Federal Prisons

I am 40 years old Hindu Indian from South America Guyana. I have life without parole in the state of Georgia. I have been on Lockdown since 2005.

I was put on lockdown for an incident i did because of my uncontrolled mental health problems which i beg for help, but no one believes me. While I was on lockdown I asked the mental health counselor for some kind of therapy. The only thing they did was give me mental health medication. Those meds mess me up good. And when I complain, they just give me new meds. So i stop complaining because I don't want to become a zombie on mental health meds.

The officers think i am from the Middle East and a terrorist. They told me that their family and loved ones got killed in Iraq. I told them i am a Hindu Indian from Guyana, but they don't believe me. They spit in my food, and sometimes they won't feed me. And they skip me on shower and yard call. Then they lie on me by saying i refuse to eat and shower and go to yard. When I told the warden about this problem he did nothing about it. A few weeks later i was moved to K-BID. In those cells it had a TV, power sockets, toilet bowl flush switch and light switch.

I wrote my family and told them what i am going through every day. My family was afraid that the officers will beat me and kill me. My family told me to stop complaining. That is what i did and i took all the abuses. In my cell i never talked to other prisoners. All i do is read books, listen to music, and watch TV. When the officers come to my cell i don't look them in the face.

The way i clean my cell is i use a rag to put soap on it and wipe the walls, floor, and toilet bowl. Days that they won't let me take a shower, i wash up in the sink. My fan saves me in the summer, the TV saves me from going crazy, and my family saves me to live.

Over the years on lockdown, i walk back and forth in my cell and talk to myself. I worry a lot about if they will spit in my food today or beat me. And when i get a letter from my family I have to read it about 10 times because I don't understand it. And when i write my family they don't understand my letters. So i have to think about what i want to write and read it over and over so it makes sense.

My mental problems have gotten worse and it blew up in July 2013. The Warden Robbert Toole had all TVs, light switches, toilet bowl flush switch, and power sockets removed from K-BID. I then asked Warden Toole why he did this. He just walked away from my cell. Two days later, two CERT team officers handcuffed me and beat me. I never was taken to medical. Every day i worry about what they going to do to me, so i try to kill myself. When they took me to see the mental health doctor, I tried to tell them my problem but they cut me off and said i need new meds. They shot me up with meds and sent me back to K-BID where the cell is so hot and i have to smell my pee and shit for many hours because the floor officer is n where to be found.

I wrote my family and told them what they did to me. That day i stopped eating at all. On the 9th day of not eating, they found me passed out on the floor and they took me to the medical floor and i told the doctor i stopped eating for 9 days. On the 20th day of me not eating Warden Toole told me to write my family and tell them that i am ok and he will have the CERT team beat me no more and have the officers stop spitting in my food. Eight days later i got a letter from my family begging me to eat. I was sad so i ate food again. Two days later they put me back to K-BID to smell my pee and shit. And it got worse.

On 15 July 2014 they took all my personal property and gave me 1 boxer, 1 pair of socks, 1 jumpsuit, 1 state toothpaste and toothbrush, 1 state soap, 1 state shower shoe, 1 toilet paper, 1 bible, 1 bed, 1 blanket, 1 pillow, and 1 bed sheet. Then they told me that i have to do a Tier 2 program. And this is the reason why: "Inmate has received no disciplinary infractions within the past year. Inmate XX was charged with causing the death of an inmate in 2005. And a validated member of Five Percenters. Inmate XX should be assigned to the Tier 2 phase 1."

In the Tier program phase 1 is 90 days without personal property, and commissary is limited to only legal supplies; no books, no magazines, no personal pictures, no general library books. Each cell has a comment sheet on the door. The floor officers write on the comment sheet if a prisoner acts up.

Each phase is 90 days. At the end of 90 days they will do a 90 day review. They will check if you got any disciplinary infractions or any bad comment on the review sheet that is on the cell door. And if there is just one bad comment we have to start over on phase 1. Around November 2014 they made phase 4 for those prisoners who cannot return to population. And around February 2015 they made a phase 3+ which is also for those prisoners who can't go back to population. Now because of the Tier 2 program i can't complain about cell clean up, shower, yard call, and to get my toilet flushed because the floor officers will write a bad comment and i have to start all over on phase 1.

