mNmii KuU PRISONERS NEWS flo<s-uaT-S«pt. ISTJ 5PEC/Ai- /6 6 Wesr- -^7 ’ vSr-. ^oJVv' / vqw Yoi^k, yr /ooo/ TY k \//£ vjs e*.p/?ess€j) /V TTV/^s A/9/=Ge ’ Jb a 6 t ' /^<rccss/9^/\cy -ry/osc of r%- Go/z.«sb a luta continua!! Historical Analysis The purpose of European imperialist invasions into Africa during the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries was to colonize African people and to remove valuable resources-gold, diamonds, ivory, oil, timber, etc.; and of course, Africa's most valuable natural resources--!iving human beings, African peo ple, for enslavement in other parts of the world. Everywhere and in every way, we Black people re- sisted the encroachment of the enemy. We used spears, rocks and captured weapons. Trudging chained and barefoot to waiting coastal ships, we broke our chains and used them as weapons against our enemy. We fought for and seized slave ships. We continued to resist af ter we landed on alien shores. We fou~ght in union with Native Americans such as the Seminole Nation, and re sisted. We rebelled with Denmark Vesey, Nat Turner, & Sojourner Truth. We organized and conducted escapes with Harriet Tubmaii. __ I:- ' i I I Back home on the continent, Tchaka Zulu and the Zulu warriors resisted the Dutch invasion of South Africa, the Ashanti fought the British in West Africa, the Ethiopians fought the Italians, and the Mau Mau's fought the British in East Africa. Always Black resis tance continued against European imperialist aggres sion. In amerikkka, resistance continued, for oppression and violent brutal repression continued. Blacks formed the Deacons for Justice to resist lynchings in South. The hundreds of murders and vicious maimings of Black people in the sixties saw the advent of revolutionary organizations such as the Black Panther Party that were geared to organizing Black people to defend them selves against the violence of their oppressors. We restate these clear facts to show the historical and centuries-old resistance of Black people to the violence and oppression perpetrated by amerikkkan fascists. The state has always been, since 1776, a tool for carrying out the orders of the amerikkkan ruling class. In this way, persons, institutions of the state has always been used to maintain maximum security on all those who have resisted their oppression. These max imum security flesh pits are in fact, according to amerikkkan constituted law, legal slavery. Article 13, Section 1 of the 13th amendment of the constitution states: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Maximum security penitentiaries are therefore clearly slave institutions that had been tried and tested in 300 years of Black chattel slavery. It is no wonder 75*-85* of all inmates in prison are Black. For us, slavery is still a very cold reality of our oppression. A modem slave system has built roads and railroads throughout this country. Industries in prisons make uniforms, clothing, shoes, furniture and fixtures of all sorts. There are large farms cared for totally by convicts. There is not a major forest fire in Califor nia that convicts do not fight, at the risk of their lives. New drugs are experimented on and the countless victims rarely make it outside the walls. Slaves - in mates are expendable. Convict labor-slave labor, has been a major work force in amerikkka; it must be em phatically noted that private companies put their la bels on goods produced by convicts and then sell them to the public. Slavery in prisons has been brought to public at tention by a long line of brave and courageous war riors from Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, Gabriel Pros ser to George Jackson, Ruchell Magee, Martin Sostre and countless others. Events at Atikkka (just one ex ample out of many) has shown the world how cruel and Inhuman the overseers are throughout the country, and in fact, the world's people are struggling to allevi ate these intolerable conditions by whatever means that will be successful. In the 35 year history of the U.S. federal prison system, they have grossed in excess of 869 million dollars in profits from these multi-million dollar slave industries of exploitation, oppression and genocide. In 1970 the state of Michigan accrued 14 million in profits from their slave plan tations. We recognize for these reasons and others that all black and Third World people who are incarcerated in maximum security penitentiaries are Political Prison- ers-victims who have responded to racist dehumaniza tion and political and economic oppression in their daily lives. Any time oppressed people move to des troy this reality of their daily lives, the fascist state defines it as "crime". We must see that any act against our oppressor can never be a crime but are clearly legitimate attenpts to free ourselves; in es sence they are political acts. They are political acts because they are diametrically opposed to the intrest of the racist amerikkka ruling class (fords,* mellons, rockefellers, morgans, hughes, etc.). Based on this understanding we estimate there are at least one to one and a half million political prisoners in amerikkka. Prisoners-of-War as we see them in this country are revolutionaries who have taken direct action against the monopoly capitalist ruling class and all their lackeys and running dogs in the bourgeois "democratic" state. Prisoners-of-War are genuine freedom fighters who pose a direct and clear and present danger to the ruling class interest; and their incarceration in max imum security is a necessary step by the fascist to snuff this danger out. The number of Prisoners of War is a direct correla tion to the intensity and form of armed struggle in amerikkka. We have stated that violent repression of Black and Third World people has been a historical reality. Too many of our people here and abroad think the existence of revolutionaries involved in armed' struggle is non-existent or either "isolated acts by frustrated, misguided adventurists." Their position is that armed struggle on any level is premature and thus has no legitimacy. We clearly disagree with this posi tion for many reasons. As our late revolutionary com rade, Ami 1 car Cabral once said: "We believe that each people and each leadership should be free to choose the road of struggle that suits it, but we also ex pect each people and each leadership to know how to recognize when the real moment of struggle has arrived because the enemy always fights with every means at its disposal. There will be disputes over whether or not to carry,^out armed struggle. Within the framework of the national liberation of the peoples, there is no problem of armed or unarmed struggle. There are two kinds of armed struggle; the armed struggle in which the people fight empty-handed, unarmed, while the im perialists or colonialists are armed and kill our peo ple; and the armed struggle in which we prove we are not crazy by taking up arms to fight against the cri-, minal arms of the imperialists." From this concrete statement on armed struggle we look at our own situation and see that those condi tions for armed struggle have always been present in.'tht Black community, contrary to the belief our brothers and sisters here and abroad who say these conditions are not present. To our comrades abroad we believe that those of you who do not outwardly support- our struggle, we feel it may be because of pressure for ced on you by amerikkkan imperiab ’ sm or your incorrect analysis of our conditions. To our comrades we say that the ability for monopoly capitalism to pollute revolutionary ideas has been its most potent weapon. We are all effected by this cancer although many of us refuse to admit it. Usually it is manifested as social passivism. This passivism has 2 aspects; one that is totally non-violent and the other that says any fonn of armed struggle is premature. They say urban guerilla activi ties will bring overt repression down on the people; as if the 50-75 million Africans who were murdered during the slave trade and the tens of thousands mur dered, lyched and raped in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in amerikkka, and the thousands of us who are being murdered, brutalized and harrassed in our comnunities and in maximum security prisons 24 hours- a day; as if this isn't overt repression! Clear ly you would have to be politically unconscious or someone who is using their political rhetoric to mask their cowardice, to say we should not be about inflict ing a military consequence on our oppressors. We be lieve sincerely that our brothers and sisters around the world who have fought revolutionary war against imperialism, fascist dictatorship and who are fighting revolutionary war against neo-colonialism and neo-fas cism are deserving of our support and comradeship. ’ I This brings us to the question of why we support the B.L.A. , but more importantly what they represent. As we have said, we do not believe that the phenomena of a Black Liberation Army is without historical justifi cation and necessity. We do not believe that revolu tionary action as long as it takes a military form has the quasi miraculous capacity of unleashing a great revolutionary process. But in capital letters: WE ADHERE TO THIS PRINCIPLE THAT REVOLUTIONARY WAR IS THE CONTINUATION OF POLITICS BY VIOLENT MEANS: THAT STRATEGY MUST BE SUBORDINATED TO POLITICS: OR BETTER SAID, THAT POLITICS AND STRATEGY ARE CONJOINED IN RE- VauriONARY AND GUERILLA WARFARE. As another revolutionary comrade, Abraham Guillen once wrote: "Strategy is not created by geniuses or by generals, but by the development of the productive forces, the logic of events and the weight of history. If the urban masses find themselves without work and are discontent, it is not a question of encouraging them to demonstrate in the streets just to be tramp led by the horses of the police. They should be placed in guerilla units which