the bathroom we were walked to the back of the kitchen to a secluded part of the prison one at a time, forced to walk barefoot in the officers spit, on an already urine-covered bathroom floor, I was forced to strip naked and when I complained I was told, “you shouldn’t have been Black.” Every time I tried to get a glimpse of an officer’s name tag, there was none, only patches that read “CTR/SVSP” and “police.” One officer, who came over to where we were waiting to go to the bathroom however, was recognizable as 3rd Watch Building officer Martinez, a known racist with multiple complaints against him for making racist comments and attempting to incite hostilities between the Black and Latinx populations. It still remains unclear as to why he, a regular correctional officer, was there dressed as a member of the extraction team. Had he been one of the officers who violently extracted incarcerated people (while sleeping) from their beds in the very building he’s responsible for managing five days a week? Is this why they covered their faces and wore no name tags? But Martinez wanted to be seen. Like a sadistic predator circling back to see its victim, he couldn’t help but show his face. However, his presence raises another question: during a pandemic that has forced CDCR officers and officials to take a 10 percent pay cut due to the governor’s budget, and be prohibited from working overtime, per their agreement, how is it that he was able to work overtime coming to work during non-work hours to play “Army”? This wasn’t just my experience alone. Every other Black person in that dining hall early that morning had a similar, and some an even worse experience. One person who was victimized (Erwin Harris #T25610) was pulled violently off his top bunk, dragged out of his cell, zip-tied, and pushed down a flight of stairs. He had to be taken to medical in a wheelchair.

Another person victimized (Eric Frazier #C62189) also had to be taken to medical in a wheelchair, having been dragged violently out of his cell despite telling his captors he had a pre-existing back and hip injury. He was met with racial slurs while his seemingly lifeless body (according to one eye-witness who wishes to remain anonymous) was dragged to the corridor when finally a wheelchair was requested. Another person victimized (Ronald J. Smallwood #C15171) wrote, “At approximately 3:39 am, I was awakened by several individuals which I later found out were IGI, ISU and OCS. I was snatched out of my cell in my underwear and NOTHING else. I was then handcuffed with zip-ties and escorted to the chow hall. I sat there for five hours in zip-ties.” Another person victimized (Derrick Porter #A88849) wrote: “On 7-20-20 at 3:30 am my cell door was pulled open while me and my cellie were asleep. We were attacked and assaulted by ISU Squad members. I was violently snatched off the top bunk by masked CDCR employees. I injured my arm, head, neck, and hip. Several officers jumped on my back and legs, while one put his knee on the side of my head. I was cuffed in, zip-tied and dragged out the cell. Not one ISU/OCS Task Unit officer had an identification name tag. I was put in dining hall #1 with no socks, no shoes, no shirt, and no mask. It was over 100 Black inmates, all zip-tied, and in almost no clothes without masks. We were placed side-by-side and the wall was lined with CDCR employees who wore ISU black patches with CTF/SVSP logos and no name tags. These un-named officers were coughing and sneezing in the dining hall with us in it. SVSP staff came from a prison that has a COVID outbreak amongst staff and inmates. I was scared.” Another person victimized (Marcelle Franklin #J65015) wrote, “At 3:30 am on 7-20-20, I was awakened by unknown individuals wearing helmets and face masks, later identified as CTF/SVSP ISU IGI and OCS. I was forcefully slammed to the ground, zip-tied, and dragged out of my cell by multiple ISU officers, then placed in dining hall #1 without a mask, in nothing by my underwear for over five hours.”

