T.O.P.S. is an innovative, faith-based community program founded in 1999. T.O.P.S offers hope and creates an environment that provides a continuum of unconditional acceptance and care to individuals and their families who suffer the effects of drug addiction, mass-incarceration, homelessness, poverty, unemployment, hunger and illness-without regard to race, sex, creed, color, religion or social status.
T.O.P.S. helps restore people holistically, i.e., spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally. It works with the most disenfranchised members of our community that others exclude.
WELCOME TO
The Ordinary People Society
403 West Powell St.
Dothan, AL 36303
Phone/Fax: (334) 671-2882
Email: TopsSociety@yahoo.com
sister website: www.WeAreTops.org
PASTOR KENNETH GLASGOW
NATIONAL PRESIDENT
T.O.P.S. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and a member of the Dothan Chamber of Commerce
Your Donations Are Appreciated!
CHECK OUT T.O.P.S MONTHLY MAGAZINE (click on the more button at the top of the page and scroll down) AND STAY IN THE KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING HAPPENING AT
THE ORDINARY PEOPLE SOCIETY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CHECK OUT T.O.P.S MONTHLY MAGAZINE (click on the more button at the top of the page and scroll down) AND STAY IN THE KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING HAPPENING AT
THE ORDINARY PEOPLE SOCIETY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Check out our new magazine The Ordinary People Society Magazine
Tune in for upcoming events, or check our social media pages.
T.O.P.S is Always Looking for Volunteers
Office hours 9am-4pm Monday- Thursday 334-671-2882
http://www.wtvy.com/content/news/Threat-to-block-US-231-in-response-to-alleged-beating-of-teen-by-police-467364943.html
http://www.wtvy.com/content/news/In-Dothan-community-forum-discusses-state-prison-reform-417100223.html
http://www.scalawagmagazine.org/articles/how-far-will-alabama-go-to-keep-its-citizens-from-voting
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/03/holman_prison_bans_racially_mo.html
WE ALL HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER OR SOMEONE WE KNOW THAT IS INCARCERATED PLEASE SHARE BECAUSE THIS IS HAPPENING WORLDWIDE
FOR ALL YOUR COMMUNITY LISTENING
HELP SPONSOR US AS
we
KEEP THE COMMUINTY
GROWING
'ONE VISON AT A TIME'
LOG ON NOW
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 18, 2017
Contact:
Pastor Kenneth Glasgow
334-791-2433
Hundreds to Rally, Demand the Release of Alabama Prison Activists from Solitary Confinement
Prisoners who organized the nation’s largest prison strike have been “disappeared” into a facility known as the “Dog Pound.”
Harvest, Alabama – On February 18, 2017, crowds will gather outside of Limestone Correctional Facility to demand that Robert Earl Council Jr. (a.k.a. Kinetik Justice) and James Pleasant (a.k.a. Dhati Khalid) be released from solitary confinement. The men are members of the Free Alabama Movement (FAM), a network of incarcerated people who organized an historic, nationwide prison strike last September. Tens of thousands of prisoners across numerous states protested modern-day slavery within the prison system.
In response to the strike, Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has targeted politically active prisoners with retaliation and repression. Council was transferred to Limestone CF, where he is reportedly kept, along with other strike leaders, in an isolated building nicknamed the “Dog Pound.” This facility originally housed HIV-positive inmates in deplorable conditions, until a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) forced ADOC to desegregate them in 2013. The building subsequently underwent renovations, but it is unclear what improvements were made to the facility, which the ACLU described as a “sheet-metal warehouse with little protection from the elements,” where prisoners, “were dying from starvation.”
Pleasant was targeted for retaliation by ADOC after FAM organized a ten-day work stoppage in May, 2016, with inmates participating at four Alabama prisons. ADOC first moved Pleasant to Donaldson CF, where he was sprayed with chemicals and left naked in a “hot bay”––an isolated unit meant for prisoners experiencing mental health crises––for 36 hours. About two months later, he was transferred to Limestone and put into the “Dog Pound.”
An Alabama prisoner who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that it’s common for prison organizers to be “disappeared” like Council and Pleasant.
“They’re going to be snatched away in the dead of night and secreted away somewhere, and you won’t see them for years,” he said. “We need people to know what is going on with these individuals, to ask why are these people being held arbitrarily like this? Because at the end of the day, you hold somebody in segregation for years because they spoke out about prison slavery?”
Prior to being transferred, Council was held in solitary confinement at Holman CF for over two years as a result of his role in planning a work stoppage in January 2014.
Neither Council nor Pleasant are permitted visits or phone calls. Their communication with supporters via mail is sporadic and subject to suspension.
“There are families and communities that are concerned about the well-being of their incarcerated loved ones,” said Dara Folden, spokesperson for the Free Alabama Movement Queen Team, a group of family and friends who support FAM’s work. Folden has tried to maintain contact with Council and Pleasant, but it has become increasingly difficult in the wake of the national strike.
“ADOC needs to understand that the family and community refuse to be silent. You cannot silence the people, especially when it comes to their loved ones. Their fight is our fight,” Folden said.
The FAM Queen Team will rally with The Ordinary People’s Society and The Prodigal Child Project, organizations founded by Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, who serves as FAM’s “outside” spokesperson.
Members of these groups will travel from across Alabama to demand an end to solitary confinement for Council and Pleasant. Glasgow will also press for ADOC to comply with a court order that enables him to minister to any prisoner in the state, a rule that the department has violated by denying him access to FAM members.
“These are political prisoners, held in inhumane conditions that violate existing laws and policies, for no other reason than because they have engaged in peaceful protest to end slavery in America,” Glasgow said. “ADOC is trying to break this movement by isolating its leaders, but we aren’t going to let them be hidden away and forgotten.”
When: Saturday, February 18, 2017. 11am CT. Press conference at 12pm CT.
Where: Limestone Correctional Facility
28779 Nick Davis Rd, Harvest, AL 35749
Background:
Alabama Prison Strike Organizer Speaks from Behind Bars: We Are Engaged in a Struggle for Our Lives, Democracy Now!
A Primer On The Nationwide Prisoners Strike, The Marshall Project
From media cutoffs to lockdown, tracing the fallout from the U.S. prison strike, PBS
Why US inmates launched a nationwide strike, CNN
How to Organize the Largest US Prison Strike Ever...From Inside Prison, Wired
The largest prison strike in U.S. history enters its second week, The Intercept
Forget Hunger Strikes. What Prisons Fear Most Are Labor Strikes, Yes! Magazine
In Henderson’s Wake: HIV Discrimination in Alabama’s Prisons, American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama
TUNE IN FOR A LIVE BROADCAST WITH REV. AL SHARPTON ON WKCG 99.1 DOTHAN OR
VIA FACEBOOK @
PASKENNYSHARPTONGLASGOW
DECEMBER 23, 2016
11AM EASTERN/10AM CENTRAL
Rev. Al Sharpton " Keep it REAL "
But Pastor Glasgow Keep It RAW
Together they Keep It Real Raw !!!
