e fRE

suack fINSISE
ASHRat

et ¢

jne.rcarafl
IDE

ICARCERATION

2 Black/inside was conceptusiaed and s

cocurated by Mariame Kab, Founcer anc
Director of Project NiA. Mariame would ke

1o especialy thank the following peopls and
erganizations for thircontrbutons and support
of the exhibiton.

Teresa Siba corcorstor

Glenance Green researcher
Bily De design consulant
Maria Jonsson cesign consulant
Lor Baptsta

Naima McDermott

Sam Snyder
Camp Caun

Aftican American Cultural Center
Universiy of linai st Chicago

Specia tharis ssa to Dasn Hancack of
Frebelly Design and allof the participants in
Carmp Frebely for designing this publicaton and
supporting our mission st Projct NIA,

Nosl Rivard
Quinn Keavensy
Ryan Gibbaney.

This complation was produced by Project NIA,

53 stumnpriect s
22
R
" BN N SNOLLIGND ‘NOLLNIAKIINI

S.ANATISIH THL VLAY

A s s may ¢
3 o410y 2% poseid ays

his men toarest us, and
Somebacy from the palice
force leaned over and

ramindac M. Connr, "M
Connor, e it got nawhere
o put o’ Ralph (Abernatty)
and were hauled off by
two muscalar policemen,
cltehing the backs of our
shits in handhus. All the
others were promply
aested.In ol Ralph and

1 wera separated from
everyone el and ster

fom each other

For mora than tuentyfour
Rours, | was held incommu-
nicado, insoltry con-
fnement, No one was
permited tovist me, not
even my lawyers. Those
were the ongast, most
fustrating and bewidering
ours | have ved, Haing no
contactof any kind, | vz
besieged with worry. Hou
was the movement faring?
Where would Fred and the.
otverleaders e the maney
o have our demanstrators
released? What vas hap-
pering to the morae n the
Negro community?

| sufered no physical
brutalty s the hands of my
Jalers. Some af the prison
personnal were suly and
abusive, bt that wes to be

Soltary confinement,howerer
was brutl enough. In the
sending shltsof ight Hough
the window high in the Rarrow
callwhich vas my home dou
willnever know the mear
knouing that sunight s 1
streaning overhead and st
seeing oy darkness below
You mighthave thought | was
inthe gripof fantasy brought
on by worry. | vrry. But
there was more tothe black-
corjured up by a worried mind.
Winatever he cause, the fact
remained that | coid notsee
theight.

Wnen| had left my Atlnta
home some days before, my
wie,Coretts, had ust given
bith to ur fourth child. As
happy as we ware about the
new lite g, Caretta was
disappointed thather condton W
would ot allow her to

accompany m. She had been

my strength and inspiration

during the teror of Monigorm-

ery: Sha had been actue in

Abary, Georgia,and was

preparing o goto i it the

wives of ther il rights

leaders there, just bfore the

campaign ondes.

bk o
e M
tradcion /1n 1983, D King moved the e o the ci
rights struggle to Bimingham, Alabam, a manufactuing cly w
an ane of th richest i the South. The tue-month campgn

was a5 rough and s risky as King had antcipated. Hundreds

were arestec.An injunction was grantad fobideing matches

and demanstations, bt King decided {0 besk i, He dressed

in denims and a work shit - his sl clothes — and led a march

on Good Fridsy, April 12, 1963, Again he was arrested. this

i placed i solfay confinement.

—Historan Adam Ficlough (1995) wries about tis ncident
in i bk Martin Luther King Jr: King craaded softary ‘<

confinement. Saparsted rom Aberraty fe hisarect on

pi 12,hose vere the langest, mest Fustating and

“ewldering hous have e’ e remembered. You vl never

Yoo i of o sty snin 5

a dungeon, knowing that sunights eaming ovehasd and

i saeing ony darkness beon? A gregarious man he hatad

being sone, He ached t sea i new caugiar b a fou

caye sl He worned sbout the bl money. And ha

experienced staighowardfear (677 s ot hearng

bout tis s episd i Dr. Kig's own words. /1

FROM THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, IR
Wierode from the motl o the Zion Hil church, where the
march would begin Many hunchecs of Negroes ha turned ot
58 us and great hope grew within ma as | saw those faces
amiing spproval s w passed. I seemet that evry Biming-
ham poce cfficer had basn zent nto the e, Leaing the
church, where we wiers joned by the re of our group of fify
we stated down the forbiddn streets hat lead o the
owntoun sector. It s & beautful march we were allawed to
wal frthe than the polce had ever permitad bafare, We
were snging,and accasinally the singing was terspersad
with bursts of aplause from the sdevalks.
tohot ondiaf.
concaal in. . 5o
G

