Show Notes
You may remember our show from 10 May 2021 with Peter Snow from The Soviet Influence, a politically active, indie rock band from southern Ontario. Peter spoke of a live, online event in August for prisoner justice.
The Soviet Influence have partnered up with the 
Toronto Prisoner Rights Project and produced a compilation record and streamed show this past weekend to raise funds and awareness of this cause. CKMS Community Connections is re-broadcasting that show, recorded by our sister campus radio station from Guelph University, CFRU-FM. It features performances from The Soviet Influence, Friday Empire, Skye Wallace, and Joni Void, along with interviews and information about the project.
The Toronto Prisoner’s Rights Project (TPRP) is a volunteer organization of former prisoners, people with loved ones inside, front-line workers, artists, researchers, educators and students. They engage in direct action, public education, and mutual aid to shed light on the harms caused by incarceration and connect prisoners with social, financial, legal and health supports. They’re committed to abolition and building sustainable communities rooted in community care, transformative justice, and accountability.
Tomorrow, Tuesday 10 August 2021 is 
Prisoner Justice Day. Please join the memorial at the Church of the Holy Trinity, in Trinity Square tucked between the Eatons Centre and the Marriott Downtown. Between 5pm and 8pm there will be a vigil in solidarity with those who have died while incarcerated as well as to show support for prisoners’ rights. Former prisoners and their loved ones will share their stories and truths. There will be activities, music, performances, food, swag and more! Folks are encouraged to show up to demonstrate solidarity with prisoners and those impacted by incarceration. No one is free until we are all free.
You can support the Toronto Prisoner Rights Project at https://www.torontoprisonersrightsproject.org/get-involved-and-support All proceeds go to mutual aid projects including the Prisoner Emergency Support Fund, Jail Hotline, and Good Food Boxes, and support our direct action advocacy work (through digital organizing tools and protest supplies). Supporters can contribute a monthly donation on Patreon that includes exclusive TPRP merchandise as a thank-you.
https://www.patreon.com/torontoprisonersrights
Or you can make a one-time donation to the Prisoner Emergency Support Fund, started by the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project and the Toronto Prisoners’’ Rights Project. It’s a team of volunteers that are organizing to support prisoners, who believe that people need access to community support and not human cages. The fund was originally launched as a response to the pandemic. Given the clear gaps in care that have been revealed by the volume of applications, they are continuing to raise funds so long as there are needs to be met. This fund is intended for people inside prisons and jails and recently released prisoners. People behind bars often need support to contact their loved ones or purchase essential items on their canteen. Recently released prisoners need access to funds for housing, food, clothing, and physical and mental health supports. Families who still have loved ones behind bars need funds for expensive phone bills and canteens.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/prisoner-emergency-support-fund
And you can download the Toronto Prisonsers Rights Project Compilation EP by Musicians For Mutual Aid. The record features new music from The Soviet Influence along with tracks from Skye Wallace, The Burning Hell, Sean Bertram, Friday Empire, Davita Guslits, Joni Void + Jerry Quickley, and Kayla Hagerty.
https://thesovietinfluence.bandcamp.com/album/toronto-prisoner-rights-project-compilation
The broadcast starts at 4m43s.
Podcast
Download: ckms-community-connections-2021-08-09-episode084.mp3 (90.3 MB, 1h02m38s, episode 084)
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs on Saturday from 1:00pm to 2:00pm.
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Bonus Footage
YouTube: Musicians For Mutual Aid In Support of the Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project
Show notes and podcast interview content is Copyright © 2021 by the participants, and released under a 
Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders.