On November 2, 2011 members of TGI Justice traveled to Los Angeles for the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People’s Movement convening and the Drug Policy Alliance conference.
Both conferences were huge successes for our members. They were able to network, learn more about the movements, and bring the important and powerful voices of trans women to these movements.
Our Executive Director, Miss Major spoke on a panel at the FICPM convening and really got people fired up! Thank you to our member, Miss Grace Lawrence for capturing this moment on video!
TGI Justice Project members will be attending the November 2nd Formerly Incarcerated & Convicted Peoples Movement in Los Angeles, followed by the Drug Policy Alliance conference from November 3rd – November 5th.
FICPM as it is called believes that imprisonment or conviction on a felony charge should not result in a lifelong violation of our basic rights as human beings, either while we are on probation, in prison or as we make the transition from prison back into our communities. We are firmly committed to prioritizing De-Entry over Re-Entry, and oppose the concept of a Rehabilitative Industrial Complex that grows along with prisons.
Below is the link to the Alabama Conference in 2011, which was also attended by Miss Major and Minister Bobbie Jean Baker.
Special thanks to the Drug Policy Alliance for their generous scholarship and to all our friends and family who donated to TGI Justice toward this trip!
On September 8, 2011, 23 members of TGI Justice completed a 5 week Prison Activism training facilitated by James Tracy of the Community Housing Partnership.
During the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) training series, members learned about the politics of prisons in the U.S., honed their public speaking and leadership skills, and shared their own personal thoughts and experiences about the Prison Industrial Complex. Additionally, as a key part of the training, members wrote, directed, and filmed a mini-documentary in which they interviewed each other as first hand experts on the effects of the Prison Industrial Complex on trans women and their communities.
The documentary is in the final stages of being edited. When finished it will be submitted to film festivals and shown at conferences. We will be sure to announce screenings as they occur. Special thanks to James Tracy for bringing his amazing skills to TGI Justice!
We’d like to share a letter sent out by Dorsey Nunn, the Executive Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children Thank you Dorsey for all you do!
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On July 1, over 200 prisoners in Pelican Bay SHU (secured housing unit) began a hunger strike to protest the torture they experience and to win their human rights. At least 6,600 prisoners across California joined the hunger strike in support of their demands.
LSPC has received letters from prisoners in the Pelican Bay SHU for many years, recounting the horrors that go on there. Particularly terrible is long term sensory deprivation and isolation, lasting in many cases for decades. Behind this inhumane treatment is the prison’s policy of requiring prisoners to “debrief” (inform on other prisoners) in order to be released from the SHU. An unwritten policy is in place to stop any lifer in the SHU from ever being paroled. Men imprisoned in the SHU exist for decades in metal and concrete cages, under fluorescent light 24 hours a day, deprived of human touch except for a guard locking them in handcuffs and shackles. Read more…
On Friday, July 8, TGI Justice members and staff held a Day of Action in solidarity with the Pelican Bay SHU (Security Housing Unit) Hunger Strike. Members and staff watched a video about the strike, wrote letters and made phone calls to the CDCR, CA Governor Jerry Brown, Senator Mark Leno, and Assemblyman Tom Ammiano urging them get involved and make sure that the prisoners’ demands are met as soon as possible.
On June 26th we held our annual TGI Justice fundraiser at El Rio. The fundraiser, which was also the official SF Trans March after party, was a huge success!
We also want to thank DJ Durt, OMEDJ, and DJ Jillio for spinning fabulous tunes, the SF Trans March, and everyone else who donated, helped out, and showed up! Finally, an extra gigantic thank you to Danni West for making the whole thing happen. We could not have done any of this without Danni.
On Friday, June members of TGI Justice joined many organization including CURB, Justice Now and Critical Resistance at the Community Rising rally to speak out against prison expansion the 40 year “war on drugs.”
