MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
www.prisoncensorship.info is a media institution run by the Maoist Internationalist Ministry of Prisons. Here we collect and publicize reports of conditions behind the bars in U.$. prisons. Information about these incidents rarely makes it out of the prison, and when it does it is extremely rare that the reports are taken seriously and published. This historical record is important for documenting patterns of abuse, and also for informing people on the streets about what goes on behind the bars.
I am a prisoner in the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) who is
requesting your petition to remedy problems with the grievance
procedure. I have blood markers of cancer that prison facilities never
informed me about. They tried to prevent me from finding out about this
by transferring me to a different prison whenever I would file a
grievance demanding to be informed of the results to lab. At Calhoun
State Prison on June 29, 2015 the grievance coordinator, who is also the
deputy warden of care and treatment, Ms. Christine Cross, informed me my
grievance was rejected because I’d forgot to sign it. The counselor I’d
turned it in to has an obligation, according to prison operating
procedure, to check the grievance for this type of technical compliance
when I turned it in to him. I told Christine Cross he could have asked
me to sign when I turned it in to him. It wasn’t like I’d did it on
purpose. I told Ms. Cross I would appeal the rejection to Department
headquarters in Atlanta. Later this same day I was transferred to Dooly
State Prison (DSP).
I turned in the appeal to grievance staff at DSP. Several months later I
was being interviewed by the grievance coordinator, Ms. McClairen, when
I thought to ask about this appeal. McClairen replied it seems there is
no record that one was ever forwarded to GDC main office.
McClairen said this in a passing sort of fashion. The procedure requires
appeals be submitted to our present facility’s staff, and those staff
will forward it to the main office in Atlanta. Apparently this doesn’t
work out in many cases. I am wanting to join your campaign. I will
attempt to organize some of the others having this problem. Please send
me the petition, with any other information I must know.
“Without a revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement.
This cannot be insisted upon too strongly at a time when the fashionable
preaching of opportunism combined with absorption in the narrowest forms
of practical activity.” - V. I. Lenin
Often times the first half of this quote is misrepresented by people not
really knowing the context. Well-meaning comrades will repeat this
political axiom when calling for others to pick up their theoretical
game (grasp of revolutionary science), for reasons having to do with the
obvious need for revolutionary theory to influence and propagate our
revolutionary practice. Yet it was in the process of struggle and heated
political debate that Lenin first made this now famous statement. These
struggles and other political debates were recalled by Lenin in eir book
What is to be Done?; a book about communist organization and
discipline. More to my point, in this book, Lenin addressed the
importance that revolutionary theory should play in informing the
revolutionary movement, in part for the purpose of combating various
erroneous tendencies.
The main tendency which Lenin devoted the better part of this book to
was the problem of opportunism. Opportunism can be defined as the
conscious or unconscious watering down of political line in order to
garner more sympathy for your cause or movement. It can also be said
that opportunism can be described as the glossing over of contradictions
within the revolutionary movement so as to not offend or turn away your
social base. A perfect example of opportunism would be to tell Amerikans
that they are the revolutionary vehicle which we call the proletariat
instead of telling them the truth: that they are by and large the
objective enemies of the international proletariat – parasites which we
call the labor aristocracy.
One example of how opportunism can work its way into the revolutionary
prison movement is thru a philosophical belief called pragmatism. To be
a pragmatist means to worship the tactics of whatever works at the
present time. While there may be occasions in which we must do what is
most effective at that particular instance/moment, we must do so in a
way that doesn’t have us sacrificing our political principles or
political line, all for the sake of practical results. Pragmatism as a
strategic orientation is a danger to revolutionary movements because it
can cause us to shift focus from our strategic goals in favor of the
immediacy of tactical results. While tactical wins are a good thing for
the oppressed, we will be in error if we confuse a tactical gain for
strategic victory. A real world example of the negative effects of
pragmatism is how many prisoners who participated in the California
hunger strikes first initiated in 2011 abandoned the struggle for humyn
rights in favor of material concessions and a more comfortable
oppression.
Other more nuanced examples of how opportunism has come to dominate
political organizing behind prison walls come in the form of “friendship
groups” and “elites.” Both are hazards to the prison movement because of
the seemingly casual nature of the two and the Liberalism that underlies
them.
Friendship groups are the more obvious of the two. Friendship groups can
be defined as: “A group of friends who also happen to participate in the
same political activities. Most of these groups’ members participate
within the group because they like the people in them and not because
they have the correct political line.”
Elites can be defined as: “A small group of people who have power over a
larger group of which they are a part of, usually without a direct
responsibility to that larger group and often without their knowledge or
consent.”
Friendship groups function on an external level and so many prisoners
will surely recognize one when they see them, as most LOs have these
types of groups functioning in one capacity or another. Elites on the
other hand, while being dialectically related to the friendship group
are the opposite and function on an internal level. One thing which both
these groups share in common is their popularization and use of false
logic as a method of accomplishing their objectives. This false logic
can be best understood as sophism; a method of argument that fake
philosophers use to fool the masses by exploiting to their own advantage
any situation they encounter or create. One such method of the
professional sophist is the ad hominem attack. Ad hominen attacks are
marked by appeals to feelings or prejudices rather than to intellect.
