From the Prison Books Collective:

Hello Friends and Comrades,

1. Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for January.(11″x17″ PDF, 5MB) Also available in color here, and as a PNG here (imgur link). Print it out and plaster your community, both in commemoration of these freedom fighters and to advertise locally for a political prisoner letter writing night. Get together with some friends in your town to send birthday cards to these fighters in our struggle. It’s an easy way to help remind them that they aren’t forgotten. If you make one, remember—don’t use anything like white-out, stickers, tape or glitter on it. We also recommend that you put a return name and address and their name and prisoner number on the card, lest the authorities “lose” the envelope and forget where it is going. If you would like to add a birthday or sign up for our poster mailing list (not a listserv, one email per month), or if you would like to contribute in another way to increasing the profile of US political prisoners, email us at [email protected].
2. A special thank you to the designers of this month’s poster. Designers are constantly bombarded with requests to work their trade for free, for publicity, or for a cause, and every month the PPBD Posters project relies on their generosity of time, skill and devotion to the cause of prison abolition. Cheers to Jenna Peters-Golden for putting this month’s rad poster together.
3. We’ve had some amazing news in the last month:

• Maliki Shakur Latine walked out of prison on parole on December 6, 2016, after 37 years!! Please donate to his release fund here.
• Zolo Azania is set to be released in February after 35 years in prison, 27 of them on death row. In preparation for his release, you can donate to his release fund as well

4. 2016 was an amazing year: heart-rending, beautiful, and tragic. We won’t recap the events here, since others have done it so well elsewhere.
5. Let’s help 2017 go in like a lion with this year’s New Year’s Eve Noise Demonstrations. In the words of comrades in Montreal: “Prisons were created to isolate people from their communities. Noise demonstrations at prisons are a material way to fight against repression and isolation. We want to extend a message of solidarity to folks inside, and wish them a happy new year. Although, a truly happy new year would be one without prisons and the world that needs them.” Here’s a list of events we were able to find, but check in with the prison abolition group in your area to see where you can get plugged in:

• Durham
• Montreal
• NYC
• Philadelphia

6. Do you need help advertising for your local Political Prisoner Letter Writing Night? Are you interested in distributing physical copies of the poster? Write to us and let’s find a way to get physical copies of our poster to you: [email protected]
7. Be sure to check out the latest Political Prisoner/Prisoner Of War every-other week update (PDF) by the NYC-Anarchist Black Cross. There are lots of important updates on many political prisoners. This one includes updates on Oscar Lopez Rivera, Leonard Peltier, Standing Rock, and more.
8. We recently updated our prisoner list, and this poster does not feature two people we think deserve your support. Help them celebrate their birthdays this year as well!

• January 4, 1950
  Fran Thompson
  #1090915
  Chillicothe Correctional Center
  3151 Litton Drive
  Chillicothe, MO 64601
  freefran.noblogs.org
  Fran Thompson is serving life plus 10 years for killing a stalker who had made threats against her life after he broke into her home. Fran was a dedicated eco, animal & anti-nuke campaigner and had seen her prosecutor before on the other side of a protest. Her activism was brought up as a scare tactic to increase her sentencing and bias her jury.
• January 18, 1995
  Janye Waller
  #BA2719
  CCC B Facility
  Post Office Box 2400
  Susanville, CA 96127
  handsoffjanye.tumblr.com
  In Oakland in 2015, a white liberal confronted several black liberation demonstrators protesting against non-indictments of police murderers. He shoved and swung fists at the young men to pacify them, one of whom retaliated with a hit from the head of a hammer to his head. Police said Janye Waller “fit the description” of that young black male. Despite witnesses denying his involvement, he was convicted of the assault. Before his arrest, Janye volunteered at a West Oakland social center that empowers black and indigenous people through education, mutual aid, urban farming, and community autonomy.

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Remember: They are in there for us, we are out here for them!