Revolutionary greetings to everyone. This is Uhuru Rowe, speaking to you from inside the belly of the beast in Virginia, on this first day of July 2024.
It has been a while since I have done a podcast with Prison Radio and I have to mention that we imprisoned people are grateful that this platform exists. And I’m delighted for the opportunity to have our voices shared with you. I have been incarcerated for nearly 30 years inside the Virginia prison system. Almost half my teen years, all of my 20s, all of my 30s, and nearly all of my 40s have been spent behind these prison walls. I would have died behind these prison walls if it wasn’t for a freedom campaign raised by my friends and comrades that resulted in the governor of Virginia commuting my sentence back in 2022.
Just like thousands of other imprisoned people across the US, I was sentenced by a racist, bigoted judge to die in prison. And now, as a result of the power of the people, I am scheduled to be released in 2025. Also, just like numerous lifers returning to the community, after spending nearly our whole lives in prison, we will be starting from scratch. So some type of support will be needed, including financial support. That’s the purpose of my podcast.
I’m asking listeners to subscribe to my Patreon. For $10 a month, you will receive all of my political zines, which I’ve created since I’ve been in prison. For $25 a month, you will receive my zines as well as the artwork, most of which is also political. I’m sure you would like my drawing depicting the commonality of solidarity between the Black liberation struggle and the Palestinian liberation struggle. It is time to rid of the genocide and ethnic cleansing of New Afrikan Black people here in the US and throughout the Diaspora, and the Palestinians in Gaza and other occupied territories of Palestine. And for $50 a month, you will receive my zines, artwork, audio and video recordings, as well as access to a newly created virtual zine titled “Conscious Prisoner: Select Prison Writings of Uhuru B. Rowe.” The funds raised on Patreon will go towards my housing and healthcare needs, as well as other needs like food, clothing, and transportation. They will also enable me to keep fighting for the release of criminalized and incarcerated survivors of gender-based violence through a project I founded called “The Incarcerated Women’s Clemency Support Project,” which is the culmination of all the years I have spent writing about and organizing against inhumane prison conditions.
So as soon as you are done listening to this recording, please go to www.patreon.com/consciousprisoner and subscribe to my Patreon. After you have subscribed to my Patreon, please go to www.iwcsp.com and check out the work we are doing with the Clemency Project and get involved in any way you can. Thanks for listening. This was Uhuru Rowe speaking to you live from the Virginia prison system. Peace and power.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.