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.
We had a movement going strong here in the Alabama Prison System called
“FREE ALABAMA MOVEMENT”. We had formed a strike inside all the prisons
here. Not to work in the kitchen, laundry, for anything that prisoners
were allowed to do. To keep the prison running, we completely shut down.
Well, you know what happened. They locked down all the Brothers who were
the face of our movement. That, alone, killed the fire we had going.
Nobody else wanted to be at the front of the lines. Some of the brothers
that were locked up in seg. are just now getting out after doing 3 years
almost in seg.
So now I’m trying to rekindle that same fire to start the movement
again. Because we are still being treated like second-hand human beings
in the Alabama Prison System.
Estoy tratando de atraer la atención sobre el sistema penitenciario
estatal de Colorado política “extraoficialmente” para mantener a los
presos chicanos en guerra / opresión fraccionarias. Colorado ha estado
plagado de la misma violencia e ideología de “moreno contra moreno” como
los sistemas de California de los últimos 30 años. Sólo recientemente,
hubo un despertar que transformó la mentalidad “pandillera” de las masas
en un estado mental revolucionario en la liberación y lucha por Aztlán.
Esto se ha enfrentado con todos los niveles de represión, como
transferencias fuera del estado a lugares secretos, MCC (El nuevo nombre
políticamente correcto de Colorado para el encierro de SHU / Ad-Seg STG
donde los reclusos sólo pueden salir de la celda cada 72 horas para
ducharse, etc.)
El 14 de junio, el Poder Chican@ y la Lucha por Aztlán fueron negados
por el comité de publicación por el siguiente motivo: “El material
plantea una amenaza potencial a la seguridad de la población de
delincuentes o empleados de DOC, trabajadores contratados y voluntarios
al abogar por disturbios en la instalación o el incumplimiento con las
normas o reglamentos de la prisión”. La verdad del asunto es que fue
negada porque vino a mí en un período de tiempo específico cuando las
masas chicanas en Colorado habían decidido dejar de ser los títeres de
la opresión racista capitalista de un sistema que activamente ha ayudado
y facilitado la destrucción de nuestra gente, poniendo nuestras vidas en
peligro de muchas maneras. Lo siguiente son pequeños ejemplos de estas
condiciones.
Poner a los miembros rivales en grupos, donde seguramente serán atacados
tan gravemente que la muerte o el intento de asesinato son escenarios
probables. Abrir las celdas de los rivales STG mientras que los presos
son esposados y encadenados a mesas, para que puedan ser atacados, etc.
Ésta ha sido la norma por años. Ahora que hemos superado la mentalidad
tribal en un esfuerzo para educar y crear conciencia sobre el genocidio
racista de nuestra gente, el cual el sistema nos manipuló para hacer con
nuestras propias manos, nos azotan en las celdas, nos censuran y oprimen
aún más. Me sorprenderé si alguna vez recibes esta carta.
Actualmente, estoy en proceso de quejas sobre libros. Cualquier material
que pueda ayudar o contactos para avanzar en nuestra lucha será muy
apreciada. Una vez que termine el proceso de queja, enviaré copias de
todo el material sobre el tema. Gracias por tu tiempo. En solidaridad
con la lucha para terminar con la opresión y liberar a Aztlán.
Greetings from the A-yard of Valley State Prison. In honor of the
anniversary of the Attica uprising, and as an act of solidarity, the
members of our study group abstained form eating for 24 hours. For one
day we did not eat, starting with the Sunday G-slam, lunches (cold) and
the evening meal. Ten copies of the solidarity study pack were passed
out to members of our sg and a few other prisoners who were interested.
A comrade was kind enough to photocopy my solidarity study pack which
MIM(Prisons) provided. Most of the prisoners who attend our group were
not even aware of the events at Attica on 9 September 1971, or the calls
for prison reform which the Attica uprising prompted. A special emphasis
was put on finding ways to promote peace and to educate all prisoners
across the country on principles of the UFPP.
In closing, I want you to know that I may be new to this but I am tryign
hard to learn and organize here at VSP and so are others. We, as always
appreciate very much the material support and organizational guidance of
MIM(Prisons). Thank you.
