Beyond Solitary #2: Kwame Shakur on Revolution and Reactionary Reformism

In the second episode of our series, Beyond Solitary, Kwame Shakur joins the show to talk about the need to develop inside-out revolutionary strategy, and the work already being done with that goal in mind by organizations like I.D.O.C. Watch, Prison Lives Matter, and the New Afrikan Liberation Collective.

This is the second of two episodes with members of I.D.O.C. Watch, an organization of prisoners in Indiana and outside supporters dedicated to exposing abuses by authorities in the Department of Corrections.

In our first episode, we spoke with longtime political prison Shaka Shakur about the history of the prison movement in Indiana. In this episode, Kwame shares his assessment of current struggles against police brutality, and the disconnect between the prison movement and the larger movement on the streets.

Kwame also touches on the effects solitary has on prisoners' mental health, and how restrictions implemented in the time of COVID have only exacerbated these harms.

Kwame Shakur is a New Afrikan political prisoner, currently held captive in solitary confinement, in the SHU, at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. He is the co-founder and chairman of the New Afrikan Liberation Collective, as well as the national director for the Prison Lives Matter movement. Kwame's essays have appeared in numerous publications, including San Francisco Bay View.

Episode Resources & Notes

• Prison Legal Support Network
• IDOC Watch Patreon
• New Afrikan Liberation Collective
• Prison Lives Matter
• Revolution vs. Reactionary Reformism
• Kwame Shakur on COVID-19, Conditions & Repression in the SHU
• Lawsuit Won by Aaron Isby-Israel against Indiana D.O.C.

Write to Shaka Shakur or Kwame Shakur:

Shaka Shakur:

Shaka Shakur #1996207
Buckingham Correctional Center
P.O. Box 430
Dillwyn, VA 23936

Kwame Shakur:

Michael Joyner (Kwame) #149677
Wabash Valley Correctional Facility
P.O. Box 1111
Carlisle, IN, 47838

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Created by Kim Wilson and Brian Sonenstein

Hosted by anonymous, and edited by Ellis Maxwell

Website & volunteers managed by Victoria Nam

Theme music by Jared Ware

Additional music by Alicia Lopez-Torres, Remy Erkel, and Ellis Maxwell

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