MIM(Prisons) is a cell of revolutionaries serving the oppressed masses inside U.$. prisons, guided by the communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Under Lock & Key is a news service written by and for prisoners with a focus on what is going on behind bars throughout the United States. Under Lock & Key is available to U.S. prisoners for free through MIM(Prisons)'s Free Political Literature to Prisoners Program, by writing:
MIM(Prisons) PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140.
When it comes to organizing people in society from within a prison, we
find ourselves confronted with many obstacles. Seeing as no major
struggle is won without wide mass support, it becomes imperative that we
(prisoners) overcome the obstacles placed in our path to cripple our
efforts to reach the masses about the prison struggle. In order to gain
the masses’ support from behind bars we must first reach them and grab
their attention. The first obstacle we face as prisoners is censorship.
Unfortunately, censorship is a reality for prisoners more than it is for
anybody in society. Authorities can frustrate our efforts in so many
ways that you have to admire their ingenuity. Mail can be “lost”, thrown
away, never delivered or delivered to the wrong person, held under
investigation for weeks and so much more. With so many ploys at their
disposal it seems a daunting task for us to confront. Luckily for us
appearances aren’t everything. True, once the letter leaves your hands
there is almost nothing you can do to ensure it makes it to its
destination. What you can do, though, is maintain detailed records. It’s
simple, and takes minimal effort, and is an effective way of holding the
authorities accountable. Once you have a record established of who,
what, where, why and when you mailed something, you can make a case for
mail tampering.
What should your mail log have at minimum? First, who you wrote. Second,
what you sent them. Third, where you sent your mail (office, school,
home address, etc.). Fourth, your general (no need to go into details
here) reason for contacting them. Finally, when you placed it in your
facility’s mail here, you want full date and time if at all possible. On
my mail logs I have an additional space or two for which shift and which
officer I turned my mail in to. Of course, you may decide to add more
details, the above is only a basic formula. Censorship may still happen
but you’ll be better positioned to confront it. Don’t forget, make
duplicates of your records, at least two.
Following censorship, the next greatest obstacle is communication. Not
just communicating our struggle, but effectively communicating it.
Anybody can write a letter full of expletives, angry words and
denunciations of cruelties and deprivations. Angry letters will normally
push someone away from your cause, where a sensible, well-composed and
measure-toned letter will at the very least garner a polite decline.
Angry letters rarely garner any response. Sometime before you start
reaching out to organizing the streets, you’ll need to organize behind
bars. My advice is to form a committee or council.
Here in Colorado, we have a small committee (just 3 members) in which we
discuss, formulate, criticize and launch our ideas and efforts. Most
progress in the prison struggle began with organizing behind bars,
reaching out to the streets, effective communication, creating
solidarity and achieving a goal together. A formula for success: A.E.H.
(Agreement to End Hostilities), movements to end long-term solitary
confinement, more humane treatment and so much more.
For us organizing the streets, mobilizing the masses isn’t a very
difficult task. Censorship and effectively communicating our plight,
vision and end goal is the most difficult. Censorship is the
authorities’ go-to obstruction tactic and besides maintaining records,
lodging complaints or lawsuits, there is not much in your control to
discourage them. On the other hand, effective communication is wholly in
your control. What’s the point in overcoming censors if you can’t
present your case when the opportunity arrives? You already know the
answer, but I’ll still confirm it – there’s no point. Organize yourself
first. Mail logs, duplicates of all letters, documents, essays and such.
Communicate in an intelligible manner with personality, and don’t get
disheartened at rejection. Often times it’s only a question of pitching
the right pitch to the right person.
Note: Prisoners may request Constitutional Rights of Prisoners from
their facility’s law library as loan material. Related information as
well as litigation guidance related to disciplinary matters may be
purchased from Prison Legal News, PO Box 1151, Lake Worth, FL 83460:
“The Disciplinary Self-Help Litigation Manual,” by Dan Manville, 2nd
Edition, for $49.95 + $6 s&h.
I am reporting an act of solidarity. First we must remember what the
word solidarity means. Solidarity is defined as: A feeling of unity
between people who have the same interests, goals, etc. (Merriam
Webster’s Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).
I am currently in the Residential Mental Health Unit (RMHU). It’s
similar to the SHU. The COs think since we’re diagnosed with bi-polar,
antisocial, major depression and whatever that they can just oppress us.
Well, they learned on 4 September 2017 that we’re not just a bunch of
crazies.
It’s hard to get 10 comrades to stand together as a whole so when a
member from the LGBTQ community got jumped on and 30 comrades refused to
leave the classrooms I was shocked! I asked a few of them “why did you
stand up for one of mine?” Some of them said they were tired of the COs
putting their hands on us, and some of them said the COs went too far. I
thanked these comrades for standing with me and my LGBTQ family.
So, I’m sharing this because in the July/August ULK (No. 57) a
Nevada prisoner weighed in on
“Fighting
Gender Abuse.” As comrades we need to stand together in this way
more. You shouldn’t care who or what the person is, who cares? If s/he
is in the same struggle as you then you need to help him/her. In the
long run by you helping them you’ll be helping yourself.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This is a great example of people coming
together behind bars. And the writer highlights the important point that
we need unity across different groups and individuals. This imperialist
system has created some major divisions between groups of people: based
on class, nation and gender. And these divisions are found in prisons as
well.
In prison, class tends to be less relevant as prisoners are forced
together as lumpen, at least while behind bars. But the national
oppression that is so fundamental to imperialism’s power and wealth
creates national divisions. Within the United $tates (and around the
world) oppressed nations are encouraged to fight one another and even to
form sets within a nation to fight, so that they won’t come together
against the oppressor nation.
Gender oppression is a bit different behind bars than on the streets,
with prisons segregated by designated biological sex. One of the most
common manifestations of gender oppression we see is against
non-heterosexual prisoners (or those perceived as so). Uniting against
this abuse starts with people, like those described above, recognizing
that this abuse is wrong, no matter who is targetted. We can take it to
the next level by proactively combatting gender oppression among
prisoners as well as by the guards. We need to defend our comrades
against abuse, and educate our allies about why gender oppression is
wrong.
One way to accomplish the task of organizing the streets from behind
bars is to show the importance of organizing. We on the inside of the
razor wire slave plantations have transformed our minds from criminals
serving the interest of the oppressor, into revolutionaries who educate
our oppressed nation by way of the Afrikan struggles that happened
before us in our history. These true revolutionary nationalists
challenged the conditions of slavery with rebellions, and within the
system that continues to treat us as second class citizens, in the
1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and still to this day.
Within the prison system we’ve resisted these practices by our
solidarity demonstrations, with 3 mass hunger strikes and our Agreement
to End Hostilities, and now we have organized the
Millions
for Prisoners Human Rights March on Washington DC on 19 August 2017.
With this demonstration we are attempting to show that the 13th
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is designed to treat us as modern-day
slaves. The Millions for Prisoners March is led by men and women on the
inside and organized by men and women on the outside.
This is a show of solidarity with the understanding of knowledge about
the injustices being done to us economically, politically, socially,
culturally, and militarily by the capitalist system. A system of
exploitation dependent on the stratification of society into opposing
economic classes who compete within and against one another for upward
mobility in the class system, and especially in the prison system across
this country. In order to beat this monster we have set up education
classes within the prison system, entitled schools of liberation.
With liberation schools you teach the new generation about struggle and
what the New Afrikans accomplished by their resistance, which was an
example on how to challenge your conditions, like the elders, Nat
Turner, Denmark Vesey, Gabriel Prosser, Harriet Tubman, Fredrick
Douglass, Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Dubois, Booker T. Washington, Martin L.
King, Malcolm X, and the Black Panther Party, just to name a few trail
blazers. In every form of resistance, be it armed conflict, heroic
methods with bravery, educating the masses, leading demonstrations, or
getting the word out in newspapers, building schools of liberation will
help strengthen you in character and bring about a revolutionary new man
& woman, which will give you a world view of scientific socialism,
and the desire to end oppression, long-term solitary confinement, and to
see people thrive throughout the inner cities of the United $tates. We
will never give up or give in.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This writer gives some excellent examples
of organizing behind bars, both to educate prisoners and to build the
movement on the streets. And liberation schools behind bars can
accomplish both tasks, by building solid revolutionaries who will
continue their activism when they hit the streets. For people looking to
get your own schools together, we offer study groups through the mail
along with materials to support your prison-based study group. Get in
touch to get involved.
