California Prisons

We’ve been working hard to express the need to end all hostilities amongst all ethnicities. Us New Afrikans here in the belly of the beast known as the Corcoran SHU have just completed a beautiful BAM (Black August Resistance/Memorial) and we came together to struggle today [September 9th] for the purpose of unity. We exercised in a group that consisted of ourselves, a couple southern Hispanics, and a northern Hispanic. Our study habits still consist of revolutionary literature, economics, politics and some history where our cultural and social interactions are similar without division.

We don’t have a short corridor anymore here in this concrete tomb, so with people arriving from the mainline just to do a SHU term we can educate them on the importance of the agreement to end all racial hostilities, and stay on guard because the fascist oppressors will always try to sabotage our collective struggle. A lot of these youngsters who come in here don’t have a clue about the Attica uprising or Black August Memorial, and how could they when all the teachers of New Afrikans struggles are still anguishing behind enemy lines. The importance of us getting out of the SHU is to educate our youth about their history.

Today we had a group study session on the importance of revolutionary internationalism, which is the ideological expression of global revolutionary scientific socialism in service to the oppressed underclass of the world. We feel that revolutionary internationalism is the ideological vanguard of global liberation and source of theoretical development in coordinating disparate national revolutions. Also, keeping the permanent struggle of ideological mental warfare going in order to eradicate backwards and unprincipled thinking, or incompatible ideas or activities, and proving the correctness of the revolutionary party’s views.

This weapon in which we speak is part of the dialectical processes that are ongoing and endless, until the principle contradictions of the oppressed and the oppressor are eliminated. Once this takes place you will see the transformation of the cultural values, practices and relationships of the people prepare and condition themselves for a revolution against the oppressor state. The outcome is uprooting and destroying the old oppressive rationale and mindset of colonial society and bringing into being new values which move the people outside of the colonial mindset and into that of the emerging revolutionary society. We can accomplish this through the agreement to end all hostilities. So we strive to do so. It’s a long out-dated situation that produced no winners, and only losers, and that has also further pushed us into oppression. We realize that now, and since it’s not too late to correct it, we struggle collectively to do so.

Currently ISIS has a campaign where it is taking ground in the area of what is known as Iraq and Syria. In their campaign they are taking over key areas like airports, oil refineries, major roads or sea ports. By doing so they have obviously decided that each of these areas will lead to lightening their opposition’s hold on power and of eventually seizing power in that region of the world. Rather than focusing on overthrowing the Iraqi government outright or flooding Baghdad with troops and attacking the “Green Zone” (the U.S. base) outright, they have developed a campaign to take smaller steps which may lead up to seizing that area.

U.S. imperialism has been waging a campaign for total global influence in which they can act with impunity. They do this by setting up 1000+ bases around the world. And they coerce countries with economic embargoes, assassinations, coups and the installation of puppet governments. Blackmail is used from information that was illegally stolen off the internet or through U.$. spy agencies. Every bit of information they obtain buys them more influence, a step forward in their campaign of destruction.

USW Campaigns

Prisoners and former prisoners within the United Struggle from Within mass organization have also initiated a variety of campaigns which address our daily struggles. Every struggling people anywhere in the world needs campaigns to address their particular needs, and prisoners are no different. For us struggling prisoners there are certain forms of oppression which prevent us from developing politically or are outright neutralizing us so we must find ways to resist and overcome them, and campaigns ensure this.

Prisoners in California have the Agreement to End Hostilities which is one of our main campaigns at this time. The End to Hostilities is an essential step that needs to continue so that our goal of mobilizing the entire prison system becomes easier. We cannot mobilize people against a common enemy if they are wrapped up in fighting each other. Stopping the violence between prisoners allows us to begin to move forward for our real interests and combat our real threats. This campaign should also spread to other states, and it will. The Agreement to End Hostilities will spread state to state just like lumpen organizations themselves have spread.

A California campaign that is also country-wide is the struggle to abolish control units. Solitary confinement is another small step in a larger process. Control units are designed to destroy our most advanced cadre; it cannot be explained in any other way. So in my opinion the control units are ground zero for the struggles of the prison movement within U.$. borders today. If we cannot save our cadre in U.S. prisons it is a huge defeat. In order to mobilize the prison system for humyn rights struggles it would be a lot easier if most of the politically advanced prisoners were not sealed off in control units.

