[A-List] Fw: [LAsolidarity] ProLibertad/Welfare Poets: CD for the PR Prisoners

Wed Aug 15 13:10:38 MDT 2007

Tom Baker here. The political prisoners bios come at end of message

From: "benjamin ramos" <uriyoan at hotmail.com>
Subject: [LAsolidarity] ProLibertad/Welfare Poets: CD for the PR Prisoners

> The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign
> ProLibertad at hotmail.com and ProLibertad.Campaign at gmail.com
> http://www.ProLibertadWeb.com
> ProLibertad Hotline: 718-601-4751
>
> A CALL TO ARTISTS! Calling all Boricua/Non-Boricua Artists for a Fund
> Raising CD to aid our Puerto Rican Political Prisoners!!
>
> The Welfare Poets and The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign have come together 
> to
> collaborate on a fund-raising project to directly aid the current Puerto
> Rican Political Prisoners; incarcerated for fighting for the independence
> and self-determination of Puerto Rico. Additionally, we would also want to
> assist past political prisoners who have been freed and are now attempting
> to survive in a system where many channels are closed to them. It is also
> our intention to create a general legal fund to assist present and even
> possibly future political prisoners.
>
> We are directing this posting to local bands and world renown Puerto Rican
> artists who have the eye of the music world. Depending on how many artists
> come forward and who actually submit songs, there is a po-tential for us 
> to
> get funds so distribution can be created on a larger scale.
>
>
> Regarding Song Submissions:
> .We have begun accepting submissions.
> .All submissions and questions about submissions can be sent to:
> FreedomAlbum at gmail.com
> .We want all artist of all genres to be apart of this potentially 
> monumental
> album for Freedom -- Bomba, Plena, Hip Hop, Reggaeton, Salsa, Jibaro,
> Regggae, Punk, Rock or any other form of music
> .Songs do not need to be directly about the political prisoners and the
> struggle for Puerto Rico's Indpendence, although we definitely won't
> discourage you to do so. For the most part, they should be uplifting and
> somehow connected to our people, island, culture and history.
>
>
> Goal:
> .We hope this album serves to raise the necessary funds as outlined above,
> but also to unify the Puerto Rican community on many levels. Unifying 
> Puerto
> Rican artists from NYC, Chicago, California, Philadelphia, New Jersey and
> all over the Puerto Rican Diaspora, with each other and other artists from
> the island - all coming together under the banner of supporting those who
> have sacrificed everything for the
>
> .We also hope to unify organizations in an attempt to move forward on 
> better
> grounds on behalf of the companeros.
>
> .Not only will we be spreading the word about the Puerto Rican Political
> Prisoners' existence and indi-vidual cases to a wide range of individuals
> open their eyes for the first time or updating those who are already in 
> the
> know, but we will also be offering the people a way to assist, all people
> who support the struggle for our companeros release, Puerto Rican and
> beyond.
>
>
> To Organizations:
> .We call on other organizations to help put this album together. There is 
> so
> much to be done and time is most precious. Collectively, our efforts can
> reach the necessary millions to make a significant impact. These are our
> prisoners, they remain in jail and isolated due to our collective inaction
> and we can rem-edy this. To endorse thie effort, please email us at
> freedomalbum at gmail.com
>
>
> For information:
> .About the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and the ProLibertad Freedom
> Campaign, go to: www.ProLibertadweb.com or
> myspace.com/freeourpolitcalprisoners; about the Welfare Poets, go to
> www.welfarepoets.com
>
> Log on to myspace.com/freeourpolitcalprisoners for future information
> regarding the project and planning meetings
>
>
>
> The fight for Puerto Rico's Independence go as far back as indigenous
> resistance to Spanish occupation. For well over 600 years, countless and
> nameless individuals have fought for our islands sovereignty. Some have 
> paid
> the ultimate price with their lives.
>
> Others have been held captive, arrested against their will, by a court 
> which
> held no jurisdiction over their cases and tramples on their international
> right to fight for the lib-eration of their homeland, our homeland, Puerto
> Rico. The Puerto Rican people have been able to free many of our political
> prisoners. We did so because we created unity amongst ourselves and 
> because
> we welcomed the solidarity of all our allies. This Freedom Al-bum is 
> another
> example of our creativity in building solidarity and unity amongst
> ourselves.
>
> This album will educate, agitate and help further build our movement to 
> free
> our compañer at s behind the walls.
> _______________________________________________________________________________
>
> Our Political Prisoners are:
>
> Oscar Lopez Rivera was born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico on January 6,
> 1943. At the age of 12, he moved to Chi-cago with his family. He was a
> well-respected community activist and a prominent independence leader for
> many years prior to his arrest. Oscar was one of the founders of the 
> Rafael
> Cancel Miranda High School, now known as the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High
