ALBANY--Comrades from the Capital District RAIL chapter attended a multimedia celebration of the life and words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The event was presented by the Center for Law and Justice, Inc. and the Prison Moratorium Project, and was held in the NYS Legislative Office Building. The festivities included speakers, dancing, singing, and poetry. Despite the lack of a functioning PA, the event was lively and celebratory. RAIL set up a table, distributing MIM Notes, information about our Books for Prisoners program, and censorship at Attica Correctional Facility. Participants were eager to sign post cards demanding an end to censorship at Attica.
The main focus of the day was on New York's wretched prison system. Signs behind the podium demanded "No More Youth Jails!" and lambasted New York Governor George Pataki, saying "Your prisons are HIV/AIDS/HCV (hepatitis C virus) breeding grounds!" Speakers such as Dr. Alice Green and "Martin Luther King Drum Major for Justice" award recipient Elizabeth Gaynes outlined a myriad of ways that NYS prisoners are mistreated. Many of the speakers voiced frustration about the amount of money used to fund prisons while schools and homeless shelters cannot get the funding they need to sustain their programs. Since the event, Gov. Pataki has unveiled a new budget that gouges even more money out of social welfare programs.
Many speakers made the link between the prison-industrial complex and Amerikkkan militarism. While they fell short of taking a truly internationalist perspective, it is clear that people are seeing capitalism as an oppressive system in its totality, and such a perspective can only be progressive.
Following the forum, attendees braved the bitter cold to march and demand an end to prison expansion. The march was state-sponsored and originally planned to be led by a military color guard. But thanks to the enthusiasm of the anti-prison contingent, the march was led by a real revolutionary message, with the state-approved version of MLK's message following behind. The march followed a strange route, going through a parking lot and on to the Dr. King memorial in Lincoln Park, and as such avoided exposure to non-participants. At this point anti-prison organizers crowded the podium with banners and signs opposing both prisons and war, chanting "no justice, no peace." It was this large minority of the crowd that successfully honored the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and hopefully inspired others to take a more critical look at the system. If participants continue on the path towards internationalism, future events such as this one can only be more successful each year.
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