MIM Notes 166        July 15, 1998

West Coast Books for Prisoners donation drive a success

The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL) 
collected more than 15 boxes of books for the Free Books 
for Prisoners Program at a West Coast university in 
July. 

RAIL comrades and friends of RAIL publicized the Free 
Books Program for several weeks before the end of the 
university's term by putting up flyers, sending out e-
mails, and addressing select classes. Then they stood in 
front of the university bookstore during the last week 
of the term and asked students to donate used textbooks 
to the program, rather than selling them back to the 
bookstore for a pittance.

The response was clearly positive. Although more than 
half of the books donated were not suited to the Free 
Books Program (e.g. bulky texts on non-political 
subjects or pulp novels), the students were willing to 
donate them so that RAIL could sell them and keep the 
proceeds to cover mailing costs. Some students also 
donated money on the spot.

The successful book drive also contributed to building 
RAIL's presence and recognition at this university. More 
people are now aware that RAIL exists, what kind of work 
RAIL does, and what RAIL's principles are. RAIL can 
build on this in the future, and get more people to 
participate in RAIL programs and events. This is 
important, since the success of the anti-imperialist 
movement depends on our ability to organize and mobilize 
people behind the correct programs.

The Free Books for Prisoners Program is a correct and 
important program for many reasons. It serves the needs 
of prisoners by providing them with the revolutionary 
literature they call out for. Most prisoners are 
indigent; many are not paid at all for the labor they do 
inside prison. The Program also helps to solidify the 
revolutionary principles of prisoners. The raw brutality 
and naked oppression inside prison angers and 
radicalizes many prisoners. The books the Program 
provides help to give prisoners a deeper understanding 
of the roots of oppression - and what can be done to 
eliminate oppression. The Program also helps link up 
people on the outside - in this case petty-bourgeois 
students - with those on the inside. It is one way for 
anti-imperialist activists here to begin to integrate 
with the oppressed and take up their perspective.

For more information on the Free Books for Prisoners 
Program and how you can help out, please write to one of 
the addresses on page two.