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.
Why are we so blind to seeing things we need to see Why do we let
those who hate us tell us who we’re supposed to be Why do they tell
us that our big lips & noses seem to be awkward Then they turn
around, get breast implants, silicone, lip shots & ass jobs Why
are we coerced into armed forces to do the government’s dirt They
turn us into killing machines, mental patients, or inmates And lie
to our loved about how we are hurt I pledge allegiance to the united
snakes that I’ll expose you to the fullest even if it seals my
fate I’ll expose your horns & bloodshot eyes & tell the world
you are a liar, a cheat, a thief & a fake Long ago you planted
seeds of hate And stripped our culture If you’re watching but
still can’t see I recommend that you look closer Cause there’s much
more to see Stand strong in liberation for nations to be
In order to file a §1983 prisoner complaint, one must exhaust the
facility grievance procedure on any issues beforehand. The pigs here
claim procedural defect, frustrating the exhaustion requirement of the
PLRA. Now that the institution has been made aware of my pending §1983
suite, they block the third and final grievance process. I am submitting
a revised complaint with denial of access to the court added, and I will
keep you informed.
I passed two
grievance
petitions on down the line. Colorado chain gang is just as messed up
as you might think, but I do help those who at least show some heart. I
pass all of my info on to other people, to maybe spark some fight.
MIM(Prisons) adds: The grievance campaign is spreading from its
start in California to Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina,
Oklahoma, and Texas. Write to us for copies of the grievance petition
for your state. If you are in a state not currently covered by the
grievance campaign you can use the current petitions as a format, but
will need to look up citations and policies specific to your state for
reference in the petition. If you do this research and send us what
needs to be rewritten for your particular state, we will gladly send an
edited, accurate copy to other USW and Legal Clinic folks in your state.
Just recently on the John B. Connally unit drastic changes are being
made. The administration has been coming down real hard on the already
oppressed masses. Not only do they house all the STG (security threat
groups) on Building 4, but have divided the whole unit. The dorms which
comprise Buildings 18 and 19 house all non-STG and those prisoners who
work around the unit. Building 3 houses non-STG prisoners and those in
the religious program. Building 7 houses all those not yet qualified to
move up on the unit to A-side. Building 7 also houses those prisoners
who are less than 10 years into their life sentence and that have over
50-year sentences. Building B houses a mixture as well but they stay on
that building with the less fortunate who are kept housed all day in
their cells. They eat in the building now that a chow hall was built to
accommodate.
This division with the unit capacity of 2,800 prisoners has not only
stagnated the progress or process to organize effectively, but has
caused those who got it better on A-side to not give much attention to
the sufferings of those who experience it much more on B-side. They are
ready to cause wars and riots with each other rather than direct that
misguided energy towards establishing a union to grieve concerns and
make administration hear and act on our behalf.
In expressing such observations, I also know that it is not an easy
task, but it can be done even if we are divided. As a whole we are only
segregated until we can find better ways to network and communicate and
this is why I am encouraged and empowered by your articles and
newsletter. There is hope! And it is right here right now!
There are two specific challenges we face with our comrades who get out
of prison and want to stay politically active. First, the difficulties
of balancing work, school, politics and general home life. Second, the
overlap between friendship and politics. It is important that we address
these challenges to help our comrades follow through on their pledges to
serve the people after gaining their freedom.
So far we have been less than successful in this regard, and many
comrades fall out of touch with us, only to re-emerge when they are
locked back up months or years later. In a country with such a
relatively low number of active, committed anti-imperialists, losing
these comrades to the streets is a significant blow to our work. As we
expand our Re-Lease on Life Program, we are working to address specific
challenges with life on the streets in the belly of the beast.
Meeting Your Basic Needs
There are few resources for released prisoners, and without family or
friends to provide support it’s very difficult to find housing, get a
job and provide for basic necessities. There are few studies of
homelessness among released prisoners, but those that we’ve found
suggest that at least 10% of parolees end up on the streets without
housing after release.(1) The numbers are probably higher; sleeping on a
friend’s couch is not a long term solution but it won’t get you counted
as homeless in these studies.
