A-Infos (en) US: Break the Chains Conference - August 8-10, Eugene, OR

[weneversleep@ziplip.com]

 ________________________________________________
      A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
            http://www.ainfos.ca/
        http://ainfos.ca/index24.html
 ________________________________________________

The Break the Chains conference will be held Aug.8-10 at
Univ. of Oregon in Eugene. It is dedicated to fighting
repression, supporting prisoners, and eliminating prisons
altogether. By providing anti-prison education, building
on existing prisoner support efforts, learning from veteran
prison activists, and initiating new campaigns against the
prison industrial complex, this conference is intended to
initiate a new era of heightened prisoner support and
anti-prison activism.

Perhaps no other single issue so convincingly illustrates
the struggle for total liberation, as does the prison
industrial complex. Resisting prisons is resisting state
repression and blatant social control; it is resisting the
most terrifying examples of racism, sexism, and homophobia,
the criminalization of the poor and capitalist exploitation
of labor. For this reason, the Break the Chains conference
hopes to exemplify the need for continued and heightened
prisoner support with our ultimate goal being prison
abolition. Prison abolition is a political vision that
seeks to eliminate the need for prisons and acknowledges
the devastating effect that prisons have on poor and
marginalized communities.
Wide ranges of folks have agreed to attend and share their
knowledge, including former prisoners. Organizations
attending include Free Mumia Coalition, Prison Legal News,
and Out of Control Lesbian Committee to Support Women in
Prison. There will be people working with prisoners that
are HIV/AIDS infected and Black Panther and American Indian
Movement elders, as well as a participant in the Attica
rebellion of the 70's.

Any movement that does not support its political internees
is a movement destined to fail. When power is challenged,
it inevitably turns to violent repression and imprisonment
to maintain itself. In order to avoid defeat, movements must
become organized and capable of combating the repression of
the state apparatus, and they must be able to support their
comrades and allies in the event that they are arrested or
imprisoned. Few would commit themselves to a movement that
would leave them behind prison walls, or a movement that is
incapable of sustaining itself in the face of state
intimidation. Contact info at P.O. Box 11331, Eugene Oregon
97440 or www.breakthechains.net

The following individuals have agreed to participate in this
conference:
Ramzy Baroud
Rita "Bo" Brown
Safiya Bukhari
Chrystos
Ward Churchill
Dacajeweiah/Splitting the Sky
Derrick Jensen
Claude Marks
Ed Mead
Stormy Ogden
Craig Rosebraugh
Jesús Sepúlveda
Peter Urban
Laura Whitehorn

Also participating, representatives from groups such as
- Anarchist Black Cross
- Freedom Archives, San Francisco, CA.
- Jericho Movement
- Women Embracing Freedom Together, Portland, OR.
...and many, many more!


Anarchist Prisoners' Legal Aid Network
818 SW 3rd Ave. PMB 354
Portland, OR 97204 (USA)
weneversleep@ziplip.com




*******
                       ********
       ****** The A-Infos News Service ******
      News about and of interest to anarchists
                       ******
  COMMANDS: lists@ainfos.ca
  REPLIES: a-infos-d@ainfos.ca
  HELP: a-infos-org@ainfos.ca
  WWW: http://www.ainfos.ca/
  INFO: http://www.ainfos.ca/org

-To receive a-infos in one language only mail lists@ainfos.ca the message:
                unsubscribe a-infos
                subscribe a-infos-X
 where X = en, ca, de, fr, etc. (i.e. the language code)