Under Lock & Key

After coming across a Jan/Feb 2015 issue of ULK i felt overwhelmingly compelled, as coordinator of NAAB (N-double A - B) to align my organization with the program, position and principles of the United Front for Peace in Prisons(UFPP). Political ignorance abounds within the confines of the Florida Department of Corrections and this neo-plantation is no exception! We stand in solidarity with the UFPP on the principles of unity and growth. We recognize and acknowledge some of the ideological antagonisms that exist between our organizations but as freedom-loving people we also acknowledge the need for anti-imperialist groups to stand in revolutionary unity for the common good of oppressed people worldwide. This is our official statement of solidarity. The lines of communication and dialogue are now open.

[This statement was enclosed with the letter above]

New Afrikan Anarcho Bloodism (NAAB): A Guidepost

The concept of NAAB was born out of a dire need to re-introduce all Damu’s 2 progressive Revolutionary ideals. It is comprised of and reconciles the best and most relevant aspects of;

1. the NAIM (“New Afrikan Independence Movement”)
2. Revolutionary Pantherism,
3. Anarchism (Black Autonomy Propagandized by Komrade Lorenzo Kom’Boa Ervin and,
4. (The concept of) Blood (Bangin on oppression in all of it’s forms).

I am currently writing to you from inside the walls of Georgia’s Hancock State Prison where I am housed in its Tier II program. I am writing in hopes that I can be one of those who receives Under Lock & Key issues because I have a supreme respect for its message. I really value its information and am in hopes that I can help in spreading its message to the unconscious minds that fill these prison cells to its fullest capacity.

Also I would like to study and learn as much about Maoism, as I have taken his views as mine thus far. Me and three of my comrades have been rotating the few issues available among one another, and have taken to your 6 points and 5 principles as the foundation of our Guerrilla Union. We all come from different sides, but through awareness of the truth taught by you comrades of MIM we’ve put these titles aside and are now striving to build a strong unity under Maoist teachings and play our part in the struggle towards a socialist/communist society. Whatever must be done will be done on our end. This paper would do a lot for us.

Keep spreading the word cause with us it starts inside but continues when we return to the streets. Please keep me in mind, for I am a sincere comrade, and once again your paper would mean a lot to my strive. Your brother in the struggle, UHURU. Let’s get free!!

MIM(Prisons) responds: This comrade is on the same track as thousands of other prisoners across the United $tates who have discovered that Maoism isn’t just words written by some long-dead persyn from China, but a living philosophy that can be applied to current conditions of oppression around the world. This should be no surprise, even to the imperialists if they are paying attention. Maoism is merely the practice and application of scientific thought, or as communists call it, dialectical materialism. We learn from history and apply those lessons to advance our theoretical understanding.

Prisoners, who are among the most oppressed people within U.$. borders, can see from their everyday experiences that the oppressors aren’t giving up their power without a fight. This is just one example of why Maoists understand the need for a dictatorship of the proletariat after the people overthrow the imperialist governments. We need a system that can enforce the power of the people, even when the oppressors try to claw their way back into power.

And once we have established a system of government that is serving the interests of the majority of the world’s people rather than the minority, history teaches us that we still can’t rest easy. It’s not just the old bourgeoisie of capitalism who will present a threat, but the new bourgeoisie that will arise and hope to seize power from within the party and government. This drive for persynal power and wealth is a remnant of capitalist culture that won’t disappear overnight after a socialist revolution.

It is these lessons, among others, that prisoners must study to help build an organization that can eventually join the oppressed nations of the world in successfully ending the reign of terror of the imperialists. Thankfully MIM(Prisons) distributes many of these materials and helps run study courses on vital topics. Write to us at the address on p. 1 to get involved!