For example, if one persyn doesn’t like another persyn’s politics, but
can’t correctly argue against eir political line, the aggressor might
use an ad hominem attack instead. The ad hominem attack might be
accusing the persyn of violating an established taboo, such as stealing
from another persyn.
Opportunism will find its way into revolutionary movements and
organizations if both the masses and the leadership do not have a strong
grasp or even an elementary understanding of revolutionary theory. This
can allow for various dishonest and incorrect elements to find their way
into our structures, which as a result can cause our movements to falter
and perish. This is why as revolutionaries we put such a high premium on
the study of revolutionary science not only amongst the prison
leadership but the prison masses. Furthermore, in making this point we
cannot over-emphasize the dialectical relation between study and
practice, as a correct grasp of one will inevitably lead to a correct
grasp of the other.
To re-iterate, preventative measures are essential in order to
safe-guard our movements from taking up opportunism and watering down
their revolutionary agendas. We must strongly advocate and fight for the
study and production of both revolutionary theory and practice not only
to effectively meet the demands and goals of revolutionary organizing,
but to navigate our movements thru the sea and fog of bourgeois
Liberalism. Our practice will grope in the dark unless its path is
illuminated by the most advanced revolutionary theory.
Last, but certainly not least, i would like to speak to other challenges
of revolutionary organizing behind prison walls. When working with the
lumpen and attempting to organize for our collective liberation it is
only natural that we will run into a variety of problems that may end
with us in frustration. However, we should not blithely dismiss the
prison masses as incapable of listening to our message because they are
supposedly too “ignorant”, “backward” or “apolitical” to understand what
the so-called “revolutionary” might regard as “complex,” as this has
more to do with the revolutionary’s own ignorance, inability and
incapability to either understand the masses or effectively communicate
to them the correct political line. More likely than not, when any
movement, strike or action fails to materialize or develop it is not due
to the low level of consciousness of the masses, but to the
revolutionaries’ own lack of profundity and insight into the movement of
the masses which they often claim some sort of near spiritual connection
to.
We must continue to find better ways to correct our approach and
understanding of the masses, correct our shortcomings, and stop blaming
the masses. Likewise, neither should we fear the masses or their
criticism, as the acceptance of criticism and self-criticism is integral
to establishing the correct revolutionary line. Do not fear the masses
because they are the way forward, and do not fear their criticism
because often times they prove to be correct, if even just a bit, for
whosoever fears the criticism of the masses only proves that what they
really fear is revolution. Above all, always remember that
revolutionaries are not above the masses in any way, shape or form. We
are but the advanced detachment of the prison movement, nothing more,
nothing less. Whoever does not believe this is not a Maoist.
In writing this missive a relevant story comes to mind. When the masses
in socialist China were struggling for control of their country against
the capitalist roaders during the period of the Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution, many so-called “revolutionaries” felt that the
masses were out of control, and that they weren’t yet ready to share
state power with the communist party. Many of these revolutionaries
advocated an end to this “anarchy,” accusing the masses of being too
backward to run the country. To this Mao Zedong and Lin Biao responded:
“The assumption of power by ideological means is absolutely necessary if
consolidation of the working class’s power and hegemony is the goal… To
accomplish the decisive political leap, the leading role must revert to
the masses; this has nothing to do as it is generally believed in the
West to do with any form of spontaneity. The role of the party in
destroying ‘spontaneous’ illusions lies in the quality of leadership
which consists in transforming dispersed rebel movements into a
revolutionary current capable of overcoming contradictions. Lin Biao
says that the mass revolutionary movement is naturally correct; for
among the masses, right and left-wing deviationist groups may exist, but
the main current of the mass movement always corresponds to the
development of that society involved and is always correct. Revolution
is the resolution of contradictions.”(1)
I write in response to the USW campaigns published in ULK 47.
Please be advised, the grievance system is nationally governed by the
United States Supreme Court Prison Litigation Reform Act. Although each
state has its own format, a DOC failure to respond to a grievance at any
stage is a failure of them to make the exhaustion remedies available.
Make sure in between stages to submit a simple delinquent notice if your
grievances are not responded to. Make sure to do this twice, and retain
copies. Then move through the stages and, if necessary, the delinquent
notices will suffice if litigation elevates to court level. Also, a
grievance rejected cannot be held by the exhaustion requirements of the
Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) because the rejection deemed the
filing a non-grievable issue, therefore you have exhausted the grievance
procedure and may proceed if necessary. Please see:
438 f.3d 804, 809, 812 (7th GR. 2006)
569 F. Supp 2d 398, 406-07 (D. Del 2008)
287 F. Supp. 2d 210, 212 (WDNY 2003)
231 F. Supp. 2d 341, 350 (D. Me 2002)
54 F. Supp. 2d 199, 206 (S.D. NY 1999)
MIM(Prisons) adds: Many people facing problems with the grievance
procedures where they’re held also do not have access to a copy machine,
or their cells are tossed and all their documentation is sabotaged. This
suggestion of notifying staff of delinquency twice, and keeping copies,
appears like a good tactic if possible. We would also encourage
subscribers to request the Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual chapter on
the PLRA that we distribute for $12 or equivalent work-trade. If you can
afford to buy the Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual outright
(approximately $30), we can send you the publisher’s order form.