MIM(Prisons) has set the ambitious goal of making Under Lock &
Key a monthly publication by 2022. ULK fills a need in
prison, providing revolutionary anti-imperialist reporting on and about
the lumpen behind bars. This is a relatively small revolutionary project
focused on the criminal injustice system. But prisons are just one part
of the larger imperialist machine. And it will take a revolutionary
movement much broader than just prisons to bring down capitalism. We are
a part of that movement, and it is our job to do what we can to push
forward its development.
At this stage in the struggle there are revolutionary cells organizing
in various segments within the belly of the beast. We’re building a
United Front for Peace in Prisons to bring together the movement behind
bars. And beyond that we want a united front against imperialism that
includes both prison and non-prison organizations. This broader movement
needs a unifying publication, a newspaper that can be used to both
disseminate information and organize people.
Lenin wrote What is to be Done? about the importance of a
regular newspaper publication for organizing the revolution in Russia.
And in the early stages of organizing, before the movement gained
popularity and broader membership, the Bolshevik leader argued that
revolutionaries needed to dream of wide distribution of a regular
publication. He wrote that, with enough local groups and study circles
taking up active work:
“[W]e could, in the not distant future, establish a weekly newspaper for
regular distribution in tens of thousands of copies throughout Russia.
This newspaper would become part of an enormous pair of smith’s bellows
that would fan every spark of the class struggle and of popular
indignation into a general conflagration. Around what is in itself still
a very innocuous and very small, but regular and common, effort, in the
full sense of the word, a regular army of tried fighters would
systematically gather and receive their training. On the ladders and
scaffolding of this general organisational structure […]
[revolutionaries would] rouse the whole people to settle accounts with
the shame and the curse of Russia. That is what we should dream of!”
Why print a newspaper when we have the Internet?
Lenin was writing at a time where there was no other way to communicate
between localities. We now have the Internet, and some will argue that
online agitation is all we need. We can communicate with people around
the globe in a few seconds on the Internet. And this is indeed a
powerful organizing tool. So why put out a newspaper beyond prisons, one
of the few places in First World countries without access to the
Internet? The answer to this question is access and organizing.
Most people don’t accidentally come across Maoist websites while
browsing online, and with the imminent end of net neutrality this will
likely become even more true. We’re not going to get publicity in
mainstream media. And we don’t want to encourage bad security by asking
people to post on facebook or twitter and expose themselves to the cops.
Newspapers can be left for pickup in coffee shops, libraries, book
stores, homeless shelters, community centers, laundromats and other
places where folks can happen across a perspective they won’t see
elsewhere. This expands access to revolutionary news and education.
We can use the Internet to quickly share information about campaigns,
and rally people from many locations for quick actions. And we can
publish the content of a newspaper online, greatly expanding its reach
beyond print media. But while the Internet is a powerful tool, it
doesn’t get us out on the streets organizing people, talking to them,
and building study groups and organizing committees.
With a print publication, organizers can walk up and engage people in a
way we can not do online. Newspapers give organizers a tool to use in
face-to-face organizing. Talking to people about their conditions, and
making the connections to the imperialist system. Asking someone to read
an article and talk to them about it. Responding to a speech at a rally
with a newspaper article on that topic as a starting point for
conversation with folks already sympathetic to the cause.
Political goals of the expanded newspaper
Get organizing updates to comrades in prison with greater
frequency
Build unity among the Maoist movement within U.$. borders
Broader distribution of anti-imperialist information
Closer coordination of work between various organizations within the
united front against imperialism
Organizing tool for folks on the streets and behind bars
What is needed to expand ULK
Distributors: We can only achieve our goal if we can quickly
expand our network of distributors. This is where you, our readers and
supporters come in. We will send you a small stack of ULKs every issue
for a year for $50. For our Re-Lease on Life Program comrades we will
send them for free until you can afford to pay. Selling them for $1 a
piece is one way to get the funds to pay for your subscription. Or if
you have the money you can take the easier route of dropping off a few
copies at local shops and public spaces that have a spot for people to
pick up free publications. For our imprisoned readers, reach out to any
individuals or institutions on the outside that you think might be able
to take on a regular shipment of ULKs.