> School and the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center. He was 
> a
> com-munity organizer for the Northwest Community Organization (NCO), 
> ASSPA,
> ASPIRA and the 1st Congregational Church of Chicago. He helped to found
> FREE, (a half-way house for convicted drug addicts) and ALAS (an
> educa-tional program for Latino prisoners at Stateville Prison in 
> Illinois).
>
> He was active in various community struggles, mainly in the area of health
> care, employment and police brutality. He also participated in the
> development of the Committee to Free the Five Puerto Rican Nationalists. 
> In
> 1975, he was forced underground, along with other comrades. He was 
> captured
> on May 29, 1981, after 5 years of being persecuted by the FBI as one of 
> the
> most feared fugitives from US "justice". Oscar, who has a daughter named
> Clarissa, is currently serving a 55-year sentence for seditious conspiracy
> and other charges. He was convicted of conspiracy to escape along with 
> Jaime
> Delgado, (a veteran independence leader), Dora Garcia, (a prominent
> community activist) and Kojo Bomani-Sababu, a New Afrikan political
> prisoner.
>
> Oscar was one of 13 Puerto Rican political prisoners offered some form of
> leniency by the Clinton Administration in the fall of 1999. According to 
> the
> Chicago Sun Times, he "declined the president's offer, which still would
> have him left with 10 years to serve on conspiracy to escape charges. Now 
> he
> faces at least 20 more years in prison. His sister, Zenaida Lopez, said he
> turned the offer down because he would be on parole. 'Accepting what they
> are offering him is like prison outside of prison,' she said. Zenaida 
> Lopez
> said her brother 'was in total agreement' with the decision of the 11 
> others
> to take the conditional clemency." Oscar is presently in prison in Terre
> Haute, Indiana and his release date is 7/27/2027.
>
>
> Carlos Alberto Torres was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on September 19, 
> 1952.
> His parents moved to New York, finally settling in Chicago. He studied in
> the University of Illinois in Carbondale and Chicago. He studied sociology
> at Southern Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
> Carlos Alberto was involved in the struggles to recruit more Latin at s to 
> the
> University, against racism, and police abuse. Carlos was one of the 
> founders
> of the Rafael Cancel Miranda Puerto Rican High School now known as the Dr.
> Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School and participated in the
> Committee to Free the 5 Nationalists. In 1976, Carlos was forced to go
> underground and was on the FBI's 10 most wanted list. He was captured 
> along
> with other comrades and sentenced to 78 years on charges of seditious
> conspiracy, among other charges.
>
> Although the Clinton Administration offered clemency to 12 Puerto Rican
> political prisoners in the fall of 1999, no leniency was granted to Carlos
> Torres, whom prosecutors described as a leader of the Fuerzas Armadas de
> Liberación Nacional (FALN), an underground organization which fought for
> Puerto Rico's independence in the 1970s and '80s. His release date is 
> 2024.
> He is currently in prison in Oxford, Wisconsin.
>
>
> Haydee Beltran Torres was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico on June 7, 1955. 
> When
> Haydee was 12 years old, her parents moved to Chicago. At Tuley High 
> School,
> she organized a boycott that demanded the firing of a racist principal.
> Haydee attended the University of Illinois where she was an outspoken
> defender of Latino students' rights. Haydee was forced underground in 1976
> and was captured April 4, 1980. She has been sentenced to life in prison 
> on
> charges including seditious conspiracy. Haydee was the first POW to 
> receive
> a life sentence. She was kept in total isolation from the other prisoners 
> of
> war and was transferred to a special control unit which limited visits. It
> was a year before she was allowed to see her family.
>
> At the MCC in Chicago, she was classified as "no visitors allowed". Haydee
> was subject to physical abuse in interrogations for refusing to implicate
> her comrades in unfounded crimes. This was done several times by FBI and
> other government agents. These and other inhumane acts by the U.S.
> government have led to serious injuries which prison medical directors 
> have
> misdiagnosed; also, Haydee has received injections of unknown medications.
>
>
> Jose Perez Gonzalez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on January 14th, 1968; 
> he
> is the son of a butcher and his mother is retired government worker. He is
> married with three children. He is a member of Mayaguezano por La Salud y 
> el
> Ambiente. He is well known in his neighborhood, of Barrio Segundo in 
> Ponce.
> He is a family man with three children. He was a civil disobedient and
> served three months in jail for his support activities. Jose was the only
> member of the Vieques 12 who went to trial. He was found guilty and was
> sentenced to five years in jail. His release is 1/17/2008.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Learn.Laugh.Share. Reallivemoms is right place!
> http://www.reallivemoms.com?ocid=TXT_TAGHM&loc=us
>
>

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