Here is an example of choosing a small winnable battle by utilizing a United Front theory in practice among prisoners of Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC), organized to overcome the oppressive penal system about the human right to wear facial hair. In January 2015, the U.$. imperialist supreme court ruled that ADC could not prohibit prisoner Gregory Holt from growing facial hair for religious reasons. Prior to this ruling prisoncrats argued that prisoners could hide contraband in their hair or beards. With the above court ruling, prisoners had to apply for a religious accommodation script in order to sport a beard. In the spirit of revolutionary change, the prisoners within Arkansas collectively organized and filed 5,600 applications requesting a religious accommodation. Also there were 607 grievances that protested that all prisoners should be allowed to wear facial hair. Because of the surge of prisoner requests and grievances ADC asked the board to remove the restriction, allowing all ADC prisoners to wear beards. Beginning 14 January 2016 all ADC prisoners were allowed to wear facial hair. It just goes to show the power of a United Front, when prisoners put their differences aside to accomplish a common goal.

MIM(Prisons) responds: This is a good example of the power of united action, even in prison where the people have so little power. One element of a United Front that is critical to anti-imperialists is revolutionary leadership. While it is possible for people to come together under even reactionary leadership to effect change, it is revolutionary leadership that makes it possible to consolidate the lessons of the organizing work and push forward from a basic unity around one issue to a broader unity to build a movement that can take on the criminal injustice system. This comrade’s example of the fight to wear a beard is a very good starting point. It is an issue that unites many, and beard restrictions are generally religious repression covering for national oppression, disguised as a security issue. We can expose how this repression fits into the broader problem of national oppression, which the Amerikan prison system reinforces. As people see their power to come together to effect change, and understand the system behind the individual problems they are fighting, we can gain more supporters and activists in the anti-imperialist struggle.

I am reaching out to you all out of sheer respect. There is not enough of this in our (Black folk) community. Secondly, shout out to the entire USW, MIM, the conscious Blood, Crip, Gangsta Disciple Black Guerrillas, Chicano and global prison movements for y’all efforts to advocate and assist in the struggle. You all, I view as brethren, you who are not amongst the delusional.

Our (Damu, Cuz, Gangsta Disciple, Black Guerrillas, etc.) war shouldn’t be amongst or against each other because none of us, the above factions, didn’t arrive out of happenstance. Poverty, disfunctional homes, no fathers, Willie Lynch syndrome, ignorance, oppression, the need for camaraderie and illegal/legal servitude created the machines we operate. Our mission is to teach the youth and uneducated people around us the real cause of the revolution. Whether it be just transforming itself. We have to educate our brothers; not just with codes, hand language (gang signs), and crime; but knowledge, wisdom and understanding, to actually fight for a purpose.

The upper class black folk has lost their fire and direction. Since the oppressor’s foot has been raised from their necks to their backs, they no longer “care” to fight or contribute to our cause. Dissension is the beast that no longer bothers them. It is going to take for us all to inspire, infuse and move the masses. And it starts with those of us within these quasi asylum institutions and concentration camps our oppressors hold us captive in. I am not talking about making an alliance, I simply mean coming together in solidarity. Jessup Correctional Institution and other prisons around the world are the way they are because we all, who have the power to control ourselves and inspire others, won’t take a stand and we continue to accept being in separation.

I can’t say all the things I really want to because the administration might place on me the Mumia Gag Act like they have Mumia Abu Jamal. Snitches, rats, informants, toms and division dictates the quarters we are all confined to. Divide and conquer has ruled over us far too long. We know the problem, enemy and war waged against us, so now we have to help solving it.

I work to inspire all brothers to act in the revolution. No matter your banner, you all have many soldiers who look up to you and men who will follow you, the leaders of the lumpen organizations, to the fiery depths of hell. Why not compel education upon them? Self destruction has ruined us for years, and in turn we become enforcers of the government when we continue to let the men and youth we all call our so-called homies, cuz, and comrades rep with a destructive state of mind. Take much time to ponder what I said. Remember, blood makes us related but loyalty makes us family. I leave as I came, in struggle.

