The 'Friends of Marcia Powell' are autonomous groups and individuals engaging in prisoner outreach, informal advocacy, and organized protest and direct actions in a sustained campaign to: promote prisoner rights and welfare in America; engage the Arizona public in a creative and thoughtful critique of our system of "justice;” deconstruct the prison industrial complex; and dismantle this racist, classist patriarchy...

Retiring "Free Marcia Powell"

As of December 2, 2010 (with occasional exceptions) I'm retiring this blog to direct more of my time and energy into prisoner rights and my other blogs; I just can't do anyone justice when spread so thin. I'll keep the site open so folks can search the archives and use the links, but won't be updating it with new posts. If you're looking for the latest, try Arizona Prison Watch. Most of the pieces posted here were cross-posted to one or both of those sites already.

Thanks for visiting. Peace out - Peg.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Singing louder than the guns: War, Protest, and Abbie Hoffman

'When our country is right, keep it right; but when it is wrong, right those wrongs.'

Just came across this on YouTube, and wanted to share it. It's a short clip that was done in tandem with the release of the movie about Abbie Hoffman and the Vietnam War protest era, "Steal This Movie". If you have a chance to see it, do.

Hoffman was an original Yippie, an anti-war and civil rights activist - and one of the Chicago Seven. He was a target of FBI attacks on social and racial justice activists for three decades (continuing well after COINTELPRO was exposed), and spent a number of years underground, continuing to organize people around environmental issues in the late seventies. He did a little time in prison in the 80's, then organized against US military actions in Nicaragua and CIA recruiters (for which he was again prosecuted, but this time acquitted).


Abbie was a legendary protester - brilliant, creative - and many said crazy. Among his many stunts, he organized a mass action to surround and try to levitate the Pentagon.

Sadly, he was diagnosed manic depressive, and ultimately committed suicide in 1989 - though many don't believe that story to this day.

Anyway, this clip seemed appropriate given that another generation is mired in an endless war...



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