There is one thing that occurred, that I feel the need to address,
because it made a huge impact beyond what I even intended. It deals with
my class “Commitment to Change.” This is one of those “it’s all your
fault” classes.
On day one, sitting there with a headache from my desire to stop
drinking coffee. I heard an individual in the class ask a question about
choice as it relates to culture. I do not remember the exact question.
But the teacher, who is a psychologist, responded by saying that the
“ghetto culture, for example is a negative culture, and individuals
within the ghetto have a choice to stay and get caught up in this
culture or to leave and better themselves.”
Hearing this I attacked his reasoning, showing that his position was not
only racist, but extremely inaccurate. I told him that his argument in
fact proves to be the exact opposite of reality. I do not remember the
whole debate, but he finally stated that he had to stop and end class.
After class a large number of people from this class, and many more who
were not in the class, approached me to thank me and to inquire about
the USW and MIM(Prisons). For the past week all my old copies of
ULK have been passed around through so many people it’s not
funny.
Most of these people I had attempted to open a discussion with before
but they had no interest. I mention this because I think it is a good
idea to have an open discussion either via USW, or ULK, where
examples like this are shown. Why? Because honestly, I was extremely
surprised at the response due simply to me challenging the facilitator
of a class. I would love to know in what other ways comrades have
instigated mass discussion because we need it bad here at this pivotal
point, and if I can follow these comrades’ footsteps I will.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This is an excellent example of using
everyday activities and discussions to inspire political thought and
interest. While some folks will be inspired immediately by a generic
political speech or a book or newspaper, many others will need to see
the political ideas put into practice. This could be in the course of a
debate with a teacher or other authority figure, or it could be in a
campaign to fight for some basic rights. As this comrade points out, we
should think creatively about how to interject politics into everyday
prison life to capture the attention and imagination of those who
otherwise might show no interest.
We echo this writer’s call for other examples and ideas on how to
elicit interest in politics. Send us your yard-tested tips and
stories.
This is in response to an article from ULK 55 titled
“Maintain
the Trust in the United Front” by a Delaware prisoner. Legion is
United Struggle from Within (USW). Legion used to be ranking general in
a Damu organization here in California. Then life happened and Legion
began to question the line. After consulting his peoples, Legion decided
to become once again a NGE 5%er. In doing so, Legion wound up on a
Special Needs Yard (SNY). Never ever snitching on any former comrade
from the lumpen organization (LO) he was representing.
Legion first began re-educating deaf, dumb and blind members of the
Black Nation by giving them the knowledge of themselves, then using
United Front for Peace in Prison (UFPP) via ULK and other
publications to show and prove to these young Gods the reality of the
material conditions we are living in.
In the article mentioned above, a Delaware prisoner is worried about a
rapist or a snitch when this comrade is compromised. This comrade is
using the state-issued labels to disenfranchise potential comrades. This
comrade must not know how to turn base metal into gold. Every persyn we
built with has become a valuable asset to the movement.
You can’t have a united front without having every class of inmate
represented because in California, SNY is a reality not a myth [having
grown to one third of the prison population - ULK Editor]. And some
counties are requiring gang members to PC up in county jail to get plea
bargains without snitching. There are entire Aztlán hoods SNY because
they refuse to pay taxes to the mob.
As for the “snitch,” I know known snitches who are walking on GP yards
and are protected by policy put in place in the 90s by these pigs to
“keep the peace on yards.” And I know some real revolutionaries, who,
because of a Delaware prisoner’s line of thinking, had to tap out
because of unrealistic politics.
Legion is fed up with PC politics on both sides of the fence. There are
so-called leaders who are further dehumanizing victims of U.$.
imperialism by not letting people prove why they should be in good
standing on the line. Being GP don’t make you active! If you were put in
a cross this is for you. If you kept quiet and wound up SNY this is for
you.
Legion demands a recall of all “leaders” of New Afrikan movements who
adopted white supremacist politics instead of self-determination. Hugo
“Yogi” Pinell (Rest in Paradise) demanded his right to walk the
line head held high because he was innocent of his controlling
charge. There are a number of revolutionaries who caught cases and were
accused of rape/molestation/murder/trafficking/domestic violence, etc.