MIM(Prisons) adds: This writer’s call for unity amongst lumpen organizations fits well with the United Front for Peace in Prisons. There is tremendous potential power in this unity, as is demonstrated in the California Agreement to End Hostilities and series of hunger strikes to fight long term isolation and group punishments. We hope others in Maryland will step forward to build unity with this comrade and the various groups behind bars.

I write to inform the internation community of comrades that select comrades and myself currently held kkkaptive within Georgia’s prison system have finally amassed enough mutual support amongst ourselves to come to the position of forming what we call the Red Confederation (“red” as in anti-imperialist, anti-police state), comprising a body of politically conscious prisoners affiliated with various lumpen organizations, i.e. prisoner/street organizations.

Individually we’ve come to realize that regardless of our organizational affiliations/differences, we all stand on common ground as to our repressive confinement conditions, our degraded and demeaning treatment by the pigs, and, ultimately, who our oppressors – the real enemies – are. Thus, we recognize collectively the need to build unity, solidarity, organization, and informed resistance amongst ourselves statewide against the ever-increasing repressive tactics being employed by the Georgia Department of Corruption in their efforts (“efforts” being synonymous with “subtle war”) to suppress lumpen organizations and all politicall conscious/active prisoners in general.

Accordingly, we are not unmindful of the State’s underlying impetus for their actions – their compulsory need to oppose the ascension of lumpen organizations of the oppressed in an attempt to maintain the current social order of their oppressive regime. We recognize that the State is in reality acting out of fear and self-preservation, as they foresee the end of their control of us – the diminishing of their power – within our unity.

All that is to say that, by virtue of this letter, we consciously join the United Struggle from Within, and, in so doing, we incorporate into our “Protocols of Consideration” the five principles of the United Front. We are of the opinion that upholding them is essential to begin organizing for effective, efficient resitance by building bridges along common interests of the oppressed both nationally and around the world. We adopt the fundamental political line of MIM(Prisons) as the official guiding philosophy of our own organization. And as we continue to struggle together internally so as to disclose ways in which we could more accurately serve the interests of the movement particular to the objective reality of our current confinement conditions, we will strive to develop a more comprehensive peace treaty amongst ourselves with the intent of sending it in for others to study and possibly use or modify, as may be needed given a group’s unique objective conditions.

Moreover, in light of the multifarious (many and diverse) human rights violations being perpetuated – and actually propagated by the State – in its recently implemented statewide Tier II long-term isolation program we, as an organization, have taken it upon ourselves to revive the campaign to end solitary confinement in Georgia. For we are of the opinion that the plaintiffs in the Ashker v. Brown case “sold out” and ultimately betrayed the entire prison movement by “settling” the way they did.

Our class action (Nolley, et al. v. Bryson, et al.; 5:15-cv-00096-LGW) was commenced on or about December 1st, 2015. We’ve since then forwarded letters to both the ACLU of Georgia as well as the Southern Center for Human Rights, seeking the representation of their respective organizations. And i am currently drafting a similar letter with intentions of forwarding it to the Center for Constitutional Rights, which, in my understanding, was the lead attorney organization in the Ashker v. Broen case. We will keep you updated.

Finally, we ask that you send us any and all material you have in your possession concerning California prisoners’ Agreement to End Hostilities that may be useful in providing us with somewhat of a guide to kick start the Agreement to End Hostilities amongst Georgia prisoners.

[A comrade in the Virginia prison system sent us a proposal for a United Front among lumpen organizations in that state. When we sent some feedback on the statement we got this response explaining that so far it has been difficult to build support for the united front. The author also explains why this statement is focused on New Afrikan lumpen groups. MIM(Prisons) did not substantively edit the peace treaty except to remove one point of conduct prohibiting sagging pants. In discussion with the author we agreed that this is divisive on a point that is not critical to the united front. - MIM(Prisons)]

The inspiration for this peace agreement is the Agreement to End Hostilities that the imprisoned comrades put together in California back in 2012. Unlike the California prison system, there isn’t a legacy of revolutionary formations in the Virginia prison system. There is virtually no code of conduct, no guidelines of discipline, etc. amongst the general population and even within the lumpen organizations here. Pretty much “anything goes.” So the peace treaty is an attempt to establish a “Central” code of conduct or guidelines of discipline that all organization affiliates could accept and embrace, which will then establish unity and have us all moving in one accord.