The mere existence of the PLRA, plus all the little headaches that make
it so difficult to exhaust all available remedies, are signs that the
criminal injustice system in this country is a total joke. It’s not
designed for justice at all - it’s designed to frustrate and pacify, and
provide busy work for, the oppressed people who are subject to its
control. In addition to trying to fight winnable battles through the
courts when possible, we encourage our subscribers to get deep into
political study and organizing, which gets at the core of this unjust
capitalist system and all its organs of oppression.
The new hit single across California.
Available now @ Pelican Bay State Prison, California Correctional
Institution, San Quentin State Prison, Corcoran State Prison,
& Old/New Folsom State Prison. Stand up for your rights
now to get your free tickets!
The Soldiers of Bondage (S.O.B.) is a revolutionary communist
organization with its members consisting of political prisoners within
the Illinois Department of Corrections. The party was founded on 2 July
2011 in Pontiac Correctional Center Segregation. Current membership is
very small, but, with the publishing of this study guide, it is hoped
that the party will grow nationally in both numbers and resources. A
Manifesto of S.O.B. will be completed soon and it will hopefully be made
available to prisoners across Amerika.
The “Communist Manifesto” is the most important piece of political
literature to the communist. However, due to the many oppressive
conditions that plague the lumpen proletariat within the United $tates,
many prisoners have problems with comprehending the “Communist
Manifesto.” For this reason S.O.B. felt it necessary to create a study
guide that would assist prisoners in obtaining as much information as
possible from the “Communist Manifesto.” This study guide contains 184
questions as well as answers from the text.
After creating the study guide the next question to be answered was how
to make the study guide easily available to prisoners. After some debate
it was decided that the only real option was to go through MIM(Prisons).
We are not sure if MIM(Prisons) will just send this out to prisoners who
request it or if they will make it one of their official study group
programs. Either way it will assist prisoners in the development of
their political consciousness.
Remember that the only way to combat the oppressive conditions we are
subjugated to is to become aware of the cause and solution of our
oppression. It is the hope of S.O.B. that this study guide will help
many become aware of these elements. As Karl Marx and Frederick Engels
articulated within the “Communist Manifesto,” the proletariat must
emancipate itself. Amerika does not have a proletariat. However, Marx
and Engels’s edict is just as true for the lumpen proletariat: the
lumpen proletariat must emancipate itself. You must liberate yourself
from the oppression you suffer. Begin your journey to become the New Man
by educating yourself. Education is power. Resist! Rebel! Defy!
In strength and solidarity, Cadre (on behalf of S.O.B.)
MIM(Prisons) responds: First we want to commend this group for
their hard work focusing on communist education amongst the lumpen. The
extensive study guide they created took a lot of work. And their
decision to undertake a project that is focused on bringing up the level
of theoretical understanding of the lumpen suggests that we have a lot
of unity around our principal tasks at this time. MIM(Prisons) knows
little about the S.O.B. organization so we cannot comment on our
relative level of theoretical unity, and until they publish a manifesto
we can only say that the “Communist Manifesto” questions suggest we
agree on the bought-off nature of the vast majority of the
imperialist-country workers who now constitute a petty-bourgeoisie. This
is particularly important as we read a book like the “Communist
Manifesto,” which was written so many years ago when the labor
aristocracy was just a very small segment of the working class, and the
workers in First World countries were still a part of the proletariat.
We look forward to work and political discussion with S.O.B. We hope
these comrades in Illinois serve as an example for other USW study
groups across the country. If you want this study pack, write in to
MIM(Prisons). Tell us if you already have the “Communist Manifesto” or
if you need a copy
From this end of the bend the only subject relevant to prisoners in
regards to the early Black Panther Party (BPP) is the party as a Maoist
organization and how prisoners should apply the teachings of the early
Panthers to free themselves - resisting the foolishness of the late
personality cliques capitalizing off of the party’s reputation. What is
most important is getting to the truth between the legacy of the BPP and
what it was that the founders were really getting at. What role, if any,
do later groups play in keeping the vision alive? And how is it that
prisoners should use these lessons in these later years of
anti-imperialist prison organizing efforts?
Many New Afrikan lumpen organizations inside prison take their plays
directly from the playbook of early BPP members while never truly
crediting the party for its works. This in turn creates further
confusions between the Lumpen Organization’s (LO’s) followers and former
members of the authentic movement. Others within U.$. prisons are
charismatic individuals working hand over hand with the bourgeois
nationalist organizations, spreading misinformation about the BPP.
