I have done prison solidarity work since the 1970’s. I worked in defense of Inez Garcia who was incarcerated after she defended herself against rape. I supported prisoners at San Quentin and participated in some of the first Black August rallies initiated by incarcerated people at SQ. I participated in education workshops and exchanges with women at California Institution for Women under the umbrella of the Santa Cruz Women’s Prison project.
In 1996, I began working with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP) and have been an active member and leader in the organization ever since. In CCWP I have been part of evolving a community of collective care, advocacy and radical solidarity with people inside women’s prisons guided by a prison abolitionist political philosophy.
I was a founding member of the Jericho Movement in the Bay Area in 1998, which focuses on winning freedom for political prisoners in the U.S. Though I haven’t remained active in the Jericho Movement, I have been part of several successful campaigns to win freedom for political prisoners, including the 11 Puerto Rican political prisoners who received clemency from President Clinton in 1999, the San Francisco 8, the Cuban 5 and Jalil Muntaqim and have supported freedom for many others. In 2020-2021 I was part of developing a virtual art exhibit – Art Against Imprisonment – From Palestine to the U.S.,which features art from incarcerated people in Palestine and the U.S. and seeks to build solidarity with their movements against imprisonment.
