Stanley-Eric-Captive-Genders-Trans-Embodiment-and-Prison-Industrial-Complex

Captive Gendersexperiences of gender oppression, we deepened our movement body’sgrounding and practice toward possibility for gender liberation.Between the lines of these victories, my bodymemory still holdsthe cost of passing to play. During the campaign, my face had becomeenough part of the capitol landscape that upon returning to Sacramentoa year later, post-campaign, to emcee a press conference, a familiar photojournalistgreeted me, asking where I’d been. The answer I didn’t givewas that I’d retreated home to recover. During this fight, my policy bodytried on its growing understanding of capitol culture and its code ofethics, my heartbody prayed for its quiet of chorus to stay accountableto movement body, movement heart across prison walls. I hold the tirefrom bridging Sacramento’s demand to make nice, make compromise,and make friends with each and all with our movement body’s demandfor accountability from institutional decision-makers, accountability toour communities; from learning to scurry the pecking order across threeandfour-digit room assignments and internal to each office, to countingvotes for hearing while cultivating tactical relationships and occasionallonger-term relationships.Simultaneous with retreat from Sacramento, Justice Now continuedto engage organizationally as the legislative fight shifted into a local sitefight. While our campaign successfully removed bill language authorizing“Female Rehabilitative Community Correctional Center” (FRCCC) construction,the state continued to push its agenda, seeking requests for proposalsfrom corporations and nonprofits to build and run the FRCCCs, includingthem in the 2007 budget bill. I spent some time between Oaklandand Fresno, backing local anti-prison organizers there waging battle againstthe state and local officials colluding to build an FRCCC. In many ways,this moment of campaign shift brought me present in new ways with questionsabout our movement body—the thousands of prisoners mobilizingagainst the proposal an exception; most of us who were able to show up andengage in campaign activity in Sacramento were paid staff of anti-prisonand prisoner-rights organizations, and my body was the most consistent,employed by an anti-prison organization providing immense leadershipbecause of both commitment to this fight and the resources to do so.you eye rest my heartshoulder in fire blinkheat of silent smolderwhere body brave sleep288