When I say “us”, I am referring to New Afrikans because as Huey Newton stated: “there can be no black-white unity until there first is black unity.” And as it presently stands, there is virtually no black unity in the Virginia prison system as it pertains to the “struggle.” So, before we can work towards black-white/black-brown unity, we first have to establish black-black unity.

I am sad to inform you that it was not a success on a large scale, although a few individual members from various lumpen organization embraced the peace treaty. I grant you permission to modify the peace treaty as you see fit. It is only an idea, and as with all ideas, they evolve over time and blossom into something transformative and revolutionary.

The United Lumpen Front for Peace & Unity in Virginia Prisons

The basis of any real and lasting unity amongst all lumpen “tribal” or “street” organizations inside Virginia prisons requires an agreement on the following points and guidelines. We must hold each other accountable if any one of our comrades fail to uphold these points and guidelines.

Points of Unity & Peace

1. Peace: We organize to end the needless and petty disagreements, conflicts and violence between ALL lumpen organizations in the Virgina prison environment. Our captors (the pig administrators) use Willie Lynch style divide-and-control tactics so that we fight, oppose and oppress each other instead of using our time and energy on challenging and changing unjust and inhumane prison conditions. If we want to change our conditions, defend ourselves from racist oppression and regain control of our own lives and destinies, we must establish lasting peace in all Virginia prisons and organize across lumpen “tribal” and “street” organizational lines for our own survival.
   
2. Unity: We must achieve power by uniting, bonding, and struggling side by side with people in other lumpen organizations who face the same oppression, the same genocide, and the same enemy for our own common interests and survival.

To maintain lasting unity, we must establish a mutual love and respect between all lumpen organizations, and maintain an open line of communication so that we can peacefully and strategically handle any conflicts or disagreements that may arise. This is especially needed in Virginia prisons because of how our captors (i.e. pig investigators) use snitches/informants to pass rumors that divide us and keep us oppressed. The reactionary pig administration uses such tactics because they see the end of their control within our unity.

Proposal of Guidelines to Achieve Peace and Unity Amongst Lumpen Organizations in Virginia Prisons

We must establish a committee made up of two people from all lumpen “rival” organizations. This committee will facilitate an open line of communication and networking between all lumpen organizations, and at all times work to maintain peace and unity in the event conflicts and/or disagreements arise. Therefore, those people appointed to this committee must have considerable respect and influence within their respective organizations. This committee shall meet once a month (or as needed) to address grievances, resolve conflicts and disagreements, and discuss strategies on how we can best fight oppression and improve our living conditions in a collective manner. In addition to the above, in order to create structure in our prison environment based on discipline and militancy, and draw a clear line of distinction between us and our common enemy, this committee should establish the following rules for all lumpen organization members:

1. People from different lumpen organization should strive to eat together in the cafeteria, walk the yard together, work out together, study history together and smile and show love and respect for each other at all times. This will allow us to build a bond based on Black-on-Black bulletproof love and unity, and allow us to see each other as allies and comrades instead of rivals and enemies.
   
2. Stop laughing, joking, playing, and engaging in casual conversations with ALL prison staff members. Don’t initiate any conversation with them unless it’s for the purpose of trying to get personal matters taken care of. If prison staff members speak, then it is up to that individual prisoner to choose to speak back out of courtesy, or not. This draws a clear line of distinction between us and our common enemy and will cause our oppressors/captors to take us seriously and have much more respect for us than at present. This also builds unity because it will give us the sense that we are doing something collectively.
   
