Lisa Strawn, CMS Vacaville, “Peace, Love, and Joy.”
At Christmas time, when everyone talks about peace and joy and the love of family, I’m reminded daily how the struggles people face over addiction, violence, and allowing others the right to be who they say they are. Peace and joy is what we need each day.
Saying “Thank you” and “How can I help you” are words that should have more meaning. We shouldn’t be so afraid to offer anyone our time or to show someone that we care. Our egos and our fear divides us into people that become numb to a world that is full of color.
Let us not forget to humble ourselves and to be grateful for those we come into contact with because they are the one that just could perhaps help us to be better and change our perceptions of what we don’t understand.
When we begin to listen to one another with an open heart and mind, we suddenly find ourselves growing and becoming a more loving person. It’s not that big of a task to ask of this: reach out and speak out about the changes that we all need to make to really be able to say peace, love, and joy to everyone. Open your heart to someone in need, and just maybe you will see that we are more alike than we are different.
In the spirit of hope and being thankful, I say “Thank you” to Prison Radio for giving me a place to be heard when nobody else would listen, to Flying Over Walls that brought Prison Radio to me, to Black and Pink and Ultraviolet for all you do for the LGBTQ. For Hearts in a Wire, my new friend. Thank you to Suzie in Prison Health News, to JD for allowing me the courage to tell my story, for Janetta and everyone at Trans Justice Project, we’ve only just begun, for Mrs. Tifa and the people at the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, our struggles will be our victories and they will be many. To P and D, you are my life when the world seems dark.
Let everyone find peace, love, and joy in one another forever.
Lisa Strawn, CMS Vacaville, “Peace, Love, and Joy.”
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)