This week, you’ll hear a conversation with Bam and Row, two residents of so-called Durham, NC to talk about that city and industries and their experience of solidarity with houseless neighbors, particularly in the Oakwood Park encampment which the city has already attempted to evict once this year. The guests give a long term and detailed view of the development of the city and the role of Duke University and adjacent, co-constitutive businesses and the city’s research park play in the day to day grind of living in that triangle city.
- GoFundMe to support mutual aid with the Oakwood community
Also, after the interview the guests reached out wanting to uplift Traingle Anarchist Black Cross as one group involved in community support for the Oakwood Park encampment. They meet 4th Sunday (that’s today!!!) from 2-4pm for letter writing at The Burrow in Durham. More at linktr.ee/triangleabc
Finally, many of the people listed as inspirational by Row at the end of the interview have been either guests on this show in the past or the subject of episodes, which you can find under the tag of Black Anarchism.
Announcements
Recent Repression Updates
Federal Indictments have come down against people alleged to have taken part in anti-ICE protests (accused of being Antifa) in so-called Minneapolis. We plan to cover this in an upcoming episode, but meanwhile would direct listeners to recent episodes of It Could Happen Here, Outlaw Podcast and Live Like The World is Dying on the topic (the latter two are pending but should pop up at those links)
Also, sentencing has begun in the Prairieland “Antifa” case, with decades being handed out to make a political point (in the words of one judge). You can follow the updates at PrairielandDefendants.com (and we should be sharing an interview on the sentencing next week, once it’s complete for the Federal case).
Request for call-in to support mentally ill prisoner at the Joe Corley Detention Center in Texas
The prescribed collective action I believe will solve this issue here at the Joe Corley Detention centers RHU cellblock is:
1) A phone zap to warden Dickey’s office, the commissary office and the US Marshals office. The Marshals pay these inmates $1 a day and are responsible for their work ethics while awaiting transfer to a BOP.
Joe Corley Detention Center phone number: (936) 521-4000
US Marshals Office Southern District of Texas phone number: (713) 718-4800
2) Request that these individuals review surveillance cameras in the RHU cellblock where the incident involving a mentally ill prisoner name Brandon that live in cell 243 took place on the morning of 6-25-26 while he was forced to go to rec. This is to verify that he just purchased nearly $100 worth of commissary, a T-shirt- batteries, boxers, etc yesterday.
3) Demand that all of his items be returned to him.
4) Disciplinary for the officers involved in allowing the inmate worker to enter Brandon’s cell wholly unsupervised, take his items and refuse to investigate his valid complaint because he’s mentally ill and can’t comprehend what happened.
Background
On the morning of June 25 2026 officer Henley and a male white or Hispanic looking officer approached Brandon’s cell (243). They told him he was going to rec whether he liked it or not. Brandon complied with their order and was handcuffed and taken to the rec cage outside. I note Brandon wasn’t wearing a commissary T-shirt, nor was he carrying anything when he left the cell.Moments later a Black inmate worker with a yellow skin tone entered the cellblock with a cart used to carry cleaning materials. They say he is amongst the most despised for his interest in stealing from other inmates.
This inmate worker was ordered to clean Brandon’s cell. Not only did he clean the cell, he cleaned him out. As both guards left him to his own device, taking their eyes off of him to tend to less important things. The inmate worker took a large plastic bag full of Brandon’s commissary that he’d just bought yesterday, two bags of coffee and a few things laying around and tossed them in the cart’s trash compartment like it was trash.
Soon after Brandon was placed back into an empty cell and to his dissatisfaction, he protested that Henley had set him up to be robbed.
Henley blew his concern off to a female mailroom employee as a hallucination, but what happened was reality.
Around 10:20am the inmate worker returned to sweep and mop the cellblock wearing, what looked like, Brandons brand new T-shirt under his own jail issued prison garb.
The officer who helped Henley take Brandon to rec halfheartedly asked the inmate worker if he stole Brandon’s commissary, implying he wasn’t present while the worker was in Brandon’s cell. Of course the worker denied taking anything, merely suggesting that the only thing in the cell was trash on the floor. Though he did admit to the officer to taking Brandon’s shampoo to use as he wanted. And his other inmate co worker gritted at Brandon that that’s what gets done to psych patients.
From what transpired both officers not only knew what happened but they created the incident as they already dislike Brandon because of his mental illness, forced him to leave his cell so that an inmate that openly despised him could clean it up unsupervised and stock piled with goodies.
If such acts against the mentally ill are perceived as heroic deeds in the eyes of this inmate worker and guards who condone it. What does that say about observers on standby that cheer them on, or an administration that chooses to assist by covering it up?
. … . ..
Featured Track:
- TFSR by The Willows Whisper
First up, Dulce, a member of Companeros Inmigrantes en las Montanas en Accion, or CIMA, a local organizing and advocacy group by and for immigrants in western NC about her experience working for dignity and solidarity in light of the current and past administrations. More on CIMA can be found at 
This week on The Final Straw Radio, you’ll hear three interviews relating to community needs and recovering concerning Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.
