Reed Miller: LGBTQ Prison Support Group Black and Pink Works to Empower their Incarcerated Members

Award-winning Investigative Journalist Robert Parry (1949-2018)

Award-winning investigative journalist and founder/editor of ConsortiumNews.com, Robert Parry has passed away. His ground-breaking work uncovering Reagan-era dirty wars in Central America and many other illegal and immoral policies conducted by successive administrations and U.S. intelligence agencies, stands as an inspiration to all in journalists working in the public interest.

Robert had been a regular guest on our Between The Lines and Counterpoint radio shows -- and many other progressive outlets across the U.S. over four decades.

His penetrating analysis of U.S. foreign policy and international conflicts will be sorely missed, and not easily replaced. His son Nat Parry writes a tribute to his father: Robert Parry’s Legacy and the Future of Consortiumnews.

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The Resistance Starts Now!

Between The Lines' coverage and resource compilation of the Resistance Movement

"The man who predicted Trump presidential win now says Trump impeachment could happen," AM Joy with Joy Reid, MSNBC, Jan. 21, 2018
"Sketchy Kazakh money finds its way into Trump dealings," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Red flags seen in many Trump real estate deals," The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC, Jan. 15, 2018
"Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers," BuzzFeed, Jan. 12, 2018
"The Scandals of Donald Trump: Presidential Edition," The Atlantic, May 15, 2017
"Here's what we know so far about Team Trump's ties to Russian interests," Washington Post's ongoing compilation
"What Comey Was Investigating, Explained," The Moscow Project, Center for American Progress

"Donald Trump's Financial Ties to Russian Oligarchs and Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary from the Netherlands," Dutch TV documentary, Alternet.org, May 12, 2017
Ongoing compilation of Trump's creeping authoritarianism," MotherJones.com
Full resource list ...

SPECIAL REPORT: "The Resistance - Women's March 2018 - Hartford, Connecticut" Jan. 20, 2018

Selected speeches from the Women's March in Hartford, Connecticut 2018, recorded and produced by Scott Harris

SPECIAL REPORT: "No Fracking Waste in CT!" Jan. 14, 2018

Jen Siskind Jennifer Siskind, local coordinator for Food and Water Watch, describes the campaign to stop fracking waste in Connecticut, which so far has led to fracking waste bans in 34 towns around the state. Interviewed by Richard Hill on Mic Check, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT

SPECIAL REPORT: "Resistance Round Table: The Unraveling Continues..." Jan. 13, 2018

Lindsay Kanaly The panel discusses Trump's long history of racism and the Republican voter suppression juggernaut confronting Democrats leading up to the 2018 elections. Special guest: Lindsay Kanaly, a lead organizer of the Women's Marches planned for Jan. 20, 2018. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill on Resistance Roundtable, WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, CT.

SPECIAL REPORT: "Capitalism to the ash heap?" Richard Wolff, Jan. 2, 2018

Richard Wolff, Economics professor Richard Wolff declares U.S. capitalism to be beyond repair and suggests the need for a radical alternative. Interviewed by Richard Hill

SPECIAL REPORT: Maryn McKenna, author of "Big Chicken", Dec. 7, 2017

Maryn McKenna, investigative journalist and author of Big Chicken, talks about the widespread use and dangers of antibiotics in commercial poultry, beef and fruit production. Interview by Bill Duesing, Richard Hill and Guy Beardsly on WPKN's Organic Farm Stand.

SPECIAL REPORT: Nina Turner's address, Working Families Party Awards Banquet, Dec. 14, 2017

Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, talks about the fight ahead for progressives as she receives the Working Families Organization Award for Exceptional Leadership Towards Advancing Progress. The event was held in Meriden, CT. Produced by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Dec. 12, 2017

Working Families Party of CT talks strategy and issues for 2018.
Lindsay Farrell, executive director of the Working Families Party of Connecticut, discusses the state's electoral landscape and lays out the issues and strategies that could lead to progressive victories in 2018. Interviewed by Richard Hill.

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Dec. 9, 2017

Disturbing developments in the Trump/Republican Agenda
Focus on the tax bill, destruction of our public lands, North Korea and Trump's private CIA. Panel: Scott Harris, Ruthanne Baumgartner and Richard Hill. Special guest: Jo Macallero of Rise and Resist.

