RUNNING DOWN THE WALLS:

A benefit 5K run/walk to raise funds to support political prisoners and prisoners of war held within U.S. Prisons.





For the third year in a row, the Los Angeles Anarchist Black Cross Federation support group will be organizing a benefit for political prisoners and prisoners of war, entitled Running Down The Walls. The event will take place on Saturday, October 13 from 9am to 4pm in Griffith Park near Hollywood. For the past two years Running Down The Walls has taken place at Griffith Park in the Hollywood Hills, and has also taken place within Leavenworth Prison. The Leavenworth run has been organized by political prisoners such as Leonard Peltier of the American Indian Movement, and Jaun Laman of the United Freedom Front. The Leavenworth run disorganized to show solidarity with the people who run each year in Griffith Park. Money from the Griffith Park run is raised through a registration fee per runner, as well as additional funds raised by those who wish to sponsor runners.

The original impetus behind the first running down the walls event, which took place in Griffith Park in 1999, was to raise funds to initiate a program known as the prisoner art project. At the 1999 event over 20 people registered to run the 5k rout, and managed to raise over 1000 dollars to help with the initiation of the prisoner art project. The Prisoner Art Project itself consists of using funds raised from various sources, including the yearly running down the walls event, to purchase art materials and send them to political prisoners who are interested in doing art projects. These prisoners in turn send their finished art projects back to the Los Angeles Anarchist Black Cross to be auctioned off publicly in order to raise funds to support the everyday living expenses of political prisoners and prisoners of war in the United States. So far, the LA Anarchist Black Cross has received numerous art pieces from political prisoners across the United States including art from imprisoned members of the United Freedom Front and members of the Black Liberation Army such as Sundiata Acoli.

This year, the goal for the Running Down the Walls event is to raise ,000 to be sent to the Anarchist Black Cross Federation Warchest. The Warchest receives funds raised by Anarchist Black Cross chapters from all over the U.S. and uses the money to send monthly checks to political prisoners and prisoners of war in the United States. Any funds raised over the ,000 mark this year will be given to the Legal Support Network for those who may be arrested at the upcoming Anti Capitalist Convergence against the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC.

Please consider attending Running Down The Walls this year, and help to make this event a success. The political prisoners and prisoners of war being held here within the United States desperately need your support. In addition to giving much needed support to the prisoners, the run will also be a time to meet new friends, get some much needed exercise, and enjoy some great food and conversation in the park after the run is over. To receive a pre-registration form for the run, or just to receive additional information about the Anarchist Black Cross and political prisoners, send a S.A.S.E and request to LA-ABCF, P.O. Box 3617, Anaheim, CA 92803-3671.