Organizing for Freedom: An Interview with Charles “Bula” Joseph
I was granted parole and eventually released from CDCR on May 17th, the day after my birthday. I woke up at 4:00 a.m., made sure I had all my stuff that I was taking with me, and made a cup of coffee. And I waited and waited. Finally they finally called me and said, “Come on down with your property.” All I had was paperwork - my legal paperwork - and pictures, letters, and my guitar. The only thing I took with me was my guitar, because my guitar had all signatures. It was signed by everybody I know. All my brothers in there, they had come together and had a little party for me and signed my guitar. I had a bunch of signatures on my guitar. That’s why I can’t play it to this day, because I still have to figure out how to seal all the signatures on there.
So they called me to R&R, and I get to R&R, and I’m excited! I’m ready. I knew my mom was coming to pick me up - my mom and my wife. But, they never called me to go out to the front. And then this truck pulls up in the front. So they pull up, and I had a couple of Mexican guys in the holding tank with me and they start saying: “La migra, la migra!” And I’m like, “What, what’s going on? Where am I going?” The guys that got out of the van just replied, “You’ll know when you get there. We can’t really talk to you. I can’t really answer your questions.” They didn’t even wanna tell me if they were ICE, or where I was going to be taken to. So they cuff my hands and my legs and escort me to a van. I was taken to Sacramento from Solano. And then they put us all in the van again and we drove all the way down to Bakersfield, and we waited there for a couple of hours. And then they take us to Mesa Verde at 3 am. Man, it was messed up. We waited there in that holding cell in Mesa Verda 'til like 6 in the morning, before they found a place to put us. Then we walked up the stairs and I went into the dorm.
Being in CDCR, I was always in a cell, I had never been in a dorm setting. So I had my own space. I was able to clean my own cell. I was able to clean the bathroom and keep things the way I wanna keep them. When I went to Mesa Verde, as soon as they opened the door and I walked into the dorm, it’s just.. The smell - the first thing that hits you is the smell. ‘Cause there’s so many people. I came later on to find out that there was a hundred people in that dorm, in that one room setting. And it was… the smell. That’s one thing that hit me first, was the smell. I’m like, Aw man, this is not cool.
And I had to go use the restroom. So I go in the restroom and - again, the smell. And I’m looking around and I’m like, Where’s the soap? Do they give us soap? I just remember turning the water on and splashing water in my face. I went to use the bathroom and it was like, Okay where’s the toilet paper? And then they told me, “Oh you have to ask the police. The police have to give you everything.” So I asked the little guard and he said, “Oh, we don’t have soap, but I can give you toilet paper. Here’s half a roll.”
I didn’t know how long I was going to be there. You go to prison and it’s like, You know this is what happened, this is what you got, this is what you have to do. In ICE, I didn’t know why I’m here or how long I’m here. After a while, I started talking to more people and I came to find out there was a lot of people in there for years. And I’m like, Why? Why are you here for years? We beat our case, and then the government appealed on us and lost a second time. So we’re in this ninth circuit where we’re moving along and we have to go and fight again. There was a guy in there, he was there for 6 years. The guy who got out with me, my buddy, he was in there for 4 years. He was from Jamaica. He got out the same day I got out. But I was in there for 11 months when I got out. He was in there for 4 years fighting, fighting hard. He just came from prison also. And there were a couple of people in there just... indefinitely. They don’t know what the hell is going on.
You mention that even when you first arrived that there was a connecting of a small community of others. Just in ICE in Mesa Verde, how did diverse groups of people from different backgrounds, from different languages, come together to take collective action to try to improve conditions at Mesa Verde when you were there?
California prison is very segregated. And so when I went to Mesa Verde, it was very similar. There were divisions: you had the “others” and Hispanics from Central America, South America. And then you have some of the gangs that came from prison that are also there. The one thing that was different that surprised me was there was this white guy that came to Mesa Verde and he was lost! He’s from England. He actually just came from prison! The whites in prison are very like, Oooh, you know? They’re off on their own. So he comes to prison and there’s no category for white guys in immigration, right? So then the white guy is an “other” in immigration. At that time, when he arrived, I was already there for a few months. I was able to go talk to him and see where his mind frame was at. And he was like, “Man, I’m just trying to get home. I’m just trying to go through.” And I told him, “Man this is it. You’re cool, you’re an ‘other.’ Come over here. We over here is good.” We’re not tripping on all that nonsense, you know? Everybody here is just fighting and trying to get to somewhere better; they’re trying to get home. Either guys are trying to get home, or they signed their deportation and they’re waiting just to leave, get on a plane and leave. But most of the guys were fighting, most of the guys were fighting to get back to their families. It took him a little bit to reflect on it, but he took to it really easy, you know? And he was better.
Was there a particular collective action that you can speak of? You mention there’s the legal fights. Were there any types of fights or struggles that happened in your dorm or throughout the detention prison?