The grievance campaign is another way that we enable imprisoned people to work toward humyn rights so that they can continue to struggle on that revolutionary path. Things like the struggle for indigent envelopes which the comrades in Texas are raising is a part of our USW campaigns because if we are able to write letters we can struggle and join correspondence study groups and contribute to ULK so we cannot be limited by the state. Just because we may not be in Texas we still support those comrades because it is a USW campaign.

Our campaign in solidarity with Palestine was an exercise in USW flexing its internationalism. When a people are suffering from crimes against humynity, even the most brutal dungeon will not prevent acts of humynity. I think our solidarity with Palestine was also a sign of our anti-imperialism. We have our own struggles in each prison against brutality, solitary, medical care, etc. We have our distinct struggles for national liberation of our respective nations. At the same time we are anti-imperialists and we know that all of our oppression can be tied to U.S. imperialism. Imperialism extends oppression around the world and creates the circumstances where Third World people cannot survive in their home countries. These people often migrate to the metropole in search of sustenance, when not contained within militariazed walls.

Do Campaigns Teach the People?

Campaigns are absolutely educational. We learn from practice. When we partake in a campaign we not only realize what we can accomplish, but we also realize how to better coordinate our efforts.

The campaign does a couple of things, it allows us to battle our oppression while it teaches us different forms of struggle. We often learn new methods to struggle because of this. For example in a previous ULK I read about some comrades who, after struggling on different grievances, decided to create their own legal self-help organization.

From our campaign to raise awareness on the inside and outside the dungeons sprang the Strugglen Artists Association (SAA). The SAA is for artists to create revolutionary cultural works and for Propaganda Workers to bring these cultural contributions to the masses.

From our campaign to close the SHU sprang the statewide California hunger strikes. These actions helped to catch the eye of many within the white left who previously did not support the prison movement like some are starting to do now. From this publicity came various prisoner support groups and media struggles to assist our actions.

From these examples that I have listed came independent institutions. Our campaigns created these institutions of the people. They were created without the assistance of our oppressor enemy. It is hard to see these things develop without our campaigns, so as you can see the campaign creates even more opportunity to struggle and gives us momentum to continue on our road forward.

Take away the campaigns and we are left with nothing but isolated impulsive acts which get us nowhere but unorganized disarray. Campaigns direct our actions toward our greatest potential.

Our Goals in Campaigning

Our goal as anti-imperialists is a socialist revolution. But the more immediate goal of USW within U.$. prisons is to revolutionize the dungeons. This will take a series of actions, or to be specific it will take campaigns.

Prisons are merely one component of the state. But they are one of the most important components because it is within prisons where the most vital social forces are found. Prisons will produce the fiercest fighters in the future revolution.

The campaign is a military concept. In many ways it is a revolutionary war which awaits us because the oppressor will never hand over its power. According to Mao: “The revolutionary war is a war of the masses; it can be waged only by mobilizing the masses and relying on them.”(1)

Oppressed people will be victorious, and prisoners, once revolutionized, will ignite and charge the people. We have seen in hystory the power and raw force that ex-prisoners have infused into social justice movements within U.$. borders. The most advanced parties’ political organizations and movements of the internal semi-colonies were filled with ex-prisoners and lumpen, so it is this element which must be mobilized. The people must “go deeper,” as Lenin taught, to obtain the most revolutionary element which is less influenced by imperialism. Campaigns up! Conflicts down!

8/15/2/2015
For Sept. 9 this year my comrades and I are organizing a hunger strike to make the pigs start cleaning our unit. We live in a controlled unit that doesn’t allow porters, leaving the lceaning up to the pigs or custodians. But they never do it so we are forced to live in filth.

9/10/2015 update:
Update on my Sept. 9 hunger strike. The pigs conceded and cleaned the unit.

On top of that I had 15 copies made of the grievance campaign petition and had two comrades join me in flooding thelisted offices with them. I provided the postage for them all since they are stingy with the indigent envelopes here. I also led a small group in which we went over the history and importance of September 9 and enlightened a few who were unaware of the struggle. I broke my fast at midnight a few minutes ago so now I’m going to spend some time in contemplation and get some zzz’s.

It’s been over a week since we got the news on the settlement of Ashker v. Brown.(1) For a case that is so central to what we do as an organization we’ve taken our time to respond. We’ve read and re-read the legal documents and listened to the celebratory news coverage of the settlement. Yet our reaction remains the same, deep disappointment.

The settlement is a victory for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and it knocks out one of the three main legs of the campaign to shut down the SHU – the courts (the other two being public opinion and prisoners organized around their own interests). This case had a lot of the known anti-isolation lawyers and some influential long-time SHU prisoners behind it. It was an alliance that will be tough to beat any time soon.

