FROM UNITY
TO

COLLECTIVE
LIBERATION

An Essay by
Brian L. Rowe
L-27-1Y

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FRON UNITY TO COLLECTIVE LIBERATION
An Escay by Brian L. Rove

Just cecently | Biuisned studyiog o book 1 purchased trus
P4 Press entitled, “Tovards Collective Liburation”, weitcen by
Chris Crass, an

Ci-racist white activist who played a asjor cole
in the political developuent of Sen Francisco Food Not Borbs, The
Catalyst Project, and Colours of Resistance acound an anti-cacist.
multi-racial orzanizing framevork for raciol and econsaic justice

I must say this vas one of the best political/activist buoks
I've read and one that has been vital in helping e clasify ay
political vision and goal for creating liberating and transformative
change vithin myself and the world. Vritten for the bunefit of anti-
Fucist vhite organizers, all wio ace serious about helping to "build
5 new world on the ruins of the old” will benefit greatly from this
book.

A6 @ 37 year o1d New Afrikun black maly and haviog had my poiitics
shaped and cefined during my 20 years of incarceraticn, I've develcped
4 certain avareness of how capitulist uhite male supresacy utilizes
divide-and-control tactics to retard the grouth of any type of unified
movenent among non-ruling class whites and people of color iruggling
for social, economic, and raclul justice uhose ultimste yosl is to
cceate a society which is free, equitable, and just for oll.

I was not avare how this sume system of divide-and-control
creates and utilizes divisions along the lines of gender (sexisu),
scxuslity (homophobia), sbility (elder discrimination), and natio

ality (anti-imsigrant cights) to maintain its culing-class deminance,
pover, and rule. This lack of awareness of thess other syste.s of
oppression aleng the lines of gender, sexvality, abilty, and ation-
ality caused me to be comletely nusb to and disinterested in any

struggles for justice aud squality as it relates to gender equality
and ceproductive rights, LGBT rights, elder cights, and immigrant
rights.

Petor to ceading Toward Collective Liberation, I would oot have cou
Close to eabracing any struggles remotely dealing with femini
LGST rignts, pactly out of faur.of being vieved by my hetero-sexial male pects

a5 vesk, feminine, or even gay. I now see hou such 4 thought of

1ote
concern is in and of ftself sexist and homophobic in nacure and fx
indicative of my oun internalized values of soxist/hetero-senist
male superiority. ALL women and LGIT people are human beings eserv-
ine of ouc tespect and collective support as they too struggle for
rauality, basic humen rights, and the Tight to live their Ljver FREFLY
ithout hindrance, slander, ridicule or disceimination.

Being exposed to an “Intersectional analysis of all these systems
of cppression hat caused o revolutionory transformation in my polisient
develapnent and vision and have greatly influsnced the way 1 wi1) or.

Aanize and struggle In the future for racial, social, and economic
Justice.
1€ there were one point lacking in Tovards Collactive Liberation

(and 1 vas hard-pressed to Cind it) vas the role that caligion praye
In regards to the other systems of oppression. Religion is mnather

to0l vasd by capitalist white male supremacy to divide-and-contral

the non-ruling class. The American Ewpice vas faurded on the docerine
of Cheistianicy. hen one spesks of the soread of capitalise, caloniolisn,
ard impecialisn, cne should also speak of what can be tmreed se i
“prend of Christinn hegemony. The spread of sn-called American demo-
SEASY Can EiRhEly be defined as the spread of capitalist white maiy
Jupreracy (and 2Ll of its accopanying systems of oppressien) sy
Chedstion hegenony uhich is monifested by its political toeateconce
7 repression of all non-Cheistian religions. The spread of thejesian
hesemany (the idea that all non-Christion religlons are harbacie o
ierroristic in nature) can be likened to the pread of Catholician under
o Srutal £elgn of King Ferdinand V and Quasn Tsabella 1 of Spatn feas
1476-1304, who sent Cheistopher Colunbus to the so-called “new vorlde
In 1422 to coneit mnss genocide upon the Indinenous Natives tn the same
of Catholicism and greed.