Recently PBS ran a piece on a program called Independent Lens
that
documented
the history of the Black Panther Party. As expected it was as
watered down as the bourgeois press and media felt it could get away
with.(1) Several of the prisoners housed on this facility burst at their
seems with inspiration of the works of the Black Panther Party. It was
information that they felt they should have known, being they are
Afrikans.
Other BPP images being portrayed on this 50th anniversary year include
one specific article written by a charismatic imprisoned individual that
went on and on about Huey P. Newton, a co-founder of the Black Panther
Party, and not on how prisoners should learn from the early lessons of
Newton, applying their lessons of political education in the struggles
of today.(2) And probably the most noticed recent portrayal of the
Panthers came in the form of sexual media, with
Beyonce
and eir Super Bowl 50 performance. Capitalizing off of the history
of the Black power era, Beyonce adorned eirself and eir backup dancers
with black leathers, black boots and black berets. Prisoners should
question the significance of Black Panther costume jewelry and make-up
versus scientific relevance inside U.$. prisons.(3)
Very few prisoners appreciate the political significance of the
difference between the early BPP and the late BPP. This is the reason so
many prisoners crowd towards movements that appear authentic and
genuinely interested in liberation struggles. The masses are presented
with ideas of Black, Brown, red, yellow and white power by superstar
groups like #BlackLivesMatter, but prisoners have very few tools of
independence to combat the misinformation spewed by these bourgeois
nationalist organizations and their personalities. Movements built on
single issue organizing, swabbing the support of the populations using
identity politics, do a disservice to the oppressed, depriving them of
the truth.
The Black Panther Party held the correct line in its early stages, and
because of this it was rewarded with the support of the internal
semi-colonies of the United $tates, the majority being lumpen youth. In
its early years the BPP was truly independent, concentrating on its
services to Blacks, at a time when the term Black was just as
independent as the party. So the organization was able to operate in a
loose way within the First World. The early party took its science from
a variety of teachings, from the Pan-Afrikan movement to the Chinese
communist movement, Lenin’s Russia, Stalin’s theory of nation, and Mao’s
People’s War. Mao influenced much of the Black Panther Party’s position
as a structured organization. The early members had a very real practice
of materialist solutions provided to those in the same environment
suffering under conditions of class indifferences, national isolation
and gender extinction. They did not believe in struggling against a
system while at the same time becoming liberated by the very same system
they struggled against.
The prison personality contest conflicts become prominent, with prison
identity politics valued above the peace that independence-building
projects bring to a self-reliant and self-determined people’s
anti-imperialist prison movement. Too many prisoners and prison LOs see
the end of their individual suffering at the expense of exploiting
entire prison populations. MIM(Prisons) and United Struggle from Within
(USW) see it differently as we define in the United Front for Peace in
Prisons (UFPP) principle of independence. Independence is
building our own institutions and programs independent of the united
states government and all its branches, right down to the local police,
because this system does not serve us. By developing independent power
through these institutions we do not need to compromise our goals.
The Black Panther Party prioritized the momentum of the people in its
early years because of the line and position it had on Maoism. The BPP
transitioned for some time to a level above many of the revisionist and
liberal bourgeois nationalist organizations of the late sixties and was
able to attract some of the most progressive members of the lower class,
that many now refer to as the First World lumpen. The Panthers at this
time studied history from the perspective of dialectical materialism, in
contrast to the methods of metaphysics and idealism, and had a clear
program that was being adopted by various sectors of the masses across
the United $tates. They applied practices that included designing
programs that required members to perform services for the community at
large, from education to self defense. The services of the Black Panther
Party reflected its line in such a way that it was mandatory that
members knew the rules of the BPP, the 8 points of attention and the 3
main rules of discipline, off the top of their head. The early Panthers
were really on point.
It is in the later stages of the party’s existence that things began to
take a turn as a result of the organization shifting from its earlier
positions on independence, self-determination and liberation in the
interest of the oppressed. This shift occurred in 1970-71, and was
marked by the development of the theory of “intercommunalism” by Huey P.
Newton. With the added pressures of government-launched campaigns to
destroy the Black Panther Party, the party became split on every level
one possibly could imagine.
Walking in the Panther Legacy Today
Since the demise of the BPP, though the movement never actually died, a
wide gap has grown between the generation of Huey, George, Bunchy, Fred,
Kathleen and Geronimo and the generation of Freddie Gray, Mike Brown and
Sandra Bland. Since the Panthers, many organizations became infected
with a type of Pantherism/inter-communalism fervor. These organizations
hold that they themselves keep the work of the Black Panther Party
alive, all the while erasing the Maoist politics of the BPP. See our
article on the
Black
Riders Liberation Party for a discussion of another group confusing
this legacy today.(4)
United Struggle from Within (USW) is a mass organization led by the
Maoist Internationalist Ministry of Prisons for prisoners and former
prisoners in the United $tates. USW is made up of various political
prison activists struggling against their oppressive conditions. We are
part of an ongoing struggle against the imperialist state to liberate
ALL peoples, not only the select few who have made themselves
popular at the expense of the people. While USW seeks immediate goals to
improve prison conditions, it does not lose sight of the ultimate goal
of national liberation and ending imperialism.
