How Decarceration and the Abolitionist Movement Helped Defeat Pennsylvania's 'Red Wave'

How Decarceration and the Abolitionist Movement Helped

Defeat Pennsylvania's 'Red Wave'

During the post-election discussion, political experts, journalists and analysts have speculated and tried to explain why the midterms were a good "surprise" for Democrats in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. At the same time, many organizers - including myself - gathered in a hotel room in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square to celebrate the fruits of our labor. Of course, these expectations have merit. Women came out in droves to vote for reproductive rights and young people came out in record numbers. But there was a bright spot in all the media coverage surrounding the election results: the grassroots the rights of working, low-income, black, brown and historically disadvantaged people. , who came together to push Pennsylvania Democrats past the victory mark. .

In the weeks leading up to the Pennsylvania election, the Republican candidate for the US Senate seat from Pennsylvania, Mehmet Oz, ran a multi-million dollar campaign in Philadelphia, accusing his opponent of , John Fetterman - and the District Judge of Philadelphia, Larry. Krasner - posted "dangerous information". murderers” in the streets. Meanwhile, in the Black Bottom area of ​​West Philadelphia and the Happy Hollow section of Germantown, joint petitions from Straight Ahead, Free The Ballot: Incarcerated Voter Family Network and Amistad Movement Power are knocking on more than 20,000 doors and Philadelphia.

Leaders who have been imprisoned in the past like myself have brought our stories of redemption to the door of the people because all of us have spent more than 20 years in prison for violent crimes, including murder. . We know these roads and our people; we can connect ourselves with these neighbors in a way of racism, fearing the media that Oz can't. The family members of those who were imprisoned did the same thing at different bedsides,

telling people about the pain of the death of their loved one in prison. We knew we didn't have the money to compete with the Republicans' campaign, so we invested in our ground game to make a difference, and we did. We broke the demeaning narrative that Republicans used to perpetrate on the incarcerated by showing our faces and talking to our neighbors. We pointed out that if Republicans really wanted to help our country, they would support our country, instead of spying on us, prosecuting us, and putting us in jail. This message is repeated. On the 42nd block of Lancaster Avenue, I went to a door that was answered by a woman whose son was in prison. He said the name of the prison. I was also imprisoned there. We talked about the four hour drive to visit him, how my family made the same trip and how they hope one day their son will come back to contribute to the community work we are doing. As he was leaving, he told me to be safe, and I told him and his son to stay strong. He held up Shapiro and Fetterman's paper with a thumbs up. In addition to having our boots on the ground in the prison community where many people are affected, the families of those incarcerated in our organization have made thousands of phone calls. We also sent the election guidelines to more than 1,200 officials in Pennsylvania's prison system, who in turn copied and distributed them to their internal networks and distributed them to family members outside. In the weekend leading up to the election, we joined 1Hood Media, a Pittsburgh-based social justice organization, and activist Kerry Washington at Black Voters Matters.

We spread the word Get Out Vote via email, snail mail and social media. Families of prisoners and formerly incarcerated people participated in the election on election day across the country, ensuring that the opportunity to vote and hear the message of release was preserved. And we won. The supposed red wave fell in central Pennsylvania and again, as in 2020, Philadelphia is a defense against the rising tide of Republican fascism.

 

Political power is unparalleled

 

For decades, the destruction of many inmates directly involved organizing for positive solutions in our country, from the movement I helped found while incarcerated at the State Prison of Pennsylvania. Since then, we have become a powerful, intelligent and influential political force in Pennsylvania. On issues that matter to our country, we can, and do, speak up, speak out, and influence policy in meaningful ways in the Keystone State.

 The National Republican Machine has spent more than 100 million dollars on Pennsylvania's election, most of which has been spent on propaganda campaigning to fear-mongering accusations of gun violence and the return of the machine that has won so many people. in the state. . The Republicans offered nothing but racist slogans from the playbook and policies that built mass incarceration in the 1990s. Except this time, it didn't work. And here's why: Unlike our situation in the 1990s, our movement has grown stronger. We have prepared for this time. And we have risen to the occasion, as evidenced by the PA midterm review at the state and federal levels.

