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Boston University's FORAIL presents: | |||||||||||||||||||
End oppression in prisons | |||||||||||||||||||
A presentation and a call to action | |||||||||||||||||||
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Support Prisoner Education |
Shut Down All Control Units | ||||||||||||||||||
Overall educational opportunities for prisoners have been consistently eroded over the past decade. Since the 1/10 of 1% of Pell grants that went to incarcerated citizens were cut by President Clinton in 1996 many prisoners no longer have higher educational opportunities. Meanwhile educational materials from outside sources are often censored. MIM's Free Books for Prisoners Program regularly faces censorship problems. Recently, Southport Correctional Facility in New York has decided it will not allow any correspondence courses or anything labeled a "study pack" into the prison. This effects University B.A.R.S., a correspondence course program initiated by RAIL, as well as our general distribution of educational materials. |
Control units are a new breed of prisons in the u$ which have taken the country by storm in the last decade. They are special high security lockdown units that use sensory deprivation to repress politically active prisoners. Between 90-95% of those in the units in Massachusetts are Latinos; this is a particularly clear case of prisons as an instrument of national oppression. The "gangs" targeted are the Latin Kings, la Familia, and la Nieta. La Nieta is considered by many not to be a "gang" in the traditional sense at all, but more of a prisoner rights group. Prisoners are labeled as "gang" members based on a point system that gives points for things such as tattoos, speaking Spanish, and talking to other alleged "gang" members. RAIL has continued to campaign against these forms of repression which violate both u$ and international law. | ||||||||||||||||||
Keynote Speakers: | |||||||||||||||||||
Safiya Bukhari | |||||||||||||||||||
former Black Panther, as unit coordinator in the Black Liberation Army she was captured and imprisoned for 8 years and 8 months, 3 years and 7 months of which were in maximum security segregation. Author of two books, she is now the chair of the New York based Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition and the co-Chair of the Jericho Movement. She is employed by Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation as the Director of Administration. | |||||||||||||||||||
Eddie Ellis | |||||||||||||||||||
while serving 25 years in prison he became involved in an education program through Marist College was later cut and featured in the film the Last Graduation. Since his release he helped co-found the Community Justice Center in NYC, which serves to educate, organize, and empower prisoners, their families and friends, representing over 69,000 prisoners in the state. He will be joined by his co-worker from the Center, Al Pertilla. | |||||||||||||||||||
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Saturday, April 14, 2001 2:00 PM- 5:00 PM | |||||||||||||||||||
The Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) and the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL) railbos@mim.org, (617) 499-6997, POB 559 Cambridge, MA 02140 <http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext> | |||||||||||||||||||
Partially funded by your undergraduate student fee | |||||||||||||||||||