In December 2014 every prison in the state of Georgia gives each prisoner a free food package on Christmas day, but Warden Toole said the Tier 2 program will not get any.

When the mental health counselor comes to lockdown i tell him my problems and ask for some kind of mental health therapy all he does is laugh and ask me if i want some crossword puzzle and then he walks away from my cell.

I put in grievances but they throw it away because of the new rule. Lisa Fountain, Senior Investigator for Inmate Affairs and Appeals Unit Southeast Area said in a memo that when you turn in a formal grievance to the counselor that he will take it back to his office and review it, then they will mail me a grievance receipt. And every time i turn in my grievance and i don't get back no receipt, the counselor lies to me that i never gave him any grievance. So now i can't grieve the Tier 2 program and my mental health problems because Lisa Fountain made a way to get rid of a good grievance. I have no proof at all, and when you complain about it to the Warden he will have the CERT team come in your cell and take all your pens, stamps, legal works and make you do the program from the beginning on phase 1.

Last year a prisoner killed himself because of the punishment in K-BID and this year, 2015, two more prisoners in K-BID killed themselves because of the cruel punishment we get from the wardens, unit managers, officers, CERT team, counselors and the mental health department. I don't know how to file a lawsuit and fill out a 1983 Civil Rights form. It took me about 2 1/2 weeks to write this letter. I wanted to spell the words right and I re-read this letter 35 times to make sure it made sense.

At this moment i am in lockdown in K-BID at Georgia State Prison and it's hot as hell in this cell and i have to smell my shit and pee for many hours and worry about if the officer spit in my food and if they throw away my mail and if they going to beat me again and walk back and forth in my cell every day and talk to myself. I also am getting more mental and i believe if they ever put me back to any general population it will be dangerous. Because i have dangerous buildup that will explode and someone will get hurt again. I need some kind of therapy and help. What is being done to me is also being done to another prisoner who will go home soon. What do you think he will do when he goes home? The free world people in the state of Georgia need to know that Georgia's prisons system creates monsters and society should not be surprised when those monsters are released and do a horrific crime. Society needs to know and they need to know fast. I pray that someone reads this letter an don't put it in a file. I hope someone can help me with my mental health problems that department of corrections won't treat.

Many prisoners view the organization formerly known as the Mens Advisory Council (MAC), now known as the Inmate Advisory Council as servants of the people behind prison walls. Most of the people believing this fallacy are the new or relatively newer and younger prison population, and even some older prisoners who should really know better by now. However, for those of us who do know better we not only know the true limitations of the MAC but their true purpose within these walls, and so it's not for nothing that some of us refer to the MAC organization for what it really stands for: "Man Against Convict."

The original idea for what came to be known as the Mens Advisory Council can be traced back to the turbulent 60s and 70s inside of California prisons and the violent years that followed which included a relatively high number of staff assaults, prisoner-on-prisoner violence, and both peaceful and violent protests. The Council was initially conceived of by socially conscious prisoners as a way to not only encourage and develop dialogue between prisoners themselves to avert unnecessary violence between the white, Chican@, New Afrikan and First Nations, but also as a way to develop this same dialogue between prisoners and the prison administration. In this way then the precursors to the MAC were meant to function not only as representatives of the prisoner population with prison administrators, but as advocates of prisoner rights.

And for some years this precursor to the MAC org did what they set out to do, maintaining both a level of favorable and positive bias towards the prisoner population as well as enjoying a righteous level of credibility amongst prisoners themselves. Both the precursor to the MAC organization as well as the MAC itself tackled issues ranging from visiting policy and procedure, to basic hygiene and sanitation issues, to quantity and quality of food, to how our mail was to be properly handled.