“There are two kinds of nationalism, revolutionary nationalism and
reactionary nationalism. Revolutionary nationalism is first dependent
upon a peoples revolution with the end goal being the people in power.
Therefore to be revolutionary nationalist you would by necessity have to
be a socialist. If you are a reactionary nationalist you are not a
socialist and your end goal is the oppression of the people.”(5)
Like their parent organization, many comrades of USW see the Black
Panther Party developed by Huey P. Newton as the Maoist vanguard of the
United States in the late 1960s. The Black Panther Party grew so rapidly
at that time that many of the new recruits and larger memberships had
very little opportunity to establish a deep understanding of the
political objectives of the party. A lack of political education allows
political movements to be co-opted, infiltrated, and run into the ground
by enemy line.(6)
USW learns from the Black Panther Party, its good, bad and ugly.
Parallel to the method practiced by our parent organization
MIM(Prisons), USW comrades apply righteous actions by righteous studies
of logic and these are some lessons we take:
No investigation, no right to speak. USW will not misrepresent or
misinform the masses.
Correctness of ideas assessed independent of who says them. USW does not
engage in the persynality contest so popular in the United $tates and
its prisons.
We do not give out information that the pigs could use to assess or
destroy our movement. Fishing is a favored method amongst the agent
provocateurs and their drones inside the belly of the beast. USW
comrades have a clear definition of what a snitch, a rat and a pig is.
We don’t use the terms loosely and never false jacket individuals, as
our pledge to the United Front for Peace in Prison principle of
unity requires.
Anonymity isn’t just about security, it’s also about teaching prisoners
to think scientifically rather than follow the person with specific skin
tone or hair style. USW must struggle against identity politics and the
way it shall go about confronting it as its membership crosses paths
with the prison lumpen organization leaders, with their cult-like
followings, is in the most peaceful way possible, Under Lock &
Key. This issue of ULK is a further advancement into serious
dialogues between politically conscious prisoners and the masses.
Prisoners as a whole must take from this history, from a Maoist point of
view and decide what side they are on. The side of half truths,or the
always evolving side of deep study and materialist dialectics.
As Sukant Chandan of Sons of Malcom put it, identity politics is doing
the imperialist divide and rule for the enemy, by “focusing purely on
individualistic frameworks and issues of oppression which overshadow or
totally obliterate understanding, learning and support for Resistance of
peoples against imperialism.”(7) So just as the Panthers were not about
costume jewelry and black berets, they were not about petty beefing and
slights towards small groups of people.
So why are there so many groups inside prisons who claim to identify
with the Black Panther Party but do not uphold Maoism? Their class
loyalty is to the bourgeoisie and they refuse to accept the most
scientifically designed methods of discovering concrete practices that
elevate the peoples. Study Maoism, study proletarian internationalism,
study the actual words of the Black Panther Party from the late 1960s.
There are two important tasks which imprisoned revolutionaries need to
carry out. The first is to build public opinion for revolution. The
second is to survive their imprisonment long enough so as to ensure a
lasting impact on the revolutionary movement long after their release.
For those not getting out, it’s important not to give up, as your
contributions to oppressed peoples’ movements are still very meaningful.
It is from these concrete classrooms that some of the most dedicated
revolutionaries emerge, returning to their communities after years in
prison. Therefore the need for political instructors to train these
students is dire. As such, survival pending revolution should be an
important part of any comrade’s focus while imprisoned.
Survival pending revolution can mean figuring out how to navigate
everyday prison politics in a manner acceptable to the prison masses. At
its most basic this can mean doing no harm in the masses’ eyes.
Ultimately, the prison movement is a mass movement. How can we lead a
mass movement if the prison masses cannot trust us because we are
actively working against their own righteous interests? How can we claim
to stand for liberation if we are responsible for oppressing others? In
our interactions with the prison masses we must be like fish swimming in
the sea, not only blending in with our environment, but becoming one
with our environment.
The anti-imperialist prison movement is a mass movement, but if we don’t
have the support of the masses then we don’t have anything. This is an
important point that real revolutionary organizations have understood
from very early on. The Chinese Communist Party understood this and so
they created an eight point program which helped to address the needs of
both cadre and masses within the wider scope of revolutionary practice.
Decades later the Black Panther Party would incorporate this same
program into its organization, re-working the points to the BPP’s
specific conditions:
Speak politely.
Pay fairly for what you buy.
Return everything you borrow.
Pay for anything you damage.
Do not hit or swear at people.
Do not damage property or crops of the poor, oppressed masses.
Do not take liberties with women.
If we ever have to take captives do not ill-treat them.