Money: It will cost more money to print more newspapers, and also
more postage to send it out to distributors. We’re asking our
distributors to cover the mailing costs of what we send them. We also
need people to step up and help fund the printing and the costs of
mailing in to prisoners.
Content: Our immediate goal is to increase the frequency of
ULK, so that comrades inside are getting more regular organizing
updates. As this will also expand the content, we hope to increase the
breadth of topics that ULK currently tackles, exposing different
sectors of the movement to each others’ work. We are working on
partnerships with fraternal organizations to help create content for
this newsletter. We also call on individuals to increase their efforts
to produce quality content that addresses the needs of the oppressed
from a proletarian perspective.
Who should be part of this expansion?
Revolutionary anti-imperialist organizations that see Maoism as the
furthest advance towards communism to date. This is an explicitly
revolutionary project. We will not be toning down the Maoism that is our
guiding political line. But we will continue to publish articles from
individuals who share our anti-imperialist agenda though perhaps are not
Maoists.
We need to expand our outside distributors beyond former prisoners.
Expanding the content in our newspaper will help attract more
supporters. But we also need more supporters to expand. So our number
one challenge to comrades on the streets right now is to step up and
become a regular distributor of ULK. Without a broader
distribution network, we will not reach our goal of doubling the
frequency.
Task list to prepare for January 2022
Start by distributing ULK locally. Sign up with us today by
sending $50 to our PO Box with an address to send ULKs to, and begin
exploring ways to distribute the publication regularly. (No checks made
out to MIM(Prisons), let us know if you want to send a check)
Commit to a financial contribution for this expansion. Ideally a
monthly amount we can count on. You can start donating now to help us
build up the cash needed for this project.
Volunteer to start writing articles. Ask for a copy of our recently
updated writing guide.
Revolutionary organizations interested in getting involved in this
project, get in touch to start talking about how we can work together.
Abolitionists From Within (AFW) is back on the move here at SVSP quad
this Bloody September. This September 9, 2018 we remember the
anniversary of Attica of Sept 9, 1971 and them faceless freedom
revolutionary fighters who fought and died in these prisons uprising
throughout history of our struggle as we continue to fight the
oppression, exploitation, abuse and inhumane treatment of prisoners. A
lot of rights and privileges comrades have today is because of these
soldiers at war with this corrupt system.
Throughout this country, we as New Afrikans must reconstruct our
thoughts and come up with ways and ideas to get control over our minds
behind enemy lines, and work to educate the lumpen. I know our young
comrades think they know everything. Being upright, independent and
fearless against all odds and not fearing the outcome of whatever is
what the young comrades are looking for true leadership.
This Sept 9 day I refrained from all negative conversation. AFW
continues to push to end prisoner-on-prisoner hostilities throughout
this country. I had the chance to meet and become a student of the main
4 reps to end all hostilities between our racial groups, and also a
brother from the representatives body. I spoke with brother X about our
beloved brother W.L. Nolan and GJ and our conditions today as “new man,”
and how GJ struggled to transform the Black criminal mentality into a
Black revolutionary mentality. And solidarity with all you comrades
around the country this Sept 9 day.
by a Pennsylvania prisoner September 2018 permalink
I am writing this letter to obtain legal advice or help with current
matters which are currently taking place in the state of Pennsylvania
Prison System. Beginning on August 29, 2018, Pennsylvania declared a
statewide state prison lockdown, in which we were not allowed to send or
receive mail of any kind. We were just allowed, as of September 6, 2018,
to send mail out but will no longer receive mail and the mail they do
have will now be sent to some third party in the state of Florida.
On the day of the lockdown, the guards wore gloves and face masks for
their protection when passing food to the prisoners. No protection
whatsoever was provided for us, the inmates, even though the
correctional officers are the only people who reportedly fell ill from
alleged contact with drugs. I have been watching “WJAC 6 News” in
Clearfield County to stay updated with the current progress of events.