As time went on however the MAC went from an organization representing the interests of the prison population as a whole to being co-opted by the powerful lumpen chiefs and representing their narrow and counter-productive interests, from which it was then taken and turned into an organization working in the interests of prison administrators. Today the IAC functions as an extralegal means for prison administrators to get from us exactly what they want, which is a highly passive and compliant prisoner population. As such, the MAC/IAC organization has become just another tool of the prison administration used to control us not unlike the tools on a pigs belt; like the pepper spray they use to gas us, or the batons they beat us with — just another tool.

I would like to take this concept even further. One can even liken a MAC rep to a neo-colonial ruler in the Third World who, thru their representation in government, gives the illusion of independence and a real self-determination to their compatriots; a nominal independence or a fictious level of power. This is not to say that the MAC/IAC never get anything done or accomplish anything for us. Quite the contrary, they do manage to accomplish a small victory from time to time. But prisoners get it twisted when they begin to believe that the MAC/IAC reps are there to serve or win anything for us. We must be clear about one thing here, the MAC reps accomplish nothing for us that the administration doesn't allow them to. In other words, in the battle for prisoners' rights, prison administrators do not lose to the MAC/IAC, rather they concede. Concessions in the prison realm are "necessary evils" to prison administrators as they are used to lend a level of legitimacy to the MAC/IAC org and hence continue their support from the wider prisoner population. Just like the system of neo-colonialism in the Third World, nominal leaders are allowed to govern and rule exactly because the imperialists allow them to, but these leaders must also have the support of the masses so that they may keep on ruling, or else the entire system collapses.

Surely there will be some who want to consider my allegations to be untrue, but it is hard to argue with my thesis when you see the MAC/IAC reps actively working against you. All you have to do is look closely at your MAC/IAC reps and ask them, what have they done for you lately? What oppressive and repressive policies have they helped the pigs peacefully implement and transition to with or without prisoners' consent? Not for nothing that a lot of the MAC/IAC reps are flat out hustlers and silver-tongued liars looking to swindle you out of your rights and privileges. Indeed if we look closely at these MAC/IAC reps we can see that they are messenger boys and running dogs to the administration because they have to be.

This is not to say that all MAC/IAC reps are bad. Of course there are some who actually seek out and take up these positions because they are truly interested in bringing positive change to the oppressed prison population, but these people are few and far between. These people however are also naive because they actually believe that they can bring real change to the prison environment thru steady reform, therefore they can also be some of the most convincing and legitimizing aspects of this oppressive prison apparatus and hence the most lethal to the prison movement for they will try the hardest to convince you of working within the system.

For those of you still not convinced of what I'm talking about, let's examine CCR Title 15, Article 3, Inmate Councils, Committees and Activity Groups 3230. Establishment of Inmate Advisory Councils:

(a) Each warden shall establish an inmate advisory council which is representative of that facility's inmate ethnic groups. At the discretion of the warden, subcommittees of the council may also be established to represent sub-facilities or specialized segments of the inmate population.

...

(2) The council shall operate only under the constitution and by-laws as prepared by the council's inmate representatives with the advice and guidance of designated staff and approved by the warden.

...

(d) Inmate advisory council representatives shall not, as a council representative, become involved with inmate appeals unless the matter affects the general inmate population and such involvement is authorized by the warden.

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(h) A staff person at the level of a program administrator or higher shall be designated as the inmate advisory council coordinator.

(i) Facility captains shall be directly involved in council activities within their respective programs and may delegate specific aspects of supervisor, direction and responsibilities for council activities within their unit to subordinate supervisors.

"The structure of a decision making process — the rules for who is involved in making the decision, how voting is conducted, and so forth — can affect the outcome, especially when a group has indeterminate preferences because no single alternative appeals to a majority participation. Experienced participants in foreign policy information are familiar with the techniques for manipulating decision making process to favor outcomes they prefer. A common technique is to control a group's formal decision rules. These rules include the items of business the group discusses and the order in which proposals are considered ... Probably most important is the ability to control the agenda and thereby structure the terms of debate."(1)

"the strategies used by governments to guide their actions in the international arena. Foreign policies spell out the objectives state leaders have decided to pursue in a given relationship or situation as well as the general means by which they intend to pursue those objectives....States establish various organizational structures and functional relationships to create and carry out foreign policies. Officials and agencies collect information about a situation through various channels; they write memorandums outlining possible options for action; they hold meetings to discuss the matter; some of them privately outside those meetings to decide how to steer those meetings. Such activities, broadly defined are what is meant by the foreign policy process.'"(1)

The Machiavellian implication of all this is all very apparent then, and one must be a special kind of naive to not see the resemblance between imperialist foreign policy and how prison administrators choose to deal with the prison population; the majority of whom come from the oppressed nation lumpen.