Because prison can be such a violent place and communists are supposed
to stand against oppression, comrades associated with the prison
movement should make it a point to be best known as peacemakers rather
than agitators, unless of course they are dealing with injustice at the
hand of the oppressors. As such, the likelihood of injury is
significantly higher amongst prisoners when compared to people on the
streets, with one report citing that more than a quarter of state and
federal prisoners report being injured since admission to prison.(1)
These figures however do not account for prisoners who do not report
injuries, so the real number is definitely higher.
Another common cause of injury in prison, which is often overlooked and
under-reported, is the violence associated with prison sexual assault.
According to Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) reporting, more than 1
million people have been sexually assaulted in prison over the past 20
years.(1) That’s an astonishing 50,000 people a year every year for the
last 20 years! Again this estimation by PREA is likely under-reported.
Prison rape is important to prevent, not only for the obvious reasons
but because with sexual assault in prison comes “an increase in other
types of violence, including murder, involving inmates and staff, and
long lasting trauma which makes it even more difficult for people to
succeed in the community after release.”(1, 2)
When it comes to substance abuse virtually all prisoners are addicted to
something. Statistics show that 80% of prisoners abuse drugs or alcohol
and that nearly 50% of jail and prison inmates are clinically
addicted.(3) “Four of every five children and teen arrestees in state
and juvenile prisons are under the influence of alcohol and drugs while
committing their crimes, test positive for drugs, are arrested for
committing an alcohol or drug offense, admit having substance abuse and
addiction problems or show some combination of these
characteristics.”(3) This last point is very relevant to the lumpen in
prison and lumpen youth because most prisoners started doing drugs and
alcohol at very early ages, generally around the same time they start
breaking bourgeois laws and getting into trouble. A hundred and fifty
years ago social scientists like Marx and Engels started theorizing that
breaking bourgeois laws was just another way for oppressed people to
rebel against their oppressive conditions. Needless to say that this
form of rebellion was not very effective, but it is as Frederick Engels
termed “revolution in embryo.”
It is interesting that much of adolescence is spent in almost continuous
rebellion, as this is generally the stage in humyn development when
people begin to become conscious of the world around them in ways not
experienced before. The fact that lumpen youth engage in criminal
behavior at such an early age says a lot about the ways certain groups
in society begin to exhibit early signs of what can only be described as
an early group, or class, consciousness. This is important to note
because it shows that the lumpen realize where their place in society
under capitalist rule is, and they actively begin to figure out how to
fit in it.
The real take away here, however, is that many people who currently find
themselves in prison first learned to survive and fit into their
oppressive social environment by both developing and adapting many
negative behaviors as a way of seeking positive reinforcement within
negative situations. Unfortunately for the oppressed this positive
reinforcement came at the expense of reinforcing negative behaviors
which has of course landed them in prison. Learning to combat such
negative behaviors means having to unlearn many of the traits that were
previously thought socially acceptable and necessary. In essence, this
means learning to undo and working against the lumpen lifestyle. A
lifestyle that is not only characterized by violence, alcohol and drug
abuse, but by anti-people activity in general. As dialectical
materialists however we are confident that the oppressed nation lumpen
can learn to combat such negative character traits using the methods of
unity-struggle-transformation.(4) The hope of the oppressed internal
nations depends on it.
by Alfredo Mirandé University of Notre Dame Press, 1987, 261
pages
This book analyzes Chican@s under the U.S. criminal injustice system and
exposes how the U.S. has used the kourts in order to solidify our
national oppression.
This national oppression is traced from the 1800s and shows how the
kourts have always been a major part of this oppression. Mirandé
correctly notes how the difference between the “Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo” (which was supposed to codify Chican@s’ rights to homes and
lands which many held for hundreds of years) and treaties between tribal
nations and Amerika is that Chican@s never acquired sovereignty as a
nation.
Mirandé notes how in the 1800s when Chican@s resisted oppression they
were called “bandits” whereas when the oppressor nation resisted they
were called “heroes.” I would add that today when Chican@s resist we are
called “gang member”, “prison gang member” or “street terrorist” rather
than the correct word: “revolutionary.”
I did learn some things, for example the Chican@ revolutionary Juan
“Cheno” Cortina who rose up in Texas and occupied Brownsville actually
proclaimed it the “Republic of the Rio Grande.” The fact that even in
the 1800s Chican@s saw the reality of a Chican@ nation is a beautiful
thing.
Mirandé talks about the barrioization and how “through isolation
Chicanos became almost invisible.”(p. 29) Oddly even today some groups
like RCP-USA continue this tradition where Chican@s are “invisible.”
Just take a look at their newspaper, where in the last ten years the
word “Chicano” has graced their pages around two times!
Entire chapters discuss the mistreatment of Chican@s by law enforcement,
and although Chican@s are targeted by the pigs, solidifying our
oppression, this will not be educational nor enlightening to Chican@s
who experience it first hand. Perhaps non-Chican@s will get more from
reading about it, or maybe Chican@s who have not yet connected this
oppression to our existence under a colonizing force will be helped to
connect the dots.
