Freedom in the Air: The Angola 3 Get Busy in the New Year

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two new films we feature in this newsletter make it a total of 5 films on the case as well as one music video! Now we need to build upon our increasing publicity and get busy freeing Herman, Albert and all those being tortured in solitary confinement.

An updated and expanded paperback version of Robert King's autobiography was recently reviewed by Publisher's Weekly and is available for purchase from PM Press, here.

Albert's birthday comes around again on February 19th. Let's make sure he knows we're thinking about him and working to see him free, by sending him a birthday card. His mailing address is:

Albert Woodfox
#72148
David Wade Correctional Center, N1 A3
670 Bell Hill Rd.
Homer, LA 71040

Two New Films About the Angola 3

Ron Harpelle's new film about Robert King of the Angola 3, entitled "Hard Time" will be premiering in Canada at Lakehead University on February 12, as detailed by the flyer above. The following day King will be reading from his autobiography.

Another upcoming film entitled "Who Are the Angola 3?" is being directed by Hugo Levien, and produced by Sian Smith, based in the UK. Their announcement of the film, just released, explains that "the film highlights the personal story of The Angola 3 but also looks at the prison system as a whole. It takes a wider look at US policy, sentencing and even the modern day use of slavery. Some real eye-opening facts are laid out and built into a shocking picture of injustice and institutional racism." Check their Facebook page for the latest news.

Robert King to Speak at the Michigan Journal of Race and Law 2013 Symposium on Feb. 2

On February 2, 2013, the Michigan Journal of Race and Law is hosting a symposium at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, entitled "Inhumane and Ineffective: Solitary Confinement in Michigan and Beyond." As described by the flyer posted below and the Journal's website, the all-day event will be held on campus in Room 1225, South Hall. The keynote address will be given by James Forman, Jr.

Please help us spread the word about this important event!

Long Distance Revolutionary to Premiere in NYC, New Orleans, Seattle and Beyond

The new film about Mumia Abu-Jamal, an important ally of the A3 Coalition, will be premiering in New York City on February 1. Tickets are now available for purchase.

The New Orleans premiere will be on Feb. 22 at the Zeitgeist Arts Center.

A few months back when "Long Distance Revolutionary" was screening at the Mill Valley Film Festival, Angola 3 News interviewed the filmmakers, Noelle Hanrahan and Stephen Vittoria, where they explained why they chose to focus on Mumia's work as a revolutionary journalist. Read the interview here.

Angola 3 News takes a Black Panther History Tour with Billy X Jennings of It's About Time BPP Alumni & Legacy

Last week, the "Dismantling Racism" class from St. Catherine University in Minnesota was taken on a Black Panther History Tour in Oakland and Berkeley, led by Billy X Jennings from It's AboutTime BPP Alumni & Legacy. Along with ongoing BPP history exhibits at the Alameda County Law Library in downtown Oakland and the window of Rasputin Music on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley is a new photo exhibit running until February 28, entitled Louder Than Words, at La PeÃ �a Cultural Center (3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley). An important friend and ally of the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3, Billy X Jennings' work was previously spotlighted in an interview with Angola 3 News, entitled We Called Ourselves the Childrenof Malcolm.

The college class was co-led by Professor Nancy Heitzeg from St. Catherine University. Heitzeg was first featured in an interview with Angola 3 News about having taken a similar class on a tour at Angola State Prison in Louisiana, entitled Visiting a Modern-Day Slave Plantion. We have since done three more interviews with her: The Racialization of Crime and Punishment and Abolishing the Prison Industrial Complex (parts one and two). Heitzeg is also the editor and frequent contributor to the Criminal Injustice series at Critical Mass Progress, with her most recent articles focusing on Angola Prison & the broader Louisiana 'justice' system, as well as the January 26 protest at Chowchilla women's prison in central California.

Watch the first part of our new video here.

And in Other News:

--Over 400 protest overcrowding at Chowchilla Freedom Rally (California Coalition for Women Prisoners)

--Twelve Years in Solitary and "Still in Illegal Limbo"
(Bret Grote, Solitary Watch)

--Best Films of 2012: Top Ten Picks from a Bumper Crop of Bold Creations (Jordan Flaherty, Truthout)

--Series of Brooklyn Billboards Put Racial Inequity on Display (Jamilah King, Colorlines)

--Art and Writing from Tennessee's Death Row
(A Year of Rethinking Prisons)

--Political Prisoner Lynne Stewart's Cancer is Spreading. She Needs Our Help! (Ralph Poynter, Political Prisoner Radio)

--A Misguided Ruling in the WikiLeaks Case: 23 Hours a Day Alone in a Cell is Always Solitary Confinement (Amy Fettig, ACLU Blog)

--Political Prisoners, Mass Incarceration and What's Possible for Social Movements (Sundiata Acoli)

--Suicide in Solitary: The Life and Death of Armando Cruz (Sal Rodriguez, Solitary Watch)

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Over 40 years ago in Louisiana, 3 young black men were silenced for trying to expose continued segregation, systematic corruption, and horrific abuse in the biggest prison in the US, an 18,000-acre former slave plantation called Angola. In 1972 and (more...)