Unfortunately MIM(Prisons) doesn’t currently have the resources to
provide much help in the area of basic needs for released prisoners. We
do have some resource guides for some states, and we can help you think
through the best plan for your circumstances. But our ability to help in
this area is limited. The rest of this article focuses on people who are
released and are able to meet their basic needs. If you have a release
date coming up, let us know so we can help you make a plan for the
streets.
Time Management on the Streets
Behind bars life is very regimented, with little room for any decisions
about how to organize your day, except when you are locked in your cell.
And even there, your options for how to spend your time are very
limited. You don’t have to keep a schedule because the prison keeps it
for you. So one of the problems prisoners face when they hit the street
is the vastness of opportunities and choices, and the lack of structure.
Many comrades will want to pursue some education, while also finding a
job, and attempting to reconnect with family and friends. This means a
lot of choices and opportunities, and structured days are necessary to
make them fit together. The demands of family and friends can be
especially difficult during the initial months post-release after so
long with social interactions closely monitored and limited.
Friends, family, school and work are all institutions that are deeply
ingrained in and supported by our culture. There is no support for doing
revolutionary organizing. That is why Re-Lease on Life is so important.
People have a hard enough time doing the normal things they need to do
to get by as former prisoners, especially as felons. If you just go with
the flow, you’ll find your time just flies by and you don’t put in any
political work.
To participate in the Re-Lease on Life program you need to make a
commitment to political work upon release. But most people will need to
keep this commitment minimal at first, so that you can focus on getting
established with a plan for meeting your long-term needs as an
individual, while keeping a connection to the movement.
It’s important to think about the future. If you get government
assistance, or have a part-time hustle when you get out, how long can
that last you? If you don’t have job skills or a college degree you
should consider school and look into scholarships. On the other hand, it
may be worthwhile to focus initially on just making some money before
you consider starting school.
Think about where you want to be in a year or two. If your political
work is limited by time now, how can you free up more time in the
future? One way is by getting into a career path where your income will
grow with your experience. Another consideration when looking for jobs
is, how can it support my bigger goals? If you work in food service, you
save money by bringing home leftovers. If you work at a copy shop, you
get discounts on fliers and literature. Getting a manual labor job might
help you meet your physical fitness goals. If you work at a security job
you get paid to do your political study, leaving your free time to do
outreach work.
Whatever your plan is, you need to start thinking about your time as a
budget. You have only so much each week, each day. Determine how much
you really need for the necessities in life and then schedule that time.
A week has 168 hours in it. If you sleep 8 hours a night that leaves
112. If you need 2 hours a day to cook, eat and take care of persynal
hygiene, you are down to 98 hours. Take at least 5 hours a week to deal
with other persynal stuff like finances, cleaning, and organizing. You
want to work out at least 4 hours per week, maybe more like 8. Now we
have 85 left. If you work full time you’ve got 45, plus transit time, so
make that 40. If you’re going to school too, you could probably use up
most of that 40. If you have regular appointments with your parole
officer, doctor or counselor, that will take a few hours. In your best
case scenario you might have 40 hours to spend on socializing, relaxing
and doing political work. Realistically, finding 15 to 20 hours a week
to do political work with a normal bourgeois life is an ambitious goal
that requires discipline and good planning.
Keep in mind that even if you only have 5 hours a week free for
political work, that is 5 hours of work getting done in the interests of
the oppressed. Any time you can set aside for this work is good. And
when you first hit the streets this will be easiest if you can set aside
that time on your schedule so that it is always the same day/time. For
instance, you could say that Tuesday and Thursday nights you will do
political work from 5-8 p.m. Block it off on your calendar and tell your
friends you have appointments or classes at those times (see below).
