On September 9, 2016, prisoners across the U.S. went on strike. In Michigan’s low security Kinross prison, workers assigned to kitchen duties refused to report to their shifts. Hundreds gathered to protest in the prison yard. The strike spread like a prairie fire. Nationally, 24,000 prisoners participated, making it the largest prisoner labor strike in U.S. history.

In this episode of Making Contact, four men who were imprisoned at Kinross report on the unlivable conditions, the moments in which the strike took shape, and the retaliation that rained down on them in its wake. We also hear from outside organizers on why it’s important to learn from prison rebellions, and how a persistent force organizing in the spirit of Abolition is rattling walls and cages to make prisons obsolete.

Special thanks to Rustbelt Abolition Radio, Michigan Abolition and Prisoner Solidarity, and the IWW’s Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee.

Featuring:

Ahjamu, Baba X, Harold, and Fred, prisoners at Kinross Correctional Facility in 2016

Ben Turk, IWW Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee

Heather Ann Thompson, author of Blood in the Water

Credits

Hosts: Alejo Stark, A Maria

Episode Producers: Alejo Stark, A Maria, Marie Choi

Producers: Monica Lopez, Marie Choi, RJ Lozada, Anita Johnson

Executive Director: Lisa Rudman

Web Editor and Audience Engagement Director: Sabine Blaizin

Development Associate: Vera Tykulsker

The interviews with Ahjumu, Baba X, Harold, and Fred were originally recorded for Michigan’s Kinross Prison Strike: Reflections from Inside by Michigan Abolition and Prisoner Solidarity and Rustbelt Abolition Radio.

Music Credits:

Today’s show also included original music and sound by Bad Infinity and DJ Liveleaks.

For More information

Michigan’s Kinross Prison Strike: Reflections from Inside

https://michiganabolition.org/kinrossvoices/

Michigan Abolition and Prisoner Solidarity (MAPS)

https://michiganabolition.org/

Rustbelt Abolition Radio

https://rustbeltradio.org/

Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC) of the IWW

https://incarceratedworkers.org/

Striking A Blow: An Audio Documentary on the September 9, 2016 National Prison Strike

https://vimeo.com/196384989

BOOK: Blood in the Water by Heather Ann Thompson

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/178182/blood-in-the-water-by-heather-ann-thompson/9781400078240/

AUDIO: The Attica Rebellion

https://www.freedomarchives.org/struggle_inside_Sept.html

FILM: Attica

http://atticathefilm.com/About_Attica.html