With the thousands of letters received from prisoners we are given a window into the lives and experiences of people inside. The letters come in many forms: personal accounts, essays, poetry, etc. We have picked through and chosen the most powerful writings and retyped them unedited so that the public is aware of the terrible abuses and the amazing examples of survival and strength that these prisoners show.
PARC corresponds with and mails this resource packet to prisoners, their friends and family members. We are often the first point of contact for people to connect with prisoners' rights organizations, community organizations, prison literature and arts projects, family and visiting resources, health care and legal resources, parole and pre-release resources, and the prison abolition movement.
If you are an organization that will use this directory to support prisoners who contact you, please send us a 61cent stamp with your request and we will send you an original copy.
"Toxic Sweatshops: How UNICOR Prison Recycling Harms Workers, Communities, the Environment, and the Recycling Industry" was released in October 2006. It is an important look into the world of the Prison Industrial Complex and the modern slavery that makes it a mult-milllion dollar a year business.
PARC's Prison Issues Curriculum is designed to provide information, stimulate discussion and inspire community action for High School classes. This four part series covers issues such as: the Criminalization of Youth, the Death Penalty, Who's in Prison, and Prison Profits. While we are not actively updating the curriculum right now, as we are focusing on other projects, we do still send out the curriculum upon request. To request a copy or copies, contact PARC with your address and request.
PARC works with prisoners of all types across the country, but wants to call special attention to high profile prisoners we believe are being kept in prison for political reasons.
PARC is a prison abolitionist group based on Oakland, California committed to exposing and challenging the institutionalized racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, and classism of the Prison Industrial Complex. Learn More or Donate to PARC
If you would like to get involved with PARC to work on any of the projects below, please contact us at volunteers [at] prisonactivist [dot] org or call 510-893-4648 during office hours TWTh 4-6pm.