And lastly, in direct contradiction to what the warden said in an email the following day attempting to distance himself from having knowledge of our condition, Marcus Harris #O09716 wrote, “On 7-20-20 at about 3:00 am, I was awakened by my cell door being slammed open and being physically snatched out of bed by some unknown persons. I was taken down to the Central Facility dining hall, handcuffed, with nothing on except underwear, and was made to sit on metal stools with no jacket, shoes, t-shirt, or mask for about five and a half hours. When I asked to see a doctor, I was told “No.” After about five hours, the warden came in and started to give officers “high fives,” telling them “Good job!!!” I stood up and said, “How are you going to give them high fives and tell them good job for messing over a bunch of innocent Black People?” But it wasn’t over. We were then escorted out of the dining hall, still virtually naked, once again down the central corridor, still zip-tied, officers and free staff now clocking in to work looking at us as if we were animals. We were led one by one into what used to be the counselor’s office at the end of the west corridor, where we were interrogated by plain clothed OCS officers. When we get near the entrance, an OCS officer asked my name and CDCR number before handing the officer escorting me a packet that had my picture, in red letters was the word “Target,” below which was a paragraph of which I was only able to read the first line, which said, “his father is Milton Hayes, a validated associate of the Black Guerilla Family . . .” If you know me or have read my most recent blog post “Crying Out From Soledad: An Open Letter to a Lawyer,” then you know that this is an issue about which I already have two pending lawsuits for retaliation, racial and religious discrimination against CDCR officers and officials for harassing me since 2011 for being in contact with my father, as well as my writing and journalism against this racist system, particularly my article in the San Francisco Bay View entitled, “Soledad prison guards refuse to wear safety masks amidst COVID-19 pandemic” for which I was raided less than a week after it was published, and more specifically my last book, “Soledad Uncensored, ”the forward of which was published as a series of articles, also in the San Francisco Bay View entitled, “Soledad Uncensored: Racism and the Hyper-policing of Black Bodies,” the entirety of which speaks directly against what was happening to us these early morning hours of July 20, 2020. Had my writings contributed to my being included in this roundup?

I was led to a room where two OCS officers, one white, one Black, were waiting. They told me to face the wall while they cut off my zip-ties and honestly I thought they were going to beat me, or worse. I was so nervous my mouth instantly became dry. But frustrated that I was once again – based on what I was able to read from the description below my picture – being harassed because of my father’s past, I asked, “What the hell is going on; this is how you guys are getting down now?!! Snatching people out of bed at 3:00 in the morning?!! You have been harassing me since 2011 because of my father !!!” That is when the white officer asked “Why would you say we were harassing you because of your father?”. “Because that’s what is says on the paper you just set aside,” I responded, noticing the look on his face change when the Black officer chimed in saying, “We’re not harassing you. We just want to ask you some questions about Black Lives Matter. How do you feel about what happened to George Floyd? I know what the one cop did was wrong and he deserves to go to jail, but all cops aren’t bad,” which is ironic, considering the fact that here we were, having this conversation about police brutality rooted in racial biases, after approximately 200 Black men were violently snatched from their beds while sleeping – by police. The premise upon which they sought to base the conversation was disrespectful. We had the whole “a few bad apples” conversation before I got tired and asked them, “So you mean to tell me y’all did all this to ask us about George Floyd and Black Lives Matter?!!” when again the Black officer said, “Honestly you have some tattoos on you that indicate you’re BGF!!!” to which I shot back, “I’m not BFG, like I said when I first came in. Y’all have been harassing me since 2011 for being in contact with my father who, according to you, is a validated associate of the Black Guerilla Family. To me he’s simply my father who went to prison in ’89 and had been out of my life until my sister found him still incarcerated in 2005. I have every letter he’s ever written me and not one of them is criminal in nature. They are letters from a father trying to mend a broken bond with his son. And about the tattoo you guys have been harassing me about since 2011, everything about it is Islamic,” turning around to show them my back tattoo which is a dragon with a huge crescent moon and star in the center of it flanked by the sword and staff of the prophet Muhammed, with a verse from the Qur’an over it in Arabic script. “What about the dragon is Islamic?” they ask. At which point I give them a detailed explanation of a hadith mentioned in S.V Mr. Ahmed Ali’ commentary to chapter 96, verse 6-7 of the Holy Qur’an about an enemy of the prophet Muhammed attempting to harm him while he (Muhammed) was praying, but turning back in fear because he saw that the prophet Muhammed was being protected by a dragon.

