March 2015 | VoluMe 8 | Issue 1 — In ThIs Issue——————— Stiletto 2 Greetings from sJI 3 sistahs Doin’ It For ourselves 2014 4 Good news 6 Justice for Jennifer laude 6 First Trans Mayor in India 7 Prisons are not sexy Bazant 7 southern Poverty law Micah center case by rt a 8 T aJa’s coalition 9 l etters from the Inside 12 a herstory of the #BlacklivesMatter 1230 Market St #705 San Francisco, Ca 94102 Movement [email protected] 15 reclaiming MlK’s legacy of Militant Internationalism TRANSGENDER GENDER-VARIANT & INTERSEX 16 Black liberation JUSTICE PROJECT is for all of us 17 TGI Justice and #BlacklivesMatter 18 Trans Women of color speaking Truth to Power 20 s t. louis Trans liberation March 20 outreach 21 srlP campaign Victory 22 “liberation, not Deportation” #BlackTransLivesMatter 23 ally updates #BlackImprisonedPeoplesLivesMatter Photo: Julia Carrie Wong ally uPDaTes skills and qualifications, not past convictions. sterilization of people in women’s prisons. This NL G & tlc the question on applications for employment, win was the culmination of decades of hard in 2015, tgiJP has expanded our relation- housing, public benefits, insurance, loans and work and organizing, both inside and out- ship with the national lawyers guild and other services, means lifelong discrimination side of prison. We forced public attention on and exclusion because of a past arrest or con- transgender Law Center to better inform our California’s history of eugenics, and modern viction record. We have chapters throughout organizing work and legal advocacy work. day practice of controlling bodies and families. thank you to the deepening relationships that California, with our most active chapters are in the SF Bay Area, Riverside, and Los Angeles. We welcomed the new year with a change will benefit our tgi people inside of prisons, in our leadership, to a shared, non-hierarchi- jails, and detention centers as well as those of For more information, please contact us at 1540 Market st., suite 490 cal structure. amanda Scheper and allison us outside. san Francisco, ca 94102 Barahona, our interim co-directors, transi- tioned out of their roles as staff. We celebrate Decarcerate pa b lack & pink their years of incredible work building this Decarcerate Pa is a grassroots campaign work- organization, and are glad they will remain For those who don’t know us, Black & Pink is ing to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania. connected to our community on our Board of We formed in 2011 to fight the $685 million an open family of lgBtQ prisoners and “free world” allies who support each other. Our work Directors. the new leadership team is Misty expansion of Pennsylvania’s prison system toward the abolition of the prison industrial rojo as Director of Campaign and Policy, Nora amid drastic cuts to education, social ser- complex is rooted in the experience of cur- Wilson as Director of legal advocacy, and vices and healthcare. We set out to build a hello My Precious Dolls: hello peeps! rently and formerly incarcerated people. We hannah McFaull as Director of Development campaign to shrink the prison system and With all the horrid things that are happen- Just want to send some love and well wishes! are outraged by the specific violence of the TRANSGENDER expand the community institutions we actually and Communication. ing, we must be cautious. No matter your living Please know we’re declaring every Tuesday as prison industrial complex against LGBtQ peo- need‚Äîeducation, employment, housing, reen- Justice now stands in solidarity with pro- GENDER-VARIANT ple, and respond through advocacy, education, arrangements, we are “prey.” trans liberation tuesday! try, and health care. Our three point platform testers across the country who have raising direct service, and organizing. We send out a & INTERSEX there are some wonderful goings on - - - it’s the day’s focus and highlights showing demands 1) no new prisons, 2) decarceration, their voices to say that Black lives Matter. newsletter to our incarcerated lgBtQ mem- JUSTICE PROJECT and 3) community reinvestment. We work to We recently shared statements from people however not what there should be. Let there some love for all trans folks and that’s also the bers and maintain a national list of incarcerated build public consciousness that prisons don’t still be “hoPe.” day we here at tgiJP are responding to mail LGBtQ members whom we support in finding imprisoned at CCWF, compiled by Justice Now keep us safe and to develop a statewide move- We here at TGI Justice are doing as much as from the folks on the inside. free world penpals. If you are LGBtQ and want board member Cookie. abolishing the police TGI Justice Project is a group of trans- ment to end mass incarceration. This includes we can, with what little we have to work with. We