Amerikan imperialism is hostile to the oppressed global majority and their foreign policies are reflective of this hostility. Likewise prison administrators' dealings with the prison population mirrors Amerikan foreign policy exactly because prisons are extensions and tools of national oppression and social control, and so it is logical and to be expected that Amerikan foreign policy and the policy of prison administrators are two sides of the same oppressive coin. Whereas one deals with the oppressed nations on an international level, the other deals with the oppressed nations on a domestic level. Furthermore, as a matter of foreign policy U.$. borders are the structures used to keep Third World workers out and unable to gain access to their portion of wealth stolen by U.$. imperialism, whereas prisons are used to keep the oppressed nation lumpen in their place and away from this same global metropolis.

It has been said many times before, prison is a microcosm of society and it is time we begin to actively engage in this society. Marxist philosophy holds that we are all products of our environment and just as our environment has the power to influence and mold us, so do we have the power to influence and mold this same environment. We shouldn't be relying on individuals or small cliques of people to speak and act for us. We should rely on ourselves and our sheer numbers to bring change. Therefore, it is time that this whole business of MAC/IAC reps be done with and put to an end. It would be a positive qualitative development for the prison masses to begin relying on themselves. Individuals don't make hystory, the masses do.

I would like to give props to Loco1 of USW for the article in ULK 38, "Lasting Impressions." It eloquently expressed the realistic truth of non-whites rising into Amerikkkan political poverty and oppression, but ultimately becoming part of the Amerikkkan imperialist machine, and therefore part of the problem. They undeniably dance to the same tune as the kapitalist oppressors, which is the only way they can get elected into office in the first place. The oppression they become co-conspirators of far outweighs any good they may be trying to contribute to cultural progress, the revolutionary movement, or even reformism. President Obama's black face on the white-Amerikkkan agenda does very little to counter the injustices he inflicts upon the less fortunate. His priority is to please white-Amerikkka and contribute to kapitalism. Everything else is secondary.

Revolutionary minds can learn from Loco1's political view. However, it draws concern when Loco1 talks of redistributing the lands fairly: "you get what you need. Nothing more, nothing less." Subsequently following a successful revolution this act alone would shift the possession of land for one colonizer to another at the expense and exploitation of the indigenous peoples. Very little of what I've read from the MIM organization has ever gotten to the heart of land claims, which should first and foremost be redistributed back to the First Nation original owners. Many indigenous will be part of the revolution. Non-natives seem to think they are entitled to this land as spoils of war, with complete disregard to the First Nations' claims. Communism is supposed to eliminate oppression. This act would contribute to it, but with power shifting to the hands of a different ethnic and political class.

A complete overthrow of Amerikkkan power should give the land back to those it's belonged to since the beginning of time. This soil is the Redman's tribal ancestral roots and the creator's gift to our people. This includes Mexicanos. Whatever land, if any, is eventually "redistributed fairly" should be at the sole discretion of its tribal owners. Period. (And it's important that non-natives understand this.) Land would be distributed considerately and compassionately as they feel necessary and see fit. Unless, of course, the communist victors then choose to redirect their war towards the First Nation peoples with the intent of keeping them on reservations and stealing the land by force. That would make them no different than this current Amerikkkan imperialist swine.

In the article Loco1 spoke with the voice of New Afrikans but I think he should rethink his ideas for land grab from the indigenous point of view, who have suffered the biggest atrocities and injustices in history.