The Maoist Internationalist Movement, along with many other organizations, has spent decades campaigning for the end to long-term isolation in U.$. prisons. We have long countered the public who question us with, “what is your proposed alternative?” with the simple answer, “not torturing people.” Ending long-term isolation in U.$. prisons would be a simple reform that unites the lowest common denominator of prison reformers. Almost everyone agrees we should end torture, and that is reflected in the ongoing movement to do so. It is only the fascist-leaning cop-lovers and state bureaucrats that oppose the call. Actually, in many states the state bureaucrats support ending long-term isolation.

Yet through all the years of struggle here in California, somehow the CDCR has succeeded in painting the ending of torture as the extreme option, with the recent settlement as the sensible compromise. But they are wrong: the extreme option is overthrowing the state and replacing it with one run by the oppressed, where the real killers and exploiters are imprisoned and taught how to live collectively with other humyn beings, not thrown in isolation. Ending torture in prisons is the most basic, sweeping reform that would actually improve the conditions in U.$. prisons.

According to the New York Times, prison directors have become more supportive of reducing the use of solitary confinement after a man who spent 8 years in isolation was released in 2013 and went to the house of Colorado’s prison chief, Tom Clements, and shot him dead.(2) Yet reducing the number of people in long-term isolation only serves to extend the life of its practice as it affects less people and there is less outrage. This reduction also suggests that some people still deserve to be tortured. That is why MIM(Prisons) has never supported measures to get only certain groups out of long-term isolation.

The Ashker settlement has been heralded as “effectively ending indefinite long-term solitary confinement” and “setting strict limits on the prolonged isolation of inmates.” Yet in the actual settlement we read,

“CDCR shall not house any inmate within the SHU at Pelican Bay State Prison for more than 5 continuous years. Inmates housed in the Pelican Bay SHU requiring continued SHU placement beyond this limitation will be transferred from the Pelican Bay SHU to another SHU facility within CDCR, or to a 180-design facility at Pelican Bay. Inmates who have previously been housed in the Pelican Bay SHU for 5 continuous years can only be returned to the Pelican Bay SHU if that return has been specifically approved by the Departmental Review Board and at least 5 years have passed since the inmate was last transferred out of the Pelican Bay SHU.”

That’s it! That’s the extent of the “strict” limitations on long-term isolation in California. So if you’re in another SHU, or Ad-Seg or some other unnamed long-term isolation situation, which about 14,000 of the over 15,000 in isolation in California are, there are no limits.(3) If you’re in Pelican Bay you must move to another SHU after 5 years. Five years later you can come back. Alternatively, you could spend 4.5 years in Pelican Bay, 2 months out, then go in for another 4.8 years, and on like that for the rest of your life. Does this really address the Eighth Amendment claim by the plaintiffs of cruel and unusual punishment? The length often cited for having serious mental affects on humyns is in the range of 15 to 30 days!

Now with the new Step Down Program prisoners are supposed to have a way to return to “a general population setting within three or four years.” So the class of prisoners being represented in this case, those who have been in the SHU for ten or more continuous years, are being addressed adequately according to those who agreed to this settlement. But even moving forward there are exceptions for Administrative SHU Status, allowing people to be held as long as CDCR deems necessary.

There is one progressive concession given in the settlement: “CDCR shall not place inmates into a SHU, Administrative Segregation, or Step Down Program solely on the basis of their validation status.” Additionally, “CDCR shall modify its Step Down Program so that it is based on the individual accountability of each inmate for proven STG [security threat group] behavior, and not solely on the inmate’s validation status or level of STG affiliation.” Finally, as a result of an ending to the indeterminate SHU sentences for prisoners “validated” as members of prison gangs, in the next year “CDCR shall review the cases of all validated inmates who are currently in the SHU as a result of… an indeterminate term that was previously assessed under prior regulations…”

This addresses the Fourteenth Amendment claim that the CDCR was violating due process with the validation system and the use of group punishment, at least somewhat. As we saw a couple years ago, the new STG policy actually opened up STG charges to a wider range of organizations than was covered by the previous validation system. The supposed upside is that the rules require actual STG behavior by the individual to justify placing someone in SHU, not just association. Yet, in the new SHU Term Assessment Chart we see that “Recruiting inmates to become an STG affiliate” is a SHU punishable offense.