Working this into your schedule as a regular thing will make it much
easier to maintain your activism. If you give up and stop doing
political work, chances are good that you will never take it up again.
The revolution can’t afford to lose good activists like you, so don’t
let that happen!
Money is Time
Just as challenging for many former prisoners as managing time is
managing money, and the movement needs both. Don’t fall into Amerikan
consumerism. Imperialism has kept itself going by building a consumerist
culture at home to keep capital circulating. What that means is that a
typical Amerikan lifestyle involves far more consumption than is
necessary (or even healthy). Having your own apartment, your own car, a
cell phone plan, and others preparing your food for you are just some
obvious examples of things considered to be “necessary” expenses
justifying the so-called “high cost of living” in this country. Seek out
others who you can share expenses and cost-saving tips with. Extravagant
spending is often a social behavior. Many recreational things like cable
television, alcohol and cigarettes become habitual expenses. Rest and
recreation are important, but try things that are more healthy and cost
less, and if you do want to splurge, make it a special reward, not a
daily expense.
One of our strengths in this country is that Amerikans get paid
extremely high wages. By keeping expenses low, you’ll find that you can
get by on a part-time job, leaving you with more time to do what is most
important to you. Remember, even if you’re making minimum wage you are
in the top 13% income bracket in the world. Don’t use poverty as an
excuse, when your wealth and privilege are really what’s holding you
back from doing political work.
The Persynal vs. The Political
Related to the challenges you will face with managing your time on the
streets is the social demands of family and friends. The overlap between
friendship and politics is something that most people don’t consider. In
fact, in this country we are encouraged to think about politics as
something we must share with family and friends. But MIM(Prisons) does
not agree with that view.
We live in a country where most people have a very strong material
interest in the status quo, and so they will oppose anti-imperialist
politics. The chances of winning them over to the side of the revolution
are very minimal, and there is generally no need to destroy
relationships with family and friends in the name of this struggle when
there are so many other people out there we can try to recruit. Also,
because of security concerns in this country, exposing your politics to
family and friends can put you at a real risk, especially if you are on
parole. If there’s one thing you should have learned being locked up,
it’s that snitches are everywhere.
There is nothing wrong with having friends who don’t share your
political convictions, you just need to avoid talking about politics
with them or only talk about smaller points of politics, without raising
suspicion. This doesn’t mean you can’t share your political views with
friends and family who show that they are likely to be interested and
agree, but be careful because once they know your views and the work you
do, you can’t take it back.
Basics About Security on the Streets
When you are locked up in prison the government has a lot of information
about you and knows your every move. So behind bars you can only control
your security to the extent that you keep your mouth shut on the yard
and don’t share information about the political work you are doing with
people who might use it against you.
On the streets things are a little different. Although you might have to
report in to a parole officer or allow the state to track you in some
other way as a term of your release, you have a lot more freedom about
what information you do and don’t share with people and with the
government. You are under no obligation to tell anyone about the
political work you do, and in fact you should do your best to keep this
private from people you know unless you have a reason to believe that
they would be supportive. And of course you want to keep it a mystery
from the state. This is NOT because we are doing anything illegal, but
rather because the state does not like anti-imperialists and will use
this as a reason to find or create an excuse to lock you back up. So
don’t make this easy for them.
[The following is in response to a United Front (UF) statement from
a group calling itself
“Revolutionary
Gangstas.” Unfortunately, due to almost extremely widespread in
South Carolina, we have not been able to get a response from them. On
our website we continue to print solidarity statements with the UF, one
of which is from the
United
Gangsta Nation, who was also sent some of these criticisms, but has
not responded. We are printing this belatedly to voice the concerns
brought up, and further all of our efforts at building a United Front.
As with most letters we receive, the author’s words below have been
edited for brevity and clarity.]
Confusion most often is the agent provocateur’s most precious tool to
plow furrows in the soil of a lumpen formation, so to plant the bacillus
seeds of annihilation.
