This censorship report covers the period July through December 2003. It is the fourth of MIM's regular reports on censorship in the Amerikan prisons. In this six-month period we see a decline in overt reportable censorship. In some cases we can see real victories where MIM and our comrades behind bars have fought and won censorship battles. But we also know that a victory in one battle often just results in the prison changing their reason for censoring.
Some of the victories in censorship battles were won in court while others were settled through administrative appeals or outside protests. These victories are very important to us as they allow us, at least temporarily, to resume sending revolutionary literature to our readers behind bars who are hungry for this material. One issue of MIM Notes will be read by many prisoners, and one book will pass through many hands, as we are one of the few sources of reading material, particularly political literature, available to prisoners. The prison libraries, where they exist at all, contain mostly trash novels and access is limited. Revolutionary literature is among the most in demand and hardest to come by in the prisons.
We caution readers from thinking the trends in this report represent a real decline in censorship. In many cases, active censorship of MIM mailings leads to us losing contact with prisoners in the censoring states. As a result we send in less literature and it appears the censorship has stopped. Then more active prisoners get in touch with us again requesting revolutionary literature and we again face prison censorship. We hope that through these regular bi-annual reports we will be able to track real trends in censorship in the prisons.
States that censored MIM Notes or MIM Theory over the past 6 months: California, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, Colorado, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. States that censored books, letters or other non MIM-published material in the past 6 months: California, Oklahoma, New York, Rhode Island, Georgia, Oregon, and Florida.
MIM has not given up sending MIM Notes or MIM Theory to any states, but there are several states where MIM no longer sends literature we do not publish because of prison regulations. More and more states are implementing policies that require all literature to come from the publisher or to come from a few selected distributors like amazon.com. This is just another excuse to censor revolutionary literature and deny prisoners access to alternative education. Amazon.com and other similar big capitalist distributors are not running books for prisoners programs, and the price of books there (as well as the inaccessibility from prison) keeps virtually all prisoners from receiving books.
States where MIM no longer sends literature it does not publish include: Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Oregon.
State by state examples of censorship
Oklahoma - Articles from MIM's web site on Nepal and Peru were rejected. The prison stated that they were rejected for being from the internet.
Alabama - One prisoner leading the fight against censorship in this state reported his victories in our last report on censorship. Unfortunately, as he reported in July of 2003, that victory was overturned: "As you are aware, MIM Theory 8&14 were recently denied entry into Limestone prison. This was after I was informed that the ban on MIM literature was lifted. This was done after I had received information from an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) who had taken on the case against censorship of political publication. The SPLC attorney wrote to the attorney general notifying him that prison officials were censoring political publications in violation of the settlement in Prison News vs. Haley, a settlement involving the censorship of political and legal publications. The attorney general notified that this practice would cease and that there would be no more problems in receiving MIM Theory and other political publications. But prison officials are continuing to censor MIM Theory and other political publications that are critical of the U.$. political system. I've been told that no communist literature will be allowed. So, you can be assured that the struggle continues and will do so until victory. The SPLC is filing papers to go back to court on this issue. In the meanwhile, please re-add my name to you mailing list for MIM Notes. Again, the struggle continues without doubt."
New York - A letter from MIM was held for 6 months by the facility Media Review center.
Rhode Island - Mao's Little Red Book was rejected. The prisoner who did not receive this book was not even notified by the institution of this censorship. After we notified him of the censorship he wrote to us in August of 2003: "This is part of a campaign by the prison administration to harness me. Counting the Red Book, this is the 6th time books were sent here only to be rejected on security or other frivolous grounds. I have been grieving all of this only to be denied. The lawsuit with the ACLU has yet to be filed... My mail in particular has been tampered with both incoming and outgoing."
Kentucky - A warden rejected MIM Theory 11 (a magazine entitled "Amerikan Prisons on Trial") for cover art he described as "inaccurate" and "inflammatory." He claimed the publication called a "threat to institutional discipline or security."
Pennsylvania - MIM Theory 11 was censored for containing articles that "can be considered as inciting violence and is racially inflammatory in content."
Wisconsin - MIM Notes was rejected as "inciteful and advocates violence and threatens institutional security."
Georgia - MIM Notes and the book Black Panther Party Speaks were held by the administration.
Colorado - A prisoner is suing prison officials over censorship of MIM Notes and MIM Theory. The administration there also censored a letter MIM sent this prisoner.
Oregon - Various prisons use strict return address requirements to censor letters that are stamped or hand written with a return address of MIM or MIM Distributors, claiming they need a full name.
North Carolina - Censoring MIM Notes on an issue-by-issue basis. They send an issue they don't like to their "publications review committee." Months later, they will either decide that it is acceptable or they will finally admit they have decided to censor it. It seems designed to prevent the prisoner from taking any timely action.
Florida - Censors letters we send to prisoners.
Massachusetts - Censored an issue of MIM Theory.
California - MIM Theory 11 was censored. One prisoner reported in August of 2003: "Here is an update on the appeal of the censorship of MIM Theory 11. The appeal was denied at the 2nd level of review for the following reasons: 1. They say an article about C/ O violence against Blacks and Latinos promotes racism. 2. They say MIM's doctrine of armed struggle against imperialist U.S. promotes violence." After filing a director's level review this prisoner reported in December 2003: "The appeal I filed was denied at the director's level, which exhausted my administrative remedies. They determined that the institution is in compliance with departmental policies. As soon as I can obtain a copy of the denial I will send one to MIM for your review. The next step is to file suit. I would like to bring a lawsuit against the director of corrections as opposed to just the institution so that a favorable ruling by the court would effect departmental policy state- wide, not just an order against an individual institution." Another institution in California censored MIM Theory. The affected prisoner reported "Currently this administration [says that] if mail comes from a non-profit organization than it can be destroyed without notice to the inmate. I am in disagreement with this procedure and I am appealing this too! This rule comes out of the operational procedures manual."
A letter we sent to another California prisoner was returned unopened stamped "refused/unapproved mail." We sent a letter of protest to the warden and also notified the prisoner. This prisoner reported in November 2003: "I am writing to let you know that I received your mailing today, unopened and un-searched. Looks like your [censorship protest] letter did the trick. Now that it has been demonstrated that my mail is indeed being censored, I cannot help but wonder what else has been sent to me and refused by the institution's mailroom. I receive several newsletters which tend to arrive somewhat less than regularly... I have also been waiting for many months to hear from the publishers of material which could arguably be described as subversive; by extension I must now assume that there are other cases of this prison's arbitrary censorship policies depriving me of literature which I legally have the right to receive. I was not notified of the refusal of your earlier mailing to me so I can expect that this was not the first instance [of censorship.] I am very pleased that your tenacity and sense of justice enabled me to become apprised of the mailroom situation here at this facility."
MIM Notes was censored at one California prison. After many letters of protest by MIM and the prisoner, MIM received a letter from the warden attempting to justify the censorship concluding "Case law that interprets the First Amendment allows prisons to censor incoming publications to the facility that post pose security risk to its legitimate penological interests. The CDC Title 15 regulations are consistent with the above cited case laws. The MIM newsletter raise genuine prison security issues and this may be censored or withheld." The reason they conclude MIM Notes is a threat to security: "the publication is set forth to encourage an aggressive uprising similar to the one that MAO unleashed in China. The newsletters are also focused in part on prison conditions in America, that the newsletters characterize as being unjust and brutal to prison inmates. The MIM seeks to rally inmates, as a 'revolutionary group,' to reform the American prison system." MIM is in the process of appealing this attempt to set a dangerous precedent of censoring MIM just because it is a revolutionary organization.