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Love and Rage Electronic Edition April 03
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
LOVE AND RAGE
Electronic Edition
APRIL/MAY 1993
Part 3
IN SOLIDARITY: POLITICAL PRISONERS IN THE U.S.
The following speech was given by ex-political prisoner Rita "Bo"
Brown on Oct 3, 1992, at the International Tribunal of Indigenous
Peoples and Oppressed Nations In The U.S.A., which took place in
San Francisco. The Tribunal heard testimonies and presented an
indictment to the U.S. Government for its national crimes. One of
the Tribunal's demands was for the immediate and unconditional
release of all political prisoners and prisoners of war (P.O.W.s)
held in U.S. prisons and jails. It is in this context that the
following speech was given, which focuses on white North American
political prisoners who have struggled in solidarity with the
national liberation struggles, as well as fighting capitalism and
imperialism. The speech has been edited by the Production Group.
I AM VERY HONORED TO BE HERE today, at this tribunal which condemns
500 years of genocide and celebrates 500 years of resistance. I
come speaking about the ... white political prisoners presently
being held in U.S. prisons and jails " many of whom are imprisoned
because of their solidarity with oppressed nations and peoples in
the U.S. and around the world. I speak from experience and deep
feeling for I am a former political prisoner myself having spent
eight-and-a-half years in federal prisons around the country
because of my actions as a member of the George Jackson Brigade.
In those years I was moved from prison to prison. During that time
I spent almost a year in isolation in Davis Hall at Alderson. This
was the first special control unit for political women in the
Federal system. Sister Assata Shakur and I were held there along
with reactionary and nazi prisoners " the government's threat to us
was very clear. I was also kept for extra long periods in isolation
and threatened and harassed specifically because I am a lesbian.
This was not all that unusual treatment however, for my experience
mirrors that of all the political prisoners. Yet our very existence
is still denied by the U.S. Government and not seen or understood
by most people in this country.
The strategy of the U.S. Government towards all political prisoners
and P.O.W.s held in prisons is to criminalize them " to disguise
their political identities under the rhetoric of criminal activity.
But they are not criminals. All of these white North American
political prisoners have been convicted of and imprisoned for
activities which are strictly political in nature. These political
prisoners and P.O.W.'s are not a new phenomenon but are part of the
history of the resistance in the Americas. ...
HISTORY OF THE RESISTANCE
The North American political prisoners draw on a history of white
resistance which includes the anti-slavery/abolitionist movement,
those who helped in the Underground Railroad, women's rights
activists, labor and working class organizers and supporters of
anti-colonialism and anti-militarism. Some of their names are
familiar: John Brown, Emma Goldman, Eugene Debs, Ruth Reynolds and
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg; but most of the names of our historical
grandmothers and grandfathers remain unknown to us because the
historians don't want us to know about them. ...
If you were living in this country in the 1960s and 1970s you had
to be affected by the struggles for freedom and social justice. The
women and men who are in prison today are no exception and are the
products of these times.
Many of them were active in support of the Civil Rights movement
and were influenced by Malcolm X's demand for self-determination
and the organizing of Martin Luther King, both of whom would be
assassinated by 1968. Others worked with the Black Panther Party
(B.P.P.), often in defense of B.P.P. members who were imprisoned
for political activities. Many came to work also with Native
American, Mexicano/Chicano and other Third World liberation
struggles. Along with millions of others they consistently opposed
U.S. policy in Vietnam and were part of the anti-war movement.
There were mass demonstrations throughout the country, marches on
Washington, student strikes, sit-ins and the burning of draft
cards. There were also thousands of acts of sabotage against
academic, corporate, military and government targets which ranged
from property damage to bombings.
This was also the period when women began to be more conscious
about their own oppression and began to demand liberation and when
lesbians and gay men came out of the closet and went into the
streets demanding an end to gay oppression.
During these years a prisoner's rights movement developed led
mostly by Black prisoners and with close ties to the B.P.P. and
other community groups. Many of these white political prisoners
worked with these organizations and thus came to better understand
the integral part that prisons play in this society. They came to
understand this country needed to control its people and
criminalize, jail and kill those it either couldn't control or
didn't need.