There is mention of “Chicano gangs” out in the street and in U.S.
prisons which I found interesting, but the best part of this book was on
the Chican@ nation as an internal colony. Starting on page 219 Mirandé
lists 8 tenets of internal colony theory. I thinktenet 6 is most felt by
prisoners. It is as follows: “The subordination of internally colonized
groups is not only economic and political but cultural as well. The
dominant group seeks to render their culture dependent and to eradicate
their language, thereby facilitating control of the colonized group.”
The fact that in California prisons we can be validated as “prison gang
members” for speaking certain Spanish words shows that prisons are a
major tool in the internal colonization process.
Mirandé addresses Marxism, which relies on all the working class or “all
workers against the capitalist class.” Ey states that Marxists oppose
the “internal-colony” thesis. While this is certainly true for
pseudo-Marxists and revisionists, Maoists today in the belly of the
beast see national liberation as a necessary component in liberating
today’s Chican@ nation. And even back in 1987, the most advanced Maoists
already understood that the vast majority of workers within U.S. borders
are not revolutionary. Perhaps Mirandé should check out contemporary
Maoists within U.S. borders and see how it’s not just possible to uphold
national liberation struggles and be communist but it’s necessary for
today’s internal semi-colonies.
Those just learning about Chican@ national oppression will learn from
this book and it will be enjoyable to others in making that link of
oppression between the kourts and our nation.
I received the information on the study group/cells which I go over
several times a night, then engage my neighbor here in Ad-Seg/SHU in
good conversation. At times others quit talking, and conversation don’t
resume until directly after I am forced to sit down after standing on
cold hard concrete a few hours. I have severe nerve damage from diabetes
as well as this cement box environment. But I do hit the door at least 4
times a day to continue or expand the topics I read in past issues of
ULK I have, or the more recent materials you have sent like “The
Tyranny of Structurelessness” and “Commitment is the Key.” I have got
two young men reading many of my past issues of ULK that I have
received from you and inherited from others over the years.
Forming an actual study cell on this 14-man section of the pod is hit
and miss. The Security Threat Group Office has a very broad but vague
description of who and what constitutes an STG member/group. And this
being a highly militarized zone in central texa$ with Ft. Hood and an
Air Force base nearby; many who discharged or were drummed out come to
work here, with severe cases of hate toward prisoners in general. A few
target anyone deemed anti-american or anti-capitalist.
What I see are quite a few who support the xenophobic racist Trump, even
a few people one would not expect such as several black and mexican
officers! I do not capitalize their race/color or call them New Afrikans
or Chican@ because they are not to me, supporting a vile individual like
Trump. I have attempted to find out why they support him. It’s the
rhetoric he spews that they believe in. More jobs, make america great,
stronger military presence overseas, etc. Because of my reaction and
comments I have lost meal trays come slop time, or been “forgotten” for
medical lay in, rec or even shower time. Even my mail gets misplaced for
days or given to the wrong person on another section!
Oh, an update on medical co-payment in texa$ and University of Texas
Medical Board (UTMB) Healthcare. As of 1 February 2016 TDC prisoners are
not charged medical copay for the dentist UNLESS it is for teeth
cleaning. So texas comrades let it be known on your facilities. This
came directly out of the mouth of UTMB Dentist of the Year for 2016
quoting the director of texas healthcare in TDC and the director of TDC
dentistry.
As of April 2016, I am currently battling a new TDC move on medical
copay. If you do win your initial grievance Step 1 or Step 2, they now
go back on your records previous 24 months and look for things to charge
for that were overlooked the first time. I have a grievance filed
specifically countering that. When I hear a response I will inform all
my comrades at MIM(Prisons).
MIM(Prisons) responds: We appreciate this comrade updating us on
the medical copay campaign, and we are not surprised that TDCJ is going
back thru medical records to see what they can charge for. It’s just
another example of the eternal dead end of reformism. As
revolutionaries, we work on reforms presently so we can lay the
groundwork for our more broad political organizing. We recognize the
need for a complete change in the system that capitalizes off of humyn
suffering, and we are always striving toward this goal.
Subscribers should keep sending us updates on the several campaigns we
are supporting all across the United $nakes.
Peace from the Gods! We salute the world with universal greetings of
peace. We recognize the need for unity-criticism-unity. We only want to
build upon the “actual facts”
Wiawimawo
built upon concerning Islam and New Afrikans. We have found that
concerning so-called revolutionaries scientific approach towards New
Afrikans and Islam one must first define, then science out the
rest for the sake of peace and the absence of confusion. A New Afrikan
is a young, poorly educated, superstitious, disillusioned Black person
fed up with the slow legal process, who takes up a militant stance
against the lack of equality of opportunity and treatment in the United
States according to E. David Cronon, a Marcus Garvey biographer who
wrote Black Moses. Islam is and always will be peace. There is no
“I” in Arabic, so Islam is As-Slaam, root word slm, which is
peace. A deaf dumb and blind would use the so-called translation of
submission to the will of Allah as the defining of Islam. These are the
Facts! Peace is one of the reasons we salute Under Lock &
Key.