 In the summer of 2022, our organization began to prepare for the November election that we know will be a referendum on the implementation of the prison movement. In August, we convened a conference on criminal justice reform with Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, a moderate Democrat. The organization brought together community leaders, incarcerated leaders, family members of the incarcerated, community activists and politicians to act on Shapiro's anti-crime platform and begin organizing one strong vote for Shapiro. Kevin Butler, a man who served 36 years in prison, spoke at the rally. Kevin was released in November 2021 following a "yes" vote on the Board of Pardons by Governor-elect Shapiro and US Senator John Fetterman. Several months later, Kevin was one of us knocking on doors in the Happy Hollow section of Philadelphia (his old stomping grounds) as the midterm elections approached.

 

However, this session was not the first time we met with Shapiro. It's another step in a relationship that has been going strong for years. In 2019, at the Netroots Nation Conference in Philadelphia, we shut down a panel of progressive lawyers because of its support for a bill that would strip Philadelphia progressive attorney Larry Krasner of his right to prosecute. . of guns in Philadelphia, a movement started by him. the Republican-dominated legislature. As a result, Shapiro canceled his support for this bill and, through mediators, we opened a dialogue that led to the points written by the leaders who were imprisoned in the past and the platform his criminal case. The campaign supports the end of homicide in Pennsylvania and support for the long term. geriatric parole case. prisoners.

Today, I am part of the Governor-elect's team that selected Shapiro, ensuring that the promises he made to our country at the convention in August are valid throughout his term in office. Catch the signs and expose the 'big lie'

Working as one, our organization requires continuous action from all who seek our support, on issues that demoralize us, disenfranchise us abuse us, especially the police and many prisoners. We refuse to accept the term "serious crime" by any elected official, regardless of race, ethnic identity or other background. We have demonstrated time and time again that we can and must rally when our interests are at stake, including during the recent mid-term elections, but also in high-profile regional and national issues.

 

In short, what is missing from the election campaign that follows the Red Wave Blue Bloc is the belief that the organic decarceral and abolitionist movement came together and expressed itself in the name of the accepted candidates. (or at least moved to) positions that align with our concerns about public safety, over-policing and mass arrests, and positions where we have good decisions going forward about how to solve problems these people. And these candidates not only won, they did this in a state that is considered one of, if not the worst, test whether the voters of the country will push back or double down on the democratic, reactionary, racist, misogynistic and trumpist agenda. . Our Tour:

+ Part for Summer Lee, a working class progressive from Pittsburgh who won her race and became the first black woman from Pennsylvania to enter the US Congress.

+ Turned up for the US senator John Fetterman (who changed the Senate seat from red to blue was one of the most important victories that increased the number of the Democratic party that is strong, and which did not budge from his continued position on issues such as. expanding the slander eligibility for those who give extreme sentences, even when his opponent, Mehmet Oz called him "pro-murder").

+ Turned up  for Governor-elect Josh Shapiro, who is working directly with our movement to deliver progressive positions on his criminal justice platform. And when Shapiro voted less than Fetterman to change the sentences of those serving life without parole while both served on the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, he voted to do so for 46 people convicted of crimes. 'to kill someone.

Last November's midterm elections showed that bankruptcy is no longer a liability but can be a political asset - to win state offices in Pennsylvania. For proof, compare the election results in Pennsylvania to what happened in our neighboring state, traditionally Blue New York, where things didn't go well on election night for the Democratic Party. Democrats lost significant ground in a result that seemed to surprise the predictors as the result was different in Pennsylvania. Why is it different? I'm talking about famous and powerful leaders - Governor Andrew Cuomo and current New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Both are center-right Democrats who chose positions in the coalition that pushed New York back to more conservative policies, and opened the door to a critical November Republican gain — a critical and devastating loss. Painful that changes control of the United States House of Representatives from. Democrats and Republicans.