The government's response to this legitimate protest and sense of
empowerment was swift, repressive and violent. CO.INTEL.PRO., the
F.B.I.'s counter-intelligence program, was responsible for the
destruction of the B.P.P. and the disruption of the American Indian
Movement (A.I.M.). Hundreds of B.P.P. members and other Black
activists like Fred Hampton and Bunchy Carter were killed or
jailed. The same was true for Native people struggling for
sovereignty. This period also saw the killing of students at Kent
and Jackson state universities and the widespread use of grand jury
witch hunts which were designed to further disrupt legal
organizations.
Out of these experiences came the understanding that U.S. society
is based on the rape and plunder of Native lands, the expropriation
of life and labor of African slaves and the class exploitation of
European, Asian and Mexican workers. People were enraged at the
racism so basic to this country and were determined not to be part
of it. Many began to see that there was a connection between
colonialism here at home and the war of imperialism in Vietnam.
It was during this time that activists in various parts of the
country independently decided to begin armed resistance,
expropriations and sabotage. These were difficult steps to take but
were all done in pursuit of their vision for change.
VISION OF CHANGE
This vision included changing century-old oppressive practices
which promote hatred and which create psychological and physical
damage and destruction. It meant creating a society based on
self-determination for oppressed peoples both inside and outside
the U.S., based on an end to white supremacy, a society which was
not based on class divisions. It meant creating a society where
lesbians and gay men could be proud of who they were. And it meant
creating a non-sexist society where women could be equal, free and
not afraid. Finally all these people are driven by a vision of a
future based not on greed and profit but one that truly answers
people's needs.
This vision and spirit of resistance continued to move North
Americans to action during the 1970s and 1980s. Thousands of people
organized to resist the building of nuclear weapons, the
intervention in Nicaragua and El Salvador and in solidarity with
Black forces against apartheid in South Africa. Many whites
demonstrated and organized against racism and the growth of the
Klan and other white supremacist groups. Thousands of people signed
pledges of resistance to participate in civil disobedience if
Nicaragua was invaded and participated in these acts as
intervention in Central America increased. Women marched en masse
against cut backs in reproductive rights and protected abortion
clinics against attacks. Lesbians and gay men demanded that society
deal with the A.I.D.S. pandemic and pushed for broader acceptance
of lesbian and gay rights. Again, during the Gulf War, thousands of
white people joined in the streets protesting U.S. policy.
Not much has changed. We can understand the desire to resist very
well. Genocidal conditions are increasing for Black and other
communities of color. There is a rise of police brutality, drugs
and jailings and as we all know a dramatic decrease in social
services. Violence against women is way up " a woman gets raped
every two minutes. The right-wing scapegoats and whips up hysteria
against gays and lesbians " who can forget "family values".
Abortion is all but gone, the courts are making one right-wing
decision after another, and if we don't look out soon we won't even
have air we can breathe or earth we can stand on.
DEFINING "POLITICAL PRISONER"
... We'd like to take time to define what we mean by political
prisoner. For some of us this definition means those in prison as
a direct result of their political actions, affiliations and
beliefs. Still others wish to extend that definition to those
imprisoned for social crimes who have become politicized while
inside prison and who therefore suffer extra repression for it.
Some of us also think it important to extend the definition of
political prisoner to those imprisoned for their sexual orientation
(adopted by Amnesty International this year) and to those
imprisoned for defending themselves against and/or fighting their
abusers, such as women imprisoned for killing their batterers.
LONG SENTENCES AND HARSH TREATMENT
... The same counterinsurgency tactics that have been detailed in
other presentations have been used against white political
prisoners. These include sophisticated spying and infiltration
techniques, the jailing of many white activists for refusing to
testify and/or cooperate with grand juries, the use of broad and
vague conspiracy laws to criminalize people for association and
belief and the use of preventative detention to deny bail. ...