Yet, some woke up because of such maneuvers and became stalwarts of the
movement. It is part of the setup!
Comrades can be re-educated and most take up revolutionary politics
because they become aware of the injustice system that pits self against
self, fast against slow, wealth against poverty, and male against
female. We have to take a real scientific look at the reality of one’s
incarceration before we discard a ’rad as no good. Let the
measuring stick be his/her/its actions now vs. what a greenwall/pig say.
We can’t limit our resources because a few feel superior over a group of
misguided revolutionaries; that’s class warfare within the prisoner
class, which represents a contradiction in need of resolution.
What if a person was witness to some foul shit and the DA/Judge/PD and
public pretender tried to coerce a solid kat to testify on his brother
at arms but he stayed silent? Took a deal that even though evidence
suggested otherwise, he had to take a deal to secure his release because
a jury of 12 would have killed him off. When told on, he stayed solid.
When framed – solid. When forced to be SNY – solid. How does that make
sense?
California Department of Corrections (CDC) is rolling back archaic
policy that says you foul for XYZ. Why? Because real revolutionaries who
have been isolated for years are now running the show again. I hope
every Afrikan dig deep to figure out if he/she/it/they are active or
just want to go home. In the 5 we are told your square is where you live
and where you die. So I would rather die on my feet than live on my
knees. What I speak is the principal contradiction of convict vs. the
system. Class warfare under the most unfavorable conditions.
If you want revolution it’s all or none. It takes time, effort and
resources to build a revolutionary advocate. Real snitches are free men.
Think about that.
MIM(Prisons) adds: Here, Legion echoes what we have been arguing
for years about not writing off whole sections of the prison population,
such as Special Needs Yards (SNY) in California, which still have a
stigma among some comrades. That’s not to say that there are not
prisoners who have snitched or raped. Both are serious crimes against
the people. Snitches, have given us a very good reason not to trust
them. But we need to guard against snitch-jacketing, which the enemy
will use to divide good comrades. Those who have committed rape and
other serious crimes against the people also need to earn our trust and
demonstrate an understanding that what they did was wrong. But again we
can’t just take the injustice system’s labels and convictions at face
value.
Society is quick to condemn the oppressed nation lumpen. But being a hot
target for the criminal injustice system can lead to making compromises
that most Amerikans would never imagine having to make. Organizing the
imprisoned lumpen inherently means organizing people who have committed
anti-people activities, many very serious. As we say in every issue of
ULK, we don’t propose letting all prisoners automatically free.
Under a future dictatorship of the proletariat all people will be given
the opportunity to become productive members of society. We should all
see ourselves as reforming criminals in this country. Whether we’ve been
convicted by the imperialists or not, reforming ourselves requires a
deep commitment to fighting patriarchy and imperialism.
My main issue right now is that I cannot get grievance forms to complain
and grieve my issues. The 30 days are over on some, and on others I’ll
still have a chance to grieve my issues “if” I get some grievances! The
counselor for my cell house, Ms. Hill, says to ask the gallery officer,
but when I do ask the gallery officer I’m told there is none and/or it’s
due to the no budget in the state! Grievances are like gold and inmates
hoard them and sell them 1 grievance for $1! What can I do, do you have
some guidance for me on this issue? I’m attaching the response from the
warden and I still haven’t heard back from the Acting Director for IDOC.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This comrade created a grievance petition
for Illinois, which prisoners can use to demand grievances be addressed
in that state. So when ey asks “what can I do,” ey is already leading by
example, building a campaign to address this problem. We would suggest
that the Illinois petition should be updated to include this problem of
the prison not providing grievance forms. This is a most basic issue
that of course needs to be addressed before grievances can even be
answered.
And this is also a very good example of the completely unjust nature of
the criminal injustice system. Setting up rules that can’t be followed
(like submitting grievance forms that are impossible to obtain), so that
the prisons never have to abide by their own regulations. This is an
example of why we don’t expect to put an end to the injustice system by
working within the system. They will continue to make it impossible for
us to win using their process. But we can use the grievance petition to
expose these problems and build a united movement demanding our rights.