This process is done by three means: (1) Those agent provocateurs who
willingly work with the oppressors. (2) Those unconscious agent
provocateurs whose behavior is so reckless and contrary to their
formation or movement that they kick up enough dust and problems for the
oppressor to use their actions to either plant and kill or as
justification for more oppression and suppression. (3) The third type,
while not agent provocateurs, can cause just as much damage. This third
is “uneducated members” of a movement or formation who misrepresent that
movement by stating or doing things inconsistent with the official
position.
The brothers in ULK 21 from South Carolina state they are
founding members of a formation they call
“Revolutionary
Gangstas.” However, on the 21st line they also say they are “members
of the Gangster Disciples,” which is GD’s former nomenclature.
I have a serious aversion with the misinformation, confusion and
incorrectness that’s being presented. First, if these brothers are
“learned men” in that former nomenclature, they would not step into this
LO revolutionary vita theater using defunct nomenclature that’s
inconsistent and contrary to the leader of that defunct LO’s official
position.
Secondly, they would know that LO is now officially and publicly moving
within, and a vanguard in, the same principles of the United Front for
Peace in the Vision of the Growth and Development Movement. Therefore,
no “new” interior formation is required to be part of the UF for Peace.
If these brothers wish to be part of the peace front, do so as believers
of the Vision of Growth and Development, not as Revolutionary Gangstas.
As a secondary note, almost anyone can and has come to be “gangsta;”
however being “gangster” as in Gangster Disciple (when it was in
operation) was a privilege and entitlement that one had to learn and
earn. It was not no fad or cartooning. Too many died for it to be
cheaply commercialized into the hip hop distorted concept of gangsta.
Cease and desist.
If someone was educated in the Vision of Growth and Development, they
would know that that whole gangster concept was put into the box of
self-defense and selective reactionary response because our visionary
teacher and his trusted companions recognized prudently how inferior
that gangster could be in respect to our vision for real and true
Revolutionary Growth and Development.
As men and intelligent thinkers and doers, we know that being gangster
has its limitations that go against our vision. Therefore being gangster
became a contradiction in practice and principle and needed to be put in
its proper context, i.e. self-defense and selective reactionary
revolutionary response only.
Our uniqueness is sublimated because we have been there, done that, and
perfected that. Anyone who still holds such attachments are still
asleep. Our visionary teacher has made it clear and has supplied us with
the blueprint and tools to become that reclaiming power and force we
need to be to matriculate within the formations of the struggles of USW
and UF for Peace.
Way before the UF for Peace came into play, our vision has been
instructing us through the Universal Laws of Existence that the “Love”
of “Life” and the correct “loyalty” to it by applied “dedication”,
“determination” and “discipline” will produce in us a “knowledge”,
“wisdom,” and “understanding” that will bring an inner peace and will be
able to have unity and from there some “growth” and independence. And by
implication, internationalism comes naturally because our vision is
universal.
So if these brothers are serious, then do so by being properly educated
and live, act and be all you can be as one within the vision.
I leave, as I come. One in the Vision of Growth and Development and a
vanguard in the USW and UF for Peace. A student’s teacher.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We are printing this discussion to work on
two of the principles of the United Front for Peace. The first is
unity, which requires communication and true facts. In
addition, the principle of growth requires that we all strive
to educate ourselves and each other. While we are still in the beginning
stages of building united front, we are not the first to walk this path.
Those with experience to share should submit their analysis of that
experience to ULK so that others can learn from it.
From day one MIM(Prisons) has been aware of the many problems we would
face printing statements from individuals or small groups that claimed
affiliation to larger organizations. We are wary of the problem of
prisoners using ULK’s prestige to launch new pet projects with
no real leadership, while recognizing that we are in a stage where
small, isolated groups of anti-imperialists are stepping out to join
forces and dialogue with each other. At our last congress we made a
self-criticism for promoting anarchism around ideas of the cell
structure and united front. We corrected this deviation with the
resolution
Building
New Groups vs. Working with USW and MIM(Prisons). This resolution
should also be considered in relation to lumpen organizations (LOs) by
their members. The lumpen class has contradictions within it, and we
should not dismiss the successes that LOs independent of the state have
had in overcoming these contradictions and uniting large numbers of
people over extended periods of time.