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/prison-strike-lockdown-fallout/
TOMORROW: Activists Demand Kinetik Justice Be
Removed From Solitary Confinement
Led by the Free Alabama Movement & The Ordinary People’s Society with Color Of Change, activists will deliver a petition with over 500 signatures to demanding the Alabama Department of Corrections take action.
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA -- Tomorrow, a group of activists, led by the Free Alabama Movement and The Ordinary People’s Society with Color Of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization, will deliver a petition demanding that co-founder of the Free Alabama Movement,Robert Earl Council –also known as Kinetik Justice – be removed from solitary confinement and transferred back to Hollman or St. Clair Correctional Facility, where he can be easily seen by his lawyers and a doctor for his ongoing health problems. Earlier this month, he was physically attacked and maced while handcuffed by two prison guards.
Kinetik Justice has been in solitary confinement in the remote Limestone Correction Facility since going on hunger strike in October, as a response to threats against his life from the Alabama Department of Corrections. Kinetik has been inside for over 22 years and is a co-founder of the Free Alabama Movement, which has organized successful work stoppages to demand basic human rights and has provided education and legal support to hundreds of incarcerated people.
WHAT: “Defend Kinetik Justice” Petition Delivery
WHERE: Alabama Department of Corrections
12201 Edna Brake Lucas Dr, Montgomery, AL 36117
WHEN: Wednesday, December 14 at 9:00AM CST
WHO: Pastor Kenneth Glasgow; Spokesperson for Free Alabama Movement, Activists from Color Of Change, the Free Alabama Movement,and The Ordinary Peoples Society
This petition and campaign was created using Color Of Change's member-led campaign platform: OrganizeFor! With more than 1.2 million members nationwide, Color Of Change is the nation's largest online civil rights organization committed to leveraging the power of our members' voices to hold corporations and institutions accountable to the concerns of Black Americans. By amplifying the political voice of the Black community, they aim to create a more just society for all people. The OrganizeFor platform is a way for members to access the tools and resources they need to lead change on issues that further our goals and increase our impact.
Link to petition: https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/defend-kinetik-justice-key-organizer-of-nationwide-prison-strike
ALABAMA PROSECUTOR SETS THE PENALTIES AND FILLS THE COFFERS
NEWS FLASH FOR DECEMBER 12, 2016
FOR KINETIK JUSTICE
Felony Disenfranchisement: The Untold Story of The 2016 Election
Over two million Black people could not vote in last week’s week election, according to a recent study by The Sentencing Project. One in 13 Black Americans of voting age is disenfranchised due to a felony conviction, a rate four times greater than that of non-Black people. As staggering as those numbers are, in four states - Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia - more than one in five Black Americans have had their voting rights stripped away.
In 1976, there were 1.12 million disenfranchised people in the U.S. due to felony convictions, but by 2016 that number skyrocketed to an estimated 6.1 million, propelled in large part by the drug war and other reprehensible policies that purposefully targeted Black communities.
Visionary activist Kenneth Glasgow tells us what it felt like to walk into prison for the first time and be relegated to second class citizenship when his voting rights were taken away. After he was released from prison, Pastor Glasgow couldn’t vote for 3 years. Today, he is a leader in the voting rights movement and advocates for people who are formerly incarcerated.
“There’s only one thing that’s in America and in the United States that classifies you and declares you a citizen, that’s your right to vote. So if I get a felony that takes away my right to vote, so that also takes away my citizenship. So what is this war on drugs really about?”
Pastor Kenneth Glasgow is founder and president of The Ordinary People Society (TOPS), a faith-based organization in Dothan, Alabama that provides programs and services to people and their families that have been impacted by incarceration, drug addiction, poverty and homelessness. TOPS helps restore people holistically, and works with the most vulnerable and marginalized.
“Martin Luther King’s dream was for us to have our voting rights...civil rights and all of this, and there were some people left behind,” said Pastor Glasgow. “In the 13th Amendment it says that no man can be held in involuntary servitude or in slavery, except for what? A felony conviction.”
Last week’s election of Trump and sweeping Republican victories in the House and Senate lifted the thin veil that fully exposed the truth about America. Racism, misogyny, classism, xenophobia run rampant through our systems, and white supremacy is bolstered by voter suppression.
DPA media manager Tony Papa said this about the significance of voter restoration: “Exercising the right to vote should be an important part of an ex-prisoner’s rehabilitation. It’s an act that makes one feel whole again following years of losing those rights as part of a punishment for crimes committed. If through voting, individuals can become involved in the political process, they have a much better chance of fully integrating back into society.”
Felony disenfranchisement and the recent gutting of the Voting Rights Act, one of the most underreported factors in this election’s outcome, will continue to silence those that are most vulnerable and most in need of justice - those that need their voices heard in our political process. We demand reform, and we demand it now, because 6 million discarded voters is simply unacceptable.
Melissa Franqui is the manager of communications and marketing for the Drug Policy Alliance.
The Drug Policy Alliance works to end the drug war in cities and states all around the U.S. by partnering with organizations like TOPS. Produced in partnership with Luceo Images, Pastor Glasgow’s video is the sixth installment in a video series entitled, Voices from the Front Lines of the Drug War, chronicling the people and organizations righting the worst wrongs of the drug war and creating new policies based in science, compassion, health and human rights.
NEWS FLASH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
READ THIS IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT KINETIK JUSTICE AND THE ONGOING PRISON HUNGER STIKE STORY BY CNN............
On October 21, 2016 Robert Earl Council (aka Kinetik Justice Amun) went on a Hunger Strike based on threats against his life from the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) administration and staff. He was transferred to a supermax facility, and water was shut off in his cell in an effort to force him out of his hunger strike. His transfers happened after the media exposed the ADOC during a nationwide prison strike to demand changes to prison conditions and unpaid labor.
As of November 3, 2016, Kinetik Justice is in danger for his life, and organizers are calling for action.
Kinetik has been inside for over 22 years and is a co-founder of the Free Alabama Movement which has organized successful work stoppages to demand basic human rights and has provided education and legal support to hundreds of incarcerated people.
DEMONSTRATION AT LIMESTONE, NOVEMBER 5: Free Alabama Movement, The Ordinary People Society, & the QUEEN Team are asking that everyone come out Saturday November 5th at 11:00 a.m. to Limestone Correctional Facility for an Emergency Protest to show support for Kinetik Justice.
CALL WITH DEMANDS TODAY: Call the Alabama Department of Corrections and Alabama Governor Robert Bentley's office demanding 1) that Kinetik Justice be transferred from Limestone Correctional Facility; and 2) that Pastor Kenneth Glasgow of The Ordinary People's Society be allowed to visit him and assess his condition immediately.
Alabama Department of Corrections
Montgomery, Alabama
(334) 353-3883
webmaster@doc.alabama.gov
Governor Robert Bentley
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-7100
FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE:
From The Montgomery Advertiser: Former inmate working to help current inmates cast votes When Kenneth Glasgow got his voting rights restored after 14 years of incarceration, he tied a string to his voter registration card and wore it around his neck for months.