3. Stop throwing your hoods up, peacing each other up, stacking, etc. in front of (or in clear view of) all prison staff members. The wise should always move in silence and we should never expose who we are, what we are, or who our comrades are to the pig administration.
   
4. No one should engage in the creation or passing of any rumors or gossip. The pigs use rumors and gossip to sow seeds of dissent and distrust amongst the oppressed. If a comrade attempts to create or pass any rumors or gossip it must be immediately reported to a committee member.
   
5. Every accusation made against a comrade should be backed up with true facts and not based on assumptions or poor intelligence, information, or understanding.
   
6. Everyone who has a minimum of ten years left to serve must attend the law library, study and learn the law, and work on their own case, or assist another comrade on their case.
   
7. Workouts (exercises) at least three times a week should be mandatory for everyone with Black lumpen hood/tribal organizational ties. All Black lumpen hood/tribal organizations were birthed out of the Black struggle and the need to protect and defend our neighborhoods, ourselves and our communities. We must be in the best physical condition to effectively defend ourselves, our comrades, our people and our communities from racist oppression and white supremacy.

These guidelines are a work in progress, therefore they can be amended/modified to fit your specific environment or area for maximum effect as long as they adhere to the two points of peace and unity.

“Settle your quarrels, come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, that generations more will die or live poor butchered half-lives if you fail to act. Do what must be done, discover your humanity and your love in revolution. Pass on the torch. Join us, give up your life for the people.” - Comrade George Lester Jackson

I am writing to inform you of the work that I have been doing here at Tabor Correctional Institution in Tabor City, North Carolina. I am currently housed on Intensive Control (ICON) and I’ve been spreading the word to a few people in my block. One of the brothers in my block was the real confrontational type who would try to start arguments with different guys simply because the block was too quiet. Usually I would ignore his antics because I understood his cry for attention and fear of having to look in that proverbial mirror, i.e. being alone with his own thoughts. One day after hearing him verbally attack another comrade as well as just cursing out officers without cause I reached to him by calling him on his childish and misguided ways. At this time he told me he never got involved in the conversations that myself and a few others often had because he didn’t know anything about it. I then told him the easiest way to learn about it was to ask questions, which led to me sending him two issues of Under Lock & Key. Now this same young brother is a part of these conversations about the various degrees of prison struggle. He is also a member of the Soldiers of Revolution (SOR).

I founded the Soldiers of Revolution (SOR) while housed on ICON. I did so after witnessing the relentless ongoing cycle of gang violence within the North Carolina prison population. I became a member of the Bloods organization in 1998 and in 2015 I renounced my position as a member of that organization to found the Soldiers of Revolution.

I founded this organization because of the gang violence but also because of the constant oppression the prison population endures with no one to teach them how to go about overcoming the oppression. I saw that while many gang members claimed to battle oppression they failed to do so because they were perpetuating it. I understood that they didn’t know how to begin the fight against oppression because they were never educated on the many levels of oppression. So SOR was created to educate the masses as well as to be the voice and vanguard of the politically ignorant prison population in North Carolina.

SOR is a political organization founded on the principles of mass political education of all oppressed nations, the battle to end oppression, and peace within the prison population to end gang violence. We stand united in the face of oppression and fully understand that the first step to breaking the cycle is to initiate proper political education. Since we understand the importance of political education in regards to the struggle to liberate the oppressed nations, we have study groups and issue class assignments to further the desire to be politically conscious and active.

SOR is not a gang nor gang-affiliated, though some members are former gang members. As we are primarily a non-violent organization we do not condone or support gang bangin’ in any fashion. We do not wish to perpetuate the lifestyles and stereotypes that plague many oppressed nations. We do not adhere to the doctrine of oppressing others to further our own cause. We will offer our assistance and stand united with other political organizations of the oppressed nations but we will not be ruled or governed by anyone but SOR.

