Kern Valley administrators aim to undermine our Agreement to End race-based Hostilities

A bulletin from the Prisoner Human Rights Movement (PHRM) and Free Speech Society by Kijana Tashiri Askari, Abdul Olugbala Shakur and J. Heshima Denham

Kern Valley State Prison administrators have instituted COINTELPRO tactics to try and sabotage the historical significance of our Agreement to End Hostilities (AEH). The sabotage entails:

‘Correctional-officer-shoots-kills-inmate’-Kern-Valley-SP-042215-by-ABC-23-300x225, Kern Valley administrators aim to undermine our Agreement to End race-based Hostilities, Abolition Now!
This report of violence at Kern Valley, showing prisoners in the yard, was broadcast April 22, 2015. – Video frame: ABC 23

1) Obstructing our proposed AEH Council that we have established so that all racial groups can have a constructive means to air grievances against one another and resolve them in a humane manner. KVSP administrators have outright refused to allow the elected representatives of our AEH Council to meet up with one another and/or have regular access to their racial tribes.

2) As a result of Point 1, two racial skirmishes have occurred, on Jan. 11 and 28 between the Crip and Southern Mexican formations. Let’s be clear, these racial skirmishes could have been avoided had we been allowed to do our “due diligence” via our AEH Council! These racial skirmishes now have the potential of escalating full-scale.

3) We have been on lockdown since Jan. 11, 2016. And in the course of such, the program has been “modified” where we are being released to yards incrementally, a few at a time. The problem with this is it’s being done disproportionately; the numbers are stacked against New Afrikans 3 to 1. This violates CDCr protocol, where the incremental yard releases are supposed to be equal in numbers.

4) Point 3 makes it clear that KVSP administrators aim to subject us New Afrikans to physical harm with these incremental odds. For example, on Jan. 27, 2016, I was released to the yard and, while I was being stripped out, a pig (prison guard) told me, “Hey Harrison, enjoy your yard!” with a sarcastic smirk on his face. It took every fiber in me not to lose my discipline, while recognizing my presence was deeply needed on the yard, as we New Afrikans were already outnumbered.

5) The lockdown that we have been on since Jan. 11, 2016, is in violation of clearly established constitutional law, wherein the courts have held:

“Prison officials may not take a race-based approach towards placing prisoners on lockdown. And prison officials are required to produce ‘some evidence’ that an individual from a particular racial group was involved in said racial conflict.” – See Richardson v. Runnels.

But nonetheless, every New Afrikan on KVSP’s B-facility yard has been on lockdown since Jan. 11, 2016, in spite of not being involved in any racial skirmishes.

Our struggle continues!

For more information about the Free Speech Society, write to us:

  • Kijana Tashiri Askari, s/n Marcus Harrison, H-54077, KVSP B2-101, P.O. Box 5102, Delano, CA 93216
  • Abdul Olugbala Shakur, s/n James Harvey, C-48884, KVSP B2-117, P.O. Box 5102, Delano, CA 93216
  • J. Heshima Denham, J-38283, KVSP B2-117, P.O. Box 5102, Delano, CA 93216

The Prisoner Human Rights Movement is a group of prisoners representing the prisoner class in California and beyond. Visit the Free Speech Society at Freespeechsociety.wordpress.com. This bulletin was written Feb. 1 but not received until Feb. 24.