THE TAKE OVER
#FREETHEVOTE
POSTERS AND FLYERS FOR PEOPLE WITH
FELONIES TO VOTE
WE NEED TO PUT THEM UP EVERYWHERE
THERE IS NO I IN TEAM
WE RUNNING THIS ELECTION YA HEARD.
OTHER IMAGE AVAILABLE
IF YOU DONT LIKE MY PRETTY FACE LOL
HOW MANY YOU NEED CALL ME @ 334 791 2433
IT IS TIME!!! LOG ON and sign up to become a memeber and co-founder. We need YOU!!! For our Media Team ( WKCG radio and thedotonline.com ) WE need coordinators all across the country. Join the Movement and be an organizer in your area. We need people to help fundraise as well. Getting ready for our Marches, Protest, Rallies, and Boycott all across the country for Those Formerly and Currently Incarcerated.
Family and Friends Please Share !!!
TOWNHALL MEETING FOR THE FORMERLY INCACERATED PEOPLE MOVEMENT ON OCTOBER 29, 2016 NOON @T.O.P.S PLAZA 805 N.LENA ST DOTHAN AL.
MOVE WITH THE MOVEMENT
NEWSFLASH !!!!!! COMING TO A JAIL NEAR YOU #FREETHEVOTE JAIL TOUR
The Secretary of the State of Alabama has issued and mandated that ALL City and County Jails Must inform and allow inmates to vote by absentee ballot. If you need more information please contact Pastor Kenneth Sharpton-Glasgow @334-791-2433 or topssociety@yahoo.com
NEWSFLASH !!!!!! COMING TO A JAIL NEAR YOU #FREETHEVOTE JAIL TOUR
The Secretary of the State of Alabama has issued and mandated that ALL City and County Jails Must inform and allow inmates to vote by absentee ballot. If you need more information please contact Pastor Kenneth Sharpton-Glasgow @334-791-2433 or topssociety@yahoo.com
STAY ON TOP OF ALL UPCOMING NEWS HERE FIRST
Find out more about the National Prison Strike: http://southtosouth.org/nationwide-prison-strike/
Register as a T.O.P.S Member to stay informed on the strike: https://www.theordinarypeoplesociety.org/apps/auth/signup
We are excited to announce Russell Barkley has completed T.O.P.S Restoration Program and off of Parole as of September 20,2016.
SOMEBODY SAY RESTORE
More guards quit Alabama’s Holman Prison as Justice Dept. prepares to investigate Alabama prisons
Oct. 8, 2016 – At Holman Prison in Atmore, Alabama, only two officers reported for work for the second shift Saturday, Oct. 8. Officers confess being fed up with Gov. Robert Bentley’s putting their very lives in jeopardy simply to further his political agenda of institutionalizing Alabama with plans for new state-of-the-art prisons.
The officers at Holman are walking off the job and refusing to come back to work after filing grievance after grievance concerning the ill treatment of prisoners, overcrowding and forced slave labor. These conditions have become outrageously dangerous for prisoners and officers alike.
Officers see the political maneuvers of Gov. Bentley as an abject disregard for the safety of all within the gates and walls of America’s System of Slavery. The Free Alabama Movement has shed light on the human rights atrocities being perpetuated in prisons all across the nation.
This is not about crime and criminals. It’s about the System of Slavery and its legal baton of authority: the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Free Alabama Movement responds to new DOJ investigation, calls for transparency and accountabilityOct. 7, 2016 – Free Alabama Movement (FAM) is pleased with the news that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will be conducting a statewide investigation into the issues of abuse, violence and safe, secure and sanitary conditions in Alabama’s men’s prisons, even though we believe that the women’s prison should also be revisited. We would like to emphasize that we are looking for an open, transparent and inclusive investigation that will keep the public updated, informed and INVOLVED throughout this process.
Alabama prisons are unique in that they are the most overcrowded, underfunded and understaffed prisons in America. Therefore, any solutions to the existing problems will need to be unique and require “outside-the-box” thinking as well.
We would also like to see accountability result from this investigation. In 2014, the U.S. DOJ released a report on its year-long investigation at Tutwiler Women’s Prison. In this report, DOJ investigators found that the civil rights of these women had been violated over a 20-year period and that at least one third of all of the correctional staff at Tutwiler had engaged in some form of sexual misconduct with the women incarcerated there.
Yet, despite these conclusive findings, which included child births and unauthorized abortions by complicit medical staff, not a single person was prosecuted for the violation of a single federal crime.
Some of the questions we have to ask are, what is the purpose of this investigation? Are there federal criminal or civil statutes available where ADOC (Alabama Department of Corrections) officials can be prosecuted and required to pay damages as a result of this investigation if they are found guilty of wrongdoing?
Will the DOJ prosecute any findings of corruption? Will federal charges be brought against officers who are found to be using excessive force? In instances of death, will negligent DOC officials be prosecuted?
Other questions that have to be asked are, in the ultimate finding of unsanitary and unsafe conditions, what are the proposed solutions? Will the DOJ seek to alleviate overcrowding through release programs or more prisons? Will the people incarcerated have a voice and seat at the table towards fashioning solutions – as is being done in California since the Askher settlement? Will family members be allowed to be part of the investigation? Will there be briefing sessions for the public?
Will there be on-site inspections where family members, interested organizations and the media will be allowed to attend? Will the investigation into sanitation include water testing, since officers at most prisons are warned not to drink it under any circumstances?
When speaking of transparency, will the DOJ move for policy changes that will afford the media open access to Alabama prisons? Finally, will public organizations be factored into the role of oversight and implementation of solutions, such as educational and rehab programs?
We cannot just go into an investigation without some clear understanding of what a solution will look like. We have learned from Tutwiler and all of the frivolous lawsuits filed by Southern Poverty Law Center and Southern Center for Human Rights that oversight is just as important as the settlement itself, and oversight cannot be left to the ADOC under any circumstances.
Gov. Bentley has stated that he welcomes the investigation and looks forward to working with the DOJ. Well, why should the federal government have to come in and investigate matters that fall within his responsibility? If Gov. Bentley does not have a Commissioner’s Office that is capable of assessing the rising violence, murders, drug overdoses etc. and understands that those issues need investigating and solving, then what is the purpose of having investigators on taxpayer payrolls?
Gov. Bentley is looking for a political bailout; he ignored dead bodies and waited for federal intervention so that he can maintain his “tough on crime” stance, while “blaming” the federal government for the needed and costly changes to Alabama’s prison system. But now that the “feds” are here, FAM and the family members of those incarcerated have an opportunity to seek real changes if, indeed, that is what the DOJ is here for.
Prisoner rights advocates and correctional officers praise DOJ investigation of Alabama prisons, warn it must not lead to proliferation of new prisons
Pastor Kenneth Glasgow
Oct. 7, 2016 – The Ordinary People’s Society (TOPS) applauds the decision by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate alleged civil rights violations of prisoners by the Alabama Department of Corrections.
