Through letter writing and community organizing, we promote principled, mutually educational relationships between people in solitary confinement and human rights supporters outside the prison walls. We envision a world without prisons and an end to the torture of long-term solitary confinement in California. The Human Rights Pen Pal program takes its inspiration from the poetic words of Assata Shakur, "A wall is just a wall; It can be broken down." The program is centered around the relationships between people who believe in human rights inside and outside the prison walls. We assume that the developing relationships will lead to a growing commitment of those 'outside the walls' to work in solidarity with prisoners working for their human rights 'inside the walls. The program promotes principled relationships that transcend the walls by providing an opportunity for pen pals in the community to meet online to discuss our common work. We share our experiences of learning from imprisoned human rights activists what life is like in a cage the size of a large bathroom. We read portions of our pen pals' letters in a powerful exercise called 'Bringing the Brothers into the Room.' We study and discuss the history of prisons and of solitary confinement. We learn about basic ways we can advocate for our pen pals with prison authorities. For pen pals who are outside of the Bay Area, we will work collaboratively to develop our materials on line, and to organize other means of communication convenient and beneficial to all of us. We believe that the organized power of people of conscience is a crucial part in building a movement to challenge the human rights violations of California's prison system of solitary confinement, and its selective targeting human rights activists and justice leaders within the prisons. We also believe that this movement is inspired and led by those most affected by the prison system: imprisoned people, their families and loved ones, and formerly incarcerated people.