unexpectedly, here and there, with superiority of arms and numbers disarm the agents of authority who have been dispersed. In this way the liberation army grows as the repressive army dimin ishes." Our freedom fighters who are incarcerated in maxi mum security must have our support. Comrades like Sundiata Acoli, Assata Shakur, Timothy Adams, Herman Bell, Albert Washington, Gabriel Torres ,' Francisco Torres, Anthony Bottom, Pedro Monges, Melvin Kearney, Henry Sha Sha Brown, Victor Cunberbatch, Robert Hayes, Richard Dhoruba Moore, Robert Vickers, John Thomas, Michael Ashanti Alston, Harold Hodari Siimons, James Gunnie Haskins, Fred Kamau Hilton, Elmer Geronimo Pratt, and all other Prisoners of War who have shown their examples — their dedication and deep love for Black, Third World, and all oppressed peoples. These comrades must be supported continually, overt ly, on the streets, on our jobs, and in our homes. Without the support of Black People, a Black Libera tion Army, no matter how many tactical victories it achieves, will not be able to prevent the enemy from defeating it strategically. It must be clear that the Black Liberation Army must enjoy the support of the people; Political organizing in work places, schools, and conmunities must also have the support of the people. To our brothers and sisters in the International conmunity: to our revolutionary comrades who repre sent their nations: we say that you will continue to receive our wholehearted support, but clearly this must be reciprocated. We urge you not to treat the struggle of Black, Third World and oppressed people in amenkkka as if this is an internal affair of this government. You comrades who are fighting reaction and neo-colonialism, and comrades who have fought and won national liberation in Indochina, your struggle has given us tremendous belief that we will be vic torious too against the racist amerikkkan ruling class. -We say, comrades, that you have a duty to up hold all the points of the Universal Declaration of Himan Rights and the Geneva Accords on the treatment of Prisoners of War. «=aurcn<. Some of these rights are: (From the Declaration of Human Rights)- Article 4 - No one shall be held in slavery or servi tude. Article 5 - - - No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punish ment. Article 9 - No one shall be subjected to arbitrarv arrest, detention or exile. Article 10 - Everyone charged witha penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until guilty accord ing to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense. Article 14 - Everyone has the right to seek and to en joy in other countries asylum from persecution. Article 15 - Everyone has a right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of-his nationa- change his nationality. What else can be done by our comrades in Africa, Asia, and Latin America? 1. Political asyljim to our imprisoned freedom fighters when this asylum is asked. We understand fully that since oppression is a worldwide phenomena that any freedom fighters who are granted asylum have the obligation to work with the nation who is offering tms asylum. ® 2. U.N. Committee to bring to General Assembly the question of oppressed Black people in amerikkka. information on plight of revolution- oppress?on^'°*^'^ wherever they are struggling against h Bring up to the floor of the General Asserbly Dy an Ad Hoc Committee of revolutionary and proares- siye nations, the conditions of B.L.A. P.O.W.s and all political prisoners-especially the murders, brutal- rades^""* "behavior control" experiments on our com- LONG LIVE THE B.L.A. A LUTA CONTINUA;;! UNITED NATI<)NS HAY 30th STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF PRI- Vila tut/ nr\i rri i OlrtlcnCHI 3 SONERS-OF-WAR AND POLITICAL PRISONERS': National Committee for the Defense of Political Pri- soners IN At Rikers Island Womans Detention Caj^) conditions are so hideous that they imist be ej^sed to the ^le so the situation can be viewed as is and hopetully be dealt with by the people in the commmities. Food at Rikers Island is prepared and se^ed^ inmates who work from 5:a.m. to 8:p.m. in the kitchen, and whose labor may be exploited as cheap as 20 cents an hour. There is barely ever what yw would call a • well balanced diet and the food is of the lowst quality. Milk or juice is never part of the daily menu. In order to get milk or juice you nust get a <i^to« note stating that you have a health problem, and then you go through changes getting that. Pregnant sisters are the only inmates that are allowed a half cup of milk and juice at every meal. , During the month of July 1973 some sisters decide that they want^ to do something about these conditions so they organized a food strike, where no one ate. Many sisters got down with this strike! The first few days sisters drank liquids to manta^ themselves then cor?)letely stopped all.^t^.