“December in Chicago.”
It was an early morning in December, 1969. When a joint FBI-Chicago Police crew raided an apartment building ostensibly for weapons charges. In fact, they came to kill Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party and the man chosen by the Party Central Committee to become the new Chief of Staff of the national organization.
Hampton, barely 21, would be shot to death in his bed, in his sleep. Also killed: Mark Clark, a captain from Peoria, Illinois, who was security for the apartment. The killing of Fred made him a martyr for blacks in Chicago and for Panthers across the nation. This year marks 50 years since his assassination. How many cops were sent to death row in Illinois for this most premeditated of murders in Chicago?
I think you know the answer: zero. Fred’s wife worked for black freedom movements for years. His son, sleeping in her belly while his father was assassinated by the state, became an outspoken freedom fighter for the black nation and Fred Hampton, though gone is not forgotten. He remains a martyred symbol of resistance.
![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)