After explaining my tattoos for the 20th time, as well as explaining to them how racist it is to assume that a Black person in prison with a tattoo of a dragon (or a gorilla or snake, for that matter), is a member of a prison gang that have used such symbols – I further explained my point by saying that “if I was Asian and had a dragon tattoo it wouldn’t be an issue!!!” to which they replied, “but you’re not!!!” and when I asked affirmatively, “So it’s because I’m Black?” They, to my surprise said, “Yes.” After they “apologized” regarding the misunderstanding of my tattoo saying “We hope you can get that cleared up about your tattoo” they told me I could go. When I returned to my cell, still confused as to why we were kidnapped in the middle of the night just to be questioned about Black Lives Matter, George Floyd, and a prison gang from the 70s, I was shocked even further by the way they trashed the cell. Everything was thrown all over the place. My cellmate, who had returned to the cell before me, was busy separating his remaining property from mine when I noticed that every single piece of paperwork, writing paper, envelopes, every letter, picture, photo album, phone book, and book was gone. In the midst of my remaining property was a “Security Squad Receipt” that said the only thing taken was “paperwork.”

Later that morning, when everyone was let out of their cells to set up like we do every morning for “cell reading,” everyone was shocked that we weren’t on “scheduled program,” which is the normal protocol when there is a threat, especially one that necessitates a raid. The first step of a “modified program” due to a threat, is for the officers to conduct a “threat assessment” by interviewing everyone in the prison one-by-one, voluntarily. The fact that they weren’t conducting a threat assessment didn’t make sense. Obviously something wasn’t right. In the process of cleaning up and preparing for breakfast, someone found paper tags presumed to be place markers used during the raid. One had the words “property team,” “tag 1, receipts” and “Charlie” printed over a watermark on the SSU seal. The other has the words, “Charlie wing” which is the unit where the tags were found, as well as the unit I’m housed in. At the top of this particular tag however, were words that would explain everything: “Operation Akili” The name of this operation was a Swahili word that means “intelligence” which comes from the Arabic word “Agli” having the same meaning they were on a fishing expedition, a dragnet – intelligence gathering, which explains why the only thing they took was paperwork, letters, books, pictures, and phone books. There was no threat. Not only did the name of their operation indicate that there was no threat, but the raid itself turned up no weapons, no notes referring to any type of threat or STG activity. The reality is, there has been no Black STG activity here at Soledad whatsoever. In fact, ask CDCR and Soledad CTF officials to release a report stating how many weapons Black incarcerated people have been found in possession of, and how many STG related incidents in the last 10 years have Black incarcerated people been involved in, and I guarantee the answer will shock you. 

I was able to obtain every single Program Status Report (PSR) from 2017 to 2020 and not one single report refers to a single STG activity involving the population of incarcerated Black people, not even in the days surrounding the raid. But herein lies the reason why: CDCR officials can’t wrap their heads around the fact that incarcerated Black people throughout the entire state of California aren’t involved in any STG gang activity. As I’ve been highlighting in my writing these past couple of years, the criminal mentality of old that most people have been conditioned to associate with prison, does not exist. Incarcerated people throughout California realize that the days of languishing in prison until one is useless and unable to contribute to society are over. Even people who entered the prison system as gang members no longer glorify gang culture or the culture of violence. Not only are “self-help” groups being created by incarcerated people themselves to challenge ideas of toxic masculinity and the culture of violence, such as “success stories,” which was recognized by the California Legislature, but law are being passed that have taken into consideration the work that we are in here doing, which gives incarcerated people hope like we’ve never had before. And with the passing of “Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 186” introduced by Assemblymember Kamlager, that “the Legislature recognizes the need for statutory changes to end extreme sentencing,” which disproportionately subjects Black people by saying, “the Black community is disproportionately subjected to extreme sentences, representing less than 15 percent of the national population, but comprising 48.3 percent of people serving life sentences, 55 percent of people serving virtual life sentences, and 56.4 percent of people serving life sentences without the possibility of parole . . .” and that “research has shown that long sentences do not deter future crimes and that there is no reliable evidence showing that any deterrent effect is “sufficiently large to justify the cost of long prison sentences . . .” and . . . in 2018, only 2.9 percent of people serving life sentences were released and only 0.3 percent of people serving third-strike were released, and . . . out of 988 people convicted of murder were released from California prisons over a 20-year period, only 1 percent were arrested for new crimes. None of the 988 people were rearrested for murder and none of them went back to prison over the 2 0-year period examined.” 