SPECIAL REPORT: On Tyranny - one year later, Nov. 28, 2017

Professor Timothy Snyder, author of the highly acclaimed resistance manual On Tyranny, discusses his book and offers a fresh assessment of the state of our beleaguered republic. Timothy Snyder, history professor at Yale, is introduced by Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, a Connecticut-based organization that sponsored this event at the United Church Parish House in New Haven on Nov. 28. A brief interview with Snyder conducted by WPKN radio producer, Richard Hill, follows his talk.

SPECIAL REPORT: Mic Check, Nov. 12, 2017

Lynne Ide, director of program and policy with the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, talks about the current state of health care coverage in Connecticut. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resistance Roundtable, Nov. 11, 2017

Focus on the Republican tax plan, the just-released autopsy on the Democratic Party, and Internet censorship by Google, Facebook and Youtube. Including an interview with Hilary Grant, a lead organizer with Action Together Connecticut, who discusses the local results of the recent election, with hosts Richard Hill, Scott Harris and Ruth Baumgartner WPKN producers

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Two leaders from Redneck Revolt, an anti-racist, anti-capitalist movement, talk about their work organizing with white working class people in Suffolk County, New York. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Rainy Day Radio, Nov. 7, 2017

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, describes the extent of -- and motives underlying -- the vast US network of military bases around the globe. Interviewed by Richard Hill, WPKN radio producer

SPECIAL REPORT: Resisting U.S. JeJu Island military base in South Korea, Oct. 24, 2017

Joyakol, South Korean peace activist and singer, discusses the crisis on the Korean peninsula and focuses on the resistance to the U.S. huge military base being constructed on Jeju Island. The event was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Peace Council and this audio was recorded by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.
Joyakol discusses Americans' biggest misconceptions about the conflict between North and South Korea and the U.S., Interview by Richard Hill, WPKN producer.

SPECIAL REPORT: John Allen, Out in New Haven

John Allen, founding director of the New Haven Pride Center, Connecticut, talks about his new LGBTQ television show, Out in New Haven, which presents a range of political and cultural issues to the community. Interviewed by Richard Hill on WPKN's Rainy Day Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018.

2017 Gandhi Peace Awards

Promoting Enduring Peace presented its Gandhi Peace Award jointly to renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader and BDS founder Omar Barghouti on April 23, 2017.

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE...

who helped make our 25th anniversary with Jeremy Scahill a success!

For those who missed the event, or were there and really wanted to fully absorb its import, here it is in video

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 1 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Jeremy Scahill keynote speech, part 2 from PROUDEYEMEDIA on Vimeo.

Between The Lines on Stitcher

Between The Lines Presentation at the Left Forum 2016

"How Do We Build A Mass Movement to Reverse Runaway Inequality?" with Les Leopold, author of "Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice,"May 22, 2016, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, 860 11th Ave. (Between 58th and 59th), New York City. Between The Lines' Scott Harris and Richard Hill moderated this workshop. Listen to the audio/slideshows and more from this workshop.

Listen to audio of the plenary sessions from the weekend.

JEREMY SCAHILL: Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker "Dirty Wars"

Listen to the full interview (30:33) with Jeremy Scahill, an award-winning investigative journalist with the Nation Magazine, correspondent for Democracy Now! and author of the bestselling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," about America's outsourcing of its military. In an exclusive interview with Counterpoint's Scott Harris on Sept. 16, 2013, Scahill talks about his latest book, "Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield," also made into a documentary film under the same title, and was nominated Dec. 5, 2013 for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category.

Listen to Scott Harris Live on WPKN Radio

Between The Lines' Executive Producer Scott Harris hosts a live, weekly talk show, Counterpoint, from which some of Between The Lines' interviews are excerpted. Listen every Monday evening from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT at www.WPKN.org (Follows the 5-7 minute White Rose Calendar.)

Counterpoint in its entirety is archived after midnight ET Monday nights, and is available for at least a year following broadcast in WPKN Radio's Archives.

You can also listen to full unedited interview segments from Counterpoint, which are generally available some time the day following broadcast.

Subscribe to Counterpoint bulletins via our subscriptions page.

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LGBTQ Prison Support Group Black and Pink Works to Empower their Incarcerated Members

Posted Sept. 13, 2017

Interview with Reed Miller, technology coordinator with the LGBTQ prisoner support group Black and Pink, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Black and Pink is a grassroots nationwide organization led by formerly incarcerated LGBTQ individuals who support 14,000 LGBTQ community members currently in prison. Their website states, “Our work toward the abolition of the prison industrial complex is rooted in the experience of currently and formerly incarcerated people. We are outraged by the specific violence of the prison industrial complex against LGBTQ people, and respond through advocacy, education, direct service and organizing.” Among other work, the group publishes and sends a monthly newsletter to its incarcerated members.