Around September 1st, 2018, the D.O.C. let us out to take one shower and
when everyone showered, let us out to use the phone. From my knowledge
of watching the local news, no prisoners have fell ill from alleged
drugs, only D.O.C. staff, which could possibly be a ploy of some kind on
individuals behalf. Around September 3rd or 4th, 2018, the D.O.C.
started letting us out one tier at a time for blockout, which is an hour
each tier, which holds about 60 inmates on each tier. We, as prisoners,
have been mostly kept in the dark about what and why or when. I’m
writing asking can you please assist in these matters, but if you write
back the jail will not give me any mail.
We have been trying to set up an effective Release on Life program here
at MIM(Prisons) for many years. We have expanded the pre-release support
we offer to our active comrades behind bars. And we’ve set up some
structures for better contact and support on the streets. But what we
can offer is still so little in the face of the very harsh reality of
life on the streets after a prison stint. We’re working on expanding
what we can offer. That takes money. But it also requires ideas and
people on the streets to work on this. We know what we’re doing now is
inadequate. But we’re trying to build.
For a few years we published a Re-lease on Life newsletter (ROL) which
was mailed out to our comrades on the streets and those with release
dates in the near future. But we didn’t get much interest around this
newsletter. We know people are inspired by ULK because we get
lots of letters about it and article submissions for it. ROL didn’t
inspire many responses or articles. So we’re discontinuing that effort.
Instead we will focus on practical logistical support for our releasees.
And we will continue to print release articles in ULK.
Get in touch if you have a date or expect to be released in the next few
years. Start working with us now so we can help set you up for success
on the streets.
Below is an interview with one of our comrades who was recently
released, underscoring the challenges with life on the streets and the
importance of preparation and education while you’re still locked up.
Revolutionary Greetings!!! I was released from the penitentiary on July
9th 2018. I’ve been out for over a month. The state and federal
government ain’t helping us with shit. It’s on us to hustle to provide
for ourselves. Learn all u can in prison cuz once u hit these streets
it’s non stop action. For all y’all without a date, mad love n respect.
Each one teach one.
Question: Have you found any support for finding housing? If not,
what have you tried and what do you recommend others do if they don’t
have people to live with already set up?
No I have received housing. I haven’t received shit from the state or
federal government. If u ain’t got friends or family to provide u with a
roof over ur head then u gonna struggle out here for real. I got family
and friends that blessed my game.
Question: Have you been able to sign up for any government support
programs (food stamps, SSI, welfare, etc)?
Yes I did sign up for benefits and shit like that but the state and
federal government both denied me.
Question: What did you do to find work after release?
I applied at staffing agencies and shit like that but after they ran my
name I never got called. I still don’t have a job. Been out 2 months
already. Self-employed I guess.
Question: You say people should learn all they can in prison. What
kinds of programs and studies do you recommend people focus on in prison
to prepare for the streets?
I say people should learn all they can in prison like read books. I did
my time in solitary confinement Ad-Seg cuz I’m a active STG member. I
educated myself. That’s what I mean. Use ur time wisely cuz once u hit
these streets its a whole nother world.
I am at Santa Rosa, C.I. Today, I write you about a potential civil
lawsuit on the basis of an eighth amendment violation of my
constitutional rights. In short, I was brutally beaten, sprayed in my
face with chemical agents, and sexually abused at Union C.I. on March
26th, 2018 by eight prison guards while I remained in handcuffs and leg
irons.
The eight (8) prison guards at Union C.I. retaliated on my for filing
grievances and discriminating against me. They beat me, gassed me in my
nose, face, mouth, eyes, etc., and forced the handcuff leg iron shackle
up my RECTUM into my buttock. I was screaming “PREA” while the cell
extraction team held me down. In the shower, they covered my mouth,
beating me with their fists and the handcuffs. Cruel punishment!
At this time, they lift me to my feet, bleeding from my rectum, and
bleeding from my head, face, mouth, etc., pain in my neck, back, eyes
burning, etc. They placed me in a cold cell, butt naked, a/c blowing, no
mattress, no clothes, no toothbrush, no toothpaste, no toilet paper, no
clothes, no drinking cups, no nothing. Nothing to keep warm and bean
bags blocking my cell door to prevent me from receiving any of the above
items. At present, great efforts are undertaken by medical personnel to
cover up my abuse by falsifying medical records stating “no injuries
identified”. Trying to cover up for security, I then remained in my cell
untreated, which is cruel and unusual punishment.