In the statement from the Revolutionary Gangstas in ULK 21 they
make a criticism that could be extrapolated to a whole, large
organization. While “Revolutionary Gangstas” is providing an
alternative, it is not one with a practice MIM(Prisons) can vouch for.
To the extent that printing their statement suggested that they were a
better alternative to Growth and Development, MIM(Prisons) was
misleading the masses.
We
addressed
a similar issue in ULK 17 when a former Latin King wrote us to
criticize those affiliated with the group in his area. There we wrote,
“For the lumpen to be internally critical is a necessary step for the
development of a proletarian consciousness among the oppressed inside
U.$. borders. However, to print public criticisms without providing real
alternatives and leadership does more harm than good.”
As our comrade expands on in subsequent writings, we do need better
leadership and we do need to develop our analysis. But we should not
criticize existing leadership until we have a viable alternative and
existing leadership has rejected it. Our class analysis tells us that
the oppressed nation lumpen organizations are our friends, and we should
approach them from the standpoint of unity-criticism-unity.
As we recognize Growth and Development for their leadership and
experience in this arena, we would not use the word “vanguard” to refer
to them as Ras Uhuru does, as we reserve this term for those
organizations that uphold the most correct proletarian line. Part of
developing correct political leadership means taking up true
internationalism. Ras Uhuru refers to internationalism being inherent in
a vision that is universal. But organizations of various class interests
too easily claim “internationalism” via identity politics or just vague
phrases as in the example above. As stated in the
5
principles of the United Front for Peace in Prisons,
internationalism means that “We cannot liberate ourselves when
participating in the oppression of other nations.” As citizens and
residents of the most powerful country in the world we have a long way
to go to prove our own internationalism.
In the spirit of unity-criticism-unity we appreciate the feedback we
continue to get from our allies in various LOs who are working to make
the United Front a reality.
The downloadable grievance petition for Arizona has been updated to
include some more relevant addressees that were submitted by a comrade.
Please download it
here.
Click the link below for more information on this campaign.
Mail the petition to your loved ones and comrades inside who are
experiencing issues with the grievance procedure, or mandatory polygraph
testing. Send them extra copies to share! For more info on this
campaign, click
here.
Prisoners should send a copy of the signed petition to each of the
addresses below. Supporters should send letters on behalf of prisoners.
Mr. Tom Clements, Executive Director Colorado Department of
Corrections 2862 S. Circle Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80906
U.S. Department of Justice - Civil Rights Division Special Litigation
Section 950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, PHB Washington DC 20530
Office of Inspector General HOTLINE PO Box 9778 Arlington, VA
22219
And send MIM(Prisons) copies of any responses you receive!
MIM(Prisons), USW PO Box 40799 San Francisco, CA 94140
Petition updated July 2012, October 2017, September 2018
The downloadable grievance petition for Texas has been updated to
consolidate the recipients to those who respond to prisoners, and to
comply with current Texas policies and procedures. Please download it
here.
Click the link below for more information on this campaign.
Most of us have lost our old world ways in Amerika’s miracle whip
consumer culture. For white people this is particularly true. Our
grandparents or great-grandparents came to Amerika and abandoned their
ancestral old world customs. Most did so in the belief they had to leave
behind the old ways in order to succeed in Amerika. They even kept old
world customs and mythology – essentially their native cultural
practices – away from their children. Old cultures were forgotten for
imperialist, capitalist greed.