TOPS founder Pastor Kenneth Glasgow is a leader in The Formerly Incarcerated Convicted People and Families Movement. The group has met with DOJ and White House officials over the past three years to push for reforms and interventions, such as this investigation.
“I am very glad and very hopeful that the Department of Justice has launched this investigation,” Glasgow said. “The Alabama Department of Corrections is not going to be able to hide the deplorable conditions, lack of medical treatment and the brutality that has happened in those prisons.”
Alabama’s prisons hold nearly twice as many prisoners as they have capacity for, and they are consistently understaffed. Last month, a corrections officer at Holman Correctional Facility was fatally stabbed while overseeing a cafeteria full of prisoners without sufficient staff support. Officers at Holman have begun quitting and speaking out against these conditions.
“It’s a ticking time bomb. Things have been swept under the rug for too long,” said Curt Stidham, a former corrections officer who worked at Holman and several other Alabama prisons.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has proposed to solve the crisis by seeking $800 million in infrastructure bonds to build four new supermax prisons.
“He is using this hostile environment that the Department of Corrections created to promote his political agenda,” Glasgow said. “Alabama sends more people per capita to prison than any other state. That’s because we are incarcerating people for low level crimes. You can get a life sentence for a simple marijuana possession in Alabama.”
Glasgow is the “outside” spokesperson for the Free Alabama Movement (FAM), a network of incarcerated people who put forth a slate of prison reforms to solve overcrowding by repealing the state’s three strikes law and other harsh sentencing policies.
“You have inmates giving them solutions and being ignored,” Glasgow said.
Ava DuVernay, whose film “The 13th” opened the New York Film Festival, speaks to the press Sept. 30. The film is available on NetFlix.
FAM also initiated a nationwide prison strike last month, calling for a re-write of the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery but made an exception for convicted people. On the heels of the strike, acclaimed director Ava Duvernay released “The 13th,” a film that explores this topic.
Officer Stidham does not side with FAM, but does agree that pushing the prison spending bill is not the solution.
“The officers have rights too, and they have been trampled. We need to start with fixing the leadership in the prisons we already have,” Stidham said.
Pastor Glasgow is currently traveling throughout the South to register voters in jails. He hopes the DOJ investigation will compel the Alabama Department of Corrections to comply with his public records requests, which have thus far been denied. He is also seeking for DOJ to investigate several police shootings in Alabama and wrongful convictions by Alabama judges.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 7, 2016
Contact:
Pastor Kenneth Glasgow
kennethglasgow@gmail.comPrisoner Rights Advocates and Correctional Officers Praise DOJ Investigation of Alabama Prisons, Warn it Must Not Lead to Proliferation of New Prisons
The Ordinary People’s Society (TOPS) applauds the decision by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate alleged civil rights violations of prisoners by the Alabama Department of Corrections.
TOPS founder Pastor Kenneth Glasgow is a leader in The Formerly Incarcerated Convicted People and Families Movement. The group has met with DOJ and White House officials over the past three years to push for reforms and interventions, such as this investigation.
“I am very glad and very hopeful that the Department of Justice has launched this investigation,” Glasgow said. “The Alabama Department of Corrections is not going to be able to hide the deplorable conditions, lack of medical treatment, and the brutality that has happened in those prisons.”
Alabama’s prisons hold nearly twice as many prisoners as they have capacity for, and they are consistently understaffed. Last month, a corrections officer at Holman Correctional Facility was fatally stabbed while overseeing a cafeteria full of prisoners without sufficient staff support. Officers at Holman have begun quitting and speaking out against these conditions.
“It’s a ticking time bomb. Things have been swept under the rug for too long,” said Curt Stidham, a former corrections officer who worked at Holman and several other Alabama prisons.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley has proposed to solve the crisis by seeking $800 million in infrastructure bonds to build four new supermax prisons.
“He is using this hostile environment that the Department of Corrections created to promote his political agenda,” Glasgow said. “Alabama sends more people per capita to prison than any other state. That’s because we are incarcerating people for low level crimes. You can get a life sentence for a simple marijuana possession in Alabama.”
Glasgow is the “outside” spokesperson for the Free Alabama Movement (FAM), a network of incarcerated people who put forth a slate of prison reforms to solve overcrowding by repealing the state’s three strikes law and other harsh sentencing policies.
“You have inmates giving them solutions and being ignored,” Glasgow said.
FAM also initiated a nationwide prison strike last month, calling for a re-write of the 13th amendment, which ended slavery but made an exception for convicted people. (On the heels of the strike, acclaimed director Ava Duvernay released “13th,” a film that explores this topic.)
Officer Stidham does not side with FAM, but does agree that pushing the prison spending bill is not the solution.
“The officers have rights too, and they have been trampled. We need to start with fixing the leadership in the prisons we already have,” Stidham said.
Pastor Glasgow is currently traveling throughout the South to register voters in jails. He hopes the DOJ investigation will compel the Alabama Department of Corrections to comply with his public records requests, which have thus far been denied. He is also seeking for DOJ to investigate several police shootings in Alabama and wrongful convictions by Alabama judges.
Free Alabama Movement - Summary of Demands and Reforms
End prison slavery. The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) compels prisoners to work without pay, or for rates as low as 17 cents per hour. Prisoners have to pay fees in order to work. Their labor can be for the state, or for private companies.
Repeal the Habitual Offender Statute. More than 8,000 people in Alabama are serving “enhanced mandatory sentences” under this law, which adds decades––and sometimes life without parole––to sentences for people with prior convictions, even if their current offense is relatively minor.
Expand the scope of the Alabama Innocence Inquiry Commission. This commission was originally proposed to investigate innocence claims by all felons, but was changed to only apply to death row claims.
Abolish mandatory Life Without Parole (LWOP) sentences for first-time offenders. This would give first time offenders a chance at rehabilitation and alleviate inhumane conditions caused by overcrowding.
Reform the Alabama Parole Board. There is no clear criteria for parole eligibility. The parole board is arbitrary and biased.
Amend Alabama’s “drive-by-shooting law” to apply only to gang-related activity. This law has resulted in judicial overreach by enabling murder charges to be elevated to a capital offense based solely on the shooter’s location in a car, with or without proof of gang activity.
- Implement the Education, Rehabilitation, and Reentry Preparedness Bill. This legislation, put forth by The Free Alabama Movement, would provide educational opportunities to all incarcerated people in Alabama, reduce the prison population to meet the actual capacity of ADOC, and other reforms.