As mentioned above, this settlement seems to eliminate the judicial strategy of ending solitary confinement in California for the near future. But it also strikes a huge blow against the strongest leg we have to stand on, the collective organizing of prisoners. Turns out, under the settlement you can expect to spend 12 months in SHU for “Leading a disturbance, riot or strike”, and 6 months for “participation in a disturbance, riot or strike” or “Inciting conditions likely to threaten institution security” (for those not aware, the latter was a common charge made against those who peacefully refused food in recent years to protest long-term isolation in California prisons).

They are outlawing peaceful protest, and non-violent, passive resistance for the prison movement. Amerikans criticize other countries that torture people for peacefully protesting the government that is abusing and, well, torturing them. How is it that leaders in the prison movement have signed on to this?

As we have previously reported, the new STG policies still give prisoners points for things like tattoos, greeting cards and talking to certain individuals. So it is not really true that you can no longer be punished for affiliation. Abolishing this practice was part of the 2nd demand of the hunger strikes.

As a result of reviews (which were mostly underway before this settlement anyway) we have a number of comrades who are getting out of the SHU right now, without having to debrief (snitch). This will no doubt be a positive thing, as we expect many of them will stay politically active in their new locations where they will have more opportunities to reach out to others. Yet at the same time we’ve already seen the next generation of prison leaders going to the SHU. It seems that the youngsters are getting thrown under the bus here.

So this is a wake up call to those not yet in the SHU. In July 2013, 30,000 prisoners stood up against long-term isolation, recognizing their common interests in this demand, even though most of them were not housed in isolation themselves. This was an amazing demonstration that epitomizes the progress made over the last 5 years or so to consolidate the prison movement in California. This continues to be celebrated in the form of the Agreement to End Hostilities and the countless commemorations taking place today, September 9th, in the spirit of peace and solidarity in commemoration of the Attica uprising.

As this settlement was released, public statements from CDCR celebrated it as a continuation of their plan to reform the system after the SHU successfully broke the prison gangs that had taken over. Yeah right. These prison gangs were encouraged by the state who teamed up with white nationalist prisoners to oppress New Afrikans, and later enforced the north/south divide on the Chican@ nation. The continuation of and expansion of united action around the Agreement to End Hostilities is crucial to preventing the CDCR from returning to that status quo.

Leading up to the recent settlement we had one comrade building for a new wave of hunger strikes. As this settlement does not address the most important of the 5 Core Demands, ending conditions of isolation for all prisoners, this call remains valid. And while we’ve always warned comrades to build outside support for such actions, one lesson we can take from California is that such actions must be organized on the inside. Even California Prison Focus, who has been visiting prisoners in the SHU for decades, and who has lawyers with privileged access to their clients, was in the dark during the hunger strikes until the CDCR decided to pull in outside mediators. As always, MIM(Prisons) is committed to supporting the organization of prisoners and fighting to defend the First Amendment rights of prisoners (and ourselves) of speech and association. The ending of a policy that allows the state to torture people for belonging to certain organizations was a blow against the excessively repressive policies of the CDCR in relation to the First Amendment. With this settlement we find California in a similar situation to most of the rest of the country, where torture continues to be the method of choice for population control of the oppressed who do not walk in step with the oppressor.

And so, the struggle continues. Until solitary confinement is abolished, shutting down control units will be a central campaign for MIM(Prisons) and United Struggle from Within.

Well, I didn’t receive a pack on Attica history, however, what I did for September 9 was I attempted to raise the level of consciousness here amongst the inmates here on a few issues:

1. I spoke on comrade George L. Jackson’s untimely death at San Quentin. And his particular struggle at that time and what he went through. His transforming the colonial and criminal mind into a revolutionary mentality.

And how he vied to unify the blacks and other groups. But, the reactionary system wasn’t having it one bit. So as a result of his struggles in prison he was assassinated.

2. I also spoke on Pinell, whom too was slain unfortunately during Black August. And what he stood for in terms of solidarity amongst progressive people. And that he spent 46 years in the SHU. And that he and comrade George were comrades in arms for prisoner’s liberation.

And i spoke on Attica’s uprising. Mao said, “one spark can light a prairie fire.” And it definitely did.

3. I spoke on how it is vitally important to end all hostilities amongst all groups of prisoners and beyond. In spite of the fact that hostilities will be fomented by the reactionary state. We must continue to vie for peace, harmony and love amongst each other no matter what. The enemy will stop at nothing to foil our efforts.

However, it’s part of the struggle to continue moving forward until our goals can be realized, and at that we can set more.