Understanding this, incarcerated people know that it is counter-productive to commit acts that justify one’s incarceration. Not only are incarcerated people politically aware of the effects of violence, but thanks to Black resistance authors such as Bell Hooks, we are aware of the effects of violence in a more holistic way to where non-violence becomes a lifestyle as well as a rock to be used against a system that bases its very existence on our disfunction. It is incarcerated people who promote non-violence that make prisons obsolete. 

CDCR officials are aware of this as well. Budgets are already being cut. Prisons are being scheduled to shut down, and employees of these institutions are going to have to find new jobs. However, a certain segment of CDCR have become so accustomed to this sadistic enterprise that they cannot imagine a world without it. They will go to imperceivable lengths to ensure its continued existence, and since they can no longer use the “violent criminal” as a justification, they have resorted to criminalizing the very existence of incarcerated people. This becomes even more troubling when racism enters into the equation. We know the effects of systemic racism in the police departments and judicial systems, but what many people aren’t aware of, by design, are the effects of systemic racism inside the prison system. Guns don’t exist in prison (except in strategically placed guntowers) so you aren’t going to have “officer involved shootings” of unarmed Black and Latinx people. 

Prison is a different kind of monster; the weapon of choice in prison is, and always has been “documentation.” Michael Foucault wrote in his famous “Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prisons” that, “It must be possible to hold the prisoner under permanent observation; every report that can be made about him must be recorded and compared” He continues, “no detail is unimportant, but not so much for the meaning that it conceals within it as for the hold it provides for the power that wishes to seize it . . .” Departments of “Correction” aren’t concerned with the accuracy of the information about you more than they are concerned with how they can use that information to control every aspect of your existence in order to maintain its position of dominance. Their sole concern is to create, on paper, a perpetual criminal, thereby justifying the perpetual existence of prison.

Just two days after the raid, we received our property back. Well, almost all of it. Almost everyone who was raided got a receipt notifying them of certain items not returned “pending investigation.” Guess what these items were? Books, newspapers, pictures and quotes from Black historical figures. DOCUMENTATION. They kept my book “Soledad Uncensored,” quotes from George Jackson used for research on my book, a picture of Dr. Angela Davis and Johnathon Jackson protesting in front of Soledad in the 70s (also used for my book), and a letter to a journalist about COVID-19 and Anti-Black racism in prison. Their reason for keeping these items, written on the receipt was: “The aforementioned items will be retained for further investigation into your suspected involvement with the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) Security Threat Group-1 (STG-1).” Everyone else who received a receipt had had the same exact words written on it. Items taken from them include newspaper articles about George Jackson, pictures of the San Quentin-6, and even sheets of paper with book titles written on them: “Blood in My Eye,” “The Spook Who Sat By the Door.” This is what we’re dealing with, and it can’t be described as anything other than racist. Every facet of existence of incarcerated people is criminalized, especially if you’re Black. Everything from the books we read to our hairstyles are criminalized. Hairstyles aren’t seen as an attempt to express our individuality in an environment whose intent is to strip us of anything unique, or that points to our being individuals in any way. Instead, our hairstyles are seen by certain elements within CDCR as expressions of “gang culture,” despite the fact that in the history of American street gangs, there has never been a single hairstyle associated with an expression as ones’ affiliation. Even still, young Black men are harassed, and even chased down, to be given “verbal warnings” for having designs shaved into their heads.

Don’t get “caught” with a book by Angela Davis, Marcus Garvey, or Malcom X, and you damn sure better not get “caught” with a book by George Jackson – all of which aren’t on any official list of prohibited books, and are all allowed into the prison through order from Amazon Prime, or any other bookseller – but once an officer sees you with one, you will (if you’re Black) immediately be under investigation as a member of the Black Guerilla Family, an organization formed in the 70s in prison that today, in 2020, is virtually non existent, except in the minds of correctional officers intent on living in the past. So what you end up with is young Black men who are afraid to study their history for fear of being labeled, while those who muster up the courage – being dedicated and committed to non-violence – seeking to understand the pitfalls of the past in order to contribute to a society they once took part in destroying, by preventing others from treading the course of violence, through knowledge, they are criminalized.