This movement will build the basis of the unity necessary to ultimately
overthrow this unjust system.
If you want to work on this campaign in Illinois, send us a stamped
envelope for a copy of the Illinois grievance petition.
I just want to thank you for teaching me so much in so short an amount
of time. My main studies are case law, criminal law, penal codes, and
important stuff like that. But about 6 months ago I ran across your ad
in the Inmate Shopper and contacted you. At first I had a hard
time seeing the big picture because it was difficult reading your
literature being that I’m white (Irish/German/Dutch/Italian) and when
you refer to the enemy or the oppressor it’s always the white privileged
class or the white supremacy who rules over the lower class and enslaves
them mentally and physically and financially.
At first I was offended because you’re saying that there needs to be a
revolution to overthrow this imperialist nation, and I’m thinking “wait
a minute, these are my people they’re talking about, this is some racist
ass bullshit here.” But the more I read your newsletters the more I can
see your point, and relate to your view. I’ve always been of the lower
class, poor, and disadvantaged. Once I started going to jail and prison
it really became evident that I was some kind of slave to the system,
and there was a supreme group of people who ultimately called all the
shots, ran the government, waged the wars, ran all the major
corporations, and the list goes on. I was looked down on by these
people; they might be white but they ain’t my people, the cops, the
sheriff, the judge, the DA, the Illuminati, etc.
Reading your newsletters helps me understand who they are and what they
have been doing, where I stand in all of this, where this country came
from, who runs it, where it’s going, and what’s gonna happen to us if we
don’t band together and do something about it.
Anyways, I’m new in all this and still just soaking it up. Thank you,
and keep the newsletters coming, I really appreciate it and I will pass
them on to others who are politically motivated, some Black, Chican@,
white, and Asian.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We’re always happy to hear from folks like
this reader who can get past their own white identity to see the
oppressive system of imperialism for what it is. When we talk about the
predominantly-white nation of Amerikkka as an oppressor nation, that
doesn’t mean all whites are excluded from the revolutionary movement. Or
that we think whites face no oppression. Rather we are discussing a
system-wide condition with one nation in power, and that power
benefiting all from that nation, including the poorest people. And so
even if the benefits don’t include being a millionaire, white people as
a whole have a material interest in maintaining imperialism. Still, many
white folks can take a stand against oppression of all kinds. These
folks essentially go against their national interests to join up with
the revolutionary movement. And we welcome them!
[These guidelines were compiled by the USW Coordinator of MIM(Prisons)
incorporating points made by members of the Countrywide Council of USW.]
The Countrywide Council of USW, or Double C, has been working on a
concerted effort to reach out to other organizations as a way to expand
organizing with people on the outside, and to build a united front in
general. The Double C decided to publish their letter to CURE in
ULK as an example of these efforts, and to provide a guide to
others. We invite all USW comrades to participate in this outreach
campaign, and this article is to provide some guidelines in doing so.
First, many readers may ask, am I a member of United Struggle from
Within (USW)? Can I write to other organizations as a member of USW?
Good question. Anyone could send out a letter and sign it “USW”, we have
no control over that. But we certainly hope you would not do that unless
you are pushing USW campaigns and politics accurately. USW has two
levels of membership: supporter and leader. Supporters are defined as:
“A USW supporter helps build USW in eir prison/area. This persyn might
not initiate projects by eirself, but will readily implement requests
from USW leaders and MIM(Prisons). Supporters may contribute in many
different areas of work including: writing articles for ULK, producing
revolutionary art, translating, sending in donations, running a study
group or otherwise educating people and building reading skills, working
on a campaign such as the grievance petition, referring new subscribers
to ULK, and conducting MIM(Prisons)-directed surveys. This persyn writes
to MIM(Prisons) less regularly [than a USW leader] but is responsive to
letters and completes work assigned within a reasonable timeframe.”
A leader is someone who launches campaigns and efforts to expand USW
independent of MIM(Prisons), and/or organizes others under that
leadership. Once you’ve developed a practice of leadership that we can
verify over a period of time, you are considered a leader and you become
eligible to join the Countrywide Council of USW.