MIM(Prisons) responds: This is a letter that we forwarded to Loco1 for comment. Having not received a response we will address this question now. It seems we have great unity with the writer above, and we appreciate this point and inquiry. While Loco1's original point was more about combatting Amerikkkan exceptionalism, which justifies Amerikans having more than everyone else, the lack of mention of First Nations land claims is certainly a valid critique. It is an ultra-left error in that it is looking towards the ideal future of communism (from each according to their ability, to each according to their need), before addressing the more immediate task of national liberation.

This is an issue that comrades address in our new book, Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlán. Though Chican@s themselves are indigenous to this land, claiming all of the southwest United $tates could be seen as a threat to First Nations, including the largest reservation in the United $tates of the Navajo nation. MIM has long been friendly to the Blackbelt Thesis as well, and has printed maps showing both of these territories. We agree with revolutionary Chican@ and New Afrikan movements that land is central to the question of national liberation. As nations within what is today the United $tates, a failure to claim and liberate their own territory is a failure to liberate these oppressed nations. The same is true for all First Nations.

The drawing of new boundaries today is more of an agitational exercise than an actual political reality, except for most First Nations. So we expect First Nations to continue to be at the forefront of determining future border issues. Their weakness, of course, is in their numbers. So it is an important warning that the comrade above issues to ensure that a national program of one oppressed nation does not impose itself onto that of another. Not only is this necessary for building a just world, it will be necessary for a successful anti-imperialist project. Any efforts by an internal semi-colony to liberate itself without regard for and cooperation with the efforts of the others will lead to no true liberation and will end in it being a puppet to the imperialists rather than being free of them.

There must be a united front of the internal semi-colonies against U.$. imperialism. And once imperialism is overthrown, in imperialist nations there will need to be a joint dictatorship of the proletariat of the oppressed nations to take power and determine how society can best be run in the interests of the formerly oppressed of the world. Exactly how they address the land question between themselves, as well as with the existing oppressor nation on this land, will be determined in the evolution of that struggle, which will certainly bring about many more changes in the process.

On Friday the 12th of June, prisoner David Munday allegedly assaulted an employee at Mount Olive Correctional Complex (MOCC), which is West Virginia's Super Max prison. The assault occurred in one of the pods out in general population. Mr. Munday was then assaulted ("restrained") by numerous guards. Munday was handcuffed behind his back, placed in full restraints and he was then taken to medical for treatment. Once he got to medical he was placed into the restraint chair with a mask over his head. It is believed that approximately 15 minutes later staff member noticed he was no longer breathing. David Monday died under suspicious circumstances on Friday the 12th of June, 2015.

The prison has been locked down since the incident took place. Prisoners believe what happened to Mr. Munday is a culmination of the ongoing systematic problems within the WVDOC. Staff believe they are above the law, and that they are the law. They condition us to believe the same as well. If we complain or write grievances they respond with generic answers, outright lie or they will dodge the primary issue with a response that does not pertain to the grieved issue at hand. Then the commissioner in most cases will rubber stamp the Warden's response to our grievances.

To add fuel to the fire, Warden Ballard released a video to the prison population stating that there's an ongoing investigation into the incident and that the state police are handling and overseeing the process in Mr. Munday's unexpected death. He stated several times in the video that he will not tolerate any inmate putting their hands on his employees and inmate Monday's death is an example of what happens when you do. He then stated that he was not threatening us "he was just saying" and that this is an "example of what life could be like here at Mount Olive." Although Warden Ballard stated that it was not a threat, it's crystal clear when you watch the video that Warden Ballard threatened the entire inmate population at MOCC, by stating if you put your hands on his staff, then this is an example of what happens, clearly referring to inmate Monday's death.

Prisoners here at MOCC received Warden Ballard's threat/message loud and clear: if prisoners assault staff they will die, just as our fellow prisoner died, helpless in a restraint chair, an "example of what life could be like here at MOCC." Moreover, the message is clear to all of us here, especially the ones who have survived the routine use of excessive force here at MOCC and the ruthless and sadistic actions of some of the staff employed here at the facility. No matter what Mr. Munday did or who he assaulted he did not deserve a death sentence.

