“The Perils of Reform.”
For years, indeed for decades, we have seen the mirage of reform being presented by neoliberal leaders and their media tools only to awake too late to ghoulish nightmares of shattered promises and hopes betrayed. So reform is betrayal. A devil’s bargain of better days to come.
That only brings worse days. Today, the nation shocked by the savagery of George Floyd’s curbside execution for all the world to see. Just five years ago, politicians claiming themselves progressive, sold illusions of police body cameras as some kind of solution. But George Floyd, not to mention, Rayshard Brooks, put the nail in that coffin for it meant nothing when it came to changing cop behavior. Today’s reformers in Congress promise much, but they can and will deliver little but new illusions. Reforms are, but reformulations of old promises, of old wine in new bottles, of things to come that never make it. For that is the nature of capitalist society. New items to sell that ended up producing new problems.
New days need new ways of thinking. They need creativity. They need deep change. That truly transforms. Not discussions, but relationships. And who will dare say that this miserable present is a wash in outright oppression, not the lie of service, but truly repression, suppression, and oppression. New oppressive systems can only bring more of the same.
To quote Dr. Huey P. Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party, “We want freedom, not another reform.”
From imprisoned nation, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
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)