Hear Rev. Pinkney speak in two videos (1-2 min. each) at this link:
http://terryhowcott.com/closeup.asp?cid=9&pid=1018&offset=50 (scroll down about halfway)
* A report from Pastor Wylie-Kellermann who visited Rev. Pinkney recently -
Friends:
I was camping with friends north of Alpena when I learned that Rev. Pinkney had been moved to Kincheloe in the UP, so made quick arrangements to visit him as a pastor last Saturday.
Edward's been up there now two weeks already. I was able to spend a couple hours with him. He seems in remarkably good spirits and utterly hopeful given what he's been through. He sent greetings and expressed gratitude for everything that people are doing on hs behalf and on behalf of the continuing struggle in Berrien County. Needless to say, he's eager to see the appeal move forward.
I was able to report on the meeting here in Detroit and some of the press that had been generated. Acknowledging the pall of fear that hangs over Benton Harbor, he urged organizing and media work in a larger circle around the state. We also talked some about strategies for getting the word out in the wider religious community.
He has a low security classification which would ordinarily make him eligible for movement to a camp (or even downstate I would think), but he had seen paperwork with sentencing designations from the judge which urged no special programs or privileges. He estimated that about thirty percent of the Hiawatha prison is African American, but he was the only black person in the visiting area when I was there - some indication of the geographical patterns at work. He has been able to talk regularly with his wife Dorothy.
I was really grateful for the time with him and all the providences involved.
I pass along his love and thanks and prayers.
Bill
Bill Wylie-Kellermann, Pastor, St. Peter's Episcopal Church - Detroit, 313-841-7554, 313-433-1967
http://stpeterscorktown.edomi.org/
http://www.thewitness.org/author.php?id=40
http://www.scupe.com
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Lawlessness - Hallmark of Whirlpool and Berrien County
Rev. Pinkney, political prisoner and whistleblower, worked 24/7 raising awareness about Whirlpool's takeover of Benton Harbor. The corporation needed to silence him, and their gratuitous cruelty is obvious in the report above (plus the fact that they felt the need to imprison him AND send him to the UP where friends and family would have the most difficult time visiting and his voice would be as distant as possible.) One man stirred up a lot of trouble for a multi-national corporation, and they felt the pressure, so he was banished under illegal and unconstitutional circumstances. This lawlessness is what Berrien County and Whirlpool will go down in history for. For the latest news on the takeover go to http://www.protectjkp.com/
and http://www.savejeanklockpark.org/NewsReports.html
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Please send letters or postcards supporting Rev. Pinkney's application to the Parole Board.
Text can be as simple as: "I support Rev. Pinkney's application for pardon."
Michigan Department of Corrections
Office of the Parole Board
Pardons and Commutations Coordinator
Post Office Box 30003
Lansing, Michigan 48909
Gov. Granholm, PO Box 30013, Lansing, MI 48909 517-373-3400
Checks to BANCO for Pinkney's legal fees (tax-deductible):
BANCO
1940 Union St.
Benton Harbor, MI 49022
BOYCOTT WHIRLPOOL & SUBSIDIARIES (Amana, Estate, Gladiator Garage Works, Insperience, Jenn-Air, KitchenAid, Magic Chef, Maytag, Roper, Acros, Inglis, Bauknecht, Brastemp, Admiral, IKEA appliances, some Kenmore)
Hiawatha Correctional Facility
Rev. Edward Pinkney #294671
4533 Industrial Park Dr.
Kincheloe, MI 49786-0001