ALer 9/11/01, Islam was seen 23 the new evil much like Communisn
during the Cold Uac from 1945-1990. Many pescerul, lau-abiding seert.
can Muslins were foutinely Narassed and profiled by the podice, taveted
2% potential tercorists in the corporate-oxned media , and vere afsen
Thche receiving end:slander, slurs, and violence pecpetrated by hurd-
Jine pateiotic and sonetines Christian Americans. This incecnalioes
demonization, hateed, and prejudice sgainst American uslime ceostod
2 CIfe betueen the Chriation/Right vingers and the progceseive Left.

Ine unn 2150 8 point of contention within tacial, social, and seanomic
Justice movamants,ant sreiety in geneeal. an intorsoctional sraluss wot

2005

have been beneficial in helping anti-var American activists draw
2 contrasting line betveen the wer on terror (rend: var on Islan)

Y1th the vat on vomen's reproductive rights; the var on LGOT peaples’
FIENE to marry, adopt children, and other rights; the war on (imymineons
pIshesi the var against the homeless: the wac analnat vorking-ciass
home-ovners cesulting in mass foreclosures and sviesions
2Rainst Lau-abiding Amecicans’ right to privacy via the Fateios act

the var

o0 the var against druas which has swelled the peison populntion
1o hatorical’ nubers unseen in any other country on the planet . Such
on intersectionsl amalysis ould have born helptul tn convineing
herd-line Patelotic/Cheistian Anericans blindad by revenge and
groclonalisn that the so-called var on terror has often been used

2y the Enpise to expand fts taperinlist ains and agendns by wagton
vT under false pretenses and committing mass genocide agatnss tng
people of defenseless, poor Third-uorld countries like Traq, Atyhani-
stan, Yemen, Libya

on a daily basis ho these same divide-and-
themselves even behind these priscn walls which sov sesds of
distrust, and chaos within the prisonec-class, mxpeciatly oienty ton
Fanks of those who ace politically active

2% £ar back a5 can be cemembered, the penal systam has used
Sehevor sodification md peychuloty agalis the peisaner o lnge, sapectalis
those politically active pris

'ers enaged in a protracted steuggle
JRainet a11 forns of opprersion. Such paychology or atvide-smdconieel
nctics can bo achieved by tnflamaing/inatigating hatred and wiooms
IROTRSL the races; the use of prisoners who covertly collapacs

to collaborate vith the penal od:
able vays as those who are not;
or" Lo SPread rumors detrinental to the character and reputatien of
Tocural leaders 50 they will not be trustedi and most moticeably,

fhe use of Secure Wousing Units (SHU) and Adainistrative Senrepution
(Ad.Sex.) a3 2 tool of repression and tn

1ate all priconers deenag
to be influential, natural Leadncs.

Jor s
Ot course, there are other givisions within the prisoner-cluss
(hat can clearly be seen in these modern-dey gulags:

1) Division betveen much older and experienced convicts
Uho View younger. leds vepecianced inmates as ceckless,
Tocking o “Loden o “sihics, and not willing fo listen
Eonstebcrion; und the younger, less experienced inmates
ho'View the older conviets as Gashed-up, institutional-
Tied, and "behind i the tises";

2) Division betwesn thosy inaates oused in “honor” dorns/
AT ina Tebe10 U odel peisoners” vho view non-hosor
Socnonlt and non-podel peisonses as trouble makers and
hreat co theit Shonock and “medel prisaner” status;
SndEhe non-honse dora/unit aud non-sodel prizoners vho
Ulex Ronor dorazunit and model prisoners as sellouts,
IStitotiongtired, aoa collaborsiors with the penal
Sdministration sghinst thes

3) Division between those fnaates assigned to prison slave
Jobe*iRe oay"fen1 Thperior to those. innates' vho have no

Beison slove jobi and the inmates sho are not assisgned

B e peiion s1ove Job vho may envy those inmates who ace;

