As we progress through the 11th anniversary of the CA prisoner hunger strikes against solitary confinement, where tens of thousands of prisoners across CA joined forces to challenge the use of indefinite solitary confinement and gang validation as torture by the CA Department of Corrections, we’ve lost one of the leaders of this courageous and historic struggle, Paul Redd.
Paul was a dear comrade of Critical Resistance and many anti-prison activists. Imprisoned in CA for 44 years, Paul endured 30 years in Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit (SHU). While incarcerated, Paul became one of the most skilled and well-known jailhouse lawyers within the US prison system. A member of what came to be known as the “Short Corridor Collective”, a multi-racial group representing Black, white, Northern and Southern Mexican prisoners waging the hunger strikes, Paul’s fearless leadership and sacrifice helped build a movement that effectively challenged the use of solitary confinement and resist divide-and-conquer repression strategies such as gang validation. Paul was passionate about Black communities coming together and ending horizontal violence as a result of colonization, capitalism and white supremacy, and always kept a kind and steadfast demeanor. One of the engineers behind the Short Corridor Collective’s “Agreement to End Hostilities” (which was one of the most radical and historic results of the hunger strikes), Paul’s commitment to anti-racism stretched across racial lines and prison walls.
Paul was released in 2020 with terminal stage-four lung cancer. We are so glad Paul was able to spend some time with his family and loved ones, as well as connecting with movement makers outside of prison before passing.
In honor of the 11th anniversary of the CA prisoner hunger strikes and the lives and sacrifice of thousands of prisoners, we ask you to spend some time paying respects to Paul’s legacy and impact in whatever way makes sense to you. Friends, family, and comrades will gather for Paul’s funeral this weekend in Oakland, Saturday, July 9.
Honor Paul & the CA Prisoner Hunger Strikes:
- Donate to help cover Paul’s funeral expenses
- Attend Paul’s funeral in Oakland if you’re in the Bay Area
- Read about, Listen to & Learn from Paul:
- Watch and Listen to Paul explain how there is no ending and what prisoners studied to prepare for the strikes below