I am in chronic pain throughout the day and night. It is extremely
difficult for me to get any sleep at night due to the excruciating pains
in my rectum, my neck, back and body. I hear voices waking up in cold
sweat like I’m being gassed and attacked all over again.
May it be noted that handcuffs and leg irons were on me during the
entire merciless beating and sexual abuse.
I have begun the institutional grievance process by laying forth the
foundation and facts of my case regarding this potential suit. At this
point, I have done a lot of research on my own and try to contact people
more familiar with the law and trying to get help to no avail. I am
still being retaliated against and threatened that if I don’t stop
writing grievances and filing on this, I’m going to get fucked up. These
ofc. are playing games with my mail, food, and threatening to strip me
and gas me or set me up or have other ways to harm me.
I still can’t find any help I need. I am not going to stop filing
grievances. They violated my right and my body. I need legal help. This
is not getting covered up.
I’m a politikal prisoner warehoused at the State of Missouri’s most
repressive slave plantations (Crossroads Correctional Center). It’s name
(Crossroads) alone sounds like a cemetery and it does literally feel
like one.
The institution is still on lock-down from a riot that took place 5, 6
months ago where no one was injured but millions of dollars in property
damage occurred.
The conditions that led up to the rioting still exist today and are even
worse today. Basically, we are locked down in our cells all day and none
of our daily needs are met. For example, they transferred me here last
week as a punishment from another camp and placed me in ad seg despite
me not having any conduct violations (write-up). They refused to bring
me my ad seg allowable soap, toothbrush, and toothpaste for six (6)
days, but gave the other transfers theirs the same day.
So, I sent my case worker numerous kites requesting grievance forms,
which she denied me. I’m on high blood pressure medication, which I
should have received the first day I arrived, yet medical staff
continues to ignore my request. When I arrived here, they gave me
another prisoner’s used and dirty underclothes and bedding when everyone
knows that you’re supposed to be issued new underclothes and can be
issued used outer garments. Again, I sent my caseworker a kite for a
grievance complaint and a legal request form to order prison policies
and legal case law to challenge these conditions and was again denied.
I’m on a certified religious diet meal plan, yet they refuse to
recognize it at this camp despite having documentation proving that I’m
on the diet plan. (Please note: A white prisoner next door to me
receives his CRD-meal 3 times a day).
We are dealing with gangsters here. Gangsters who have been allowed to
do whatever they feel like doing and outside of what prison regulations
mandate without being challenged or corrected. And if you bring
attention to this abuse of authority, they calculatingly and
systematically isolate you and target you with more abuse.
Please send me something to read, i.e. newsletter, prisoner resource
guide, anything that will keep my spirit and mind up.
Some of our fellow comrades remain skeptical or indifferent about our
engagement in the political process. Don’t be foolish! We have to act
while we can to fortify our freedoms and ensure that government does not
try to quarantine our communist ideology. Too long have we been
unrepresented at the polls for elections.
The fact that we have been unrepresented only condones and promotes the
inundated lies that sound convincing and are spread through education,
through the media and through entertainment. “In January 2010, a
conservative minority on the Supreme Court radically rewrote Ameri[k]a’s
campaign-finance laws to allow mega-donors and corporations to
contribute unlimited sums, often in secret, to political action
committees. The Citizens United v. FEC decision gave wealthy donors
unprecedented influence to buy elections, which Republicans quickly used
to their political advantage” (Rolling Stone, Ari Berman, February 8-22,
2018, p.30). I do not believe there is any difference from today’s
political culture and the one of the late 1780s “Three-Fifths
Compromise” which treated each slave as three-fifths of a person for tax
and representation purposes. It has always been about which political
party is going to get the vote.
These mid-term elections elect a body of electors who elect the
president and vice president. Under the Trump administration we have
watched numerous offices filled and seats to our judicial branch, two of
which after the next Supreme Court justice seat, will be for the life of
that persyn. How does that weigh on us? I do not know, so the
advancement of “why the need to vote?” is a relevant topic for
discussion amongst us comrades.