MIM(Prisons) responds: SOR is doing important work pushing forward the political education and unity of oppressed nations, and underscores a point that is important for activists: oppression and violence are learned behaviors and we need to work hard to help humynity unlearn these terrible habits. We can’t expect this change to happen overnight. In fact we know from the experience in China and the USSR that even after a socialist revolution a new group of people (many of whom were oppressed before the revolution) will attempt to take power for personal gain. This is not surprising since the individualist elements of the culture of capitalism will not be wiped out overnight.

The Chinese initiated a mass fight against the ongoing idological holdovers of feudalism, which they called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, as they worked to create a culture of socialism. Everyone was encouraged to study politics and freely criticize their leaders. This vigilance is the only way we will eventually eliminate the culture of oppression and violence which permeates every aspect of society and pulls the lumpen into anti-people activities like bangin’.

Each individual who belongs to a lumpen organization needs to assess your own situation to decide whether it is best to stay in that organization and struggle from within to build the anti-imperialist movement, or if you need to leave your organization to push forward your revolutionary organizing. There is a place for all of these organizations in the United Front for Peace in Prisons, where we can all come together to oppose prisoner-on-prisoner violence and build unity among lumpen organizations.

I would like to say thank you for the support you guys put out for us in prison. As much as we don’t want to give leverage to these parasites, we have to realize what we’re up against. By analyzing current events and the possibility of change to happen, we have to accept failures in order to gain grounds. The path we choose now will determine where we’re headed. It can be seen everywhere that the old system ain’t working. As much reforms are placed on the table, the crumbs are repacked and tried again. No matter how different it’s made, it’s the same old ideas. The boiling point has been exceeded and riots are getting more intense. This will happen when the people decide their own fate. A hero is not needed, only the spark which will light the way for others.

I emphasize decolonizing ourselves and making the connections between our oppression and imperialism. Being a person of color, I know where I stand. Therefore I do agree on the five pillars of the United Front for Peace in Prisons. I’m an anarchist and belong to a First Nation. The liberty tree branches touch certain ideas we agree upon. By coming familiar with other struggles outside our own lines we can connect the dots that lead to a common enemy. By placing the teachings of resistance in several minds, we can prevent it from being destroyed by placing it in one basket, which will help us prevail into the unknown future.

MIM(Prisons) responds: We welcome this comrade into the United Front for Peace in Prisons, especially as an anarchist and a member of a First Nation. We aim to unite all who can be united against imperialism. Sectarianism (prioritizing your group over the entire people) leads to divisions between Maoists and anarchists, which are unnecessary in our fight against our common enemy.

We also agree with this comrade’s emphasis on educating many people rather than building up single ideological leaders. Building up the political competency of all of society is one of the keys to success of our revolutionary struggle. If we rely on a single leader, or a single party, for guidance, then we will inevitably be led astray when that leader is no longer around, whether by natural death or assassination. Spreading political study to as many people as possible helps protect our struggle and helps people to be masters of their own future.

One hundred years since the hystoric Plan de San Diego took place does yet another monumental and hystoric event develop; the publication of Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlán.
Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlán is a revolutionary nationalist book that focuses on the revolutionary struggle of the Chican@ nation against Amerikan imperialism. This book is in the service of all oppressed Raza within Aztlán and should be studied by those who are interested in liberating the Chican@ nation from U.$. imperialism, especially Raza who are interested in establishing a Chican@ People’s Republic in what is currently occupied and oppressed Aztlán, i.e., California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlán sheds light on the darkness that is national oppression, a darkness that has shrouded and enveloped Aztlán, by directing its luminous rays onto the shining path that has been paved for us by all the great people’s struggles the world over. People’s struggles in which the heroic Third World masses continue to prove not only their bravery in the face of disastrous imperialism, but the validity and effectiveness of People’s War and the revolutionary ideology from which it sprung: Marxism-Leninsm-Maoism, principally Maoism.

