Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Support Herman Bell: Four Things You Can Do Right Now!
by Supporters of Herman Bell and Parole Justice New York
28 Mar 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Support Herman Bell: Four Things You Can Do Right Now!
Support Herman Bell: Four Things You Can Do Right Now!

“At 70 years old and after 45 years inside, it is time for Herman to come home.”

Last month the New York State Board of Parole granted Herman Bell release. Since the Board’s decision, there has been significant backlash from the Police Benevolent Association, other unions, Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo. They are demanding that Herman be held indefinitely, the Parole Commissioners who voted for his release be fired, and that people convicted of killing police be left to die in prison.

We want the Governor, policymakers, and public to know that we strongly support the Parole Board’s lawful, just and merciful decision. We also want to show support for the recent changes to the Board, including the appointment of new Commissioners and the direction of the new parole regulations, which base release decisions more on who a person is today and their accomplishments while in prison than on the nature of their crime.

Herman has a community of friends, family and loved ones eagerly awaiting his return. At 70 years old and after 45 years inside, it is time for Herman to come home.

Here are four things you can do RIGHT NOW to support Herman Bell:

1- CALL New York State Governor Cuomo’s Office NOW
518-474-8390

2-EMAIL New York State Governor Cuomo’s Office
https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form

3- TWEET at Governor Cuomo: use the following sample tweet:

“@NYGovCuomo: stand by the Parole Board’s lawful & just decision to release Herman Bell. At 70 years old and after more than 40 years of incarceration, his release is overdue. #BringHermanHome.”

4- Participate in a CBS poll and vote YES on the Parole Board’s decision
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/…/herman-bell-parole-police-ou…/
The poll ends on March 21st. Please do this ASAP!

Script for phone calls and emails:
“Governor Cuomo, my name is __________and I am a resident of [New York State/other state/other country]. I support the Parole Board’s decision to release Herman Bell and urge you and the Board to stand by the decision. I also support the recent appointment of new Parole Board Commissioners, and the direction of the new parole regulations, which base release decisions more on who a person is today than on the nature of their crime committed years ago. Returning Herman to his friends and family will help the heal the many harms caused by crime and decades of incarceration. The Board’s decision was just, merciful and lawful, and it will benefit our communities and New York State as a whole.”

Thank you for your support and contributions.

With gratitude,
Supporters of Herman Bell and Parole Justice New York

This article previously appeared in Portside

Black Mass Incarceration

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Black August for the Pendleton 2
Too Black
Black August for the Pendleton 2
16 August 2023
Black August is an important month of political education, but it should not solely be about the past.
I AM FOR THE RIGHT TO BE FREE!!!!
Shaka Shakur
I AM FOR THE RIGHT TO BE FREE!!!!
05 April 2023
Shaka Shakur is a revolutionary New Afrikan prisoner who has spent the past two decades incarcerated by the Indiana Department of Corrections o
Answering to Martin Sostre’s Ghost
Stephen Wilson
Answering to Martin Sostre’s Ghost
01 February 2023
Martin Sostre (1923-2015) was a political prisoner, jailhouse lawyer, and Black anarchist of Puerto Rican descent.
A Racial Disparity Across New York That is Truly Jarring
Jesse Barber , Simon McCormack
A Racial Disparity Across New York That is Truly Jarring
04 January 2023
Black people are disproportionately convicted of felonies across New York State.
Crazy Like a Woodfox
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Crazy Like a Woodfox
10 August 2022
Crazy as a Woodfox...
Prison in Plain Sight: Visualizing the Economic Veins That Fuel Our Carceral Reality
The Mapping Project
Prison in Plain Sight: Visualizing the Economic Veins That Fuel Our Carceral Reality
13 July 2022
The prison system links corporate interests, the military industrial complex, and policing into a web of oppression impacting more than 2 milli
New York Bail Reform Fight
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
New York Bail Reform Fight
23 February 2022
Black legislators in New York are defending their legislation which reduces the use of cash bail.
Eric Adams' Black on Black Crime
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Eric Adams' Black on Black Crime
09 February 2022
The mass incarceration state was built to lock up as many Black people as possible and discussion of even modest reforms is shut down.
Arizona State Prison Laborers
Michael Sainato
Corporations are Making Millions of Dollars From U.S. Prison Labor
25 January 2022
A Freedom of Information Act request shines a light on how much private corporations and government agencies have been exploiting prison labor
Rittenhouse and Verdict Mania
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
Rittenhouse and Verdict Mania
23 November 2021
Black people give great attention to certain court cases in hopes of receiving justice when the system is designed to be unjust.

More Stories


  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: The Palestine Question: Background and Solution, Edward Atiyah, 1946
    20 May 2026
    “It is impossible to make a national home for one people in a country inhabited by another, except by dislodging the latter.”
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    That Sunday morning Mom cried …
    20 May 2026
    "That Sunday morning Mom cried …" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Tamanisha J. John
    Annexationist Chauvinism: There is No Justification for the Venezuela-Guyana Essequibo Border Dispute
    20 May 2026
    The Essequibo dispute benefits Exxon Mobil and the Pentagon while crushing anti-imperialist solidarity.
  • Roger Harris , Sara Flounders
    Cuba Is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State
    20 May 2026
    The same week Cuba mobilized millions to defend its revolution, the White House imposed even more illegal measures in an effort to strangle the country into submission.
  • Nicholas Mwangi
    Police tear gas and arrest protesters at France-Africa counter summit in Nairobi
    20 May 2026
    Organizers, activists, intellectuals, and international delegates were arrested in Nairobi during an anti-imperialist protest against the France–Africa Summit, which critics have described as an…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us