What happened here is not just, and it certainly is not justifiable. Coincidentally, it appears that somehow the media received false information that Munday had meth in his cell. We believe that this false information is being used to justify Munday's death.

This incident is just one of many here at MOCC. If someone would just take the time to thoroughly investigate the conditions of our confinement, the outrageous number of use of excessive force complaints filed against MOCC, the broken grievance system, and the corrupt, good old boy network here at MOCC, they would uncover a mountain of evidence that MOCC is operating with impunity, they are blatantly and routinely violating their own policies and violating the few Constitutional rights that we have left. We understand that we are prisoners, but the majority of us here at MOCC are good guys who have just made bad decisions, at the end of the day we are still people's fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons. We understand our situation here at MOCC, this is a maximum security prison but that does not give staff here the right to mistreat us, and lock us up in isolation for years upon years, without due process. Something needs to be done and we hope and pray that someone hears our cries for help, and gets justice for David Munday who we believe was killed by MOCC staff.

One of the latest tactics of the Georgia Department of Corrections at Macon State Prison is to implement a rule that no religious denomination is allowed to hold group prayer in the day room areas. They are not saying that you can't pray or worship however you believe, it's just that you are not allowed to worship in a group within the housing unit dayroom area. This rule was mainly put in effect to discourage the unity of the prisoners on a spiritual level, namely the Muslims that follow the principles of Islam. This tactic is only being employed to discourage any type of unity among the captives being held in the GA DOC.

In 2014, former professor of sociology at Portland State University, Randall Evan Blazak, and current professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, Pete Simi, went to the SPLC headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama. They travelled there to meet with SPLC pundit and media hound Mark Potok, at a meeting that included a few other academics and freelance investigative reporter Bill Morlin.

The SPLC wants to use universities and academics to "study, research and report" on activities of "hate groups" under the direction of the SPLC without using or even mentioning that the SPLC is involved. Mark Potok openly stated that when groups or individuals find out the SPLC is involved, they "quit talking" and "coverup". The SPLC is doing whatever it can to obtain information on the people's revolutionary organizations. Evidently they now look at these organizations as one of the main sources of racial terror.

Beware of any academic "studies" or research organizations attempting to contact anyone under academic auspices. They amount to nothing more than spies for the SPLC. Our business is our business — and none of theirs. Back in 2000, I forced then Professor Randall Blazak out of the organization we co-founded named the Oregon Spotlight for turning local anti-racists in to the FBI and SPLC.

All of us, no matter our creed or methods must come together and secure our information. Please alert everyone you are able. The SPLC works closely with all pigs and acts as a clearinghouse of information. As a private organization they are not subject to "Red Scare" laws and can act under the cover of U.$. law.

I am fighting this from prison. I hope others join in. We do not need a "fifth column" amongst our ranks.

MIM(Prisons) responds: We can't speak to the specifics of Blazak or other professors' specific work but in general what this comrade reports is true. First, the FBI lists them right on their website stating, "The FBI has forged partnerships nationally and locally with many civil rights organizations to establish rapport, share information, address concerns, and cooperate in solving problems. These groups include such organizations as the NAACP, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League, the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, the National Organization for Women, the Human Rights Campaign, and the National Disability Rights Network."(1) Second, the Southern Poverty Law Center has incorporated into its "hate group" work the fight against what they call "Black separatists" and included among the groups they target are the Nation of Islam, the Black Riders Liberation Party and the New Black Panther Party.(2) This approach to identifying racism by pretending to be color blind makes clear the failings of the concept of race. It is national oppression that underlies the system of one nation dominating another that is inherent to imperialism. Racism is the ideology that arises from national oppression to identify certain groups of people as inferior based on supposed biological differences. When an oppressed nation fights back against this system they do not have the power to oppress other nations, and so calling them out for "racism" or "reverse racism" is missing the importance of power in oppression. By taking on the task of identifying racism among the oppressed the SPLC are focusing their battle on the people instead of focusing on the oppressor. This objectively hinders the struggle of the oppressed and aids the imperialists.