... Finally, because they are political prisoners they get some of
the longest sentences in the world. Their political beliefs are
used as a basis to impose sentences that are, in many instances,
the equivalent of natural life in prison. The reason for this is
that they are revolutionaries.
For example, in 1986, a man convicted of planning and carrying out
bombings, without making warning calls, of 10 occupied health
clinics where abortions were performed was sentenced to ten years
in prison and was paroled after 46 months. In contrast, Raymond
Levasseur was convicted of bombing four unoccupied military targets
in protest against U.S. foreign policies. He received 45 years in
prison.
Or this one: A Ku Klux Klansman, charged with violations of the
Neutrality Act and with possessing a boatload of explosives and
weapons to be used in an invasion of the Caribbean island of
Dominica, received eight years. Linda Evans was convicted of
purchasing four weapons with false ID and she was sentenced to 40
years " the longest sentence ever imposed for this offence.
This was well documented in the Prison Discipline Study Report
issued in 1991. This national survey revealed that both physical
and psychological abuse, so severe that it approaches the
internationally accepted definition for torture, is the norm in
maximum security prisons throughout the United States. That's the
case for all prisoners. ...
Clearly now is the time for action. We too can follow the examples
of these brave women and men who have given so much of their lives
for freedom and justice. We must recognize who and what they are:
political prisoners. We must demand their freedom so they can be
back on the streets where they belong.
- from Autonome Forum
e-mail: aforum@moose.uvm.edu
mail: PO Box 1242
Burlington, VT 05402
-30-
THE LEAGUE OF LESBIAN AND GAY PRISONERS
All prisoners everywhere are community!
L.L.G.P. IS A NETWORK OF PEOPLE, both in and out of prison, who are
concerned about the special problems of incarcerated gay and
lesbian people. Being locked-up is a painful and frightening
experience for anyone, but for lesbians and gay men, the experience
is confounded by rampant prejudice and institutionalized
homophobia.
Our goal is to bridge some of the alienation which prisons create
in our community. We seek to do that by promoting communication and
involvement between prisoners and non-prisoners who are concerned
about homophobia and other forms of discrimination.
We believe that the waste of human potential in our criminal
injustice system is both sad and frightening. For this reason,
L.L.P.G. is devoted to developing strategies by which prisoners can
be more involved in and contribute to the gay and lesbian
communities. Prisoners represent an untapped reservoir of talent
and experience which can be of great value to progressive causes
and to our entire community.
L.L.P.G. is a new adventure. We are currently working on organizing
prisoner participation in the 1993 March on Washington. Future
plans include expanding prisoner participation in Pride Day,
political groups, and all other progressive community events. Some
vehicles for accomplishing our goals include correspondence
circles, using established alternative media sources, such as
Indigenous Thought and Prison News Service (Bulldozer), etc., an
L.L.P.G. newsletter to establish communication between prison
systems and between prisoners and non-prisoners, and a re-entry
program to assist lesbians and gay men who are being released from
prison to readjust to and rejoin the community.
Our organization needs all the friends, letter writers, organizers,
and supporters we can get. It isn't just about giving prisoners a
"hand-out;" it's about building a new kind of community.
Join us. There's a lot of work to be done.
For more information contact:
Lin Elliott
c/o Valerie Reuther
209 13th Ave. East
Seattle, WA 98102
Or contact:
Indigenous Thought
6802 S.W. 13th Street
Gainesville, FL 32608
-30-
PANTHERS UP FOR PAROLE
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. -- THE NEW Jersey State Parole Board is considering
Sundiata Acoli for parole and will render a decision in "a couple
or more months." Hearings at Leavenworth went as well as can be
expected, though the prison officials refused to allow Sundiata's
lawyer, Soffiyah Elijah, to attend the hearings. (For background on
the case see Love and Rage Vol. 4 No.1)
Sundiata wishes to thank people for the outpouring of support
letters, and stressed that we need to flood the N.J. Parole Board
with letters calling for his immediate release. (You should refer
to Sundiata's slave name, Clark Squire, in your letters.)