Givision betvoen those inmates uho classify theaselvs as

Sav/biosexal uho are ressatful tosards those iomates

BTN S Neveroncrual who openly alienates them;

ondtnost naates Tasaified s Feistotiat o Tt

oin pon those. jumates classified as gay/bi-sexual vith

sgust and hostility: b

5) Divisions becweun those inmates vhe are part of religiovs/
Ulteral orainizucions such oo Cheistians, Huslins, Rastes,
Cacholics, Gods and Earths, Athissts, stc

4) Division between the races and even within the races;

7) Division betucen Luapen stgect ocganizations vho ace
Convinced that it i3 moce “gangsta’ to fight (oppose
o Gthac Tather than fight for change in their circun-
Stance or savitonment, o fight (ride) sgainst oppression
nd"eaploitation. inhisana 1ving conditions, slave vages,
Slbstandard fosd, etc.s

3) Division between thase Snmstes who are fully developed
Politically and are politicolly sctive;and those imates
Sho e e el poiticdily andare mot policicelty

9 Divisson (dsconoct) bevseen hose tomncas dn winessl
popuiation fined to Secure Housing
Gales” Gsho) fefacion (ad-Seg.)

The "Agceement To End ALL Hostilities Among The Races” initiated
by those courageous beothers of the Pelican Bay State Prison- Short
Cocridor Collective and the "United Front for Peace in Prisons-

wet
Sta

ent of Principles” developed by the Maoist Internationalist
Ministey of Peisons and other types of progressive collective moves
Caking place in various prisons across this Espire, these are just
linpses of the type of unity and leverage ve can achieve with 8 multi-
Zactal, inter-organizational, cross-gender alliance if ve of the
prisoner-class develop an intersectional analysis of how the penal
adninistration utilizes differences in race, religion, sesuality,
age, gender, etc. to keep us divided and at each other’s throats in-
stead of working together for own own common §ood

When the prisoner-class as & whole chooses to set aside our
Gitferences, we will come to the realization that we sre ALL collective
Ly oppressed, exploited, brutalized, abused, and tortured
by the same vicious mchine- the Prison Industrisl Complex- vhich
sd abolish by virture of the Declaration

e have the right to oppose
. of Independance. For the Declaration of Independence declares

hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men ace
e heated equal; that they are endowed by their Creator
S en fertain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life,
Libarcy snd the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these
Lighis] povernments ate instituted among Men, derviving
Thelc jube powers from the consent of the governed; that
henevae any Forn of Covernment becomes destructive of these
et 1 the Right of the People to alter or abolish it,
g lastitate a nes Government, Laying its foundation on
tocn princpir "tod oxpanfrind 112 povers 1y ouch form o0
o thin hall sees most likely to effect their Safety
Hapbiness: Prudence, indeed, Uill dictate that Government:
Hope e ablished should ot be changed for Light aud Lrao:
es; and accordingly all expocience hath shown,
that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
Sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the
foras o -fi:‘:n They are accustomed. But vhen o long train
S ibuses"and veurpations, pursuing invariably the same
Objact evinces s design to Feduce them under absolute
Dedpotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw
P ouen dovernment, and to provide new Guacds'for theic
Future society.

What the penal authorities hate most is that after decades of
oppressive and inhame living conditions, the acbitcary use of SHU's,
M. Seg., and this "lock'em up and throw avay the key” mentality,

Chat have left families brokenjend poor communities of color devastated,
the prograssive, revolutionary elements within the various neo-penal

colonies will alvays raise its head. They see within the progressive,

506 6
revolutionary eleneats that which vill expose and defeat them

commitnent, deteraination and resolve to oppose and ultimately
abolish the Prison Indust

the

1 Complex
At the same time, they can see snd feel their own poverlessness
for their pover ends at the point when the entire prisoner-class

1Lt Our heads, take the coigns of Our lives into Our own hands,

theow off the old Guard, and COLLECTIVELY struggle to provide new

for Our future security.

So, COLLECTIVELY, LET'S DARE T0 STRUGG

AND DARE TO WINt

Brian Lee Rowe, #1131545
Buckingham Correctional Center
P.0. box 430

Dilluyn, Virginia 23936

June 3, 2014

South Chicago ABG
é Zine Distro

P.O. Box 721
‘Homewood, IL 60430

bt 6