Boston RAIL goes to prison rally 

Boston, MA., July 15 -- Supporters of Boston RAIL protested 
Amerika's imperialist system of imprisonment at a rally organized 
by the Prison Reform Unity Project (PRUP). PRUP invited RAIL to 
speak at the rally; two supporters explained RAIL's purpose and 
prison campaigns, both locally and continentally. About 100 
people, including anti-prisons activists, less involved people 
seeking information, and revisionists attended the rally.

RAIL supporters' speeches emphasized fighting the Amerikan prison 
system within the context of building revolutionary struggle. 
During musical intermissions and in between speakers RAIL handed 
out copies of MIM Notes, and solicited signatures to protest 
censorship. Correspondence between MIM or RAIL and prisoners in 
Connecticut has recently been thwarted by prisoncrats censoring 
incoming and outgoing mail. Our response has been to organize a 
postcard campaign protesting the censorship. The goal of such 
campaigns is to organize reform within the draconian Amerikan 
system, lessening obstacles to political organizing, while we 
organize support for revolution.

Speakers before RAIL included representatives from the Nation of 
Islam. NOI speakers talked about god and brotherly love and 
treating everyone with respect. The Nation speakers also said that 
Black men just need to get a job (when they get out of prison) and 
start taking care of the babies they helped make. This rhetoric 
could be expected from white bourgeoisie politicians. While 
alliances can be made with the black bourgeoisie, including the 
NOI, MIM emphasizes proletarian leadership of such alliances. The 
perspective of the NOI, religious and individualist has some 
progressive aspects, but overall does an inferior job of leading 
the oppressed against the primary target: imperialism.

One womyn (covered in a robe and veil) said her son was in prison 
and she was masking her identity to protect him from further 
repression. She also spoke about the humiliating body searches 
that prisoners' families are subjected to when they visit. Others 
echoed the womyn's words that prisoners' family members are 
treated as suspect.

Before RAIL supporters spoke, the PRUP organizer recognized RAIL's 
activism against prisons. Two RAIL supporters explained that MIM 
and RAIL focus much work against the prison system because it is a 
system of social control and national oppression. The first RAIL 
supporter spoke about disproportionate imprisonment rates of 
oppressed nationals and targeted repression of oppressed nation 
youth. The RAIL supporter emphasized that as anti-imperialist 
activists in Amerika, it is our responsibility to fight the 
injustices of national oppression within Amerika. The second RAIL 
supporter focused on MIM's Serve the People Free Books for 
Prisoners Program and explained ways for rally participants to get 
involved. Through this program, MIM meets educational needs of 
prisoners while organizing support for Maoist revolution.

Latinos for Social Change (LfSC) spoke next. LfSC expressed their 
unity with MIM and RAIL in the struggle against national 
oppression. Although, the LfSC speaker talked about organizing 
white workers in the united $tates, which is where MIM and LfSC 
strongly differ. The rally coincided with the week of the "Tall 
Ships" when international navies sailed their ships into Boston 
for commercialized worshipping of boats and war. LfSC used the 
opportunity to speak against the Amerikan navy bombing of Vieques.

Though the main thrust of the rally was reformist, the RAIL 
supporters utilized the time at the rally to build additional 
support for revolutionary protest to Amerikan imperialism and 
national oppression. MIM has seen many activists try reformism for 
a period of time and get feed up with the fact that it is not a 
successful strategy. Beyond MIM's small period of experience, we 
point to the successes of communist revolution as proof that the 
most effective and efficient means to liberate the oppressed is 
through revolution. We look forward to seeing the new faces from 
the rally jump in and study the significant question of reformism 
vs. revolution and get involved with MIM or RAIL in putting 
revolutionary theory into practice.