Eventually we all search for identity. Unfortunately all too often when
our white youth seek identity, they find it in the false belief of their
supremacy in the color of their skin. This is because the white
imperialist elite actively push this notion. Often whites seeking
identity come from the lumpen class. The lower classes of all peoples
tend to want to seek an identity because they are disenfranchised from
the upper classes who are ignorantly content to unquestioningly follow
the U.$. consumer culture.
Because we have not taught our white youth about being proud of their
ancestral cultural heritage, white supremacist and separatist groups are
quick to jump in and teach them the only thing they have to be proud of
is the color of their skin and the false notion of supremacy that comes
from living in a society controlled by a white imperialist elite.
As responsible citizens of the world, if we were to teach our white
youth the value of their ancestral cultural heritage, it is my
experience that we teach them to value other peoples’ cultures as well.
This would alleviate white cultural envy, which in my experience is one
of the driving factors that leads young whites on a search for identity.
If we responsible and sensible members of the world recognize this and
teach our white youth the value of their native culture and the value of
other peoples’ native cultures before the white imperialist elite can
turn them into foot soldiers fighting blindly for their cause, then we
can begin the steps of destroying the false notion of white supremacy.
If we are going to be successful revolutionary comrades in our fight
against this oppressive system, especially our prisons, we all need to
unite peoples from all ethnic backgrounds. We all have native cultural
practices to be proud of, and that includes whites. Though re-educating
those who believe in their supremacy or in separatism may be difficult,
it is essential that it happens and that we attempt the process with
care and compassion, not threats of violence.
As a former racist skinhead I know what I’ve written to be true. I had
to re-educate myself. On the outside, I formed an organization whose
goal was to combat hatred using peaceful non-violent tactics. I have
worked with dozens of racist skinheads, helping to re-educate them, and
have witnessed drastic transformations creating informed and educated
revolutionary comrades. I continue my work from my prison cell. Drugs
and robberies may have taken me out of society, but I have found ways to
keep my eye on the prize even while incarcerated. The goal to unify us
all is too great to be forsaken.
MIM(Prisons) responds: We share this comrade’s goal to eliminate
white supremacy, and we agree that it is often the poorest whites who
end up taking up these fascist positions. But this writer misses a key
reason behind this drive to racism for poor whites: the economic system
of imperialism has created a parasitic labor aristocracy out of the
white nation within imperialist borders. This labor aristocracy rallies
around the ideology of social democracy, which for some manifests as
overt white supremacy. Those on the economic bottom of this labor
aristocracy are most easily turned against the oppressed nations with
racism.
Even as prisoners, whites have typically developed close ties to their
“brothers” who run the prisons that hold them. That said, we organize
the imprisoned lumpen as a class, and work to unite with as many white
prisoners as we can around resisting the oppression of prisoners.
While there is some interesting and important cultural history among
whites in Amerika, who came from a variety of European countries, the
overwhelming cultural history is colonialist and not something to
celebrate. The invasion of this country, massacre of indigenous people,
enslavement of oppressed nations, and plunder of the world is the
unfortunate legacy of the white nation. We don’t want to encourage white
youth to embrace this history and culture, rather we want to help them
reject this reactionary legacy and take up work on the side of the
majority of the world’s people. We study the past to understand the
world, to transform the present, and to determine the future.
In this issue on release (ULK24), we are featuring United Playaz in San
Francisco, California, to give our comrades inside an idea of what some
formerly-imprisoned people are doing to contribute to the struggle for
peace since they’ve been out. Many staff members and volunteers with
United Playaz (UP) have spent time in the prison system. MIM(Prisons)
got the opportunity to interview one such staff-persyn, Rico, who spent
25 years in the California prison system. Rico is a
former-gangbanger-turned-peace-advocate; a lifestyle change that many
readers of Under Lock & Key can relate to.
