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Support CRLA end 2023 strong!

Dear Los Angeles comrades,

Throughout 2023, Critical Resistance Los Angeles (CRLA) has been hard at work strengthening CR’s work in southern California. All year, CRLA has been knee-deep in the statewide campaign with Californians United for A Responsible Budget (CURB) to close at least 10 prisons in CA by the end of 2025. We are building support and political will for prison closure among community members, movement partners, and state decision-makers, and we’ve already seen significant campaign wins. Due to the coalition’s powerful organizing this year, two additional prisons have been confirmed for shutdown – bringing us to four prisons closed or named for closure since our campaign began three years ago.

 

CRLA members have contributed to the legislative strategy, inside-outside organizing, and outreach efforts in the campaign, including the in-person outreach days we’ve held outside the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco over the past few months. Thank you to everyone who attended those outreach days, and we look forward to working with you more in the coming year.

CRLA also facilitated several workshops with LA-based community partners on the prison industrial complex, abolition, and organizing strategy for abolishing policing throughout the year. In the fall, we networked with movement partners at the Socialism 2023 conference in Chicago, and we also started a prisoner mail program for the chapter. If you’ve already signed up for our annual prisoner solidarity mailing party on Wednesday, December 20, we’re excited to see you there!

 

 

Interested in connecting more & possibly joining our chapter?

Join us this Thursday online for CRLA’s Info Session!

Instagram square with a sky to navy blue gradient color scheme. Tile has photos of past and present CRLA chapter members engaging in direct action, political education, outreach to folks with loved ones inside, an art build, and monthly mail nights to advertise a Zoom chapter info session on Thursday, December 21st from 7 to 8 p.m. Critical Resistance logo is in the bottom left corner with the words "Dismantle. Change. Build." along with imagery of fists breaking their chains. RSVP at..."

As we move into a new year, CRLA is looking to expand its membership and bring in new members. If you’re interested in joining the chapter and working more closely with CR, come to our CRLA Info Session this Thursday, December 21 on zoom. We’ll be sharing information about the organization and its history, the chapter’s local campaigns and projects, as well as membership expectations and responsibilities.
Thank you for building power with us for PIC abolition in Los Angeles and beyond. Check out more upcoming events and ways to engage with CRLA in the announcements below, and we hope to see you and connect with you this week!
In solidarity,
-CRLA

More Announcements & Upcoming Events for CRLA

Wednesday, December 20 on Zoom: Send Messages of Solidarity to Imprisoned Comrades this Holiday Season

 

 

 

Take Digital Action to #CloseCAPrisons TODAY!

  • Call and email Governor Newsom urging him to commit to naming at least five more state prisons for closure between now and the January proposed 2024-25 California state budget.As our state faces a staggering $68 billion budget deficit, the closure of additional prisons not only makes fiscal sense but also aligns with a transformative approach to California’s problems.

 

  • Announcing five forthcoming closures will demonstrate Governor Newsom’s dedication to a responsible budget and substantive shift away from an over-reliance on incarceration. Let’s close out the year strong! Prison closure is a key step towards building a healthier, safer, and greener California for us all! Use this toolkit here. 
Prisoner Solidarity Phone Lines Workshops: Coming soon in January!
  • For those who would like to go deeper, we have Prisoner Solidarity Phone Lines workshops coming up early next year! In these workshops, which we hold two to three times a year, we review who and what CR is as a grassroots movement to abolish the PIC as well as provide a “basic” training in how to cultivate principled relationships with imprisoned comrades through our phone lines.

 

  • We have not yet scheduled exact dates for our next training, but please respond to this email and cc Liz@criticalresistance.org if you are interested in volunteering for the phone lines.

 

 

Coming Soon: Circle of Solidarity Study Group
  • Starting in January, CRLA volunteers will have an opportunity to participate in a 10-week “inside-out” study group. Volunteers joining the Circle of Solidarity will read 25-30 pages of materials each week, then exchange letters with inside comrades discussing what we’ve read. The course offers a deep dive into the US prison system as part of a larger political formation grounded in the requirements of racial capitalism and social control.

 

  • Space is limited! Email crla@criticalresistance.org with the subject line “Circle of Solidarity” to learn more.

 

 

Sustain CRLA: Donate TODAY to support the chapter & help CRLA reach our $1,500 year-end chapter fundraising goal!
  • All of this vital work is possible because of people like you who contribute your time, effort, capacity, and/or money. Will you donate to CRLA this December to keep our work going strong in the new year?