Also, I spoke to them about the importance of maintaining a study group here even after my departure from prison. And that each and everyone of them have an inherent obligation to conduct and maintain a study group amongst themselves. So, that they can continue on raising the social, and political consciousness of the prison class. It’s essential to do so.

At any rate, I did what I could to commemorate September 9th. The discussion was for 2 hours. It turned out pretty well. Most of the participants didn’t have a clue about these historical events and about the prison movement in general. And of course, some had questions. It was about 12 people who attended the group. Also, I did a thousand burpees myself to commemorate September 9th. It was exhilarating and refreshing at age 53 years of age. To continue to push forward in my 34th year incarcerated. Pamoja tutashinda uhuru sasa!

Comrade Real

It’s been a blessing to learn and grow from each comrade that have engaged in a solidarity demonstration with the movement, Abolitionists From Within (AFW). As we came together for all the lost comrade and those that continue to struggle and united to break the chain of injustice.

1. We fast Sept 8 to Sept 9 in a show of solidarity. Also we study together reading books, with study questions, like Claiming Earth: Race, Rage, Rape, Redemption by Haki R. Madhubuti.

We study from the charter: “Missing Movement, Missing Fathers: Black male responsibility in the lives of children.”

Also read material from Under Lock & Key #45 and the “September 9th Day of Struggle Study Pack.”

After reading, we came up with questions from the material and off we went back to our cell. We also share the word with anybody who was willing to listen. Back in our cell i heard the cormades feeling like freedom revolutionary fighters and that’s what’s up! We stand in solidarity with the comrades who fought and died in the uprising at Attica. Continue to struggle with peace on our tongue.

Hear on “D yard” there was nothing but peace today in solidarity with the movement (AFW) and with the Attica Freedom Fighters.

One point in the charter from the book was Black Movement provided young African Americans a context for discovering identity and purpose, and it also provided them serious proposals for the future. The movement prevented many young men from being swallowed by the prison culture and that how I feel about the Under Lock & Key (MIM) movement in help us comrades who wanted change so I say stay struggling and think for your continued struggle with us prisoners.

Revolutionary Greetings!

UPDATE October 2015: As a soldier and politically conscious prisoner and the head member of the Abolitionists from Within (AFW) I foresaw this inviable self-destruction and prisoner-on-prisoner violence. It hurt because two of our members were struggling to end hostilities among “northerners” but it’s not easy when you are surrounded by ignorance.

On 12 October 2015, Columbus Day, all hell broke out on D-yard upper and lower, including about a 100 prisoners. Prior to this a proxy war broke out on the upper yard. Members of the groups tried to end the hostilities but there were no compromising due to administrative stool-pidgeon that led to a racial riot between Black and “Northern”, and as of today we are on lock-down. As I struggle with peace on my tongue to end hostilities.

On 19 July 2015, “B” Facility Captain P. Sullivan and agents under him unlawfully confined the whole population to a cell for a Crips, Hoover Melee for 10 days, without no disciplinary action of due process pursuant to CCR, Title 15 & 3312 (3). Instead they stepped out of their scope of duty as a peace officer, to subject “B” Facility’s whole population to corporal punishment, which is a violation of CCR, Title 155 & 3281, and a known terrorist act.

On 3 August 2015, “B” Facility Captain P. Sullivan and agents under him unlawfully confine “B” Facility whole population to a cell again for Crips/Hoover melee, without no disciplinary action or due process pursuant to CCR, Title 15 & 3312 (3). Instead they stepped out of their scope of duty as a peace officer again to subject “B” Facility’s whole population to more “corporal punishment,” which is a violation of CCR, Title 15 & 3281, 3322(a)(c), 3330(a)(e), and 3331(h), and a known “terrorist act.”

Everybody is being punished again for Crips/Hover problem. Also, we are being denied yard, service, canteen, dayroom, packages, and phone calls (see attached program status reports).

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Salinas Valley State Prison, Warden W.L. Muniz and agents under him are fostering the code of silence to mock their own policy and procedures, CCR, Title 15 & 3001, 3004(a)(c), 3291(a), 3322(a)(c), 3330(a), 3331(h), 3391(a), and 3413(a)(2); in order to commit terrorist acts of torture.

As we’re all aware, in order for the end to hostilities to become a reality, all prisoners should promote it or encourage it to other prisoners who are just arriving to the system. In my location (Pelican Bay SHU), all have adhered to “ending hostilities” even though it’s been evident the pigs have tried to crack it by putting certain prisoners in compromising circumstances, such as opening the wrong cell when one comes back from yard. It’s done in a manner that’s obvious. I’ve witnessed this happen at least 3 times in a year, but with no incidents as all are adhering to the End of Hostilities!