are also working on developing our to be on our list, you can write to us at: and dismantling white supremacy is central gender, gender variant and intersex creative protests, civil disobedience, grassroots Black and Pink to our vision of social transformation. We are We will let you down and keep the light burn- grassroots re-entry plan, so if you know a sister advocacy, and community building events. people—inside and outside of prison— 614 columbia ave committed to continuing to draw the connec- ing for as long as we can. We’re committed to getting out let them know that we love them in the last few months we successfully stalled creating a united family in the struggle Dorchester, Ma 02125 tions between the movement to end police vio- you and are here to help, as we believe in our and would love to receive them! six anti-prisoner bills intended to extract addi- 2014 was a big year for us. We have been for survival and freedom. We work lence and our work at Justice now. community. As I have heard—tomorrow can be it’s all about keeping our community safe tional costs and fines from people convicted developing chapters across the country - of crimes, and led the outside support efforts in collaboration with others to forge and outside of jails and prison. including Boise, Buffalo, Chicago, Denver, a better day! for the 1,300 people at Coal Township prison a culture of resistance and resilience We treasure your letters and calls. it is Much sisterly love and new beginnings! new orleans, new York City, San Diego and MAr Jo ! who staged a week-long boycott of the dining San Francisco. each of these local chapters to strengthen us for the fight against MaJor!, the documentary film about Miss important to maintain our connection so we Please learn to stick together and love on one hall to protest food cutbacks and human rights has been working locally and in connection to imprisonment, police violence, racism, can build a safe haven together. another. violations. We are currently mobilizing for a 24 each other to bring in new free world penpals Major, is currently in post-production and poverty, and societal pressures. We Be safe—as safe as we can be—and stay Charity starts at home. If you are not loving hour “speak in” to protest a law that attempts and do other projects, including study groups, scheduled to be complete by summer 2015. to silence prisoners. this spring—along with the film follows Miss Major’s extraordinary seek to create a world rooted in self- strong – not physically, but spiritually, emo- your community, ask yourself if you’re loving workshops, support for recently released our allies—we will also be launching a cam- life, from her early childhood to Stonewall, tionally and mentally! yourself. members, organizing more winter holiday card determination, freedom of expression, paign to end life without parole sentencing in parties than ever before, participation in the attica, and her tireless HIV activism and advo- love, Please be safe and stay strong! and gender justice. Pa. Decarceration now! Black Lives Matter movement, fighting prison cacy for her girls on the inside. It also includes Miss Major, executive Director Janetta Johnson, Program Director censorship rules and advocating for our mem- interviews with over 20 community members, a ll of us or none bers in various ways. We also did a survey of including many tgiJP members. We’re so our incarcerated members and received over all Of Us Or None is a grassroots organization excited to see our communities portrayed on Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Executive Director 1,500 responses. We are currently entering all led by formerly-imprisoned people committed the results. film with dignity and love, and will share news Janetta Johnson, Program Director GreetinGs from the st. James infirmary! to fighting for the human dignity of people We are excited to continue all of our work in about the film’s premiere, including photos, in Woods ervin, Administrative Director who have been or are being held captive in 2015, and especially excited to be celebrating the next Stiletto. danni marilyn west, Development Director america. We are fighting for the full restora- our 10 year anniversary this year with a week- te h St. James infirmary is a peer-based health and driven towards justice and liberation. Since stormMiguel Florez, Leadership Team tion of our civil and human rights and against end of celebration, community building, heal- TGIe Justic Project was continually inspired & safety clinic for current and former sex work- TGIJP moved in with us, we’ve had some great the systemic discrimination facing us while in Malachi Garza, Leadership Team ing, skills sharing, and planning for the future. by the existence of, activism of, and lead- ers and their current primary partners.