Posts Tagged political prisoners

No One is Disposable: #JusticeForJane and why dignity is a human right

As of this writing, seventy one days have passed since Jane Doe was unjustly incarcerated in the Connecticut State Prison by a government body charged with protecting her—a vulnerable, sixteen year old trans girl.

To recap her situation: Jane Doe was a ward of Connecticut State’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) for much of her life, but according to the DCF’s commissioner, Joette Katz, became violent and unruly. Her transgender status also, allegedly, complicated her placement in alternate facilities. So, the DCF availed itself of statute 17a-12: an obscure law that allows it to place children in the Connecticut State prison system.

Thus it was that she was sent to the York Correctional Facility for Adult Women in Niantic, ...

As of this writing, seventy one days have passed since Jane Doe was unjustly incarcerated in the Connecticut State Prison by a government body charged with protecting her—a vulnerable, sixteen year old trans girl.

To recap her ...

Assata Shakur

Quick Hit: Assata Shakur’s open letter from 1998

Check out this open letter from Assata Shakur, the revolutionary living in exile in Cuba who recently became the first woman named by the FBI to its “Most Wanted Terrorists” list. In the letter, which is from 1998, the author details her history with the criminal justice system, but focuses not on what makes her life exceptional but on how her individual struggle can teach us about the U.S. government’s treatment of historically marginalized people. Via Frontlines of the Revolutionary Struggle:

I have been a political activist most of my life, and although the U.S. government has done everything in its power to criminalize me, I am not a criminal, nor have I ever been one. In the ...

Check out this open letter from Assata Shakur, the revolutionary living in exile in Cuba who recently became the first woman named by the FBI to its “Most Wanted Terrorists” list. In the letter, which ...

dream hampton sitting down at a table, smiling, in red blouse and leaning to the right

The Feministing Five: dream hampton

dream hampton is a filmmaker, producer and writer whose voice has impacted cultural and political discourse for 20 years. hampton attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts both in the undergraduate and graduate film programs. It was there that hampton filmed her neighbor, Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, who was a friend and helped her complete a class project. This footage later became the Emmy-award winning VH1 documentary on the rapper titled, Behind the Music: Notorious B.I.G., of which she was an Associate Producer. She also co-produced the first feature length film about the rapper titled, “Bigger Than Life.” In 2002, her narrative short film “I AM ALI” was an entry at Sundance Film Festivals and won “Best Short ...

dream hampton is a filmmaker, producer and writer whose voice has impacted cultural and political discourse for 20 years. hampton attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts both in the undergraduate and graduate film programs. ...