Send letters to:
The New Jersey State Parole Board, CN-862, Trenton, NJ 08625, Fax
(609) 984-2190, Tel (609) 292-4257
Also send a copy to:
The Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign, P.O. Box 5538, Manhattanville
Station, Harlem, NY 10027
OAKLAND, Calif. -- GERONIMO ji Jaga (Pratt), former Black Panther,
has a parole hearing on May 21. Send letters demanding his release
to:
John Gillis, Chairperson, Board of Prison Terms ,545 Downtown
Plaza, Suite 200 ,Sacramento, CA 95814
Send a copy of the letter to:
International Campaign to
Free Geronimo ji Jaga (Pratt)
P.O. Box 3583, Oakland, CA 94609
-30-
KENNY TOLIA FREED
U.S. POLITICAL PRISONER KENNY Tolia was freed Dec 4, 1992. He was
falsely imprisoned on riot charges stemming from a police raid on
an anarchist May Day concert in New York's Tompkins Square Park in
1990.
An international campaign was launched for Kenny which resulted in
many demonstrations from Mexico City to Minsk, and petitions from
Brazil, Scotland, Poland and many other places. Kenny thanks the
anarchist community for its support.
-30-
USA: NUMBER ONE! IN PRISONS! RAH!
THE PRISON POPULATION IN THE U.S. in the 1980s doubled, making the
U.S. penal system the most repressive in the world. When we look at
the rate of incarceration for people of African descent the true
colors of the U.S. begin to show. During the same period of time
that the incarceration rate increased over 100%, F.B.I. statistics
show that the crime rate only dropped 3.5% Clearly prison doesn't
deter crime and must be seen as the social and political control
mechanism that it is.
Incarceration rates per 100,000
U.S. 426
black males 3109
white males 420
South Africa 333
black males 729
Soviet Union 268
Hungary 196
Chile 192
Venezuela 153
Poland 106
New Zealand 100
Colombia 100
United Kingdom 97
France 81
Spain 76
-30-
CURRENT CAMPAIGNS
THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF the current campaigns A.B.C. groups have
been working on.
Andres Villaverde is a Peruvian anarchist being held in
Castro-Castro prison and accused of being a Sendero Luminoso
(Shining Path) militant. (See Love and Rage Vol.4 No. 1) Send
letters to Love and Rage.
See the International Section for information about a campaign for
Nigerian Libertarian Socialists.
Pablo Serrano Serrano and Andres Torrijos Artes are Spanish
Anarchist prisoners. (See A.B.C. section Love and Rage Vol.4 No.1)
Write to:
Pablo Serrano Serrano
Carcel de Torrero
Avda. America 80
50007 Zaragoza (Espa¤a)
Andres Torrijos Artes
New address:
Centro Penitenciario de Brians
Apdo. 500
08760 Martorell (Barcelona)
Ojore N. Lutalo is a New Afrikan Anarchist P.O.W. and Coordinating
Group member of Love and Rage, held at Trenton State Prison in New
Jersey. He is part of a class action lawsuit involving Prison News
Service, Black Panther Community News Service and the Love and Rage
Network to end the banning of periodicals from N.J. prisons. (For
more info about Ojore Lutalo see Love And Rage, Vol.3 No.1)
Ojore N. Lutalo
CN 861
#59860 M.C.U.
Trenton, NJ 08625
Sundiata Acoli is an ex-Panther whose case will be going before the
Parole Board in New Jersey after 20 years imprisonment and needs
letters of support to gain his release. When writing, mention his
slave name, Clark Squire. See Notes of Revolt (See also Love and
Rage Vol.4 No.1) Send letters to:
The New Jersey Parole Board
CN-862
Trenton, NJ 08625
Mumia Abul-Jamal is a journalist, ex-Panther and MOVE supporter on
Death Row in Pennsylvania.(See Love and Rage Vol.3 No.6 & Vol.4
No.1) or write Q.U.I.S.P.
