"We must remember: The walls didn’t stop us from loving our people or fighting for liberation. They just forced us to be more creative." — Sekou Odinga
This Black August, we honor the legacy of prison rebellions and revolutionary love by standing with incarcerated women at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility—a site of brutal repression and unbreakable resistance. Join us to write letters to women inside, including Reverend Joy Powell, a Black faith leader imprisoned for fighting police terror. Through words, we break isolation and amplify their struggles against incarceration and gendered violence.
The event will include:
- A teach-in on Black August, political prisoner Reverend Joy Powell, and Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
- Writing guides: How to send letters safely
- Templates & addresses: Including Rev. Joy Powell
Bedford Hills: A Legacy of Rebellion & Repression

"Prisons are not just cages; they are factories of madness, designed to strip you of your humanity. But no lock can stop a mind that dreams of freedom, no bar can hold a heart that refuses to surrender." — Assata Shakur

Bedford Hills has long been a battleground of repression and rebellion, where Black women and revolutionaries have faced isolation, abuse, and retaliation for their activism. From the 1970s rebellions led by incarcerated women demanding humane conditions to the ongoing resistance against medical neglect and sexual violence, Bedford exemplifies how prisons weaponize gender to break dissent. Today, it holds political prisoners like Reverend Joy Powell, a Black faith leader and activist imprisoned for her fierce activism against police brutality. Her case reflects the state’s historic targeting of Black women who struggle against the state and the war it wages against us.

This targeted punishment looks like:
- Shackling pregnant women during childbirth
- Denying menstrual pads as "luxuries"
- Forced sterilization and medical abuse
- Retaliation against jailhouse lawyers and organizers
- Abuse by officers against elders and trans women

By writing to women inside, we confront these horrors and remind them that they are not forgotten.

"Settle your quarrels, come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, that generations more will die or live poor, butchered half-lives if you fail to act." — George Jackson

Born from the Black liberation struggle, Black August honors George Jackson’s revolutionary organizing from behind the walls and his murder. We remember the Attica uprising and its impact on the future of prison rebellion. We continue the ongoing fight against the war on Black/African people and prison slavery. It’s a month to STUDY, FAST, TRAIN, and FIGHT in solidarity with those behind walls and recommit ourselves to the struggle for Black liberation.

This year, we focus on incarcerated women, whose resistance is often erased but whose struggles reveal the brutal intersections of racism and patriarchal violence in the carceral system.

We write not just with love, but with a demand: Free them all!
Prisons thrive on isolation. However, letter writing can connect us through the walls. For women like Rev. Joy Powell, letters are:
- A lifeline against dehumanization
- A reminder that outside eyes are watching
- Proof that their voices can’t be silenced
- A demonstration of the commitment we have to their liberation

Rev. Joy Powell’s Case:
From the Free Joy Powell website: "As a pastor and a consistent activist against police brutality, violence, and oppression in her community, Rev. Joy Powell was warned by the Rochester Police Department that she was a target because of her speaking out against corruption. On many occasions, from 1995 to 2006, Rev. Joy held rallies and spoke out against the police brutality and 'police justifications' in Rochester, NY. In 2006, she was accused and convicted of 1st Degree Burglary and Assault. Joy is sure the prosecution was politically motivated based on her activism through her organization, Equality and Justice For All."

Rev Joy was criminalized for her courage and commitment to our people. We demand her freedom.