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SPOTLIGHT OF THE DAY SEPT. 15, 2016
I HAD THE PLEASURE OF SPEAKING WITH WARDEN WANDA LIGHTNER AT THE MOBLIE WORK RELEASE CENTER IN REFENCE TO PLACING A GENTLEMAN IN OUR T.O.P.S RESTORATION HOUSE LOCATED IN DOTHAN, AL. I MUST SAY THAT I WAS ELATED TO RECEIVE A CALL FROM THE WARDEN HERSELF ABOUT PLACEMENT. THIS IS THE TYPE OF COLLABORATION THAT WE ALL NEED IN DOING THIS WORK. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BELIEVING IN THE WORK WE DO TO HELP BUILD OUR COMMUNITY THE WAY IT NEEDS TO BE.
PASTOR KENNETH GLASGOW
AWESOME TIME AS WE CELEBRATED WITH THE FORMERLY INCARCERATED PEOPLE MOVEMENT IN OAKLAND, CA. WE WOULD LIKE EXTEND A THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT MADE THIS EVENT POSSIBLE. CHECK OUT SOME OF THE PHOTO'S IN OUR ALBUM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2016
Contact: Pastor Kenneth Glasgow
(334) 791-2433
Incarcerated People Nationwide Refuse to Work
in Largest Coordinated Prison Strike
Prisoners are demanding a rewrite of the 13th Amendment to #endprisonslavery
Today, incarcerated people at roughly 40 prisons in 24 states across the U.S. are initiating a work strike. Many prisons rely on inmate labor to run the facilities. Most prisons have additional work programs in which inmates produce goods and services for the government and private corporations. Incarcerated people are typically paid less than a dollar per hour for their labor, and sometimes nothing at all.
“The criminal justice system is a continuation of slavery,” said Robert Earl Council. Also known as Kinetik Justice, Council is a leader in the Free Alabama Movement (FAM), a network of incarcerated people spanning several prisons in Alabama. “The 13th Amendment freed the slaves and then put them to work in prisons,” Council said.
The 13th amendment abolished involuntary servitude but made an exception for people convicted of a crime. Prisoners nationwide are now unifying to demand a rewrite of that amendment in response to a call-to-action FAM made earlier this year.
Since 2013, FAM has organized numerous statewide acts of nonviolent civil disobedience to challenge the unjust prison economy and draw attention to the inhumane conditions inside Alabama’s prisons. FAM was inspired by Georgia prisoners who initiated work strikes in 2012, and a massive hunger strike California prisoners coordinated across numerous facilities in 2013.
FAM chose this date for a national strike to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Attica prison rebellion. Forty-three people were killed and many prisoners were tortured when New York state police stormed Attica after several days of intense negotiations with over 1,000 prisoners who took control of the prison on September 9, 1971. Their demands concerned many of the same problems that persist in prisons today.
“The reason they had that strike in Attica was the deplorable conditions,” said Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, FAM’s “outside” spokesperson and founder of The Ordinary People Society. Glasgow served 14 years in prison and has worked to improve the criminal justice system since his release. “We are going to do it in a different way. Peacefully,” he said.
In addition to the national demand to rewrite the 13th amendment, prisoners in different locations will put forth demands specific to the problems within their state’s criminal justice system.
For example, in South Carolina, incarcerated people are calling for comprehensive mental health programs, GED programs, vocational training, drug treatment options, affordable commissary, in-person doctor visits instead of telemedicine, changes to disciplinary policies, and legislative changes to eliminate habitual offender sentencing, among other reforms.
“Until we see these changes, we will resist,” said a prisoner in Lee Correctional Institution who asked to be identified simply as SJ.
In Alabama, FAM is calling for a slate of legislative reforms that would reduce the number of people incarcerated in the state. Currently, Alabama prisons hold nearly twice as many people as they are designed for. As a result, the facilities are dangerously deteriorated, the food is inadequate, educational programs are virtually nonexistent, and violence is rampant.
Instead of considering the commonsense measures put forth by FAM, Alabama lawmakers have sought to spend $800 million on new prison construction.
There is currently no end-date to the national strike. It is up to prisoners in each facility to choose how long they continue to protest. Retaliation is expected, and may be harsher in some prisons than others. FAM has said that Alabama prisoners will strike for as long as it takes to have their demands met.
# e n d p r i s o n s l a v e r y
# i n c a r c e r a t e d l i v e s m a t t e r
# f r e e a l a b a m a m o v e m e n t
For More information, see:
www.freealabamamovement.wordpress.com
Alabama Prison Strike Organizer Speaks From Behind Bars, Democracy Now!
Alabama Prison Strike Organizer Joins With Pastor To Acheive Criminal Justice Reform, Democracy Now!
Forget Hunger Strikes, What Prisons Fear Most is Labor Strikes, Yes! Magazine
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Demands of the Free Alabama Movement
End prison slavery. The 13th amendment abolished involuntary servitude except for people who are convicted of a crime. It’s time to rewrite the 13th amendment to abolish slavery in all forms.
The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) compels prisoners to work without pay, or for rates as low as 25 cents per hour. Prisoners have to pay fees in order to work. Their labor can be for the state, or for private companies. These exploitative conditions amount to prison slavery.
Repeal the Habitual Offender Statute. More than 8,000 people in Alabama are serving “enhanced mandatory sentences” under this law, which adds decades––and sometimes life without parole––to sentences for people with prior convictions, even if their current offense is relatively minor.
Expand the scope of the Alabama Innocence Inquiry Commission. This commission was originally proposed to investigate innocence claims by all felons, but was changed to only apply to death row claims.
Abolish mandatory Life Without Parole (LWOP) sentences for first-time offenders. This would give first time offenders a chance at rehabilitation and alleviate inhumane conditions caused by overcrowding.
Reform the Alabama Parole Board. There is no clear criteria for parole eligibility. The parole board is arbitrary and biased.
Amend Alabama’s “drive-by-shooting law” to apply only to gang-related activity. This law has resulted in judicial overreach by enabling murder charges to be elevated to a capital offense based solely on the shooter’s location in a car, with or without proof of gang activity.
Implement the Education, Rehabilitation, and Reentry Preparedness Bill. This legislation, put forth by The Free Alabama Movement, would provide educational opportunities to all incarcerated people in Alabama, reduce the prison population to meet the actual capacity of ADOC, and other reforms.
Interview profile
Interview Profiles
The following people have experienced the direct impact of the criminal justice system. They are available for interviews concerning the national prison strike as it relates to the economy, conditions within prisons, trauma in families, poverty, racism, public health, the environment and other issues.
Alabama
Robert Earl Council Jr. (a.k.a Kinetik Justice), Free Alabama Movement, co-founder
Council has been serving a life sentence in Alabama for 21 years. He has played a leading role in organizing incarcerated people to use nonviolent civil disobedience to advocate for their rights. He has been in solitary confinement since January 2014, when he helped lead a 21-day work stoppage. He can be reached by contacting Pastor Kenneth Glasgow.
Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, The Ordinary People Society, founder
Glasgow served 14 years in Alabama prisons and is now a leader in the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People, and Families Movement. He has successfully lobbied for changes to state laws impacting the criminal justice systems in Alabama, Georgia and Florida. He is the “outside” spokesperson for the Free Alabama Movement. Glasgow can be reached at (334) 791-2433
Rufus Ricks, Free Alabama Movement member
Ricks was released from Alabama’s Donaldson Correctional Facility in June, after serving a 20-year sentence. While incarcerated, he worked with FAM co-founder Melvin Ray to provide informal GED classes to other inmates. He can share his experience of the poor conditions inside Alabama prisons. Ricks can be reached at (614) 432-2796
Mother Ray, Mothers And Families
Ray is the mother of FAM co-founder Melvin Ray. She has regular contact with her son and supports his efforts by organizing the family members of incarcerated people to seek justice for their loved ones. She can speak to the traumatic impacts incarceration has on families, as well as how the criminal justice system fuels poverty and disenfranchisement.
Ray can be reached at (256) 783-1044
Dara Folden, Mothers And Families
Folden has had family members and a boyfriend who were incarcerated. She has been a prison justice advocate for two years. She currently works with MAF to help the families of incarcerated people monitor prison conditions and support their loved ones’ reentry process.
Folden can be reached at (901) 513-7921
South Carolina
SJ, incarcerated at Lee Correctional Institution
SJ is a jailhouse lawyer who has worked with a collective of inmates to draft comprehensive reforms to South Carolina’s criminal justice laws and prison policies. Prisoners in several South Carolina prisons plan to strike to advance the proposed reforms. SJ can be reached by contacting Pastor Kenneth Glasgow at (334) 791-2433.
Arizona
Linda Robles, Environmental Justice Mothers Safe Air Safe Water - Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons
Robles’ son is incarcerated at the Lewis Prison Complex, where he has been in solitary confinement for 15 years. Robles and other advocates are supporting Lewis prisoners during the strike, and calling attention to the fact that the prison sits on a contaminated waste site. Robles is also fighting environmental contamination in her Tucson neighborhood, where toxins have caused the death of her teenage daughter, and kidney failure in her younger children. Robles can speak about the intersections of public health, the environment, and the prison system. Robles can be reached at (520) 393-3671
Ohio
Sonny Williams, Prisoners Rights Support Committee
Williams served 6 years in prison during the 1980s and has been a prisoner rights advocate ever since. He is in close contact with prisoners at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. He can speak to the effects of privatization on prison conditions, as well as the reasons Ohio prisoners are participating in the national strike. Williams can be reached at (513) 751-2090
CHECK OUT THIS GREAT ARTICLE BY JEREMY GALLOWAY ABOUT THE UPCOMING PRISON STRIKE
NEWS FLASH !!!!!
HERES WHAT IS HAPPENING IN A CITY NEAR YOU:
SPREADING THE STRIKE: SOLIDARITY ACTIONS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA FOR SEPTEMBER 9TH
Originally published to It’s Going Down
Add Your Event: info[at]itsgoingdown[dot]org
People are organizing across the United States and the world in order to stand in the streets in solidarity with those locked behind bars who will strike on September 9th against prison slavery. Already, a wide range of actions have taken place in the run up to the strike. This includes large scale flyering and street propaganda campaigns, banner drops, noise demonstrations outside of jails and detention facilities, and informational events. All of this activity helps to build the capacity of the strike to bring in more people who can take an active role, as well as spread information about the struggle being waged by prisoners on the inside. These actions also bring many organizations, crews, and individuals together that before have previously never worked side by side and helps expose white supremacy as both a system of social control and racial apartheid and an apparatus of management that facilitates the creation of billions of dollars of profits.
In order to better prepare for the strike, here we are going to create a regularly updated page that includes a diary of actions and a list of events and mobilizations leading up to and around the 9th. We know that many events are still in the works, so when you are ready, either submit an event here or email us at: info[at]itsgoingdown[dot]org. In this way, we hope to build a large, multi-faceted, and extremely diverse resistance movement that can support and expand the strike against prison slavery that will continue to take shape on September 9th and beyond.
Events Leading Up to September 9th and Beyond
The Prodigal Child Project Led by Pastor Kenneth Sharpton-Glasgow
Aug 23 Conference with Bryan Stevenson about Prison Strike 2016
Aug. 24 Primitive Baptist Church Convention Association / Jackson ,FL
Aug. 26 Community Assembly for family and friends of formerly incarcerated people /Dothan, Al
Aug. 30 Primitive Baptist Church / 522 Median St. Nashville, TN
Sept. 7 Prayer Vigil Houston County Court House / Dothan , Al 5pm
Sept. 9 Life Changers Church 4409 Blounstown Highway Tallahassee ,FL 32034
Sept. 9 March /Demonstration Downtown Dothan, Al
TBA Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, Georgia, and Mississippi
For more info check us out on Facebook: The Prodigal Child Project (For Human Rights)
Olympia, WA:
August 29th: Info-night and presentation on strike. More info here.
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with striking prisoners. More info here.
Portland, OR:
August 25th: Info-night and presentation on prison strike at Anarres Infoshop. More info here.
August 31st: Presentation and discussion linking George Jackson and Attica Revolt to Prison Strike. More info here.
September 7th: Benefit show to raise money and awareness for the strike. More info here.
September 9th: Rally and march on corporations profiting from prison labor and in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
Eugene, OR:
September 9th: Panel discussion event. More info here.
Eureka, CA:
September 9th: Solidarity demonstration with national prison strike. More info here.
Oakland, CA:
September 3rd: Brunch picnic to benefit IWOC and prison strike. More info here.
September 9th: BBQ to make banners, discuss strike, and watch films. More info here.
September 10th: Rally and march on corporations profiting from prison labor and in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
Santa Barbara, CA:
September 9th: Rally outside of Santa Barbara County Jail, 6:30 PM.
Los Angeles, CA:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with the prison strike. More info here.
Phoenix, AZ:
September 9th: Rally outside of facility in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
September 10th: Teach-in and info-night on mass incarceration and the prison strike. More info here.
Tucson, AZ:
September 10th: March in solidarity with prison rebels. More info here.
Buckeye, AZ:
September 9th: Rally in support of strike and against toxic prisons. More info here.
Milwaukee, WI:
September 9th: Solidarity picnic and event. More info here.
September 10th: Rally against prison slavery. More info here.
Indianapolis, IN:
September 9th: Noise demo in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Minneapolis, MN:
September 10: Noise demonstration outside of youth jail in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
Chicago, IL:
August 18th: Envelope filling and open discussion on prison strike. More info here.
September 9th: Rally and march in solidarity with the national prison strike. More info here.
East Lansing, MI:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Columbus, OH:
August 26th-28th: Bend the Bars Conference. Midwestern Convergence in support of prisoner struggles. More info here.
August 27th: March and demonstration in connection with Bend the Bars Conference. More info here.
Cincinnati, OH:
September 9th: Hamilton County Justice Center, 11 am, bring signs supporting prisoners. Contact Sonny Williams for more info: 513 751-2090.
Kansas City, MO:
September 9th: Community event supporting the national prison strike. More info here.
St. Louis, MO:
September 1st: Discussion, banner making party. More info here.