TV set, only newsppars, i some inmate s
fortunate in having the money o by ther.
Wo ae allowed playing cards, bt stangey
& Monopoly et fobidden. Having earned
that had two Monapoly sets i th packagd
oo, | requastec that one be given to ma
his requast was refusec. The Chief explinas
o me that Manopoly set contains dice, and
the inmates might use the dice o gamble,
The jaers fil o understand that the more
restricive messures taken against e
inmates, the mare ingerious they becoma,
in devisng ways and mean of smusements;
muzements often more harmfl than &
simple game called Monopoly: This seems
to mak no mpression on the siers for
they appsr ta be hel-bant on making the
inmates as miserable a possibl. Afer alf
the Chief exclaimed,we are ot nferested
inrehabiation; i s ot aprison, t s a il
The prisoners re ony here for a short me"

When | explained that | could harly be called
a short-time" pisoner, that | am bagjaring
my tenth mort here,he ey admited
that my case i the excapton, thgh nof
exceptionsl enough to be permitted
Monopoly s or a person-to-person v,
ven though many of my visitors ravel
uncheds of miles o isit me, He admis
that th stte of Ohi has nocharge against
me; e even hinta that after four month:
the State of Ohio s wiling o et me g
Howaver. t 5 aimost fen months and the
State of Oha = til holding me, the
Monagaly se = stil n the package roor,
the foodis =l errbla,the mtires i st
hin,th pillow i il flatand .

o,
Mingic
L0 cha,
ol PO

LI

Last month, | read Felix Greene's bock an
(China.1 was particulary inerested in what
e had o sa sbout thefus i the Pecples
Republic M. Greene clims trat one ja that
e vsited had ony one guard with & e The
wincows had o bars, and when he acked for
the Warden, he was shovn 2 young man with
s leaves roled up helping an inmate fxa
machine. According M. Greene, *f this had
been an American prison,the inmales would
have been gone in three minutes’ | agree
it Mr.Greene wholeheartedy, From what |
have read and from personal experience here,
only Dev's ltand and the Naz: Concenration
Camps can compare with America's
penalsystem.

| HAVE FAITH I WY FRIENDS HERE I
AMERICA AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
FOR THIS REASON | CAN BEAR THE BARRED
WINDOWS, THE STARK BARE WALLS AND THE
HARD CONCRETE FLOORS; | CAN BEAR THE
SHIDE INNUENDOES ABOUT KIDNAPPERS. |
AN BEAR THE CONDITIONS HERE THAT ARE
WORSE THAN A 200, AND | CAN EVEN LIVE
WITH THE PROSPECT OF HAVING T0 SPEND
CHRISTIAS AND NEW YEAR'S I JAIL. FOR.
1F MY SUFFERING 1N JAIL HAS CONTRIBUTED
TOWARD THE LIBERATION OF MY PEOPLE,
PEACE N EARTH AND GOODWILL 10 AL
MEN, THEN ANY SACRIFICE | HAVE BEEN
FORCED T0 MAKE HAS NOT BEEN 1N VAIL
WAE MALLORY
[ENRTARTIY)

s the holdey season draws nigh and
newspapers are hearly aden with hei gaudy
dsplays for Chistmas, take this moment o
urke and express my grattude fr the work,
thausghtz and prayers you have extendec,

Pehaps you s interested inhow | have
fared these many months n Cuyahoga
County Jil il ry 0 gveyou s cer icture
of what lfe i ke hra — notcut of sel-py,
but 50 trat you may be fuly informed. The
women are haused on the 7h floar of the
buiding. T seventh flooris civided nto
throe main sectons —Cell Blocks 74,8 and
C.Cell Blcks 74 and B ar lrge rectangular
enclosures dhiced into thireen ooms with
o toilets,one shower four faca bods snd
ano utlty sink The capaciy s 13; ut often
there are as many 8= 27 vomen tere, el
Block C i row of calls with bunks on the
wals Becausa of he vercrouded conitons,
thisparticular Call Block houses partof the
overlow of male prisoners:

My ro0m i in Cel Block 7A. s &t room
approimalel sxfeet by rine. There < a metsl
bed vith thn matress W are aowed one.
sheat,one mp flat pilow 02 pilowease and
ane unsaniary reprocessett woolblanket We.
ara gven cn bathtonl week — 3 whole
ana f you e ucy

=

The ibrarian comes nce a week with a very
it selection of ook, mostly wha-dunrits
and westerns; howerer, | dd find John
Hersey' book entiled The Wall Besices
these books, Cuyahoga County Jai furmishes
o other form of recreation.

The inmates are slowed to receive packages
each day provded that there is someone
intaested snd sbl to bing the few things
which re allowed. Snce thejul furiches no
cloting,the inmates mustprovide their aur,

THEWEALS ARE SEAVED
1N METAL D06 B0WLS,

Ameta cup s given fo each inmate on en
Atypical menu s the following: Breakfast

— sogay com fakes, cup o e poorest
coffea and chicory combinaton (sometimes.
‘complete with floatig cockroaches) Lunch
— same dog bow, & fcsimie of baked beans
(actually government surplus pea beans) with
b of tamato sauce (thrown aver the
beans), small minute chunks of fat sowbel
up o o same brow called coffes breac;
Dinnr — bologns,bread, same brew, ol If
there is anything Cuyahaga Couny serves
plenty of. = breac. Afer 3 month of tisdi,
e is imost wiling to admit gult o any
crime,since | am told that better aod is
sarved inthe penitentiay:

e e alowed such frts o= bananas,
sppls,oranges, an occasional mocado and
sometimes tomtoes, These fems ae often
mutiated under the pretensa of inspection.
What one is expectad o concal in tomato
iz beyond me.

The day room or recreational oo is the
spaco tha i e btween the rooms on ather
e of the area faken up by e tolet and

<howe.In therecreation roomis ang rushic
bl with two make-shitbenches,no radio or
nroduction / Vil Mas Mallry was born in Georgia in
1927, She moved t New York Ciy with her mother in 1930,
M. Mallory die n 2007 at the age of 80. I between those
years,Mae Mallory piayed an integral ol in the black frescom
motement inthe ULS. Vet she & far from a housahold name.
nd even those who know something about black history may
ot have heard of hercontrbuons, et before thera was &
Froa Angela or Froe Assata campaign, there was a Froe
Mas Mallory one.

Mae Malor fled fom Nt Caroln to Ohio n August 1961 in
i forher i, She was supporter and fiend of i radical
Robert . Willams. Wiiams, wha had fought n Ward War
retuned hame to bacoma the leader of his ocal North Carolna
NAACP chapter inthe mic-1050s.In August 1061, Mao Malory
along it ournaist Juln Mayfieid vt Robert Willams and
i famiy n Monroe. The summer of 61 in Morros had been
characterzed by acial tumul t ended with Robert Willams
being sccused of kcnapping sn eldely v couple, M. and
s Bruce Stagal. He flec the county to Cuba allegadly vith
e help of Mallory snd Mayfield. Mayfield escaped to Ghana
and Mallory found her way to Clavelan Ofic

Falsoy accused of kidnapping charges, Mae Mallory long with
i cther Monroe Defendants woukd face a st prson sentence
and years of agal roubles Whi in Ciaveland, Mallor fought
against being extdct o Monras f face hr charges. Malkry
described Monros a: & place

been acquited when accused of a rme against a whiteman,
and & whiteman has

crme agains a blackman! Bacause of her refusal to reum o
Moo, Malory v spand oer year and a hlf i s i O,

blck man has

been conicted when accused of &

Wil she was incar

ted st Cuyahoga County Ji,she wrote
leters and sharod her thoughts about the experience. The
following i an sxcerpt from An Open Leter...To My Many
Frids in Amarica and Those in Foreign Lands, n wtich Maz.
Mallory describes hr e nji. /11

g8%"%;

4 =5~ 2

1 that il # ws nothing fo 50 & woman s

brought i l st n s case, the

vigh.Shahad boa s badybesten by 2

i plctat the mabon n utydcit 3

vant o it . Sha ke i H
2

I donf want ber 3

dymy, @ my shiFt, ©

o get out of bed. 2 F
S :
S E;

one of suddar Rules probitel
HILPREN pom VIUTING thei ¥

Notueks in il
were doing | couid' bl
of them were doing tim for the numbers
either six morths o a year.In New York,
doing time for number running was racticall
unhesrd of, and it certinly ' get s
months o & yesr, Everybocy in the vorld

it ute s fow

Knows that he numbers business keeps the
aps fat. These women hadn't hurt anybody
or stolen anything, yot they wera sitting i i,

by ey e s aps ey
i T o i was compoig it
e lotry Vs e sy
rencob i e somo

s served in
rather than in the state penitentiry

161 had expectad o find s
iminas o big-time female gangter
mols i the workhouse, | would have b
sadly cissppontec. The st of the womer
who

hardensd

it doing time for the numbers were
infor some form of patty thef, ke <hoplft
ing ar passing bad checks. Most of thase