The Black and Pink name refers to the colors of the queer anarchist flag, though not all members identify as anarchist. In Nazi Germany, gays and lesbians were labeled with pink and black triangles.

The group held its second national conference in Chicago Aug. 4-6, where the theme was "Celebrate, Learn, Heal and Build. The focus was on strengthening the movement towards abolition and the needs of LGBTQ and HIV-positive people.

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Reed Miller, Technology Coordinator with Black and Pink, who lives in New Haven, Connecticut. Reed, who attended the Chicago conference, first explains the origins of Black and Pink, which located 14,000 LGBTQ prisoners that are currently active in the group’s penpal program. [Rush transcript.]

REED MILLER: So, yeah, Black and Pink started about 12 years ago. Our founder, Rev. Jason Lydon, who’s a UU (Unitarian Universalist) minister, was incarcerated doing civil disobedience at the School of the Americas Watch. And as a result of his incarceration, when he got out he wanted to stay in touch with the people who supported him while he was in prison' he was put in what the Georgia prisons called a "homo bin." Basically, he started with friends over a dinner table and they wrote to a couple dozen penpals.

BETWEEN THE LINES: How did they find the people to write to?

REED MILLER: I guess there’s three ways our address in Boston got around. One was some penpals would say to other folks in prison, "Hey these people are writing me and if you give them your address they’ll write you too." So it just spread, friend to friend, word of mouth like that. We’re in some guides, like prisoner resource guides, so if a person has a law library you might be able to look us up and get the address. And then primarily, we send out this monthly newspaper and most of the content is submitted by our prisoner members. So they write in handwritten letters; we have several dozen volunteers every weekend processing the literally hundreds of letters we get every week, including submissions to our newspaper, so they get typed up and included in our newspaper, which is important, I should say, also because prisoners in general aren’t allowed to write to one another, and as a result of the traumatic and abusive experiences they’re having inside prison, feel very isolated and so the newspaper is a way for people to connect across prisons. And we hear often, "Oh, I was alone until I realized this person in Pennsylvania – here I am in Texas – is experiencing similar things." OR, "WOw, here I am in Florida and that’s similar to my situation." For every ten letters that we get in, we get four new people who have heard of our organization, so we’re growing at an almost exponential rate, sort of limited by how many volunteers we have to process all that mail and how many funds we have to send out more and more newspapers.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Wow, that’s amazing. So, your organization just had a national meeting in Chicago. So, what was the focus of that, or what came out of it?

REED MILLER: Yeah, the focus of the meeting was, since the prison system with its over two million incarcerated and many more millions on probation or parole, has people scattered about the country. It’s an opportunity for us to get together in a centralized place to look toward our long-term goals. We are an explicitly abolitionist organization, which means that we don’t believe the prison industrial complex has the capacity to bring any sort of justice to our communities in the situation where harm is done. Of course, so much of the harm that happens in our society is rooted in the inequality driven by capitalism and the structures of power that are driven by the inequality and lack of access to resources. And that’s compounded, especially for our organization with LGBTQ folks and folks who are HIV-positive experiencing – when they’re not in prison – extreme levels of discrimination, lack of access to housing, to employment, to health care, and folks needing to resort to survival economies like trading sex or trading drugs in order to get by.

Other folks have caused other people harm and we do think that in a world where transformative justice is our means of restoring justice between people that people who cause harm to one another will have an opportunity to make amends if possible, and we don’t believe in throwing people away. We want people to remain part of our communities, and we don’t think that a person should be defined by the worst thing they’ve ever done. All of us have done bad things on some level or another and that shouldn’t define us entirely.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Does Black and Pink work with other prison abolition groups or with other LBGTQ groups to achieve your goals?

REED MILLER: Yeah, absolutely. With such a behemoth as the prison industrial complex, it’s completely necessary for us to work in coalition with other organizations. We work with LGBT groups on a national coalition that’s kind of got some mainstream folks in it and has some other more radical LGBT groups working on broad criminal justice reform as it pertains to LGBTQ folks and so that’s been an ongoing partnership for a number of years, and putting together some sort of policy proposals. Some groups might be more extreme, some groups might be more mainstream, but things that we can all get around. All of these groups we really respect the work they’re doing, because it’s really about working with individuals and building power toward our collective liberation. And it’s also important to recognize we’re not here as a charity for prisoners. We want to empower prisoners and we respect the ideas and actively try and solicit ideas from our members.

For more information on Black and Pink, visit Blackandpink.org.