Reportback: Amnesty Intl Conference.

So, Amnesty International at OSU held a human rights conference on Sat April 9th. One part of this conference was a panel discussion on human rights abuses in US prisons.

The panel was comprised of Brian Wells, Executive Director of T.O.U.C.H. Eric Crew, Advocate with Ohio Justice and Policy Center (OJCP) and Sharon Dannon of the Lucasville Uprising Freedom Network. Each spoke for 15 minutes, and then things were opened up to questions.

Protest this weekend!

Some members of Redbird Prison Abolition will be heading to Youngstown on Sunday to participate in a rally outside the Ohio State Penitentiary. If you would like to join us, contact Ben insurgent.ben@gmail.com or 414 305 9832


The protest is April 10, 2:30 PM, 878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd., Youngstown, OH. Carpool with us!


There are two issues the rally will be focusing on:


1. Native American prisoner Janson Campbell, who recently went on hunger strike to gain access to items needed for his worship practices. Read more about him here.


2. The continued confinement in solitary, on death row, of the Lucasville negotiators. April 11th is the anniversary of the uprising. We've raised money and awareness for them in the past. Read about that here. Also, here is a statement from one of the inmates, Bomani, made 4 years ago on the 14th anniversary of the uprising.

March Solidarity Showcase Report Back!

One week ago, Redbird Prison Abolition and Insurgent Theatre hosted yet another Solidarity Showcase at Kafe Kerouac, here in Columbus. A bunch of people turned out, including some moms and longtime prison abolitionists, as well as friends and showcase regulars. Two special occurrences marked this showcase as particularly resonant for me: one, Insurgent Theatre's Columbus debut of their new play, AD SEG, and two, a live phone call from Siddique Abdullah Hasan, who currently sits on death row in the Ohio State Penitentiary for a crime he did not commit.

This Solidarity Showcase was to raise funds (made $226 with Insurgent Theatre's matching donation) and awareness for those railroaded and placed on death row following the Lucasville Uprising. Five men from the Lucasville Southern Ohio Correctional Facility,

Ad Seg Tour!

Some of us took a play about the US prison system on tour. We brought in $178 to cover some of RedBird's recent expenses. There's a full report and lots more information about the play available online here.

Redbird Prison Abolition...

We have decided to change our name. Columbus Anarchist Black Cross is now Redbird Prison Abolition. There are various associations with "ABC" that weren't really serving us very well. We've decided our name should reflect the biggest vision and broadest goal of our activities: abolition.

March Solidarity Showcase for the Lucasville 5

Lucasville Uprising Solidarity Showcase. Another variety show fundraiser! This time we're raising money for the inmates at Ohio State Penitentiary who went on hungerstrike in January. Read more about them here. 

Friday, March 11th, 8PM at Kafe Kerouac (2250 North High Street). This is also the first public performance of Insurgent Theatre and Puppeteria's new play Ad Seg.

Ad Seg

Later this month Insurgent Theatre will tour with a new play about prisons, 1/3 of the funds raised on tour will go toward our efforts to support organizers and others trapped inside Ohio State prisons.

The first performance in Columbus of Ad Seg will be at our next Solidarity Showcase, on March 11th. Lots more information about the play is available here.