Denton, TX:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
Austin, TX:
September 9th: Speak out and picket. More info here.
Houston, TX:
September 10th: Prison strike solidarity speak out and noise demonstration. More info here.
Bessemer, AL:
August 27th: Incarcerated Lives Matter protest outside of prison. Organized by Mothers and Familes (MAF), and part of wider tour. More info here.
New Orleans, LA:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with the national prison strike. More info here.
Nashville, TN:
September 3rd: Support action for national prison strike and to raise awareness. More info here.
September 9th: Noise demonstration in support of prison strike. More info here.
Asheville, NC:
September 2nd: Info night and open discussion on prison strike. More info here.
Cumberland, MD:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with the strike. More info here.
Washington, DC:
August 19th: Banner making party. More info here.
Durham, NC:
September 9th: March in Resistance to Prison Slavery. Meet at Durham Central Park, 7:30 pm. More info here.
Tallahassee, FL:
August 20th: Prison strike letter writing. More info here.
Fort Lauderdale, FL:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity the national prison strike. More info here.
Wildwood, FL:
September 10th: Noise demonstration outside of Coleman Correctional Complex. More info here and social media event here.
Detroit, MI:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Pittsburgh, PA:
August 28th: Strike solidarity planning meeting. More info here.
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Philadelphia, PA:
September 4th: Banner making party. More info here.
September 9th: Noise demonstration. More info here.
Providence, RI:
September 9th: Rally and march in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Camden, NJ:
September 9th: Rally and outreach event in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Newark, NJ:
September 9th: Rally and outreach event in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Rochester, NY:
September 9th: Rally and noise demonstration. More info here.
Bronx, NY:
August 27th: Bike ride to Sing Sing prison. More info here.
August 28th: Letter writing and banner making party. More info here.
Brooklyn, NY:
August 20th: Prison letter stuffing party. More info here.
September 9th: Prison strike solidarity and noise demonstration out of jail. More info here.
Have something planned but don’t see your event listed? Email us at: info[at]itsgoingdown[dot]org.
Support our work! Please donate:
Events Leading Up to September 9th and Beyond
Olympia, WA:
August 29th: Info-night and presentation on strike. More info here.
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with striking prisoners. More info here.
Portland, OR:
August 25th: Info-night and presentation on prison strike at Anarres Infoshop. More info here.
August 31st: Presentation and discussion linking George Jackson and Attica Revolt to Prison Strike. More info here.
September 7th: Benefit show to raise money and awareness for the strike. More info here.
September 9th: Rally and march on corporations profiting from prison labor and in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
Eugene, OR:
September 9th: Panel discussion event. More info here.
Eureka, CA:
September 9th: Solidarity demonstration with national prison strike. More info here.
Oakland, CA:
September 3rd: Brunch picnic to benefit IWOC and prison strike. More info here.
September 9th: BBQ to make banners, discuss strike, and watch films. More info here.
September 10th: Rally and march on corporations profiting from prison labor and in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
Santa Barbara, CA:
September 9th: Rally outside of Santa Barbara County Jail, 6:30 PM.
Los Angeles, CA:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with the prison strike. More info here.
Phoenix, AZ:
September 9th: Rally outside of facility in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
September 10th: Teach-in and info-night on mass incarceration and the prison strike. More info here.
Tucson, AZ:
September 10th: March in solidarity with prison rebels. More info here.
Buckeye, AZ:
September 9th: Rally in support of strike and against toxic prisons. More info here.
Milwaukee, WI:
September 9th: Solidarity picnic and event. More info here.
September 10th: Rally against prison slavery. More info here.
Indianapolis, IN:
September 9th: Noise demo in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Minneapolis, MN:
September 10: Noise demonstration outside of youth jail in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
Chicago, IL:
August 18th: Envelope filling and open discussion on prison strike. More info here.
September 9th: Rally and march in solidarity with the national prison strike. More info here.

East Lansing, MI:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Columbus, OH:
August 26th-28th: Bend the Bars Conference. Midwestern Convergence in support of prisoner struggles. More info here.
August 27th: March and demonstration in connection with Bend the Bars Conference. More info here.
Cincinnati, OH:
September 9th: Hamilton County Justice Center, 11 am, bring signs supporting prisoners. Contact Sonny Williams for more info: 513 751-2090.
Kansas City, MO:
September 9th: Community event supporting the national prison strike. More info here.
St. Louis, MO:
September 1st: Discussion, banner making party. More info here.
Denton, TX:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with prison strike. More info here.
Austin, TX:
September 9th: Speak out and picket. More info here.
Houston, TX:
September 10th: Prison strike solidarity speak out and noise demonstration. More info here.
Bessemer, AL:
August 27th: Incarcerated Lives Matter protest outside of prison. Organized by Mothers and Familes (MAF), and part of wider tour. More info here.
New Orleans, LA:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with the national prison strike. More info here.
Nashville, TN:
September 3rd: Support action for national prison strike and to raise awareness. More info here.
September 9th: Noise demonstration in support of prison strike. More info here.
Asheville, NC:
September 2nd: Info night and open discussion on prison strike. More info here.
Cumberland, MD:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with the strike. More info here.
Washington, DC:
August 19th: Banner making party. More info here.
Durham, NC:
September 9th: March in Resistance to Prison Slavery. Meet at Durham Central Park, 7:30 pm. More info here.
Tallahassee, FL:
August 20th: Prison strike letter writing. More info here.
Fort Lauderdale, FL:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity the national prison strike. More info here.
Wildwood, FL:
September 10th: Noise demonstration outside of Coleman Correctional Complex. More info here and social media event here.
Detroit, MI:
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Pittsburgh, PA:
August 28th: Strike solidarity planning meeting. More info here.
September 9th: Noise demonstration in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Philadelphia, PA:
September 4th: Banner making party. More info here.
September 9th: Noise demonstration. More info here.
Providence, RI:
September 9th: Rally and march in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Camden, NJ:
September 9th: Rally and outreach event in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Newark, NJ:
September 9th: Rally and outreach event in solidarity with national prison strike. More info here.
Rochester, NY:
September 9th: Rally and noise demonstration. More info here.
Bronx, NY:
August 27th: Bike ride to Sing Sing prison. More info here.
August 28th: Letter writing and banner making party. More info here.
Brooklyn, NY:
August 20th: Prison letter stuffing party. More info here.
September 9th: Prison strike solidarity and noise demonstration out of jail. More info here.
Have something planned but don’t see your event listed? Email us at: info[at]itsgoingdown[dot]org.
Support our work! Please donate:
https://itsgoingdown.org/spreading-strike-solidarity-actions-across-north-america-september-9th/
WE ARE ALL BELIEVERS IN THIS FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
Story Contributed by Callie Giersberg
In 1994, Tina Glasgow, now known by many as 'Mama Tina', received a letter from her son who was in prison at the time. His letter explained a dream he wanted to see accomplished when he got home. In 2001, Kenneth Glasgow wanted to help people get off the streets and off drugs. He wanted to focus on the crowd that he was involved in before he went to jail. He bought a tent, and in downtown Dothan, a dream came true. For two years, Mama Tina and Kenneth set up the tent day in and day out. After serving the community in rain, shine, heat and humidity, they finally purchased a house to host their soup kitchen. Kenneth always told his mama that he would name a soup kitchen after her, which is how the start of Mama Tina’s Soup Kitchen came about.