Chican@ Power and the Struggle for Aztlán enjoins us to vehemently attack national oppression and criticize the proponents of national oppression whoever they may be. This means that as revolutionary nationalists and the advanced detachment of the Chican@ nation it is our duty to be the first to openly criticize our own sell-out political and reformist leaders. It does no good to go about praising oppressors just because they have a Spanish surname, speak Spanish, or are Raza by birth, as doing so only confuses the issue for the rest of the Chican@ masses who look to us for theoretical and ideological guidance. As revolutionaries we must constantly blaze the trail in matters of political outlook and awareness and must never give in to complacency which inevitably brings about political degeneration. We must put an end to Chican@ nationalists masquerading as Maoists who in the name of Aztlán would raise the red flag only to oppose it. Communists from the Chican@ nation should therefore take a hard and uncompromising stand against these national chauvinists who with their sophistry would only set back the Chican@ movement for liberation and independence.

That said, real Maoists believe in uniting all who can be united in the struggle to free the nation. This is in accordance with United Front theory and practice as developed by Joseph Stalin, leader of the USSR during the Soviet people’s struggle against German fascism, and Mao Zedong in the Chinese people’s war of liberation against Japanese militarism and imperialism. As such and in making this statement it is recognized that there is a contradiction between uniting all who can be united and struggling not only against erroneous tendencies within the Chican@ movement and nation, but outright deviations and revisionism within the Chican@ communist movement as well. Maoists from the Chican@ nation should seek to resolve these differences and contradictions now, starting with the more advanced elements of the Chican@ masses, through the method of unity-struggle-unity. We should not wait for the national liberation stage to be completed before taking up this ideological struggle. This should not preclude our breaking with other Chican@ organizations on the basis of principled stands of scientific dispute as “the struggle bursts forth continuously.” We should recognize that in such instances what we must do is not unite two into one, but struggle to divide in order to liberate Aztlán and make revolution.

We should also recognize that before the movement can really take shape through the power and strength of the Chican@ masses there must first be a consensus among all the revolutionary elements of Aztlán so as to consolidate the Chican@ national liberation movement; whether that be within a loose united front of various Chican@ and Mexican@ organizations, or under one united flag with a single program, cannot possibly be determined at this time. What should be acknowledged however is that the revolutionary forces within Aztlán must begin the process of consolidation so as to continue to move the struggle forward. The principal way of doing this at this current stage of the struggle undoubtedly revolves around Under Lock & Key, the voice of the anti-imperialist movement behind prison walls. It is thus the revolutionary duty of Maoists and other anti-imperialists from the Chican@ nation to unite in order to begin the long and arduous process of liberation and decolonization de toda la gente.

The Chican@ revolutionary nationalist movement should be in firm unity with all genuine Maoist forces the world over as well as all revolutionary forces fighting imperialist backed regimes and lackeys. Clenched fist salute! A clenched fist salute is also extended to all Raza and camaradas currently locked in Amerikkka’s prisons who have taken the qualitative leap towards gaining freedom and liberation for our people by engaging and struggling with Maoism; the third and highest stage of revolutionary science.

Comrades should also seriously study the ten point program of MIM(Prisons) as well as the six cardinal points of the Maoist Internationalist Ministry of Prisons before attempting to create their own Maoist organizations as they can help to demarcate between real Maoism and phoney communist organizations. These programs should serve as a general guide to the type of organizing and organization we should aspire to. Revolutionary cells claiming both the mantle of Mao and Aztlán should be open to all Chican@s and should not be contingent on past street or prison organization, but on the deep seated belief that Aztlán is a territory of the Chican@ nation which must be liberated!