Before recent events, I thought this targeting was simply because correctional officers didn’t understand Black culture, but like the white lady in Central Park, correctional officers aren’t acting out of ignorance, but in fact are tapping into the very anti-Black racist ideas that underpin American society. They know we are not members of the Black Guerilla Family, but they also know that in a society so deeply connected to racist ideas concerning prison, that incarcerated Black men are seen as perpetually criminal, and thus labeling us as BGF places a stigma on us that will last throughout the duration of our incarceration, and becomes a barrier in the way of our release. These are the lengths they will go to. Two days after we received our property, people began to receive “validation packets” (a process to becoming validated by CDCR as a member of a Security Threat Group). It was only after this point that the spokesperson for Soledad CTR released his statement to the public that the people who were raided were members of a Security Threat Group. They were trying to cover their asses. People were being labeled everything from “chief financial officer for BGF” to “BGF foot soldier.” I told a friend of mine, “Watch these fools say I have something to do with education,” when lo and behold! That same day I received my validation packet saying that I was “the Minister of Education for BGF,” but that was only the beginning. They said the pictures of George Jackson on my Instagram page managed by my family to advertise my writings, was “BGF propaganda.” They even went as far as saying about my crescent moon and star tattoo, that: “It (the star) contains five outer-pointed and five inner-pointed, with each point representing one point of the 10-point party platform of the Black Panther Party (BPP), which is part of the BGF constitution.” But if you thought it couldn’t get worse, they had the nerve to say that the Arabic verse from the Qur’an (79.14) on my back “translated into English as ‘Assaulter, attacker with alertness’ . . .” I couldn’t believe what I was reading. The officer who wrote it was B. Barron. He wrote: “While conducting photographs of his tattoos (on 4-27-20) specifically on Williams upper back above and below the black dragon, I discovered Arabic writing. I was unable to translate the Arabic writing, therefore, I questioned Williams on the meaning of the tattoos. Williams became defensive and stated, “You can figure that out, do your job.” Based on my training and experience, I know Williams becoming defensive about his tattoos means they are indicative of gang membership. Upon discovering the Arabic writing, I contacted the OCS, Correctional Intelligence Task Force (CITF) and Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Terrorism Task Forces (CT2) to translate the Arabic writing discovered on Williams’ tattoos. Upon receiving the translation from OCS, the Arabic writing translated to English as “Assaulter, attacker with alertness” and “Tajdeed” This Arabic writing is significant to the BGF also meaning he will conduct assaults on behalf of the BGF. The Arabic writing is also indicative to the membership of the Radical Islamic Group “Tajdeed UL-Islam (TUI) . . .”

I couldn’t believe what I was reading. “Tajdid,” which is on my lower back, is a concept in Islam that refers to returning back to the original humanistic teachings of Islam, popularly known as Surism. To associate such a term with “Radicalism” is disrespectful. They gave me 72 hours to respond to the allegations in writing, and since they were trying to validate me as a member of BGF that’s what I focused on, saving everything else for the lawsuit. What I wrote in response to the allegations mentioned above (in part) was: “I find it strange that B. Barron only pointed out the star attempting to link it with BGF via the Black Panther Party. When pictures were taken of my back tattoo between 2015-2019, 1 st Lt. Officer Pearson(?) immediately recognized the crescent moon and star. B. Barron’s failure to recognize the crescent moon shows that he had his mind set on associating me with BGF. When I said to B. Barron, concerning the Arabic writing on my back, “You can figure it out. Do your job.” I said that out of frustration having already explained my tattoos at least 5 times before, and not because of B. Barron said, “They are indicative of gang membership.” The Arabic writing across my back is Verse 14 of chapter 79 of the Holy Qur’an that translates into English as, “Then behold they will be upon a wide expanse.” Which is a reference to a scene on the Day of Judgment when humanity will be standing “upon a wide expanse” of earth, awaiting God’s judgment. Whoever was responsible for the OCS Correctional Intelligence’s Task Force (CITF) needs to be re-trained. B. Barron stated that he “contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Terrorism Task Force (CT-2) to translate the Arabic writing.” but only used “the translation from OCS,” which according to them “translated to English as Assaulter, attacker with alertness . . .” according to B. Barron, “this Arabic writing is significant to the BGF also meaning he will conduct assaults on behalf of BGF.” The reason B. Barron omitted the translation from the FBI is because they told him it was a verse from the Qur’an, and therefore didn’t fit his narrative, just like the huge crescent moon and star didn’t fit his narrative, so he omitted mentioning the moon. This is giving him the benefit of doubt. What I believe is that B. Barron never sent a picture of my tattoo to the OCS or the FBI, but that he himself “translated” the Arabic, and therefore must be investigated for falsifying documents, because there is no way that an expert would have come up with that translation.” 