°f During the strike the prison syston tried their usu^ divide and conquer routine. Sisters whom they claimed were leaders of the strike were singled wt and strip ped of their clothing and belongings, and thrown P.S.A. [punitive segregation area) or either s^itary confinement, more conmonly known as the bmg. tMe sister at the time was four months pregnant, she was beaten severely by several officers stripped of her clothing and thrown into an enqjty cell, where she had to sleep on th* floor. After a few ^ys the s^tCT suffered the loss of her unborn child. The fo^ strike lasted about a month, at the end women were literally carried out of the bing by fellow inmates because they were so weak and exhausted - - , , (from Voice of the People) The following was received from the Sisters at Rikers, vdiile the food strike was on... We the sisters of the Rikers Island so called Cor rectional Institution are and have been fOT the past 3 days on a hunger strike. We are protesting unsanit ary conditions of our food. On several occasions, foreign object such as: roaches, hair, strings, and plain filth is found in our food. We have seen pereons with uncovered heads and filthy clothing on, worki^ behind the steam line. Wd have been served assarted meat with mole and greeness around the edges. We are served in dirty trays and our drinking water pitches . . . . . a dar servcu U1 UXI uxa/a oam-* ^ - — r-- - - are so filthy that the water is of a darkest color. We have sent out luoous petitions, all have been of no avail We feel it is time we alert the outside world of our concentration camp conditions. Peace 'The Sisters of Rakis Island ” THE N.Y. cm PRECINCT age: 17, charge:grand larceny "You pregnmt?" sneers the officer. Armys instinctively hug my belly thinking he'; "No _ „ s going to punch it I mumble shirtsleeves roll above ray elbows he looks real close for needle marks makes me empty linings of my pockets cut and locks me in the holding cell "Jiist wait till we take you downtown they'll strip you naked finger your hole you ain't never gonna be the same, kid," he laughs as he handcuffs my wrist to one of his. In the cell that night I wake from a dream screaming, "Yes!" I'm jregnmt bearing nightmares.' ^ w I % Crysta Casey Red Balloon Poetry Conspiracy MORNING Once again. North Carolina has proven itself to be the most repressive state in the country. huring the week of June 15-19, 1975, the women ut North Carolina Correctional Center, the only state prison for women, held a peaceful sitdown pro test and work stoppage to bring their numerous com- nlaints to the people and the North Carolina De partment of Corrections. Their demands and grievances were as follows: 1) Abolishment of the laundry where all other state prison and hospital laundry is brought in. 2) Better or even adequate health care and treat ment. 3) Fire Dr. Broughton and Nurse McDonald, the chief racists responsible for the butcher-like treatment. 4) Permenantly hire Morris Kea, a black man, acting superintendent. The women felt he was concerned for them and had their respect. 5) Fire Captain Moreland and other racist guards. 6) Fire Olin-vdio's in charge of the Diagnostic Cen ter. 7) Raise the pay of decent Matrons and Guards. 8) Better Recreation facilities. 9) More visiting hours. 10) Better food and lower prices in the Canteen. 11) Pay for all jobs performed. 12) Visitors should be allowed to attend church ser vices with the women. June 15--when 8:00 p.m. Lock-up time came, they refused to go to their ’ TX5RMS". They were well pre pared to stay out with blankets, some food and water, and radio. About 1/3 of the population, about ISO women out of 450 or so. The unity of the Black, White and .Native American women was very strong. Earlier, they had called Celine Chenier, a long- tMe supporter, to show their solidarity and to be witnesses against any possible violence by the of ficials. When they arrived, they weren't allowed to come on state property so they remained outside and exchanges of chants, shouts of the demands and songs. Finally when the Department of Corrections puppets spokesman Kip Kautsky arrived, they were allowed to come right up to the gates where the sisters were only if they remained quite. They stated their de mands to him, but quickly realized he hadn't the power to negotiate. They demanded to speak to Ralph Edwards, head of the Department, Morris Kea and the governor. During the whole time Kautsky was speaking to them, goon squads called from the men's prison in Raleigh Central prison were preparing themselves to attack the sisters with their helmets, Ih foot billy clubs, tear gas and mace. Kea finally arrived _ they heard vdiat he had to say, but he was in a difficult position, with being only the acting superintendent and a black man. Af ter he left, the sisters started preparing themselves for attack. ..they then all huddled together on the grass and went to sleep...very peacefully. About 5 a.m. Kautsky returned and told them al ternatives had been made and they shmild move into the gym. The