United Playaz provides services to youth, including after-school
programs and tours inside prisons, in an attempt to pull them out of the
school-to-prison pipeline and (the potential for) violent activity,
helping them refocus on their education. UP’s mission statement reads,
United Playaz is a violence prevention and youth leadership organization
that works with San Francisco’s hardest to reach youth through case
management, street outreach, in-school services, recreational activities
at community centers, and support to incarcerated youth. United Playaz
is committed to improving the lives of young people surviving in
vulnerable environments, [who] show high incidence of truancy and low
academic performance, or have been involved in the juvenile justice
system through direct service and community collaboration. United Playaz
believes that “it takes the hood to save the hood”.
Rico explains how he first got involved with United Playaz,
In 1994 I was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. And at the time
Rudy [UP’s Executive Director] was bringing a bunch of troubled youth
and youth that are involved in the juvenile system and kind of just
showed them a glimpse of what’s the result of making a bad decision. And
that’s where I met Rudy. And Rudy saw me work with the kids, and then he
found out that I lived in the neighborhood that he was serving the youth
and he asked me, “When you get released I want you to check out our
program and see if you want to work with United Playaz.” So like in 2005
I finally got out after 25 years of incarceration and first I
volunteered. And then once there was an opening, a job opening, Rudy
hired me as a CRN, a community response network. It’s a job that at
night we go and do outreach, and drive around the city and just talk to
the kids that are hanging out on the street.
MIM(Prisons) asked Rico about the importance of building a United Front
for Peace in Prisons, and the challenges faced by such an endeavor.
Back in 1982 we formed a protest while I was in San Quentin. You know,
prisoners used to have rights. We had the rights to see our family when
they come see us. We had the right to get an education. We had a lot of
rights. But slowly they took that away and now they have no rights. If
you wanna get a visit, you have to work. If you don’t work, you don’t
get a visit.
So anyway the Asian, Latino, the African American, the Caucasian, we all
got together and say, “You know what? Let’s all sit down. Nobody goes to
work, nobody go to school, nothing.” And prison really depends on
prisoners. Cuz you have jobs there, that requires like maybe $35,000 a
year job, they let the prisoner do that job and get paid like $18 a
month. So they’re saving a lot of money using prisoners to run the
prison system, right? So when we sit down, when we shut down, man, they
gave us what we want and everything like back to normal and everything
smooth.
There’s always incident in the pen, like prisoners hurting each other,
but that’s a good example that when, how do you say - together we stand,
divided we fall. So you know if we are united man a lot of violence in
here will probably diminish tremendously, right? Cuz the people inside,
they’ll preach peace out here. And a lot of kids that are doing bad
behavior out here, they’re influenced by a lot of prisoners inside the
pen. But right now there’s no peace. There’s no peace. …
Well, there is [organizing for peace and unity inside prisons] but you
have to do it on the under because one thing administration, prison
administration don’t want you to do is to organize and try to bring
peace. In prison they want us to be divided. You know what I mean? So
there’s ways that we can organize but it has to be on the under.
It is ridiculous that prisoners have to discuss how to go about not
killing each other in secret, so as to not upset the prison
administrators’ paychecks! But this is not the only anti-people
development to come from the evolution of the criminal injustice system,
which is designed solely to protect capitalism and its beloved profit
motive. Rico explains some of the consequences of deciding who stays in
and who gets out in a capitalist society,
The more you treat a prisoner like an animal, when they come out they
act like animal out here. I mean one time I was in segregation unit, in
the hole. This guy he was so violent that he can’t be out in the
mainline, right? Anyway it was time for him to go. So when they let him
out, he was handcuffed out the building, across the yard, in a van,
right? And they drop him off outside. When they drop him off they just
uncuffed him, “You’re free.” How can we help someone like that, to be
out here? If he’s so violent inside that he needs to be segregated, how
can they let someone out like that? So if he commit a crime out here,
that’s gonna look bad on a lot of prisoners. And they have more power to
say, “See what happens when we release these guys out?”
