Albert Woodfox News from the Angola 3

Announcing Albert Woodfox & Robert King’s European Freedom Tour Events – November 2016

The International Angola 3 Coalition is delighted to announce the first European visit from Albert Woodfox in November 2016.  Albert Woodfox (the last remaining member of the Angola 3 to be freed from prison in Louisiana, USA in February this year after 43 years in solitary confinement) and Robert King (released 15 years ago after 29 years in solitary falsely accused of the same crime) will visit the UK and France to meet supporters and to continue their campaign to call for the abolition of solitary confinement and freedom for political prisoners who remain victims of the criminal (in)justice system in the USA.

The visit will take place during the USA presidential election and comes at a time when questions of race and injustice in the USA are as relevant today as they were in the 1970’s when Woodfox and King were members of the Black Panther Party whilst in prison campaigning for human and civil rights. 

The visit will start in London with Albert and Robert launching Amnesty UK’s Write for Rights Campaign on Tuesday 1 November followed by the below UK public events:

Thursday 3 November, 5.30 pm – Liverpool

The Angola 3 and the Struggle for Freedom in the USA’s Criminal ‘Injustice’ System. Prof. Joe Sim in conversation with Albert Woodfox and Robert King.

Venue:  Liverpool John Moores University, John Foster Building, Room G01, 80-98 Mount Pleasant, 
Liverpool L3 5UZ

Reserve your free place here.

Friday 4 November, 5.30 pm — Manchester

Black Power and the Struggle for Freedom in the USA’s Criminal “Injustice” System – The Story of the Angola 3.  Conversation with Woodfox and King.

Venue: Manchester Metropolitan University, Faculty of Education, Brooks Building, 53 Bonsall St, Manchester M15 6GX

Reserve your free place here.

Monday 7 November, 7 pm – London Guardian Event

Life in solitary confinement in the USA: the story of the Angola 3. The Guardian’s Simon Hattenstone talks to Albert Wodfox and Robert King on the eve of the US election about their experiences and the struggle for civil rights in the US from the 60s to the present day.

Venue: The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU

To attend, book your ticket here.

Tuesday 8 November – 6pm – Cambridge

Black Panthers to Obama’s America: Black Power and the struggle for freedom in the criminal (in)justice system – personal accounts of the Angola 3. In conversation with Albert Woodfox and Robert King.

Venue:  Anglia Ruskin University,  East Road, LAB 026, Cambridge

Reserve your free place here.

Tuesday 15 November –Paris, France

Rencontre de 19h à 22h

A la Bourse du Travail de Paris – salle Ambroise Croizat

Lieu : 3, Rue du Château d’Eau Paris 75010 France

More information here.

Albert and Robert look forward to meeting friends and supporters. Please spread the word of these events to friends and networks!

Solitary Gardens Unveiling
Plant the future. Honor the past.

WHEN:​  Saturday, October 1st 5-6:30pm

WHAT: ​ Please join Albert Woodfox, Malik Rahim, Nana Sula, Vaku and jackie sumell for the 3-year commemoration of Herman Wallace’s freedom after 41-years of unjust captivity.
Project unveiling, tree planting ceremony, special guest speakers and presentations.

WHO: ​ SOLITARY GARDENS is a public art project and land use alternative by jackie sumell that begs us to imagine a landscape without prisons. The project utilizes the tools of prison abolition, permaculture, and alternative education to facilitate unexpected exchanges between persons subjected to solitary confinement and volunteer communities on the “outside.” The six-foot-by-nine-foot Solitary Gardens maintain the blueprint of a US solitary cell and are “gardened” by prisoners through written exchanges with volunteers. Prisons are the descendants of slavery. Solitary Gardens will be constructed from the ancestral byproducts: sugarcane, cotton and indigo — exposing the illusion that slavery was abolished.

WHERE:​  2600 Andry Street, New Orleans LA 70117 (across from the newly built MLK High School), site of the Solitary Gardens.

CONTACT:  ​Please Contact Mary Okoth for press questions:
p: 571.426.9181
e: Grow@SolitaryGardens.org

Solitary Gardens thanks the Nathan Cummings Foundation, NORA (New Orleans Redevelopment Authority), the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, VOTE (Voice of the Experienced), Dillard University, SUA NOLA (Supporting Urban Agriculture, New Orleans), Eyebeam NYC, IDIYA Makers’ Space, Antenna Gallery, Swan River Yoga, Reyn Studios, LESGC (Lower East Side Girls Club), Vaku and all those forced to endure the inhumane conditions of solitary confinement; may you prevail with the victory of love.

Solitary Gardens Unveiling
Plant the future. Honor the past.

WHEN:​  Saturday, October 1st 5-6:30pm

WHAT: ​ Please join Albert Woodfox, Malik Rahim, Nana Sula, Vaku and jackie sumell for the 3-year commemoration of Herman Wallace’s freedom after 41-years of unjust captivity.
Project unveiling, tree planting ceremony, special guest speakers and presentations.

WHO: ​ SOLITARY GARDENS is a public art project and land use alternative by jackie sumell that begs us to imagine a landscape without prisons. The project utilizes the tools of prison abolition, permaculture, and alternative education to facilitate unexpected exchanges between persons subjected to solitary confinement and volunteer communities on the “outside.” The six-foot-by-nine-foot Solitary Gardens maintain the blueprint of a US solitary cell and are “gardened” by prisoners through written exchanges with volunteers. Prisons are the descendants of slavery. Solitary Gardens will be constructed from the ancestral byproducts: sugarcane, cotton and indigo — exposing the illusion that slavery was abolished.

WHERE:​  2600 Andry Street, New Orleans LA 70117 (across from the newly built MLK High School), site of the Solitary Gardens.

CONTACT:  ​Please Contact Mary Okoth for press questions:
p: 571.426.9181
e: Grow@SolitaryGardens.org

Solitary Gardens thanks the Nathan Cummings Foundation, NORA (New Orleans Redevelopment Authority), the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, VOTE (Voice of the Experienced), Dillard University, SUA NOLA (Supporting Urban Agriculture, New Orleans), Eyebeam NYC, IDIYA Makers’ Space, Antenna Gallery, Swan River Yoga, Reyn Studios, LESGC (Lower East Side Girls Club), Vaku and all those forced to endure the inhumane conditions of solitary confinement; may you prevail with the victory of love.