As a mass organization, USW does allow for its members to also be
members in other local, lumpen or nation-specific organizations at the
same time. Comrades in the Double C should not identify themselves as
such. Statements representing the Double C, and USW as a whole, must go
through the Double C for approval first. Therefore publicly identifying
oneself as a Double C representative gives a false sense of authority,
while risking the security of the individual member.
The Double C is currently developing its protocol for conducting
official correspondence with other organizations. If you feel
comfortable representing USW work and positions, then you can write a
letter from “[Your Name], a member of United Struggle from Within.”
However, since you might not accurately represent certain aspects of
USW’s positions because you are new, the Double C will serve to provide
official responses from USW to other organizations. You can even mention
this in your own letters.
With this guideline, you do not need to be a USW leader to write other
organizations about USW campaigns. In fact, if you’ve been reading
ULK for a while, perhaps writing such a letter could be your
first action taken as a USW supporter. But before you do so, you might
ask: What should I write to these organizations about?
The focus should be on USW campaigns, projects and positions, and how
they might overlap (and differ) from those of the other organization. A
good way to structure your letter is “unity-struggle-unity.” Start off
talking about some aspect of USW work and how it connects to the work of
that organization. If you can identify disagreements with this
organization then you might bring those up as a form of struggle next.
Or the struggle may just be something like, “hey, I haven’t seen you
working on this issue, you should do more on it.” Then close with more
forward looking unity – try to lay out some practical steps for how they
might work together with USW.
You may also write to other publications in response to a specific
article or topic to point out a disagreement, or something that they
missed. We often print such struggles with readers in ULK. Again,
“unity-struggle-unity” is a good approach, and circling back to USW’s
practical work and analysis is helpful.
Regarding the letter to CURE from the Double C below, we should point
out that CURE is a very different organization from ours. CURE believes
imperialism can be reformed and it does not stand for the liberation of
oppressed nations in this country. But the letter focuses on where we
have unity and where we can work together, while pushing CURE to work
with us in those areas. That is a good example of building toward a
united front, where organizations with different beliefs and missions
can find commonality.
We encourage comrades to reach out to other organizations as a USW
representative on your own, and in many cases we will have multiple USW
members writing the same organization. This will build up USW’s
reputation among other organizations, and allow our membership to grow
by engaging in these dialogues.
What do I do when they respond to my letter? Once that dialogue
reaches a point where you are not sure how to respond or proceed, you
will want to hand it over to the Countrywide Council of USW or even to
MIM(Prisons), depending on the topic of discussion. We will keep you in
the loop on the ongoing discussion.
What is the goal of this campaign? There are multiple goals.
First, we hope to popularize the work of USW with those on the outside,
demonstrating our scientific work on the ground. This will increase the
chances of building support for that work in the future. Second, we hope
to build working relationships on campaigns and projects with other
organizations. We hope to expand the view of these organizations and
publications beyond select popular prisoners to the prison masses as a
whole. Third, we hope to increase political unity within the prison
movement. And where we can’t establish unity, we hope to clarify our
differences. This will help everyone in the movement better grasp the
issues and the different positions that organizations take.
If you think USW is focused on the right campaigns and issues, and you
think others should get on board, then this might be a good project for
you to get involved in. Let us know who you’re struggling with and over
what. Or, if it’s not too much trouble, even send us a copy of your
letters. We can work with you if you want feedback before you send your
first letter.
An Open letter to CURE National
from the Countrywide Council of United Struggle from Within
CURE National PO Box 2310 Washington DC 20013
5 September 2017
First and foremost, we would like to give you thanks for the service
that you offer to prisoners and the families of prisoners. In these days
prisoners find it hard to locate individuals and organizations worthy of
praise beyond the worth that most newsletters and papers are printed on.
Members of the Countrywide Council of United Struggle from Within have
read the latest few issues of CURE National’s Newsletter back to front
and front to back. We must say, it checks out, so thank you.
One of the first CURE National Newsletters that we received included a
listing of state chapters alongside the new requirements for state and
issue chapters, namely that chapters have to meet, maintain a
newsletter, and report the names of their members to their office in
Washington. Now, we reviewed the list and see California is listed, but
has nothing more than: [an individual’s name, email and phone number].
