By Black Ink

Shattering Abolition™: Against Reformist Counterinsurgency in the Streets of Oakland

Editor’s note: This piece was written by some abolitionists and published in zine form by Haters. Around here we’ve got our very own movement-killers, a.k.a. “Movement Leaders.” Mapping the Terrain Within the general context of The Movement™, abolition—whether through “Defund OPD,” policy campaigns, transformative justice, and policing alternatives—has become inescapable within Oakland’s left-progressive-liberal continuum. “We…

Safiya Bukhari’s “Lest We Forget”

Editor’s note: for Black August 2022 we share both a facsimile PDF as well as a transcription of Safiya Bukhari‘s 1981 pamphlet Lest We Forget, which she wrote and published while incarcerated at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women. Introduction Constantly people of color are confronted with the reality that death is our ever-present companion.…

Free H.H.! Prosecutorial Persecution and Pitfalls

[Submitted by Friends of H.H.] We can all take a deep breath, avert our gaze, and rest easy. Washtenaw County now has a progressive prosecutor—Eli Savit, whose platform claims that (1) coercive plea bargaining, (2) over-prosecution, (3) prolonged pre-trial detentions, (4) aggressive prosecution of drug possession charges, and (5) racial inequity are things of the…

Landlords Try to Play Games, Tenants Win

On Thursday, a group of tenants gathered for a cookout and speakout at Frissinger Park in opposition to a landlord picnic and Kickball game, hosted by the Washtenaw Area Apartment Association. The WA3 organizes landlords and hosts events on topics ranging from “priceless advice on evictions” to “empower[ing] your residents to task simple repairs.” The…

Gabriel Jermaine Vanlandingham-Dunn: Sounds of the High Sun

In the pandemic, playlists by loved ones and strangers have been not only a major solace, but also a way of not just feeling connected across walls and timezones, but a way of literally being connected. Even when a comrade turns us on to a single song (just now: “1 Thing” by Amerie), they just…

Jeff Clark: To Know Again

On May 18, Ypsilanti City Council voted to go over budget and hire 3 armed YPD officers and 1 YPD records clerk. The vote was split 4-3, with those opposed expressing concerns about adding to the budget deficit and lack of time for public input, including via the council’s own Police Oversight Commission. On June…

J.B. Miller: Little Boys, Little Bikes, Big Guns, Big Budgets

On May 18, Ypsilanti City Council voted to go over budget and hire 3 armed YPD officers and 1 YPD records clerk. The vote was split 4-3, with those opposed expressing concerns about adding to the budget deficit and lack of time for public input, including via the council’s own Police Oversight Commission. On June…

H.H. Gonzales: Does More Police Equal Security?

On May 18, Ypsilanti City Council voted to go over budget and hire 3 armed YPD officers and 1 YPD records clerk. The vote was split 4-3, with those opposed expressing concerns about adding to the budget deficit and lack of time for public input, including via the council’s own Police Oversight Commission. On June…

Marcina Cole: More Police Is Not the Answer

On May 18, Ypsilanti City Council voted to go over budget and hire 3 armed YPD officers and 1 YPD records clerk. The vote was split 4-3, with those opposed expressing concerns about adding to the budget deficit and lack of time for public input, including via the council’s own Police Oversight Commission. On June…