Wiawimawo has taken a few fragments of information and stretched them to
fit a particular line. In the article when he [sic] uses citation 10
from Knight’s book, he leaves out the part that states “in turn
some[emphasis ours - Legion] Five Percenters replace
‘understand’ with York’s ‘overstand’ (itself grafted from Rastafari) in
regular conversation…” We feel as if to make a point the comrade can’t
defend a poorly constructed argument, so a blanket statement is made.
That’s like us saying the Maoist let the Black Panther Party get
massacred and laid it down during the COINTELPRO stings.
In citation 11 about the Gods, Black Muslims and Rastafarians in cahoots
to kill suspected dope dealers was a cover-up the NYPD manifested to
cover up the fact they had ten unsolved murders on the books along with
the assassinations of various so-called Black messiahs. On pages 248-252
of In the Name of Allah Vol. 1 you’ll find the full history of
the situation. The NYCPD, NYPD and FBI tried to cause yet another “civil
war” between the Gods and Black Muslims. The NOI was cleared and NYC
Mayor Lindsay put Barry Gottehrer to the task of clearing up the
confusion.
Five Percenters are doing what no other LO or nation has the ability to
do with regard to citation 13, and have been since before 1970. [“In the
later 1970s the Five Percenters recruited whole street gangs into their
fold whose members accounted for a significant portion of the arrests in
Brooklyn during those years.(13)” - Wiawimawo] We are nation builders.
It’s what we do.
This line about civic duty and spirituality is another stretch. The Five
Percenters main brain function is pulling people out of the mud with
proper knowledge of self. Spirit as defined in Funk and Wagnalls
dictionary is the part of the human being characterized by intelligence,
personality, self-consciousness, and will; the mind. We live on actual
facts every day in every way. No spook in the sky is ever going to feed
us or you. It’s in the lessons.
We must point out that Allah (the Father) was never close friends with
Malcolm X. The Father stayed away from the beef between X and Elijah.
The people come first. The strength of a nation before money is the
youth. Malcolm X let the lime light get himself killed. We respect the
intent, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
People also seem to forget Malcolm X was a UNIA Mason before Elijah,
before his brother told him about Islam. So his ability to do for self
was in his political make up anyways.
The difference between allegory and myth are exponential. A myth is used
to explain a natural phenomenon, while allegory is used to represent
characters and events as ideals and princples. To discount the Yacub
theory is to discredit any and all efforts made by Maoists, whom use
dialectical materialism to present solutions to problems faced by the
masses. We are tasked with learning the science of everything in life.
So we tend to look listen and observe through an independent lense. If
one is a scientist then you are a religionist. If you are not then you
really aren’t living the life of a scientist (i.e. devoted).
Wiawimawo of MIM(Prisons) responds: Thanks to Legion for eir
feedback and corrections. Legion pointed me in the right direction for
research on this topic, but is much more knowledgeable on the history
than i. There is an interesting problem that we face as we attempt to
lay out the history of most LOs when there is little documentation, and
primary sources are mostly stories and the (subjective) memories of
certain individuals. Much of the research in Knight’s book is admittedly
unverified and presented in a very loose form.
My citation 10, on Rastafari’s influence on the NGE was flimsy on it’s
own. But i do believe the influence is greater than the use of one word,
for example in terms of diet and dress (of some Five Percenters, not
all). And the bigger point i was making still stands, that the NGE is a
uniquely New Afrikan organization that reflects the history of the
nation via movements including Rastafari, UNIA, MSTA, NOI, hip hop and
lumpen street organizations.
We agree with Legion that the allegory of the white man as the devil is
useful. However, it seems clear that it was taught as historical
scripture by many. As a white researcher of the history of these
organizations, perhaps Michael Knight gave it special attention. But it
is at least one of the major issues that caused Malcolm X and Wallace
Muhammad to split with Elijah Muhammad. So its unscientific aspect has
made it divisive among New Afrikans at times, and the story of Yacub has
never been the mythology of the majority of the nation.
As discussed in the original article, idealist philosophies usually
differentiate between the material world and the spiritual one. Such
philosophies are “dualist.” Communists are monists, as we do not believe
there is a mind or spirit that is separate from our material bodies. By
working to transform society we address both the material and the
so-called spiritual needs of the people. Above Legion seems to see the
NGE similarly. Even the NOI has in its founding ideology a “do-for-self
in this world” line, yet the NOI philosophy is clearly religious. As i
argue in the original article, the NGE represents a move towards
materialism (and therefore monism), but certainly in its founding ideas
there are many parallels to the NOI. Finally, we do not agree that a
scientist is a practitioner of religion; as we define in my original
article, religion “is idealism with organized rituals.” Legion’s
insistence on merging science and religion seem to demonstrate that
there is still some level of disagreement between us there.
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