One of our Council representatives wrote Colorado-CURE, Iowa-CURE,
Nevada-CURE, New Mexico-CURE and Oregon-CURE of the western branches.
Two replied in favor to our inquiry to be involved in local struggles,
on account that California has no official branch of its own. Dianne
Tramutola-Lawson, Chair at Colorado-CURE, suggested our Council
representative write to the national office with comments.
The Countrywide Council is a leading body of a prisoner mass
organization under the name United Struggle from Within (USW). USW is
the brainchild of members and their students within an organization by
the name Maoist Internationalist Ministry of Prisons, or MIM(Prisons).
Though it is an organization that is political from the vantage point of
anti-imperialism and thus is anti-prisons, USW works for any reforms
that are scientifically sane with the potential to [contribute to]
end[ing] prisons as they stand.
USW has a leadership in prisons across the United $tates and can attest
to a strong following in the pages of our bi-monthly newsletter (free to
prisoners), published by our mother group, under the title Under Lock
& Key. In the state with our strongest source of political
activity, California, there isn’t even a CURE branch?! We believe CURE
is missing out on the greatest opportunity it could have, and this is
why the Council is committed to help CURE remedy this.
It is the job of our members to find ways to keep our movement working
on issues that have the greatest potential of reducing prison
populations and partnering with groups and organizations who share our
vision of a world with less to no prisons. We believe that working with
CURE National to develop a CURE California, the California Statewide
Council of USW can put to use much more of the information and resources
available, but only in a more direct way.
Take CURE National’s policy initiative for 2016. USW missed the
opportunity to involve itself with the CURE policy initiative for 2016
due to unfamiliarity with CURE and the lack of any direct line of
communication with its leadership, which would be needed before we moved
for the Council to follow. We commend the democratic process of decision
making in regards to what struggles CURE concentrates its resources and
power. Particularly, CURE National Policy 924 – prisons. As USW is a
group heavily engaged in struggles with nearly every state in the United
$tates – addressing “The failure of prison grievance systems”, we are
sure that we, and our memberships may unite in forces to bring about a
uniform grievance system in prisons across the board.
USW, and its supporters, has been working on a national prisoners
campaign demanding prison officials address, honor and upkeep prisoners’
grievances. Petitions have been developed at prisons in all of the
following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida,
Georgia, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon,
South Carolina, and Texas. Each state has a petition drawn particularly
for its local conditions and regulations. [There is also a more generic
petition written for use by prisoners held outside these states.]
USW’s most difficult task is finding public support to move forward our
campaigns in a peaceful and legal way. CURE National’s policy
initiatives 2015 1185 hinted at what it thinks is the root of prisoners’
problems: “Introducing a Constitutional Amendment into Congress that
would repeal the exception clause in the 13th Amendment. This clause
provides that slavery is not abolished for those incarcerated. Prisoners
are exploited, and for many groups the exploitation raises to the level
of slavery.” For the purpose of saving time and space, we will not share
our science on the subject, but instead guide supporters of the
amerikkkan Constitution to the very First Amendment and protecting it.
The salvation of the entire Constitution relies on the sound voice of
the civilized people. If it is believed that prisoners are slaves and
not citizens then it should be understood slaves are property, not human
beings. Slaves are objects of labor, tasked as tools and instruments to
build or destroy an ideal society. Slaves have no voice to speak of
injustice, but instead masters and lords who represent them as Power of
Attorney.
Prisoners have not signed off of the grid (U.$. citizenship). So it is
extreme to take up struggles to have the state abolish prison slavery,
however it would be totally reasonable to educate the public about the
need for public oversight and community advocacy for the First Amendment
rights of prisoners to be protected. It is with greater grievance power
that prisoners and their supporters may address the injustices of
prisons.
Prisoners, their organizations and the support groups behind grassroots
crews lead in civil rights battles with the state. The problem is that
the massive so-called grassroots base is alienated when it comes to
discussions regarding the general body of the massive population (or
masses). We believe this comes at the expense of a care-free public.
People aren’t interested enough in the affairs of prisoners or their
families. The general consensus is that prisoners did the crime and must
face the time.