So while I was there, COVID had hit. I used to get up early and watch the news everyday. And so we’d just see COVID and it’s spreading. I started having conversations with the guards in December 2019 and January 2020 just to see if they had anything that they were going to implement anything or if there were any updates. And they also told me, Nah, nah, nah. And then the conversations progressed to, What are you guys going to do? It’s coming closer! And then we started hearing, Okay, COVID is in California. And then I talked to the guard and the guard said, “Nah, it’s not in our county!” One of the ICE officers replied, “Why are you worried about COVID? You guys are safer in here. Why would you wanna go anywhere? Stay here, you guys are safe.” It just showed me where their mind frames are at, they don’t really care about us. Then I had a conversation with the warden. I was asking him all of these questions and he said the same thing. He said, “You guys are safer in here. You guys have nothing to worry about.”
And so after those communications, I realized that this wasn’t going anywhere. I was watching the news and it kept talking about risk factors: people with asthma, people with heart conditions. And so I begin to write something out. I wrote this letter addressed to the officials - ICE officials - all those in power. We came up with this list, this list of about 40 people out of the dorm that had medical conditions, risk factors. And at the same time, Interfaith Movement was connected through my case and they were assisting me with my case, especially with getting me an attorney. We had access to video calls and Gala made an appointment to call on a video visit. I told all the guys: “Listen, they’re gonna do the recording. I want everybody, everybody, back here. Let’s show unity. Everybody stand here while I read this letter out loud. And then after we’re done reading the letter, I want everyone to come say hi to the camera. Let people see who’s in here.” The call came in, she pressed record, and everybody was behind me while I read the letter. As soon as I was done reading the letter, I moved out the way and all my bros they walked around, everybody walked by. They said hi, did a peace sign, or some kind of gesture. Everybody was so excited because they were getting calls from their family like, “Oh, we seen you on YouTube!” And so the warden finds out about this video and he shuts down the video calls. And then he blocks Galatea from ever calling me. When we made the video, that was really for relief. First of all, they didn’t have anything in place. We need safety! We need cleaning supplies! Oh my goodness, the bathrooms were so filthy. We’ve been asking for cleaning supplies since I’ve been there. It was a big struggle just to get cleaning supplies. And then, on top of that was relief from deportation. We’ve been to prison, we served our time. We were deemed releasable by CDCR on parole. We were granted parole. Parole is supervision. It made no sense to me. How was I granted parole by CDCR and then you not grant me bond or bail?
And then, I was fortunate to get in contact with Centro Legal and they assisted me a lot. They started taking calls from people. They said, “Can you make a list of all these people? Can you get them together and put them on the call so we can talk to them and take down their case and information?” So I had lines of guys. I said, How much time do you have? I was talking to Priya at first and Priya was like, I want you to call Susan. So one phone would be Priya, and there would be a line of guys on one phone back to back handing the phone off while Priya is taking down their information and writing down their health risks. And then I go use the other phone and I call Susan and Susan is like, “I’m ready, get it started!” And I have a whole line on this phone and Susan is taking down information. So it was about three phones and three different attorneys taking down information.
There was no change, though. All of that, and there was no change. More conversations, still nothing changed. And then me and the guys, we got together, and we were just like, We have to do a big demonstration, we have to do something big. And so we planned a demonstration on the yard. I also sent out a letter and it was able to be sent out and passed on to the women’s dorm also and they planned a hunger strike.
Then, the day before the demonstration I had just found out that I was finally granted release. The day of the demonstration comes and I make sure the whole dorm goes out. Me and my buddy, we rally up everybody. Everybody out the door, the whole dorm outside. So we all go out and we do a sit-in on the yard. A warden comes down to speak to us and so he’s talking to me: “I know you’re the one doing this, Mr. Joseph, but you have been granted release. These guys are still going to be here.” He’s talking to me like that. And I tell him, “Listen man, it’s not a me thing. Everybody can speak for themselves. My brothers can speak for themselves.” I told the guys I can’t be the only one talking because if it’s just me who knows what’s happening and speaking up, then they would just cut the head. They’d just throw me in the hole and then this whole thing would die. So everybody started learning what’s happening, what are we standing for, what are we doing. And it spread like wildfire because everybody was ready, you know? So then everybody started speaking when the warden came out. My buddy from Honduras stood up and started speaking in Spanish! And I’m like, “Listen, it doesn’t matter what language we speak, we all have the same concerns. This is real. You’re taking it lightly, you’re not paying attention to us. You’re not giving us what we need. You put on this video about proper handwashing for us to watch, but you don’t even provide the stuff we can use in the video to practice proper handwashing.” And so the warden got frustrated and left, then he finally came back at the end and he threatened everybody. He said, “All you guys are getting write-ups. This will go to your judges. Your court cases will be affected.” It was all bad. So the guys started getting turnt up. They were ready for violence right now ‘cause now there’s been threats.