Within the people's movement we should always be vigilant in pointing out incorrect political line and practicing criticism and self-criticism, but we should not make broad declarations equating the oppressed people's organizations fight against national oppression with the racism of the oppressor nation fascist groups.

Finally, we want to echo this comrade's words of caution for interacting with academics, and include any media or any unknown people for that matter. We should engage with others on our terms and not open our doors to open-ended research, interviews and investigations.

1 June 2015 marked the third anniversary of the Brown Berets - Prison Chapter (BB-PC). This was a significant event, one that should be reviewed and put in context for what it means for Chican@s and what other oppressed people can learn from this development. Although Chican@s have been showing a rise in consciousness and political activity, we need to also reach farther and dig deeper in our efforts. The following four points are some of the contributions which this anniversary marks. All Chican@s should understand that we can accomplish much more with more participation and with more prison activism. There are four points that are important ways in which this development has progressed.

* Book project: The BB-PC was happy to participate in the newly released book Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlán. This is a much needed book based on today's Chican@ nation, and it was time for such a project. The BB-PC saw that there is a shortage of contemporary Chican@ revolutionary literature showing today's gente the way forward. After collaborating with MIM(Prisons) and other Chican@s who were also working to rebuild the nation, the book project was launched. This book marks a new level of consciousness for the nation and it is ground breaking. We believe that this book has signaled the next wind in the Chican@ movement.

* New Chapter: Another development in these three years was the formation of the BB-PC Colorado. The fact that Chican@s in Colorado have been able to rise above their circumstances and contribute to advancing Aztlán is a beautiful thing. When people can look outside of themselves and, despite their own oppression or repressive circumstances, stand up with the nation, it should be applauded. It is no surprise that comrades in Colorado did not waste time in getting involved in today's Chican@ movement because Colorado has always contributed strong cadre to Aztlán. In 1974 Los Seis de Boulder Colorado gave Aztlán the martyrs which fueled Aztlán at that time. But the Colorado chapter also confirms our analysis which can be found in Chican@ Power, and which explains that we suspect imprisoned Chican@s are developing politically at unprecedented rates and as this continues so will more chapters rise throughout the U.S. pintas.

* Release of Chican@s out of the control units: Another development has been in the fact that after years and decades of Chican@s and other oppressed people being held in control units we have now seen many moved back out to the general populations. We believe that this was accomplished by a multitude of actions. The hunger strikes, the heightened education/agitation behind prison walls, and the involvement in more Chican@s speaking out and creating literature and political theory to guide the prison movement, has all helped to push the prison movement for human rights forward while ensuring that the demands within prisons remain progressive and continue to revolutionize. All of these efforts were supported by the imprisoned Chican@ movement and the BB-PC participated in various ways.

* Future efforts: We see the need for more Chican@ study material and the newly released book Chican@ Power was just the first step in this regard. More material is being developed which will add to transforming the hearts and minds of captive Aztlán.

It can be said that in these short three years a contribution has been made to Aztlán. But this is an ongoing long-term project and we have only begun. Thought reform takes time, and undoing the damage that colonialism has done on our nation's minds is hard work. We are freedom-loving people who have tasted freedom through our actions, and our activism will not stop until we are all free.

The coming year will see more leaps forward as more Chican@s are let out of the control units, and as more torture is stopped. The first step in contributing to Aztlán is educating oneself and those around you. Learning Chican@ hystory and discuss how to advance the gente. Nobody will free you if you will not free yourself. We look forward to better days and a re-charged Chican@ movement.

I want to comment on the September 9 Day of Peace and Solidarity. This idea is the greatest, but fasting for the day is pointless. We have to focus on the name of the day: peace and solidarity. The best way to do this is to print a challenge to all who want a change in this hellish world. The challenge is for the change-seeker to go to an "enemy" and commit an act of kindness. No act is too big or too small. If you see someone in the struggle in need of some support, be that support. The number one reason for mistreatment in prison is lack of solidarity amongst prisoners. When pigs know they'll only have to deal with one race or a certain number of prisoners they feel comfortable committing the acts of mistreatment.