Organizations like CURE National are in a position to change the public
opinion. Its members, who are of the public, may interact with
communities in ways that prisoners cannot; whether it be due to high
levels of censorship applied by prison guards disrupting our lines of
communication, or interference from a higher power (the U.$.
intelligence agencies). Prisoner leadership behind these walls requires
greater socialization opportunities if the Prison Movement is to impact
upon our state of existence the change that rehabilitates. So here you
have it, an open letter calling on you to serve.
In Struggle,
Countrywide Council of United Struggle
from Within PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140
In response to
“CALIFORNIA:
Challenges and Reports” (in ULK 56), the comrade/s at MDF,
Contra Costa County Jail being hit with gang enhancements and other
unjust treatment. Faulty gang allegations was a major error in my trial
as a southern Chican@, hence my return on appeal, which also made case
law (Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 3, California. The
PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Jerry RAMIREZ and Catherine
Rodriguez Villarreal, Defendants and Appellants. G052144 Decided:
February 05, 2016). I hope this can be of assistance. Should be in the
lexus by now but is also attainable via internet. They have been trying
to turn our culture into a crime for the last 500+ years. It’s going to
take a lot more than a STEP act to get rid of us. In commemoration of
“Black August” and the “Plan de San Diego”, I send mine to all comrades
North, South, East and West.
I just finished re-reading in ULK 53 page 12 “Texas Reform
Updates.” It sufficiently raised my ire enough to put pen to paper and
submit my 14-page memorandum which I had the balls to place into the
“Head Warden’s” hand personally. I enclosed a copy of the same with this
letter.
As a result of that act, 90 minutes later I had a member of the Law
Library staff in my cell going through my legal paperwork, devoid of the
prerequisite authorization (I-186) of a Warden to do so. Whereas, other
copies of my own writings – which I sent out, had duplicated, and
returned via the U.S. Postal Service – were filched and used to
administer a disciplinary case claiming additional fictitious
contraband.
This memorandum outlines in detail how the law library (L/L) is run “out
of compliance” with BP-03.81, ATC 020, 030, 050 and the Offender
Orientation Handbook (I-202).
Among other things, participants of the L/L, i.e. prisoners, are
disallowed the right to vocally interact in assisting each other in
legal matters.
Since that fateful day, harassment and retaliation in the L/L has
steadily intensified. Not being one to take this illicit conduct, I have
sent a copy (oh, about eight of ’em) to various entities akin to “60
Minutes,” Texas Attorney General, Texas Governor, Access to Courts (ATC)
Administrator, Houston Chronicle and other prisoner-assisting
organizations.
A multitude of the L/L patrons had no idea the actual truth of how a
TDCJ L/L is intended to be operated and run. The staff are actually
obligated to facilitate us (prisoners) in assisting one another in legal
matters. Not harassing us for spreading the litigious knowledge – as per
the ATC Rules.
I have several Step 2s [grievances] under review and am just awaiting
their return so I can initiate State Tort action, because the Federal
Courts do not have jurisdiction to make the State of Texas follow their
own laws and rules. Only the State can make the State conform to its own
rules.
If you think that I’m pissed, you’re right! After all, I am convicted
wrongfully, and wrongfully convicted in this pissant of a state. Being
former military, I do not give in. I will prevail(!!) in getting things
straightened out and being exonerated. In the course of accomplishing
that, I will altruistically get the L/L in this POS unit to come into
compliance with the legislatures’ intent and the Board Policies intents
too.
Other prisoners in Texas I am certain will have use for my memorandum.
Go ahead and offer it up. If we prisoners in TDCJ don’t start pulling
together we are destined to end up fucked off. Expose these people for
what they are!
MIM(Prisons) responds: TDCJ’s long-term goal seems to be to hide
all relevant policies from the people who are interested in them most,
and then just operate its facilities however it pleases. That’s why we
created the Texas Campaign Pack, and why this comrade sent us eir
memorandum to the Warden. If the state won’t provide this information,
we have to do it ourselves. Send in $2.50 to get the Texas Pack.
Exposure and lawsuits are worthwhile approaches, but can’t be our
be-all-end-all. We fight to not only get the law library back in
compliance, but to change society to the point where these problems are
no longer possible. We want oppression to become obsolete, and we want
oppressed people to have the power to make this a reality!