CREATING AN “UPROAR” STEERING COMMITTEE (2025) by Kevin “Rashid” Johnson

UPROAR is a reality!

During Dec 2024 I put out a call to create a prisoner support network composed of people who genuinely care about prisoners and the conditions we live under and abuses we suffer, namely our loved ones.

The proposed group was initially called PAPA (People Against Prison Abuse). But the name evolved to UPROAR (Uniting Prisoners’ Relatives Organizing Against Repression), to distinguish us from those career advocates and not for profits that prioritize clout and grant money over challenging the system and stopping our mistreatment. UPROAR, by contrast, is a group of united and outraged loved ones whose lives are impacted by the suffering of those they love who are confined in these prisons.

During meetings in mid-Feb 2025, we created a support committee as a temporary leading body until a steering committee is created to guide the group.

I was asked to submit a proposal for creating and structuring the steering committee. That is my purpose here.

The steering committee’s members should be elected and subject to recall, also by vote, should they fail in their responsibilities and commitments to the group.

As the leading body of UPROAR, they will be looked to to be energetic and “devoted and accountable outside and inside people who can coordinate the group, do outreach to loved ones to bring others into the group who need help and support in addressing abuses of imprisoned loved ones, and develop strategies of protest, exposure and resistance.”

The steering committee should have specific secretarial roles that reflect the group’s operational needs, for example:

SECRETARY OF FINANCE to coordinate and maintain all functions related to the group’s funds (with a committee of other members to provide oversight and transparency of account activities);

SECRETARY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE to develop, coordinate and provide educational information and social and print media, art, music, and other forms of outreach for the group;

SECRETARY OF HUMAN RIGHTS to develop basic rights work and programs, and working with human rights organizations, and educating and organizing people around their human rights;

SECRETARY OF JUSTICE to address internal complaints against and between members, conducting internal investigations and organizing fair and formal hearing procedures, provide legal first aid (for example, how to interact with cops and what to do and say and not say if arrested and so on) for members and the public, coordinating and organizing bail and legal defenses of members for any group related activities, etc;

SECRETARY OF LABOR to engage with worker’s groups and unions to build support for UPROAR among workers and gain union involvement of UPROAR members;

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE to coordinate developing and providing any needed security for the group and its members, and screening against involvement of elements who might subvert, infiltrate and undermine the group;

GENERAL SECRETARY AND/OR CHAIRPERSON to coordinate the overall operations, distribution of resources and work of the group and its various secretariats; prepare agendas for, keep minutes during, and chair meetings; also serve as the voice of the group that expresses and explains to collective decisions of the secretariat to the public.

Each secretariat should have a staff that works within it to assist the secretary in her/his role and work. The secretariat should reflect the base of people who UPROAR represents, namely prisoners and our loved ones and ex-prisoners.

UPROAR’s steering committee should operate cooperatively as a democratic body, like a council of elders, not like a corporate body of competitors and exploiters. There should be no one person dictatorships nor CEO-type leadership. The leadership is collective and based on collective ideas and work.

UPROAR is a mass organization with a specific interest to challenge prison abuses not a money chasing operation patterned after top-down corporate enterprises.

Membership and involvement in UPROAR should be completely voluntary. Nothing in the group is forced. Membership is open to all EXCEPT government agents of any type, including anyone who receives any form of government grants and subsidies for performing work of any type for the government.

The group should accept the 10-point program of the RIBPP as a basic unifying platform.

UPROAR collectives should be able to be created among outside and inside people by three or more people coming together in their area to create a collective or with any existing UPROAR members to join the group. The secretariat once elected can create a set of rules and standards governing members’ conduct and conditions of membership.

These are my proposals for the structure and operation of UPROAR as a mass organization with the purpose of opposing and resisting prison abuses.

Dare to Struggle Dare to Win!

All Power to the People!