MIM(Prisons) responds: This comrade is right that we should be
talking about elections in ULK because so many people are focused
on this topic in the United $tates right now. On the “left” we regularly
hear about the critical need to get Democrats elected in mid-terms to
limit President Trump’s power. But we come at this topic from a
different perspective.
To determine what is the most effective actions we can take today we
need to first identify our principal enemy. For revolutionaries this
enemy is imperialism, the global system which keeps many nations poor
and oppressed in order to provide wealth for a few nations. We happen to
live within one of the imperialist powers: the United $tates. Here still
imperialism is our principal enemy. And the President is certainly the
leader of this imperialist country. But congress is just as much a part
of that leadership structure. And whether members of congress are
Democrats or Republicans matters not one little bit to which side they
are on; being in the Amerikan government requires supporting
imperialism.
So when this writer points out that revolutionaries are dramatically
underrepresented in the government, we think that’s to be expected. The
system is not set up to allow for a peaceful revolution through
elections. And in fact, when we look closely at the interests of the
vast majority of people who could legally vote in elections, we see that
their material interests are aligned with imperialism. So of course they
are electing these imperialists! The capitalist system has advanced to
the point where people living within imperialist countries can be bought
off with the vast wealth plundered from the Third World. And buying
people off includes buying their voting allegiance since they want to
help perpetuate this system that is giving them a comfortable life.
Within imperialist countries we can’t expect to have a majority on the
side of the oppressed, fighting for revolution, until conditions change
dramatically. At this point we’re not even close. Trump’s reactionary
policies and rhetoric may be angering some self-described leftists, but
only to the extent that they want to get a more soft-spoken imperialist
into the White House. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama are
friends of the oppressed. They just peddle a different flavor of
imperialism.
It’s a mistake for revolutionaries to focus on getting Trump out of
office. And when we tell people to vote in mid-term elections we are
telling them to vote for the imperialists. There are no revolutionary
candidates for high office. And with the implication that we oppose
Trump, we’re telling people that we support the Democrats. This is not
only misleading but also will soon be demoralizing. What happens if the
Democrats win big? And at the next presidential election a Democrat
comes into office. When we still have imperialism, and the Democratic
President is funding more prisons, more police, and more invasions of
other countries, what are people going to think of the revolutionaries
who campaigned for the Democrats?
This writer raises the question of the Supreme Court. Presidents have
the power to fill seats in the court with someone who will serve for
life. And these individuals have a big impact on laws in the United
$tates. The right to legal abortions, for instance, is a decision many
fear could be overturned with a more conservative court. This is an
example of a law that has a real impact on people’s lives, especially
hurting those without the resources to buy access to safe abortions.
Just as we fight for legal victories to gain more organizing space and
less abuse within prisons, we would oppose outlawing abortion. But these
laws and legal precedents are no different than variances in how a city
deploys its police force: more trigger happy cops in the projects means
more dead oppressed nation youth. There are so many laws and policies
within imperialism that are harmful to the oppressed.
Focusing on the Supreme Court again keeps us from seeing the big
picture: it’s all still a part of imperialism. We will have variations
in legal rights and in modes of repression, but imperialism is still the
same system of exploitation and oppression. And many of the Supreme
Court decisions that Amerikans worry about are only possible due to the
luxury of living in this wealthy country. Of course we support
affirmative action, LGBTQ rights, and abortion access. But these are
things aren’t even considered in many Third World countries where the
masses are barely surviving in the wake of imperialist wars, direct and
by proxy, to secure cheap resources and labor, with puppet dictators in
power. The United $tates has not become less imperialist by implementing
more rights for more people within U.$. borders.
There are battles that can be fought in these non-revolutionary times
that do contribute to weakening imperialism, such as ending torture and
political repression within the injustice system. And so we say: keep
your eyes on the principal enemy. That enemy is imperialism. Fight that
enemy for rights for those living within U.$. borders, but never
sacrifice or lose sight of the bigger picture. An imperialist who
supports legal abortion for Amerikan wimmin is still an imperialist.