Rayne reports that she and other trans women at her facility are receiving medication that "grossly deviates from the dosage they were receiving in county jail and in the free world." The tiny dosages of estradiol they receive are not consistent with the standard of care and are woefully inadequate treatment. She's asking us to contact her facility and insist that trans women receive adequate hormone treatment consistent with the standard of care. Contact: CFRC.WardenOffice@fdc.myflorida.com, (407) 207-7777

ARC member Nadirah Ali has had to work hard to make sure that she and other Muslims–most of them Black women–can practice their faith in women’s prisons in Pennsylvania, often fighting restrictions on observing Ramadan or praying jummah. Right now she needs our help with donations to her facility’s religious library at SCI Muncy. It has almost no Islamic books aside from the Qur’an (and not even enough copies of that). We’ve teamed up with the Feminist Islamic Troublemakers of North America (FITNA) to create a wish list of emancipatory, woman-centered, and feminist Islamic books–please check it out and send whatever you can!

Divest from companies profiting from borders, occupations, or prisons–and tell them why you’re doing it.

Avoid buying from companies profiting from the occupation of Palestine

Call the companies funding, insuring, or working for Cop City, and tell them to drop their contracts.

According to the reports of ARC member Miley Fletcher, SCI Greene, a men’s prison in Pennsylvania, is harassing and discriminating against trans women. Officers call them freaks, place them in solitary, skip them for meals, withhold basic supplies like sheets and towels, and otherwise make their lives hell. Call or write and insist they improve the treatment of trans women and feminine people! (724) 852-2902, mzaken@pa.gov, ra-contactdoc@pa.gov

Call and write the White House, your Senators, and your Representative and call on them to:
1) Support a ceasefire in Gaza;
2) Support anti-blockade measures to let food and medicine reach Armenians;
3) Reject any budget that includes anti-trans riders; and
4) Reject any slashes to funding for people living with HIV.

ARC member Rayne Vylette was arrested on a “violation of parole” in Orlando, Florida. Despite the wishes of the victim’s family, her family, her loved ones, her, and even the prosecutor, the judge (a member of the federalist society) sentenced Rayne to 30 years in prison, the maximum sentence possible on her original conviction — a conviction for which she had already served many years. Rayne is devastated and would love mail and moral support from the outside. You can send her letters via Securus or at:
Robert Dziekan
#X86984
P.O. Box 23608
Tampa, FL 33623

Prisons are not safe, healthy, or fair for anyone. They can be especially toxic to trans people. And yet, many trans people in prison find ways to get by, build friendships, and fight for change. On Wednesday, May 17, at 6pm ET, come learn from three amazing people who survived incarceration, and support three amazing organizations they lead: Rayne Violet (ARC Gender Justice), Ky Peterson (Freedom Overground), and Dee Farmer (Fight 4 Justice Project). While the event is free to attend, it is a fundraiser! Please give generously to all three organizations.

Nadirah Ali, one of our core members, just learned that her 31-year-old niece passed away from COVID. Please send her a simple sympathy card or condolences. You can write her at Tracey Shaw, OD4315, SCI Muncy, PO Box 33028, St Petersburg, FL 33733 or via ConnectNetwork. Info on mail restrictions at link.

Thank you to everyone who called to make sure Ary got access to her property, including her legal papers--she has confirmed that she now has them!

Recently, we held our first vote on priorities for what we will do together in the Alyssa Rodriguez Center for Gender Justice. Our members decided that our first projects will be:

Creating a newsletter with gender justice news and developments

Creating a guide to legislative advocacy on how to support and oppose gender justice related bills from inside prison

We’re very excited about these choices. Newsletters have long been a key way for information and support to flow across prison walls. And in this political moment, with escalating criminalization of trans existence, abortion, miscarriage, protest (when led by Black or Indigenous people), and voting (when done by poor people, disabled people, or people of color) happening in state legislatures around the country, we love the idea of building all our skills for the struggle.

But—we definitely can’t do it all ourselves! We’re hoping to find a few volunteers to help us make these projects a reality. If you’re interested, please let us know!

In solidarity, Pooja and Gabriel