If prisoners moved as a unit against mistreatment and injustice these pigs wouldn't behave how they behave. I'm not saying, hey everybody, let's hold hands and sing Kumbayah, but we need to start supporting each other in order to have a livable life. The line has to be drawn so the pigs understand this is how things are going to be and we will no longer be divided on certain issues. When we fast, to me it shows strength and dedication, but to the pigs they couldn't care less. We have brothas dying while fasting to support their cause and the pigs couldn't be happier. Fasting has become ineffective.

On September 9 and beyond we have the opportunity to create our own peace. There was a movement called "pay it forward." In that movement you just did a good deed for someone with no expectation of a reward. You let the person know "I want nothing, just do for someone else what I've done for you." So we take from that and mold the peace and solidarity movement similar to it. On our end we'll call it the "peace and solidarity challenge." This can be big as, if not bigger than, the worldwide "ice bucket challenge." The Klansman pigs don't expect enemies to get along. Through our cause not only will we get along but we'll support each other when needed. All the world thinks about prisons and gangs is that we kill each other and inflict harm on one another. We can show our little brothers, sons, nephews, daughters, nieces, sisters, and cousins that the enemy is not each other. We're all going through the same struggle. "Peace and solidarity" is the only way out.

September 9 — Join the Movement!

I found a copy of Under lock & Key 39 and saw that right here in Texas concentration camps there are likeminded brothers struggling in other facilities in the same predicaments. Resist! Resist! Don't get discouraged! I am among you and our numbers are slowly growing.

This very morning I got the various gangs to quit talking bullshit by speaking to my likeminded neighbor about what I've read and studied from ULK 39. These white gang members normally talk over me and try to drown me out, but my voice is loud and I want to be heard by all; Black, Brown, Red, and white. Everyone finally got quiet and me and my neighbor talked. For about 45 minutes we talked about organized prison protests in California, of the 30,000 prisoners hunger strike, and the fact that in Texas you can't get more than two to agree to do it and they give up after commissary.

Then a Mexican brother got into our conversation and told me about MIM and MIM(Prisons). I told him I had found ULK 39 in my cell. He said it was his and they move him around every two weeks because he's a "threat to security." He then shot me ULKs 38 and 37, several Prison Action News publications, and the Texas petition to have our grievances addressed! I've been doing something similar for several years. It's really helped a few people out. There is a right way and a wrong way to write step one and step two grievances. It's the most asinine case I've ever run across, but if you use their own game rules against them most times you prevail. There are small victories. They just circumvent new policies with bogus practice.

MIM(Prisons) adds: The Texas activist pack is available to anyone in Texas who wants guidance on fighting to get grievances heard, and it also includes information on how to fight the medical copay as well as the restriction on indigent mail supplies. Just write to us for a copy. It's a big packet of information so if you can send a donation to cover the cost of printing and mailing, that would help us send more lit to other prisoners in need!

As a jailhouse lawyer my mission is always the same: to fight for justice where injustice lives. My mentor, the late Johnny Cochran, embraced the adage "an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." I believe that's what led me to law school and now I possess two law degrees and I'm an outstanding member of the National Lawyers Guild.

In December 2014, I submitted a Georgia open records act request for the names and titles of all staff at Hays State Prison in Trion, Georgia. Hays is the most high profile maximum security prison in Georgia and it is the most racist. The Georgia Department of Corrections legal office mailed me records responsive to my request after I paid the fee for the copies.

On 2 April 2015, Hays Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) searched my cell and found the request I made for those records. I was immediately locked in segregation/Tier I pending investigation. I was told by five white CERT Officers and one white CERT sergeant that I had no business requesting such information as they slammed my head into the Tier I housing unit door. I was also threatened with being beaten if I told anyone about the assault I had just ingested. All my personal and legal property was taken without due process and not returned. After reporting this to chief of security (who is Black) he laughed and said "you had no business with these folks' information." All I did was exercise my right to acquire public information like any Georgia citizen. I've committed no disciplinary or prohibited act. Yet I remain committed to my mission and will fight injustice wherever it may be found.