She was born Aug. 25, 1947, a daughter of a Southerner, but a Philadelphian to her bones. Born into a family of all brothers toughened her, as demonstrated in her teen years, when I saw her knock a boyfriend over a metal railing. He seemed more shocked than hurt (but it’s possible he hid his pain to protect his male ego). Back then, she was called ‘Penny’ for her dark, coppery skin, and her bright, dazzling smile.
She was a dancer of modern dance, and of course boogied under the influence of The Rhythm n’ Blues era which featured acts like the Supremes, the Temptations and Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. She was a good student, and while a young woman she earned her rating to become a registered nurse. She became the mother of Vernon and Jabari. In 1996 she met and married noted Black nationalist scholar, author and Reverend, Ishakamusa Barashango, who introduced her to a world of new knowledge on a wealth of subjects.
She helped him run The Temple of The Black Messiah, a spiritual home for a growing Black Nationalist community in Philadelphia. She worked as a youth counselor and ran a Rites of Passage program for young, troubled Black girls. She loved her People, her children and grandchildren, and her brothers. Lydia Umyeml Barashango succumbed to breast cancer just days after her 64th birthday. She will be lovingly remembered forever, not only by this brother, but by many other brothers-and sisters.
![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)