Now that a federal oversight to release SHU prisoners from indefinite solitary confinement has been implemented we can only anticipate CDCR to create scenarios where prisoners will be placed in vulnerable or compromising circumstances in order to report incidents to the federal courts to justify their need for suppression. Over 1100 prisoners have been reported to have been kicked out from solitary confinement, yet the proposed actions will be of releasing many into small units or yards of their own just like main lines, but integrated with validated released SHU prisoners.

The news is fairly new, but what we know is that we’re all being released and there is now a time limit on how long we can be housed in solitary confinement! All was made possible through a collective effort and peace building!

Although September 9th is a historical day in prison history in California prisons, we now have a July 8th where we can reflect on to see our efforts transcend expectations.

To sum up in my area the end to hostilities is adhered to and a lot of class conscious conversations are constantly being addressed. Everything pertaining to prisoner rights to the abolishment of solitary confinement is a hot topic where ideas are matched, debates and polemics are welcomed with respect. Our lives are affect by all our actions. It just helps more when we’re all on the same page. I cannot say that a grand meeting will be held on September 9th or anything else as we do have class consciousness, but not all are receptive to political/revolutionary discussions and being that my unit is very small, I will probably be the only one participating in a solidarity fast on September 9th. My revolutionary solidarity goes out to all other USW comrades.

As a counter to this messaging, the Strugglen Artists Association (SAA) has emerged as a culture project of United Struggle from Within. Through the SAA prisoners can send out unique messages that reflect the transformation they’ve made from parasites to productive people and leaders.

I displayed the Chican@ greeting cards at the last dayroom with a few Chican@ prisoners who i read the bible with (illustrating Christ as a socialist :) ). They were impressed and the entire ten cards I laid out are spoken for; just have to collect the stamps!

MIM(Prisons) adds: The above report comes from a Propaganda Worker of the Strugglen Artists Association (SAA). The job of a Propaganda Worker is to spread revolutionary culture amongst those at their locale, and help fundraise for the cultural arm of the SAA. At the time of our July 2015 Congress, the SAA had raised $44 on top of the expenses to run the project! These funds are slotted to be used to expand the SAA.

Building revolutionary culture is an important task for our movement. We know that even after a successful socialist revolution the people won’t instantly learn to be selfless and automatically focused on serving the best interests of society. It will take many years to counter the reactionary culture of imperialism even after the economic system has been revolutionized. We saw this in the long struggle of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR) in China, which mobilized people to attack leaders who were using positions of power for personal gain. A new bourgeoisie was forming within the party, and the GPCR was an ideological attempt to defeat it. The cultural work we do today is part of the broader cultural revolution that will extend into the construction of socialism.

You don’t have to be an artist to help spread revolutionary culture; you can sign up to be a Propaganda Worker. We have blank greeting cards with revolutionary images; bookmarks with themes of spreading peace and overcoming drug addiction and alcoholism; coloring book pages to help reach children and illiterate folks, and to provide a creative outlet for those who do better with color than lines; and small posters to remind us to stay focused on a correct vision.

MIM(Prisons) is not selling these items outright; we are only sending them out in small bulk packages to be used as organizing tools. We know our subscribers have lots of skills for hawking and hustling. So why not put those skills to good use for the communist movement against all oppression? Write in for more info on how to become a Propaganda Worker.

As a loyal comrade who is committed to the struggle I have utmost respect for Under Lock & Key and I appreciate all that they/you contribute to the revolutionary struggle that is taking place today for those inside these concentration camps in the United Snakes. As the leading member of the Abolitionist From Within (AFW) I do support MIM and embrace as a group the five core principles of the United Front for Peace in Prisons.

While AFW may not agree with every political issue MIM advocates, it is the issues that we both support that bring us together in this revolutionary struggle. AFW recently had our first demonstration at High Desert State Prison (HDSP), bringing together a cohesive front in reflecting, fasting and uniting to honor those nameless and faceless men of Black August and Attica(1971) by coming together in solidarity. We brought up the issues of the day affecting us and we all offered solutions from each individual’s perspective. It was a beautiful and righteous energy as we synergized listening to each other and offering suggestions and the best of ourselves during this time. We will meet again on September 9th and try to agree on the best solutions in attacking and combating the issues that are inflicting us today from the first meeting.