This is what racism looks like inside Soledad State Prison. You will be raided in the middle of the night and assaulted by officers, and when media attention is placed on the officers’ actions, those same officers will falsify documents in order to cover their asses. And because we live in a society where incarcerated people are viewed as perpetually criminal, who knows how far into the future, and to what lengths, officers will carry these allegations. Will our families be targeted next?

#BLACKINCARCERATEDLIVESMATTER

#FREETHEMALL

#FREETALIB 

By Queennandi Xsheba Shabazz, PNN KEXU

There are always mixed feelings when people walk past one of our folks who is homeless, sitting on a sleeping bag or a donated mattress sifting through food given to them by a stranger. There are feelings of helplessness, cluelessness or pity towards individuals going through such hardships in life.

With limited resources coming from the city or state, compassionate folks from all walks of life would take to the streets and distribute food, clothing and other necessities to help alleviate some of the burden of struggle. Even with the dark cloud of Covid hovering above us there are kind souls who try to lend a helping hand to those in need.

On the other hand, there are many people who look down upon poor folks as a “blight” and nothing more than drug addicted mentally ill individuals with the agenda of “getting over on people” to buy a slice of the “devil’s pie” (drugs) and/or alcohol.  Harsh judgement spews from the mouth of passer-bys such as “you people need to be wiped off the face of the earth” or “get a job, you bum!” Saying these kinds of comments to someone that is facing spirit-breaking difficulties in their lives is like giving that final “kick in the face” to them and being “better off” is not an excuse to add on this extra layer of hatred onto an already lost soul.

Poor folks who are in struggle with substance or mental health issues living on the streets are not the only ones feeling the brunt of this burden. We have children who live in cars, hotels and tents who have to live with the experiences of poverty on a daily basis, along with elders with major health problems in which a high percentage of them die within a year of being homeless and vulnerable. In doing my WeSearch I have come across families who worked two jobs while raising children- all while living in a tent because of not only being economically impacted by Covid, but the nosebleed- high rent in the bay area makes it very difficult for folks to obtain decent and safe housing. With that being said, should innocent children and elders be “wiped off the face of the earth” also?

Being homeless is not just a “death sentence” for people dealing with substance or other life altering issues, this violation of human laws affects anyone all across the board regardless of age, gender or cultural background. However when it comes to looking at the injustice system as a whole it is people of color who had the most stones casted upon them. 

Instead of pointing the finger at someone who chose to self-medicate in (dis)order to cope with the systematic hell they have endured, let’s change the conversation to shaming the so-called leaders who always had a bad reputation of “shuckin’ and jivin” around with the issues surrounding poverty. Shame on the “leaders” for enabling “gentrifukation” and greed to push women, men, children, elders AND pets out onto the streets in the first place. Shame on “leaders” for issuing a “stimulate nothing” payment at the beginning of this year that wasn’t even enough for most folks to cover one months’ rent and still continue to “shuck and jive” around the negotiation table over the fate of this nation. It is also shameful that the “homelessphobia” attitude is tolerated to the point that poor folks have been criminalized, attacked and in some cases killed for no reason other than being poor. 

Hatred does not contribute to helping those who cannot help themselves nor does it heal the traumatized spirit, hatred is just another ingredient added to the already potent poison that has killed off the consciousness and morality of this country.

Family Meetings by Amir Cornish:

https://www.poormagazine.org/node/6032

Family Council by Ziair Hughes

https://www.poormagazine.org/node/6031

Homefulness is like Heaven by Amir Cornish