The Final Straw Radio Eric King and Josh Davidson
This week on the show, you’ll hear part of our conversation with Eric King and Josh Davidson. Josh has been on a few times to talk about collaborative inside-outside projects he works on such as the Certain Days calendar, the greeting cards he helped make of Indigenous political prisoner Oso Blanco’s artwork to benefit Zapatista schools in Chiapas, and the Rattling The Cages book that he co-edited with Eric King.
Eric was just released in December 2023 into a halfway house in Colorado after nearly 10 years in Federal prisons across the country. Eric is an anarchist who was incarcerated for an attempt to molotov the office of a Democratic Party official in Kansas City in solidarity with the then-going Ferguson Uprising following the murder of Michael Brown by police there. An antifascist and antiracist, Eric was moved around a lot during the 10 years he was inside and pitted against nazi prisoners in fight scenarios in a few instances, and near the end of his bid he was accused of assaulting an officer and successfully defending himself from a possible 20 year addition to his time inside but suffered intense isolation, insecurity, mail / phone and visitation blocks, moves across the country and physical restraint, ending up at the federal prison system’s most intense prison, the supermax ADX in Florence, CO.
For the hour, the guests speak about prisoner support, putting the book together, the implications and effects of long term isolation related topics. You can find more of Erics thoughts and updates at SupportEricKing.Org and similarly named social media accounts.
- Our past chats with Josh
- Our past interviews with Eric
Prisoners at the Red Onion State Prison in Virginia have been on hunger strike since December 26th against the illegal and cruel use of solitary confinement at the facility in spite of procedures put into place last summer by the Virginia government. Here’re some words from the support site for Minister of Defense of the Revolutionary Intercommunal Black Panther Party, Kevin "Rashid" Johnson. From rashidmod.com :
“On Tuesday, December 26, 2023, several prisoners confined at Virginia’s Red Onion State Prison began a hunger strike to protest the continued use of long-term solitary confinement within the institution.Despite critical concern, outcry from the public and prisoner populations in the state, incarcerated people are still subjected to this brutal practice which has been renamed “restorative housing” since July 1, 2023 when measures were passed to limit its use in the state. Leading these prisoners in this effort is longtime prison activist, revolutionary writer and artist, Kevin “Rashid” Johnson. Rashid has stated that no one will take any food at all until demands are met. Some of the strike participants have underlying health concerns that make the undertaking of such a demonstration particularly risky. Rashid, himself, is recovering from multiple rounds of radiation to treat prostate cancer as well as suffering from untreated heart disease/congestive heart failure. This is why the public’s support is especially needed. We are asking that calls, emails, and letters be sent to the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) officials as well as Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin’s office voicing support for the strikers and condemnation for the inhumane use of long-term solitary confinement/restorative housing.”Red Onion Hunger Strike Participants:
- Kevin “Rashid” Johnson – 1007485
- Jason Barrett – 1092874
- Rodney Lester – 1429887
- Charles Cousino – 2213403
- Eric Thompson – 1208012
- Joe Thomas – 1193196
Who To Contact:
VADOC~ Central Administration; USPS— P.O. Box 26963 Richmond, VA 23261
- David Robinson Phone~ 804-887-8078,
- Email: david.robinson@vadoc.virginia.gov
- Virginia DOC ~ Director, Chadwick S Dotson,
- Phone~ (804) 674-3081
- Email: Chadwick.Dotson@vadoc.virginia.gov
VADOC ~Central Administration
Rose L. Durbin, Phone~804-887-7921 Email: Rose.Durbin@vadoc.virgina.gov
Beth Cabell, Division of Institutions beth.cabell@vadoc.virginia.gov (804)834-9967
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (804)786-2211 glenn.youngkin@governor.virginia.gov
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Featured Tracks:- Army Of Me (ABA All Stars Instrumental) by Bjork
- Bright Star (traditional) from H-Block, The Legacy of 1981 Hunger Strike CD
- Helicopter Song by The Dublin Ramblers from Irish Republican Jail Songs