Write protest letters to:
Governor Robert Casey
Main Capital Bldg, Rm.225
Harrisburg, PA 17120
For more info on MOVE:
Concerned Citizens in Support of MOVE
P.O. Box 19709
Philadelphia, PA 19143
James Peper, an anarchist, was arrested at the San Francisco,
anti-Columbus Day black bloc. He has been held since Oct 11, 1992,
in jail awaiting trial on $150,000 bail. He is charged with eight
felonies. (See Love and Rage Vol.3 No.7)
James Peper Defense Fund
c/o Slingshot, U.C.B.,
700 Eshleman Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
Jonathan Paul, an environmental and animal rights activist is
sitting in jail for refusing to collaborate with a Grand Jury
investigation of ALF activities. (See Love and Rage Vol.4 No.1)
Contact: United Anarchist Front or write:
Jonathan Paul
Spokane County Jail
1100 W. Mallon
Spolkane, WA 99163
Larry Giddings is an anti-authoritarian political prisoner for who
there has been ongoing support. Contact:
Larry Giddings
#10917-886
P.O. Box 1000
Leavenworth, KS 66048
-30-
NEW CAMPAIGN: POLES IN PRISON
POLAND -- One of the big campaigns in Poland in the '80s was the
fight for alternative service, i.e. civilian service work for those
who refused to be forced into mandatory military duty. The fight
was mainly fought by Freedom and Peace, Polish anarchists, and
supporters abroad, including Neither East Nor West-New York City
(N.E.N.W.-N.Y.C.) and others who helped from Love & Rage.
Poles eventually did win the fight, but it's been a battle ever
since getting the alternative implemented. And now they have
imprisoned draft resisters once again: Roman Galuszko, one and a
half years; Piotr Krzyzanowski and Piotr Dawidziak, both one year.
The Polish Anarchist Federation, Amnesty International, the Green
Federation, Association "Objector", Freedom and Peace, and the
Helsinki Committee have had rallies, letter writing campaigns,
demos and concerts for them.
Please send protest letters demanding the release of the prisoners
and an end to forced military training to: Lech Walesa, Wiejska 10,
Warszawa, Poland.
Actions at Polish embassies and consulates are called for also. For
more info:
Association "Objector," 50-040 Wroclaw, Ul. Pilsudskiego 15/17,
pok. 15, Piatki godz. 17-19, Poland, Tel 44-46-51 / Jacek
Sierpinski, Info Office of Polish Anarchist Federation, c/o An
Arche, Uniwersytet Slaski, Bankowa 12, 40-007 Katowice, Poland.
-30-
WHAT IS THE ANARCHIST BLACK CROSS?
A.B.C. WAS ORIGINALLY FORMED over a century ago in Russia and was
known as the Anarchist Red Cross at that time. They did prisoner
support work for anarchists imprisoned by the czar as well as doing
first aid at blockades and skirmishes. During the First World War
the International Red Cross began doing work in Russia, so the
anarchists changed their name to the Anarchist Black Cross to avoid
confusion. The work that began under the czars continued as the
Bolsheviks continued the oppression against the anarchist
community. As many members of the A.B.C. went into exile their work
began to include many other nations, in particular Italy, as the
anarchists were among the first to oppose the rise of Mussolini and
the fascists.
Today the A.B.C. is an international anarchist prisoner support
network. There are active A.B.C. groups in Canada, Sweden,
Denmark, Finland, U.S., Ireland, Australia, Greece, England, and
Scotland. The ruling class have made certain laws to preserve their
control. Prisons are used as a control mechanism to isolate people
when other methods of divide and conquer have failed. Many people
wind up in prison because in order to survive they had to challenge
the laws of the ruling class. Others wind up there for their
political and social activities. The vast majority of prisoners
wind up there for committing crimes against "property." We support
prisoners, not because we feel that by supporting them we will
destroy prisons, but we feel that prisons will only be destroyed by
revolution. So we work towards revolution and in doing so support
revolutionaries who are captured.
Our aim is to give practical support to anarchist/revolutionary and
class struggle prisoners, as well as being involved in general
prison struggles and supporting "social" prisoners in our own
locales.
-30-
@ _Love & Rage_ is a Revolutionary Anarchist newspaper produced
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