When haters pull me up from the ground, breaking my roots, I’ll get my nourishment from the air.
When haters strive to drive me into the dirt, they inspire me to flow. They inspire me to grow. They inspire me to dream. They inspire me to live.
When haters strive to beat me down into the ground and [inaudible] the air smoked and soot, I rise above it like a God.
This is Spoon Jackson and if you like any of my poetry, please check my poetry book out called “Longer Ago,” that can be- it can be accessed on amazon.com. And please, if you like my prose, and want more of it, check out my book that I wrote with Judith Tannenbaum called “By Heart” that can also be purchased off amazon.com. And if you want to hear some good stories in the form of storytelling, the old story core way of telling stories, we have a podcast here at Solano prison called Uncuff. And you could go to Uncuff listeners, or you could go to Uncuff at KALW 91.7 FM and listened to some podcasts.
And we are putting a human face on prisoners, to show that we all have one foot in darkness and one foot in light. Thank you very much and I hope you will check me out. This is Spoon Jackson out until next time.
(Sound of a cell door closing.) These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
![Prison Radio is sharing an abbreviated version of a press release covering recent racist incidents at SCI Rockview in PA and the organizing to demand accountability. We are reaching out to people incarcerated at Rockview as well as recently transferred folks, inviting them to call, in hopes of hearing commentaries from them.
Benner Township, PA.-
On November 24th, 2023, imprisoned people at SCI Rockview found two nooses hanging in the CO’s office, displayed visibly for many prisoners to see. When the prisoners asked the staff why the nooses were hung, they were told it was a joke.
By December 4th, prisoners filed a grievance to document what they saw, noting that the hanging of the nooses was “unethical, racially motivated, hateful, [a] deliberate debasement of black inmates" and “unsafe for inmates, staff, [and] the whole prison in general.” In the grievance, they demanded that Sgt. Mosser and CO Richard be fired and investigated for a hate crime, and for CO Kirchner to get therapy. Captain Andrews, the head of security, denied the grievance.
The sergeant and COs are still working in the prison to this day, with no repercussions...
As of March 10th, prisoners have reached out to Pennsylvania officials at the Dept. of Corrections in a letter campaign, sending 100 copies of the grievance. Copies of the letter also were mailed to Governor Shapiro, Senator Fetterman, Senator Street, and various advocacy groups. The demands for relief in the original grievance have now become the platform of demands for this campaign. About 20 of the 100 letters were withheld by the prison.
Activists on the outside are joining forces with prisoners to elevate their demands, flooding the phone lines of DOC offices, assisting with outreach to media, and circulating the stories of prisoners who have found unity in opposition to the facility's virulent institutional racism.
In any other workplace, hanging a noose would be grounds for immediate termination. However, Nicki Paul, the superintendent's assistant and "grievance coordinator" informed the public that they self-investigated their staff and found they did nothing wrong.
Read the full article at i
https://conta.cc/4ayDxlB](https://www.prisonradio.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)