Vermont Action for Political Prisoners and
the Prison Book Project of Western Massachusetts present:

The Second Annual
Connecticut River Running Down the Walls
A 5K run, walk, and bike ride to benefit U.S. political prisoners.

Sunday, August 7, 2011, 10am-1pm (Rain date: August 14)
Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, MA

• Support social justice and environmental activists in U.S. prisons!
• Free lunch and refreshments for all participants!
• Route accessible to all abilities!
• Children and families welcome!

How to get involved

Be a runner, walker, or cyclist: We ask that participants gather as many sponsors for the run as possible. Those who do not gather sponsors may participate in exchange for a donation of $12.  Stay tuned for more information on how to gather sponsors.  You may RSVP for the event on facebook.
*Please wear red to RDTW so that you can be identified as a participant!

Sponsor a runner: This can be done through a flat donation to the runner of your choice.

Benefactors

100% of funds raised at CRRDTW will benefit the following:

The Bradley Manning Support Network (BMSN): The BMSN is an organization working to support and free Bradley Manning, a 23-year-old Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking a video showing the killing of civilians, including two Reuters journalists, by a US Apache helicopter crew in Iraq. He is also charged with sharing the documents known as the Afghan War Diary, the Iraq War Logs, and embarrassing US diplomatic cables, with the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.  The video and documents have illuminated such issues as the true number and cause of civilian casualties in Iraq, human rights abuses by U.S.-funded contractors and foreign militaries, and the role that spying and bribes play in international diplomacy.

The Vermont Action for Political Prisoners and Anarchist Black Cross Federation Warchest Funds:  These funds provide monthly assistance to many of the nearly 100 Political Prisoners (PPs) incarcerated in the U.S. who would otherwise receive no outside monies for stamps, toiletries, commissary items, and other materials needed for daily survival and communication with the outside world.  PPs are people incarcerated as a result of conscious political actions to oppose economic, social, political, and/or environmental injustice perpetrated by the U.S. government and U.S. corporations.  U.S. PPs include blacks, whites, Latinos, American Indians, and Arab-Americans from a variety of social and environmental justice movements.  While the majority have been incarcerated since the 1970s and 80s, others have entered prison as a result of the U.S. government’s more recent attacks on environmentalist, animal rights, Muslim, Arab-American, and anti-war activist communities.

For more information on VAPP, see: http://vermontactionforpoliticalprisoners.blogspot.com/
For more information on the ABCF, see: http://www.abcf.net/

Solidarity Runs

Connecticut River Running Down the Walls will take place in conjunction with over a dozen other RDTW events occurring in cities, towns, and prisons across North America.  In recent years, other RDTW events have taken place in: Albuquerque; Arcata, CA; Ashland, OR; Bellefonte, PA; Boston; Dannemora State Prison, NY; Denver; Elmore Correctional Center, AL; Guelph, ON; USP Big Sandy, Inez, KY; Los Angeles; USP Marion, IL; Mexico City; Montreal; USP Navosta, TX; New York; Pelican Bay State Prison, CA; Phoenix; Tucson; USP Tucson, AZ; and Toronto.
For more information on solidarity runs, see: http://www.abcf.net/la/laabcf.asp?page=la/rdtw

Black August

CRRDTW is scheduled to coincide with observation of Black August, a month designated for reflection on the lives and lessons of Jonathan Jackson, George Jackson, and other revolutionaries who perished during the black liberation and prisoners’ rights movement of the 1960s and 70s.  For more information on Black August, seehttp://4strugglemag.org/2009/08/10/black-august-a-celebration-of-freedom-fighters-by-doc-holiday-et-al/

Directions to Greenfield Community College

from the north
91 South to exit 26 for MA-2W Greenfield Center / North Adams
At the traffic circle take the 1st exit into MA -2 W / Mohawk Trail
At the traffic light take a right onto Colrain Rd.
Drive .6 miles and take a left onto College Drive (there is a large sign for GCC)
Drive .5 miles and you will see a gazebo on your left where we will meet

from the south 
91 North to exit 26 for MA-2W Greenfield Center / North Adams
At the traffic circle take the third exit onto MA -2W / Mohawk Trail
At the traffic light take a right onto Colrain Rd.
Drive .6 miles and take a left onto College Drive (there is a large sign for GCC)
Drive .5 miles and you will see a gazebo on your left where we will meet

***For more information on CRRDTW, please contact VAPP at vermontaction at gmail dot com