sisters refused knowing they would be beaten, etc., while in an enclosed area away from supporters and the press. At this time the guards were lining up along the back buildings. .clearly in view-in coiii)at positions. He again returned and said if they refused to walk in peacefully, force would be use. Most of the women were still slewing or laying still. The guards started moving in on four sides, removing the benches they had placed for pro tection. They were advised to go limp, be carried in and above a-1, not to struggle or fight back as that :«)uld bq their excuse to beat them. In the process w h e n w e 1 s e of Carrying one sister, her arm was twisted as she tried to shift herself to be carried properly, and she was hit. One pregnant woman was brutally struck in her stomach. The guards also" used very protane language. One by one, the sisters were carried in to the gym, which required about 3 guards for each woman. At this point, screams and breaking glass were heard. A few of them managed to escape out of the gym to tell the supporters outside they were being beaten. They decided to end their peacefullness a^ fight back. They broke out of the gym, well prepared to defend thaaselves. They fought back with chunks of concrete, bats, sticks and the billy clubs taken from the guards. The guards were finally pulled out of the gates, having clearly lost this battle. How ever, it was apparent that about 8 sisters were bad ly injured. Thursday morning was to be vdien the department agreed to decide on their demands. They were also promised no reprisals would be taken. Until Thursday, various types of work was being done on both sides. Press conferences were called by both the supporters, nteinly a group called Action For Forgotten Womens and by the corrections depart ment. The departmenp made statements about Kea not wanting the job which was untrue and'very mislead ing statements about the closing of the laundry. The Action for Forgotten Women and other suppor ters decided to hold a demonstration on Thursday morning. About IBif people from the surrounding Black community and others from around the area showed up and the spirits were very strong as they and the sisters exchanged slogans and songs. More than half of the women were out this time. While everyone was outside, the department of ficials and 5 inmate representatives met in the ad ministration building, 8-10 busloads of extra guards were brought in and remained on the premises all day. They were again prepared with billy clubs, tear gas, mace and this time - shotguns. About 5: P.M. three representatives from Action for Forgotten Women were allowed in the negotiations, at the request of the inmates. At 7:30 P.M., they were thrown out of the office and the negotiations were completely broken off. The city police then threw the demonstrators off state property and had the gates blocked off by the guards to block any possible view of the inside happennings. The ^rds inside then readied themselves for 8:P.M. f lock-up time. When the sisters tried to re turn to their "DORMS", they found the doors locked. The guards then attacked them with billy clubs and teargas. The women then again fought back and even set fire to a laundry basket. When the fighting was over, about 18 sisters were taken to the hospital, but about 7 guards were also wounded. The next day, it was announced by the department that about 40 of the most "extreme troublemakers" were transferred and 50 others were put in segrega tion on the facility itself. It was only discovered ane week later, exactly vhat prison they were taken to; a men's prison-Morganton, about 200 miles away. Now, both inside and outside work is continuing, writs and lawsuits are being filed in order to de finitely locate the sisters and to also determine if their wounds and general health conditions are being taken care of. People all over the state are being mobilized for future actions, deluding more and larger demonstrations. The womes; themselves have vowed to keep fighting until their demands are accepted even if they have to die doing it. Jinni M. Stroman Durham, N.C. Witness toward CRIMIX..U.S OR WORKERSr Who are we and why are we in prison? These two questions should be upermost in the minds of every man and woman behind prison walls. Criminologists (people who study crime and criminals) say we are sick and put us in prisons to "protect society," and to rehabilitate us. What these criminologists are saying, gives us a clue to who we are. Because if you are trying to rehabilitate someone, what you are trying to do is: restore him to what he was be fore he "went wrong." What were we then, before we "went wrong?" Take a look around you; do you see any Rockefellers, Du ponts, or Hearsts? How many bankers do you see? I doubt if you see any, but there might be one or two. Why don't you see any of these ruling class people? B^ause prisoners don't come from the ruling class they come frcm the working