But there’s guys in there that are doing better than I do - that they
can do better than what I do out here, and yet they still locked up in
the pen, because of politics. There’s a lot of em, a lot of em man. I
know some of em personally that should have been out you know and giving
back. And they can do a lot of contribution out here to bring peace. How
can we get those guys out?
Our answer to Rico’s question is that the only way to get all those guys
out, for good, is to organize for socialism and then communism. Any
reforms we make to the prison system as it is now may let some people
out, but as long as capitalism exists people will be exploited and
oppressed. This leads to resistance, both direct and indirect, and
prison is for those who don’t play by the rules. In socialism, everyone
has a role to play in society and state oppression is only used against
those who try to oppress others.
When the economic system changes to value people over profit, prisons
will also change. In China under Mao, Allyn and Adele Rickett were two
Amerikan spies in China who wrote a book titled “Prisoners of
Liberation” about their experience as prisoners of the Communist Party
of China. Their experience taught them that when prisoners have
completed self-criticism and are ready to contribute to society, they
will be released. On the other side, when prisoners are doing harm to
society (such as organizing to reinstitute a capitalist economic system)
they are not allowed to be released just because their term is up.
Instead they are encouraged to study, read, discuss, and do
self-criticism until they become productive members of society.
Anyone with a sympathetic bone in their body can tell what was going on
in China under Mao is a much more useful mode of imprisonment than what
we have at present. The difference between the liberal and MIM(Prisons)
is we know the only way to get there is through socialist revolution so
that the prison system is in the hands of those currently oppressed by
it.
Another present day challenge we discussed with UP was its goal to be
financially self-sufficient in the future. Rico explains the current
limitations that come with getting state funding,
If it’s up to us, we’re gonna go hard, and really fight for peace. But
because we’re fund[ed] by DCYF [San Francisco’s Department of Children,
Youth, & Their Families], they limit our movement. We can’t even
participate, or like rally. If there’s a Occupy rally right now, we
can’t go, cuz our organization are prevented from doing things like
that. And I think that’s important, that we’re out there with the rest
of the people that are trying to fight for change. Every year we do a
Silence the Violence Peace March. That’s okay, you know, Martin Luther
King, marches like that, we’re okay to do that. But when it’s like
budgets, and crime, and about prison, you know, rally to try to bring
those those things down, we can’t really participate. …
What’s going on outside the youth can affect them in the future if
things don’t change. And why wait til those kids get old and take em to
expose them to march and fight for your rights? You know I love to take
these young adults to a movement like that, cuz that gives em knowledge
of life, that there’s more than just hanging out on the street. But
unfortunately we’re not allowed to participate in that kind of movement.
We have learned from history that these limitations aren’t unique to
UP’s financial situation. For the non-profit in the United $tates,
similar to “aid” given to Third World countries, capitalists always
ensure their money is working in favor of their interests. This is why
one of the points of unity of the United Front for Peace in Prisons is
“Independence.” Money is too easy to come by in this country, while good
revolutionaries are too hard to find. Liberation has always been powered
by people. So we agree with Rico on the importance for striving for
autonomy.
Until then, positive steps can certainly be made within these
limitations. There are many levels to our movement and many roles to
play in building peace and unity among the lumpen. And without groups
like UP reaching the youth on the streets, efforts like the United Front
for Peace in Prisons will be too one-sided to succeed.
To close, Rico shares these words with comrades preparing for release,
The only thing I can say is that as long as you’re alive there’s hope.
And if they really want to go home, then do the right thing, regardless.
And they gotta stand up for their rights man. And they have to just try
to get along with each other and think about peace, because they are
needed out here. The experience they have in the pen, they can save a
lot of lives out here, with their younger brothers and sisters that look
for real guidance from someone who’s been there and done that. Good
luck, I hope they get out and be out here and help our system change to
a better place.
As a “free citizen” you have much greater freedom to organize on the
outside compared to in prison, even on probation or parole. Your
activism shouldn’t end with your prison term!
United Playaz 1038 Howard
Street San Francisco, CA 94103