On that same note Chican@ Maoist organizations should have very strict admission policies as revolution is not a game or a lifestyle, but a matter of life and death and so only the most committed revolutionaries should be recruited. Comrades should also seriously study the Leninist concept of “better, fewer, but better” for this stage of the struggle. Lastly, comrades should enjoin the oppressed prison masses, in particular imprisoned Raza, to take up struggle and begin working with other lumpen organizations amiable towards revolution in the spirit and practice of the United Front for Peace in Prisons, as this is not only the most effective way of establishing peace in prison but of sustaining it. Peace amongst the lumpen is not only a precursor, but a prerequisite to victory on a strategic level.

The Chican@ and other prison masses must realize that Amerikan imperialism grows increasingly weaker every day, both on a domestic and international level because of its extended, hegemonic over-reach. Instead of gaining the imperialists a greater grasp on the far off and distant periphery this presence is instead met with fierce resistance and hate on the part of the resolute Third World masses. The masses must know that Amerikan imperialism is a paper tiger and on a strategic and long-term level its’ show of strength amounts to nothing more than shadow boxing strictly for the benefit of those it would wish to subjugate and oppress; it is a concrete monster with feet of clay and wherever it chooses to plant its feet it gets attacked.

“No rewriting of history can change the fact that it has been the national liberation struggle which has handed imperialism so many military defeats” (“The National Question and Separate Vanguard Parties” in MIM Theory 7: Proletarian Feminist Nationalism)

Aztlán libre!

I hope this letter finds you and your family in good health and high spirits. I received the information on how to form a study group and a copy of Fundamental Political Line of MIM(Prisons) you sent. Thank you. It has been very helpful. I also received Under Lock & Key No. 45.

The study group I started only has three people involved so far. It’s difficult because we are currently being housed in administrative segregation, so we basically have to yell back and forth to one another. But it’s not all bad. Having to yell to one another might get others involved in our discussions because they might hear something that touches base with them.

The material we used in our first study group was ULK 45. After passing it around we discussed some of the articles. One of those articles was “UFAO Links Up with UFPP [United Front for Peace in Prisons].”

The comrade in the article did some good things, like setting up a “poor box” and doing tournaments, but we feel that he stopped making progress when he waged a war against officers and a lumpen organization (LO). The comrade said that by a member of one LO breaking into the boxes of two other LOs, somehow his treaty was broken. I’m curious, did the comrade investigate the incident to determine whether the theft was sanctioned by the leadership of the one LO? If the theft was just an isolated incident then it should not have had any effect on the treaty. That’s assuming, of course, that the treaty in question was a peace agreement reached between the leadership of each LO in that particular barracks or at that particular unit.

We believe that if it was just an isolated incident then the comrade should have let the leadership of the LO the thief belonged to hand down punishment. However, since the comrade is the leader of the UFAO, he could have called together a “committee” to determine how the situation should be handled. We feel that if the comrade would have just prevented the thief from participating in, or benefiting from, UFAO function, he would still be in population pushing the cause forward.

We’ve learned from the comrade a lot of positive things we might try out in the future, like the poor box, but we also learned to never rush a decision, especially one that could possibly result in a “war.” We believe that all decisions made should be in line with the progress of our cause, and any decision reached should be a collective effort to ensure the best path forward is taken.

MIM(Prisons) responds: In our response to the UFAO article that this Arkansas study group is responding to from ULK 45, we asked others to share tactics for how to handle a breach of a peace treaty without resorting to violence if possible. Everyone’s conditions will be different, and what works in some facilities might not apply to others. This writer’s suggestion of approaching the leading members of the treaty-breaker’s organization is one potential option.

Even though the specific agreements you adopt will vary, it’s a good idea for everyone forming a peace treaty to discuss this question in advance, before an actual breach of the treaty happens. That way you’ll already be in agreement about how to handle a situation like the one explained by UFAO in ULK 45 where the peace treaty was thrown out the window, a “war” was initiated for retribution, and the leader of the peace treaty ended up in solitary confinement.

We hope to continue this discussion of how to make our efforts to build the United Front for Peace in Prisons as fruitful as possible. Send in tactics that have worked in your peace-building efforts to maintain course when it seems to be going off the tracks.