 

Adams, a former police officer and Democrat, ran on "serious crime and crime/uncontrolled crime" to limit the mayoral candidate's gains in the Democratic primary. He won, but in the process, his old rhetoric (and policies) helped fuel the Republican agenda for the midterm elections: a referendum on crime, and support for racism in the media. advertising.

There are also benefits that New York Republicans have gained in the middle of those critical moments in Cuomo's happy plan with the Republican legislature, the path he chose as a barrier to fight the continuing serious challenge to the middle class food. him. The plan backfired when, during the redistricting, Republican Supreme Court justices Cuomo, who was appointed in New York, redid the map for Republican candidates.

 

Meanwhile, Pennsylvanians have chosen a different path. Here, activists, progressive politicians and politicians have spoken about lawlessness and crime. In the same month of 2021 when New York elected Eric Adams on a 'tough on crime' platform, Philadelphia elected progressive Attorney General Larry Krasner with more votes than Krasner's first term in office . This apparent endorsement of Krasner's system comes during the deadliest year of violence in Philadelphia's history, with former "tough on crime" prosecutor Carlos Vega, running for office.

 

When the Pennsylvania Republican Convention decided to impeach Krasner in the fall of 2022, as an election strategy to draw voters' attention to partisan issues, our movement of protestors and progressives began to grow again. in the black and brown areas of Philly and. hold it. Meanwhile, the same organized foundation that we gathered to defend Philadelphia's voter opposition to criminal justice reform and Krasner's violations, is sending hundreds of protesters to Philadelphia for Fetterman, Shapiro and Austin Davis. , a presidential candidate. In the end, we won. The Working Families PA Chapter's endorsement list results tell the story: 14 out of 18 (78 percent) of our nominees, including current Senator John Fetterman and current Congresswoman Summer Lee, won. Six of the winners were new to their positions, including three who turned PA House seats from red to blue; Eight are the starters with the blue ribbon against the red wave. And none of the seats that we recommended went from Democrat to Republican. In retrospect, it is clear that Krasner's impeachment efforts backfired when our progressive party advocated impeachment as a defense of democracy and the manifesto of the people, and provoked and do our foundation work three months before the election. These groups, mostly black, brown and poor, our champions who had already gained strength in the defense of the impeachment crisis, turned out in Philadelphia in numbers that equaled the second best vote for the midterms in the past three decades!

Democracy was tested in this election. And the people's rights have won well in Pennsylvania. While this has surprised many media professionals and political analysts, those of us on the ground have seen the fire intensify for decades.

or to protect democracy in Philadelphia from Republicans trying to unseat the district attorney who continues to be popular; or defeating the attacks of the National Republican Party determined to reform the democracy of this country through the "Big Lie", we learn important things from these battles with the media and pundits who do not understand: when we run with our values ​​but not away. through them, we win. When communities of color organize from within, we are stronger. But when we meet those who want to take away our rights and refuse to accept or accommodate them, democracy becomes stronger.

Robert Saleem Holbrook was sentenced to death by hanging (life in prison without parole), for a crime he committed when he was 16 years old. In 2018, after serving 27 years in Pennsylvania's state prison system, he was paroled for life after the United States Supreme Court ruled that the mandatory life sentence without parole for juveniles is unconstitutional. While in prison, Holbrook began organizing for the rights of the incarcerated, including co-founding the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration. After his release from prison in 2018, he joined the staff of the Abolitionist Law Center, a non-PA-affiliated public interest law firm; in 2020 he was promoted to executive director of ALC – a position he still holds. In 2021, Holbrook spearheaded the creation of the AP-based Straight Ahead, the Legislature, the Ring and the ALC elections, while also serving as executive director.