a service of the chicana chicano resource and education center of the pacific northwest | kirkorg
las locas: nena, beva, basha, bobbie, rachel, lali
This is dedicated to all of our hermanos and hermanas inside, the ones on the chain and the gente over in the barrios. Especially to Loonie, Wino, Shyboy, Sleeper, Crow & Frog- the memory of Cricket, and Sparky. And to all the loved ones serving life and those who have been murdered on "the row".
Some of our services include working with community projects to fight racial profiling, citizen abuse by cop, bringing to light prison industrial complex, fighting the growing correctional facilities in Washington State (Yakima County) where we hold the highest % of Chicano/Latino and Mexicano per capita and where this group is the highest incarcerated per capita than any other place in the nation!!! Contact us to learn more about these issues and to receive leaflets on the matter.
Con amor y carnio to all political prisoners y Francisco Magon!
Interested in writing an inmate? Words are the best form of activism. Contact us to "hook you up" with a torcido or torcida in need of a peer mentor!
Q-vole homie!!! Here we are not going to talk shit to you, ask you to turn leva, help you find faith, we won't make you reply to what we are sharing... We are a group of activist Chicanas wanting to assist those who need it. We are mujeres that have grown up around vatos/jinas like those currently serving tiempo. We are young, brown mujeres wanting the rest of our hermanos/hermanas in the Movement to pay attention to criminalization of Chicano/Mexicano youth, profiling, the inhuman ways our people are treated among other things. We desire to build links in our communities and that people who live in them- make the decisions in how one is to run the barrio. Who knows better to run Aztlan than it's very children?! We aim to break the cycle, chains and all cruel natures against our hermanos y hermanas. We wish to bring to light the prison industry complex and why it is important to understand & fight it!!!
Blue Hummingbird on the Left
Oh Huitzilopochtli, how they tore us to shreds.
May they suffer an eternity for their wrong doing
I pray to you and Quetzalcoatl, that the wounds
of my heart shall encourage us to fight on
For we are the true rulers of this sacred land,
that ripped from our souls by those devils
Blood and tears are the passion to my path,
as we match to that flowery battle field.
War is the only solution to our misery and pain.
Death be to those who do not stand up.
Praise to the many who have past, and yet
to be reborn again
Bring me all ours macanas and shields
I don't have feathers so we'll use panos
Maybe our dark lives inspire a bright future...
-R. Roldan, San Culimas
update! to all the firme gente en la torcida writing to us wanting to join our newsletter- you are more than welcomed to participate and no, you do not need to have been contacted by our offices to be placed on any special lists. Recently we have had a pour of puertoricans involved in our project and like we said before- you are welcomed! Especially the gente of the Young Lords!
we have a new member!!! Bobby Salinas, a nursing student who hopes to purse a law degree after her current studies is now the newest member of this raza pride filled organization! Bobby is a 21 year old Chicana and is active in the movement to support convicts and bring to light their plight. Learn more about Bobby and the rest of the mujeres that work for KirkOrg! click here
What We Have Done As a group, we have performed "rage- rant- story telling and poetry" for the Washington state Green Party, did a performance piece on un-just labor practices/the criminalization of youth for the Mayday Justice Unity in the Park for the UFW AFL-CIO. We performed, hosted and organized the Viva La Voz Festival in Sunnyside- where we promoted Chicano self expression and consciousness.
And... many of our projects are youth run and focused and are the only one of our kind in Central Washington. We believe like Nas says, "If the truth is told, the youth can grow". Seeding consciousness to our community youth is the only was we can ensure a balanced and free pueblo. The importance of this can't be anymore stressed! We know that by bringing to light the truths and educating those that are many times over looked or deemed "not worthy", can we make all the difference in the world.... arte, must also be encouraged!
Chicano/Chicana History Links
CLNets Chicano History reference website has everything from Mexican-American war to pabaras on Ruben Salazar and other historical figures. click here
Talk about the ultimate in Chicana studies, this is the most informative website full of history, current events and a Chicana web directory that is to die for. click here
Washington State Inmate Support
November Coalition, PO Box 309, Colville, WA 99114 (509) 684-1550. Dedicated
to educating the public on prison issues.
Reaching Beyond The Walls & Inmates of the Invisible Cell , C.J.
Codega, PO Box 3896, Silverdale, WA 98383-3896. Inmate and inmate family
support group, Pen Pals, newsletter, more.
Prison Legal News (PLN) 2400 NW 80th Street, #148 PMB, Seattle, WA 98117
Provides newsletters reports on court decisions affecting prisoners. Cost
$18/year for prisoners, and $25/year for non-prisoners.
The Prisoner's Guide To Survival, 700+ pages soft cover edition, by PSI
Publishing. It costs $49.95 plus $5 s&h for prisoners, and $64.95 plus $5
s&h for non-prisoners. There address is: PSI Publishing, Inc., 413-B 19th
Street #168, Lynden, WA 98264.
Yard Out", Prisoners for Christ Outreach, PO Box 503, Kirkland, WA 98083. Ask to be placed on their mailing list.
National Chicano Mexicano Support
Chicano Awareness Center, 4825 South 24th St, Omaha, NE 68107-2704 Write and seek information.
Mexican-American Legal Defense Education Fund (MALDF), 634 North Spring St. 11th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90014
Mexican Awareness Through Association (MATA), Box 2500, Lincoln, Nebraska 68542-2500 They put out a bulletin from inside "Torcido", send 3 stamps or more.
"Being torcido in the zapato is being deprived of the most basic human needs. The everyday mundane things that society takes for granted are remembered in the SHU."
-Marcos Ramirez
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
"If recent incarceration rates remain unchanged, an estimated 1 out of every 20 persons (5.1%) will serve time in a prison during their lifetime."
-U.S. Dept of Justice
"In the early 70s, there were about 200,000 people locked up in the U.S. Today’s prison population of 1.8 million represents a growth of over 800% in the past 30 years."
-PrisonZone
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
-13th Amendment of United States Constitution
The Prison Economy is Booming Off the Blood of La Raza!
What to learn more about the mujeres that work for KirkOrg? We roll 6 deep click here
To receive our free newsletter or to be placed on our Wishlist or even to submit work have the inmate send a letter of request to the address listed high above- There is never a charge to Chicano/a torcidos!
**Also to receive our Chicano History 101 packet have them request it separately. There is no charge**
nope, this isn't all we do. We hold Chicana Studies classes at alternative schools, our PYFCP grrrls fight racial profiling and racist testings, the locas also protest police brutality, racism, classis acts, and ect. We hold festivals to promote community togetherness. To find out more about how you too can get involved, contact our gente at [email protected] or write to us at: KirkOrg, P.O. Box 1317, Granger, WA 98932. We'll send free stuff your way if you are torcido, but other gente, please send in SASE with return address.
KirkOrg © 2003. All rights reserved, homie. c/s