class. Why don't prison ers come from the ruling class? Because the ruling class built the prisons and they didn't build them for themselves; they built them for the working class. ® If you doubt prisoners come from the working class, ask the people around you if they worked when th^ were in the street, and how many jobs they have had. pe large majority will tell you that they have worked at quite a few jobs. You should also take notice of the fact that vdienever the unemployment rate goes up so does the crime rate and consequently the lumber of prisoners increases-there is definate- ly a relationship there. This leads us to a solution to the question : tdiy are we prisoners? Under the capatilist system the econ^ goes through periodic crisis, because on the one hand, capitalists want to pay workers as little as possible so they can make the most profit, and on the other hand, they want workers to buy back the things they are producing, at the highest price pos- : r aic Luu iiign xor me worxers to buy up what has been produced, the capitalist pro duces less, and since he produces less, he needs less workers than he already has: so he starts laying peo- In such a crisis it is clearly the workers who do the suffering, and this is why prisons are nrcessary. Because if you can't get what you need by working, you get It a^ way you can. Ihe capitalist can't es cape this delimna, so they build prisons to protect themselves against the workers vAo resort to crime to get what they need. pie ruling class also glorifies crime: in the' movies, on television, and in books, so that workers Tot instead of revolution to chaise their If It wasn't you and I who are prisoners it would be sOTeone else, because under capitalism crime mist are therefore necessary. This is why retabilitation is a sham. The capitalist knows he can t cure crime, so he goes through the motions of trying to And in doing this he is telling people that It IS the prisoner idio is sick and that the systm - ^ich is really what is sick - is alright, mt Uiis doesn't mean there is no such thing as re habilitation. There is real rehabilitation, which is returning to the working class we came frcm as a staunch fighter in the struggle against this sick system. This brings us to the ingxirtance of answering the two ^estions vdio am I and vdry am I in prison? Once you have correctly answered these questions you will see that you are part of the great revolutionary working class, and that your interest and the in terests of the working class are the same-the over- pirow of capitalism and the introduction of social- Po*" as long as capitalism exist there «11 be prisons and prisoners. And one of the things I a united class X socialist revolution will bring about is the aboli tion of prisons and the reuniting of prisoners with the working class. We must also ask ourselves, how have we been struggling in the past and what form should the struggle take in the future? In the past prisoners all over have waged an heroic struggle against op pressive conditions in prison. And this struggle has taken the form of strikes, lock-ins, and even open rebellion such as the Attica uprising in 1971. These actions usually centered around demands for better living conditions, higher wages, etc., in short, im mediate needs. But this isn’t where the struggle ends, for surely, our goal isn't to reform prisons into a paradise. (Xir goal and the form the struggle should take should be centrally concerned with destroying this idiole rotten system vdiich makes it necessary to have prisons. This system is capitalism. The only way we can fi^t to eliminate this system is by uniting with the great masses of people who are exploited daily by that system - c4>italism. Of course, we can not unite physically with the working class vdiile we are yet in prison, but we can show our unity by sup porting that struggle and letting people know that we support their struggle, and people in the street will suj^rt our struggle against the oppressive condi tions in prison. In the final analysis it is the same enemy and the same fight vhich confronts both prisoners and workers, so we must unite to fight the common enemy. Since we are in prison we must use the means we have at our disposal to bring the struggle forward. And one of the ways we can do this is by studying the conditions that exist and the best way to'advan ce the struggle. We should gain an understanding of viiat capitalism is, how exploitation takes place, and what are the best weapons to combat that exploitation. If we can do this we will be arming ourselves for the battles that will take place in the future. We can also arm ourselves by building unity among ourselves here in prison. If you look around the yard you will see that this unity is not at a very high level at this time, people isolate themselves into little groups and gi^rd against infringements by other groups. This is playing right into the hands of the adminis