So we walked into the field and got to the middle of the field and then we created this circle. At the same time, this drone flew overhead. And by some miracle, when the drone took the picture, the formation on the ground was a heart-shaped formation. Nobody even spoke a word. There wasn’t any instructions. It was just so natural! By the time the picture was captured - and I’ve seen the picture! I didn’t even know it was heart-shaped ‘til I seen the picture. It was a trip. And when we were outside, we also heard at the same time, it was Kern youth abolitionists. They were outside the gate across the parking lot chanting. And we could hear them! They were saying, “Libertad! Libertad!” And so when the guys got out there, this sparked much more of a fire ‘cause now they’re excited, you know? They started chanting, “We want freedom! Libertad! Libertad!’ We’re all saying the same thing and then we all came together and said, “Okay, we’re all gonna chant together. One, two, three! Libredad!” In one voice. It felt so powerful, man. It was amazing. I was real fortunate to be part of that moment. It felt really good. I was really happy, man. This could all be our doom, but we’re here and we know the cause is just.
It was escalating and there was potential for violence. So I talked to the guys and a few of the main heads, we came together and we had a conversation and we decided that we would go back in and continue the movement by going on hunger strike alongside the women, because the women were on hunger strike at the moment. So we went in. And we went on hunger strike from that day, so the tenth. April 10th. April 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th. That’s four days. And I was pretty much hallucinating by the fourth day. And then they call my name for release. I couldn’t believe it until I was actually outside. I was just like, Wow. I made it out. April 13th, 2020.
What are your lessons learned from this experience of organizing in ICE around hope, around power, around solidarity, around organizing?
First by understanding that we are all suffering the same thing, we all have the same sufferings, and we all have the same needs and desires and wishes for the future. The biggest thing I had to face was trying to help people understand not to be afraid. And a couple of people asked me, “Hey, you shouldn’t go out there. You could mess it up.” Because that’s what my attorney told me. He said, “You could mess up your release. Whatever you do, be careful, you could mess up your release.” And my buddies also had that thought: “Hey, maybe the price is too high for you. You already have the chance to be released. You don’t have to do this.” But then it made it even more important for me to do it because there’s so many other guys in there that are not going to be released. They’ve been there for years fighting. And me asking them, Hey, let’s do this action. Let’s do this not just for us, but for the future. People have to know that this ain’t right and there has to be a moment in time when people have to stand! And this is our time. We have to stand, man. It’s so easy for us to be violent. But what does that do? That’s not going to do nothing. All that’s gonna do is mess us up even more, put a worse stereotype on us, people look at us with more violence now. We just have to highlight the truth. It could affect us, and I couldn’t guarantee that it’s not gonna affect anybody’s case. But at the end of the day, it had to be their choice: are you willing to, you know? This is for the future: your parents, your children, the community members, your nephews and nieces. This could help them. Even if it doesn't help you, this is beneficial, this is important. This is what it is and this is our time. We are here now. And so I don’t think it really hit them, how serious I was about the calls I was trying to push for until I got my order of release. Then they see me on the day I was there. When I rallied everybody up, they were like, “You’re going?!” I’m like, “Yes. I’m going to be out there.” And then it kind of motivated them even more.
I was released April 13th. The hunger strike ended on April 13th, the day I was released. A couple of my buddies called me from in there and I told them to keep going, you know? This is not the end. Keep moving forward. Keep moving together. It’s essential. And so they kept in touch with the attorneys, and the attorneys started helping them all. And eventually, the population decreased in Mesa Verde, partly due to the widespread danger and impacts of Covid. At the moment, the population decreased from 400 hundred people - because there’s four dorms in there: A, B, C, and D. And every dorm has a potential of a hundred people in there. That’s four hundred people. So the population decreased from 400 to 52 people! It capped at 52 people. That’s big.
A lot of the people I knew inside have been released since then. I mean, some of them have found me on Facebook and they’re just like “Boola, boola!” They don’t even speak English but they can say “boola” though! It’s a blessing, it makes me feel good just knowing that. They’re my brothers.
Some have been deported. Especially a lot of my Cambodian brothers there. They had deported them. A lot of them. Also my Punjabi brothers too, they got deported. But they got tired also. They were there for years, and they got tired and just signed. And they left.
Today I am reunited with my family in Sacramento, but I am still under ICE supervision house arrest. I can’t even cross the street being on this ankle monitor and house arrest while my immigration case is still pending.
Through my experience in ICE, I learned a lot of things. The establishment itself - that place, that location - it wants to keep people separated, you know? It loves the division because that way the people can’t unite against a simple cause. So that’s better for them. But all it takes is extending the hand, and communication is essential. Even if it’s through different languages, the need is the same. It doesn’t matter if we come from different places. If you’re suffering in one situation, you can guarantee the next person in there is also suffering. We’re all suffering and we just haven’t communicated that to each other to see how common it is. So we all have a common cause, we’re all suffering under one thing regardless of our division, separation, belief, faith, whatever it may be.
CHARLES “BULA” JOSEPH brings with him the life experience of being incarcerated for 12 years, and detained by ICE in Mesa Verde for 11 months. Within incarceration, Charles has meditated with Buddhist brothers, fasted with Muslim brothers, been part of sacred ceremonies with Native American brothers, prayed in temple with Hindu brothers, celebrated with Sikh brothers, and led ceremony with Pacific Island brothers. Charles hopes to be a messenger for oneness, that all faiths are a branch of spirituality, like all rivers, lakes, oceans, and single puddles are all water.