Today while we talked, Mama Tina told me a story behind why her heart is so big for feeding the homeless in our area. “When Kenneth was involved in the wrong crowd, they would come to my house during the day to think of other ways to get into trouble. Apparently, I was the only mother not home because I worked full time. I knew they came to my house during the day, and you know how I knew it? [Because] when I would get home from work, they would be asleep on the couch. It’s all because I left food on the stove. I always left food on the stove because I knew it would make them sleepy. I knew that food kept them out of trouble. This is why we have the soup kitchen.”
My favorite story I heard while at Mama Tina’s office was a story about Ann. Ann was an addict living on the streets. She lived from one high to the next. She was searching for purpose and love. One night, Ann ended up in the hospital, and the first people to come were Mama Tina and her son, Pastor Kenneth. Ann had lost her voice in her accident, so she could only write that night, and Mama Tina had an idea...
“I watched her have a pity party and knew I had to do something to get this girl out of this mess. I had been receiving letters from the inmates in prison asking for prayers, wisdom and love. I went home and bagged all the letters I’d received, a Bible and two pens, and I headed back to the hospital to get Ann on writing these letters.”
Ann walked in the room as Mama Tina is telling me her story.
Ann began telling me all about how dark her life was before Mama Tina stepped in, but she told me something else that stuck. “When I started writing those letters to people, I was giving them hope...and that gave me hope. I stopped being an addict. I’ve been clean for 12 years now, and I have been working with Mama Tina and Pastor Kenneth since.”
Being a breast cancer survivor and an advocate for Dothan's homeless, Mama Tina is nothing short of an angel. We are thankful to have her in our city spreading good vibes. Thank you, Mama Tina, for all you do for so many!
Pastor Kenneth Glasgow
Founder, National President
The Ordinary People Society (TOPS)Phone: 334-671-2882 Office, 334-791-2433 cell
West Powell St. Dothan, AL 36303
Dr. Walters-Sleyon is here visiting from Liberia engaging with prison Chaplin's in Alabama to learn about how they deal with Anger, Dying and Death in the prison.
SIGN IN SO THAT YOU CAN JOIN AND SUPPORT
NATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY AND THE PRODIGAL CHILD PROJECT
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NATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY AND THE PRODIGAL CHILD PROJECT
SELMA
MORE ON THE BACKWARDS MARCH: http://www.theroot.com/articles/history/2015/03/the_contradictions_of_selma50.1.html
SouthtoSouth Article:
LETS KNOCK OUT HUNGER TOGETHER
We are excited about the expansion of our soup kitchen. We are now able to sit, sup and fellowship with anyone coming through our doors. Thank God. As you know we cannot do this alone or without financial help, your donations is what keep us able to serve those in need.
We are presently in need of:
Utensils
Plates
Cleaning Supplies
FOOD FOOD FOOD
Sack Lunch 12-1
Hot Meal 5-6
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL:
T.O.P.S OFFICE…………………....(334) 671-2882
MOMA TINA MISSION HOUSE. (334) 699-6886
MOMA TINA…………………. ( 334) 714-3482
Our Goal as a 501c 3, Nonprofit Organization, is to create, build, promote and maintain a better humanity by addressing needs of the people in our society. We do this by caring for those in need and building a movement for justice. SOMEBODY SAY “ RESTORE”
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS WORTHY ORGANIZATION BY PURCHASING THIS
T-SHIRT FOR $15.00 SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FOR OTHERS. (ALL SIZES AVAILABLE)
( FRONT VIEW) AND DONT FORGET TO GET HIGH ONLY ON JESUS!!! (BACK VIEW)
UPCOMING T.O.P.S EVENTS
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Previous Events
Radio Show
Good News!
A Must Read! TOPS is going places!
Movement of Ten Million
"Formerly Incarcerated & Convicted Peoples Movement"
on Feb. 28 - Mar. 2 in Montgomery, Alabama
Join Us if you care! Schedule: Sunday, Feb. 27 Noon – 7pm: Participants arrive in Montgomery, AL Regional Airport TOPS will arrange for transport to Clarion Hotel, 120 Madison Avenue, Montgomery; Also: Montgomery Transit 3pm Registration Opens @ Clarion 5-8pm Light H’oederves @ Clarion Hotel in lobby 1-800-230-4134 LOGISTICAL QUESTIONS: Pastor Kenny Glasgow, TOPS, (334) 791-2433; AllabamaAlliance@yahoo.com Monday, Feb. 28 8am Breakfast @ Clarion Hotel 9am Welcome Message (Pastor Kenny Glasgow and …) 10-12 Discussion 1 – Movement Building I – Where We’ve Been, Where We’re At Allies Discussion 1- 12-1 Lunch @ Clarion Hotel 1-3pm Discussion 2- Movement Building II – Tactics, Fundraising, Barriers, Information, Press Release Allies Discussion 2- 3-5pm Discussion 3- Laying Out the Road Ahead – Tasks, Committees, Report Out Allies Discussion 3- 7pm Dinner @ Clarion Hotel Tuesday, March 1 8am Breakfast @ Clarion Hotel 9am- Bus to Selma, AL 10am Visit Alternative School 11:30-12:30 Voting Rights Museum 1pm March over the Petus Bridge 2pm Lunch @ Selma Baptist Church, Pastor David Perry 4-5pm- Return to Montgomery 6pm- Dinner meeting with legislators @ Clarion Hotel Wednesday, March 2 8am Breakfast @ Clarion Hotel 9 - 11am Lobby at Montgomery Statehouse Noon- Press Conference @ Montgomery Statehouse 1pm-3pm– Arrange Travel to Airport Be there and help make a difference!
Financial Classes
Here is the Global Finance School website link for T.O.P.S. http://www.globalfinanceschool.com/af/tops
Members and friends can purchase any Financial Education course (Including: STOCK MARKET, FINANCE, ACCOUNTING, ECONOMICS & MORE) for the discounted price of $9.00 for 90 days. This is at a 90% discount. Enter TOPS (no periods) in the COUPON CODE field and they will get the discount.
Each time a $9.00 purchase is made from the link at the T.O.P.S. website, T.O.P.S. will receive $3.00.
At the end of 90 days all GFS Finance Education prices will go back to regular price. At that point, T.O.P.S. will receive 40% of the proceeds from GFS for any GFS products purchased through the link on the T.O.P.S. website.
At the end of 90 days all GFS Finance Education prices will go back to regular price. At that point, T.O.P.S. will receive 40% of the proceeds from GFS for any GFS products purchased through the link on the T.O.P.S. website.
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