tration, vdio want us devided so that we will have no strength and never realize our cannon interests, which is getting ri'' of their rotten system. This unity will be build only through struggle, primarily by fighting against the oppressive conditions we deal with every day. Another thing we must deal with is the fact that some day most of us will be going back to the main stream of society, and we have to decide, now, vdiat we are going to do vdien we get out. Will we go back to crime or will we once again becone part of the working class? If we go back to crime we are only per petuating the system vdiich pat us in prison in the first place, and we are taking the chance of going back to prison if we get caught - every one of us knows that if you are into a hustle sooner or later you will get busted, and this is reflected in the saying "if you want to play, you got to pay." On the other hand, if you return to the ranks of the revo lutionary working class you will be struggling toward the inevitable overthrow of the whole system vhich makes prisons necessary, and therefore you will be taking a course which advances your own interests and the interests of the class you belong to - the great multi-national working class. To sum up what has been said then; the majority of prisoners are definately from the working class, and therefore have great revolutionary potential. Once we realize this, the road ahead is much clearer- we must take our place beside our brothers and sis ters is the street, who are struggling to get this oppressive system off our backs and write a new page in the history of the world. If we do this, if we all unite to fight the common enemy, no oppressive sys- t™, no matter how strong, will be able to resist the will of the people in their revolutionary struggle. Auburn State Prison New York, NY 13022 Dear Friends , The subject of my delayed thoughts is the relation- ship and position of the revolutionary to the petty bourgeoisie In the relationship between the revolutionary and the petty bourgeois, the revolutionary must function as a leader, not as a follower. Is it not the petty bourgeois precarious social position which makes it impossible for them to lead the revolutionary class? Thus, the revolutionary ought not to relate to the ideas and projections of the petty bourgeois; yet he ■ has the duty to see whether or not the petty bourgeois ideas and projections both correspond with material reality and translate his aim and perspective correct - JV - Tf any petty bourgeoisie rebels against this re- lationship between himself and you, he should, on the one hand, be reminded of this before you suspend him from your presence; (1) that you are of the revolut ionary class in capitalist society and (2) your goal is the erection of Socialism by the working class and for society as a whole without the wages system; and you, on the other hand, should suspend him forthwith from your presence temporarily or until he shows some signs of obedience and conformity. In regard to the revolutionary's position to the petty bourgeois, the revolutionary is to be guided by his aim and ultimate goal, and thus be unwavering, un- cotgpromising, adamant, strict, aggressive and creative. He must give the petty bourgeois a part to play in the movement of social ch^ge, but a part that he has de signed as though he were a composer and director of a play. In addition, he can not allow the petty bourgeois to carry out anyother function than the part that he has given them to play in the revolutionary movement. Furthermore he must treat the petty bourgeois as a student; he must drill them to do his bidding by means of education, and'-.Siscipline those who fail along with rewarding those tdio succeed. He most direct the petty bourgeois, but not allow himself to be directed by them. Why? It is because revolutionary social change can not I r V towards a united class (conty) be brought about by the petty bourgeois in capitalist society. Such social change is not dependent upon the petty bourgeois, but dependent upon the revolutionary cl^s (*e working class). The working class, in other v«)^, IS not dependent upon the petty bourgeois to bring about revolutionary social change. It is the pet ty bourgeois that are dependent upon the working class to bring forth the so needed social change The revolutionary ought not to pay any attention to the personal possessions of the petty bourgeois: the cars, vacations, homes, savings, offices, parties, con- nectioM, etc. - all of nhich amount to crumbs that the capitalist class throw to those vho serve its interests md work to mintain its exploitive and oppressive soc- m system. The revolutionary ought not tc let those thregs b^zzle him. His duty is to stand as a dedica- relation and position ..u uic petty oourgeois. As a re sult, even if his shoes have holes in them, his words. his orders,' his interests, and his goal will be respected by the petty bourgeois , but also serve as ,a beacon for them to follow. In conclusion, comrade, I was a little shaken to learn that you were of the opinion that you ought not to relay your problems to me. I must here and now strongly press the fact upon you that I do not agree with your opinion. You see, you and I are of the re volutionary class in this society. Therefore, your pro blems and mine, your needs and mine, your tasks and mine, your ultimate goal and mine are both the same and inseparable. We must learn to share our problems, needs, tasks, just as we plan to share in the success of the upcoming social revolution. Norman Sterling #19243 Drawer B Stoiraville, N.Y. 12S82 ..................................................... ..................................... .......... third world leadership STATmENT BY THE THIRD W3RLD WCWEN'S CAUCUS This statement is made in the spirit of unity, strug gle, unity. When we talk about unity, we cannot do it on abstract terms just for the sake of unity. This unity imist be based on principle. It is in this spi- rit that the Third World Women are raising points of cntipsm. We came here aware of the fact that there were basic disagreements in ideology and methodology in the conference's approach to the women's question and the role of women in the struggle for socialism We also came, realizing that the woiten's movement is an ynportant ally of the Third World struggle against rational oppression and working class movements in Its struggle for socialism. We feel it is essential that the differences are brought up. In order for us to come to real unity we must have a clear theoretical understanding and agreement on the role of women and in particular Third World Women. What we want to re sult from these struggles is a strong women's move ment that is able to link up with the working class struggle to do away with the capitalist system, by establishurg socialism and fight for the complete emancipation of wcrnien and all oppressed people. Oir criticism is on two levels: 1) In terms of the organizational procedure of this conference, we feel that there is a lack of signifi- cant of Third World women in the planning pro cess Miich made it impossible to make the concrete discission on the ties between domestic and interna- ti(^ struggle against monopoly capitalism and its highest foim in^ierlalism an integral part of the agenda. There was a lack of real effort made to con tact and recruit Third World Wasen locally or nation- ^ly or for that matter vdiite working class women. This created a conference that only reflected a nar row point of view on the women's question; thus can't STO that the women's movement is an integral part of ™ working class movement to achieve liberation WOmOT s oppression is real and there are particular needs of working class women and Third World women. Recognizing this is the only way we can bring out full potential and determination of women to shed Our chains of oppression, but it is a mistake to elevate it to an autonomous movement that divides the women's movement fpcm the working class movement ’. In part, this problem flows frcm the absence of a Marxist-Len- inist revolutionary proletariat party in the United States at this time. Additionally, there are issues to/OVd. !Jex.T^3' m - • * s n 8 J such as organization of family that remain to be re solved in the process of socialist construction. We understand that wanen must fight all aspects of our oppression for our liberation, both before and after the establishment of socialism. Women's oppression is a manifestation of class oppre ssion. At the present stage of world history, it is under capitalism that a class of a few can erqrloit the majority - women and men. It is the capitalist class who is responsible for the social, economic and political oppression of the working class and subjects wanen to dual oppression. We see the principle enemy as the monopoly capitalist's and not our class bro thers. Therefore we see that the women's movement mist be part of the larger strategy for proletarian revolution and not something that is autonomous. If women use o-xaraples of struggles like, Oiina, Vietnam, and Mozambique as models, there ought to be a rigour- ous examination of how those struggles were built, the importance of a clear ideiological perspective and connections of women to the most advanced organ ization of the class in a given country. 2) Racism has alwyas been used by those idio own and control the means of production to "divide and con quer." It is a tool that is used to perpetuate capita list rule. We see forging unity among the national minorties and tjie.white working class as the only way to assure victory, because again the enemy is the capitalist class. However, the unity can not be forged on an abstract basis. Although the conference addres sed itself to the issue of racism, it is done on a superficial level. It is again by not seeing the prin cipal contradiction in the U.S. as being that of the work