Donate Link to Support Hybachi Fundraiser on GiveButter
Today, July 7, is Hybachi LeMar’s birthday! 🥳 Let’s take some time today and in the coming weeks to show him some serious love, as he is spending his birthday inside the wretched walls of SCI Huntingdon in Pennsylvania–another birthday away from his family, friends, and community. Fortunately, this will be Hybachi’s *last* birthday behind prison walls, as he is up for release in the coming months, and is expected to be back home in Chicago by the spring!
On this very special day that brought us our dear friend Hybachi, a beloved community organizer, author, father, son, and comrade, we are kicking off a pre-release fundraiser to ensure that he is well-supported throughout his remaining time in the Pennsylvania prison system and will have a smooth transition upon his release. Hybachi has run out of commissary and phone funds, which allow him to purchase and maintain basic necessities and to keep in regular contact with his loved ones–most importantly his quadriplegic mother for whom he has been the primary source of emotional and material support since he was a child. In addition to sustaining these funds to support him while in prison, this fundraiser aims to raise the funds that will be needed for Hybachi’s housing, transportation, and other necessities of life to help him get back on his feet upon his release.
These funds will help not only Hybachi but also the broader community, as anyone who knows Hybachi knows that he is an incredibly giving and respected long-time community organizer and activist; he has volunteered an enormous amount of his time to mutual aid projects to help people in need–distributing food, literature, hygiene and health supplies, creating warming centers for houseless people on Chicago’s South Side, and more. He worked tirelessly in Chicago’s poor and low-income communities for years before he went to prison. He sees himself as a servant of the people, not only providing food and other necessities but also uplifting and educational reading material. His community service continues even while in prison; while incarcerated, he has helped people get their GED’s, advocated against abuse, advocated for reading material and inspired a passion for reading in countless other prisoners. He has built bridges of love and solidarity during his time in prison, organizing weekly book clubs and even assembling and teaching an African spirituality class and study group in the prison chapel.
Above all, Hybachi is a loving and devoted son. He is the only child of his beloved mother Nimmy, who has been paralyzed and wheelchair-bound since she was tragically and horrifically shot in the neck nearly 40 years ago. Hybachi has been Nimmy’s primary caretaker since he was a small child; a friend who has taken on much of her care during Hybachi’s incarceration attested to the “immense responsibility” Hybachi has carried “to ensure his mother survives and has the fullest life possible since he was only 10 years old.”
If that weren’t enough, Hybachi goes out of his way on a daily basis to not only help but inspire and empower people and their communities; below are just some examples of what other friends and community members have said about him in recent months.
“For over a year I volunteered alongside [Hybachi] at a weekly food bank . . . . I spent 5 hours every Saturday volunteering with him, and had the chance to observe him delivering not only food but also a joyful smile, camaraderie and genuine respect to communities in need. He is beloved by the over 70 families who attend the food distribution, who continue to ask about him every week. His service, and his kindness, are deeply missed. I have also spoken with him at length about his education workshops, in which he uses political memoirs to support at risk youth in their own journey of self-discovery. It is a great way to use popular education as a tool for self-knowledge and self-empowerment.
[Hybachi] grew up in unimaginably brutal circumstances. That he is a luminous, incandescent and generous spirit is something of a miracle. He serves his community in so many ways! He is also a great talent who deserves to be nurtured. With the right support, [Hybachi] could become one of the most important abolitionist writers of his generation.
Please give him the chance to flourish and serve his community. He is beloved, he is needed, he is a source of great inspiration, joy and courage to so many others.”
“I have worked closely with him . . . to share thousands of pounds of food with Chicago residents. He has done this tirelessly, without pay or recognition. He has gone to areas no one else in the Coalition will go, specifically housing projects on the south side that are food deserts. The work he has done there is irreplaceable and hasn’t happened since his unfortunate incarceration. The people need him back.”
“When I met [Hybachi] two years ago, he helped change the way I think about the world for the better. He taught me ways to think and engage my brain so that it was easier to get through the day-to-day. He inspired me to write, to read, and to treat every single person I engage with, with the utmost intention and respect. . . . I have seen [Hybachi] go far beyond the average person to help youth and disabled elders, including his quadriplegic mother, to get the care that they need and be equipped with the basic resources to survive. [Hybachi] is a teacher and a mentor to many youths on the southside of Chicago and since he has been in prison, his presence has been greatly missed.”
“[M]any people [in the Chicago community] looked to him as a source of knowledge, reassurance and support. I was deeply touched by his sense of dedication to making the world a better place for those around him. . . . I truly have never met anyone like him. He is someone who has faced a huge amount of adversity and hardship over the course of his life, who has fully committed himself to helping the people he loves and the world around him. I greatly admire him, particularly the beautiful relationship he has cultivated with his mother and the dedication he displays in caring for her.”
Please donate and share this fundraiser widely! Any and all donations are immensely appreciated by Hybachi!! Please visit Hybachi’s support website to learn more about Hybachi, read his writings, purchase his books, and send him a letter! https://www.helpacompacontinuehismission.com/