TITLE:

Solidarity Network

TL;DR:

This project of the Reform Pod will advance criminal justice and prison reform by working with community organizations to collaborate on initiatives and provide resources that directly support those impacted by carceral systems.

DESCRIPTION:

Our work will build a Solidarity Network with the strength to enact political, cultural, and legislative changes needed to free Ross and everyone else affected by the injustices of the prison industrial complex. We will accomplish this by engaging in education, advocacy, and solidarity.

Twice a month, we will focus on a particular dimension of the criminal justice system, highlight a particular organization involved in this struggle, and mobilize our community in support through Action Items and our Community Grant Program.

Action Items: Each week we will mobilize people to engage in specific actions related to the campaign or organization. Participation would be incentivized through our $FREE Bounty System. Examples of actions could include signing petitions, writing letters, phone zaps, attending rallies, putting up posters, etc. (legal activities only).

Community Grant Program: We will provide financial resources to the selected organizations. Grants will be made available in either crypto or fiat (offering to assist these groups in accepting crypto donations, if desired).

Report Back and Discussion: We will host a brief reportback and discussion at each Friday’s FRD community Call on Twitter Spaces, inviting our community partners to participate (or use pre-recorded messages/interviews).

We will use an online collaborative system to allow all DAO members to nominate, vote on, and follow up with the organization/campaign we take on. Nominations must be involved in work related to criminal justice or prisons and be compatible with the general mission and purpose of FRD. We are particularly looking to support smaller, local, independent organizations involved in direct assistance to incarcerated people, and not political parties, large corporations, or groups that collaborate with law enforcement.

Some examples of what we’re looking to accomplish:

Visitor Transportation for Families of Prisoners: arranging transportation, such as group buses, for people to visit their loved ones

Prisoner Art Programs: providing art, writing, and music programs to prisoners, or publishing and amplifying prisoner creations.

Legal Support: those providing legal assistance to incarcerated people challenging their convictions or prison conditions

Community Bond: ending cash bail systems and pretrial confinement by providing direct bail assistance

Books to Prisoners: offering education, rehabilitation, and temporary escape

Issue-oriented: groups involved in advocacy around specific mass incarceration issues such as ending the War on Drugs, ending mandatory minimum sentences and draconian conspiracy laws, ending solitary confinement & other forms of cruel and unusual punishment, ending “natural” death-by-life sentence in the federal system, stopping police brutality, ending private prisons and profiteering contractors, ending mandatory and underpaid prison labor, etc

MISSION ALIGNMENT:

This project advances all three pillars of FreeRossDAO: Free Ross Ulbricht, reform the criminal justice system, and promote Ross’s work and his philosophy of Peace, Love, and Freedom.

Ross hoped that his art could be used to “help my fellow prisoners through my art.” Our DAO is in a position to follow through and enact this vision.

BUDGET:

$10,000 in USDC per quarter. $4,000 in FREE per quarter.

Grant size and $FREE bounties will be decided on a case-by-case basis as decided upon through the collaborative system described above with the intention of supporting two projects a month. The $FREE budget for bounties will come from the Social Media Pod.

Specifically this proposal amends governance proposals #9, and #12, redirecting a portion of the budget devoted to Ops pod personnel for the USDC portion (Prop #9), and redirecting 50% of the FREE from Social Media pod’s bounty budget (Prop #12).

SUNSET:

One year from the date of this proposal passing on snapshot, unless superseded by another proposal.

SUCCESS METRIC:

The creation of a Solidarity Network and a more active FRD community with solidified relationships with others in the struggle. We will be more engaged in public advocacy, generate more content for our weekly Community Calls, and have increased $FREE Bounty participation. We’re looking for measurable wins with each particularized Campaign and Action Item, but we’re also dedicated to long-term coalition building to achieve systemic change.

$FREE REWARD

$FREE will be distributed to Action Item participants through our current Bounty system.

WALLET:

FreeOpsDAO.eth

AUTHOR(s):

Space Proles FTP

LEAD:

Space Proles FTP