sisters wera on welfar and all of them had

1 barely abs to make ends mast

The courts had shonn them na mercy. They
brought i this sister shorlyafter | arrved
‘ho was eight months pregnant and had
been santenced t & month for shopifting
someting tha cast lass than twenty dolrs

ater, a middle-apep SsTe”
expeaming T e nockbeuse

She worked during the wesl and served her
Simorth sentence fordrur

1 riving on
o women vith
the same charges would never by

such a sentence, | houghttwas hareh, But |
it realiz how harsh uni =

wed

old me that
diving i
oun hause. She hacn't

ehe had been arreste for drur
the drnevay of
been on a public oad. She also told me

that the cops had arested o because they
it ke the way she taked to ther,

/-\k.m.m

Al right, but you really don't need it

Exery time they calle m to ses the doctor
after that, | went reluctanty. He would take.
my srm ot of the sing and move i back
i forth about tua inches, "0, o2, yaue
getting et he would say. | avays asked
‘sbout physical therapy and he aluys ssid
there was nothing he cauld do

Finaly, Evelyn went tocourt Some of the
items we peitoned for were rdicuous. In
adeltion o physica therspy and nerv test,
we ssked fo peanut ol & rubberbal, &
ubber grip, books,and suff o craw o paint
with.Tne court fnaly granted a physical
therapist f e would find one and pay the
bl but | never ot o, zeems that o
physicaltherapit in Middlesex Couny was
wilng t come o he prison o reat me, and
only a physical thrspist from Middiasex.
County was permitiad,

Tie workchoust hed

a e heap oF les,
mest of THew STupid”
Novevapapers or egaines ars paratie.
Vin | aked uhy wo couint 1008
novapaper ey (o me that nevspapers
e ety Obdouy a porson
e e paper hat i o hr st had

been raped, e would wait unl the rapst
came o sl and then do him bodiy harm

“But? | protested, "he ofher inmates waich
tlevison and listen to th radio (1 wasn't
allowed sithen). They could ecaive the
Same information that way o from a vist
from home.

i that case; the wardan tod me, "we dorit
letyou read newspapers because they are

afre hazar

| could see the chidren witing outsice,
looking up at tha ugly o busing with sad
frustrated faces. Their mothers would run
o the only window that faced the parking
lot just o geta gimpse of ther chicren
Yallng outaf the window was & no-no,
butonce in a whie somebody would get
cartiad awsy. Sometimes ther frntic
Screams went urhesrd

Graduly | bagan to know the women. They.
were all very kind to me and treated me e
asiser They laughad like helwhen | told
them that | was supposedy being potected
from them, Tnose firstdays, before | hac
el earned to manewer with one hand,
they id hatever they could ta mske things
easierfor me. They voluntesred to on my.
unforms and snesl them o the launcry to
be washed more than ance & week, Wnen
they told me their charges and the tim they
I sbout an hour, a guard unocked the autsde
door and scked me | wanted breaifast |
said, Ve and in & few minutes she came
backith eggs and bread ina pastic bowl
nd a metal cup containing something hat
was supposed fo be coffes. The aggs dd't
taste too bac. “Maybe prison food st as bad
as they sa t s | romember thinking,

| heard voices and it was clear that they.
wereritpolce wices, Then the racio came
on. Black musc It sounded sa good. | loked
through the peaphole and saw faces, weird
nd istorted because of the concave glass,
but Black faces to maich th Black oices |
s heard

How yall doin'? | asked.

No response. Then realized how hick the
metaldoor was, 0| shouted this Sme;
“Howyall doin?" A chorus of muffled ‘Fine’s
came back. | wss fsling good. Real people
were just n the othe s of the wl.

The guard opened the metaldoor and handad

me some uniforms, maids uiforms —royal
blue, white butions,colss and cuffs

1 kept trying them on il b oftham .
Then she gave me & huge cottan sl that
laoked ke atent drez= and a nighigown that
laoked exactly ke the <lp.

“You sre entted to s clean unform once &
ek “Once week?" | nearly screeched,
They had to ba razy.

Bohind the guard,though the open door, |
ol sea some of the women standing
around. They wera al it seemed, Black. They
emiad and waved st m. It was 5o good fo
a0 tham, it was like a piece of hoe.

“When are you going to unlock ma and let me
g0 out there?" asked, motioing to the ol
women, The guard looked surpisec.

I don't know. Youll have o ask the warden”

“Wel, when can | see the warden; | pushec,
1o ko Then why cartyou et me out?”

“We were tld you were o remain in your roam” .
“Wall how lang am | supposed o sta in here

locked up ke this?" | coritknow | saw it
was useless. “Would you please tll e
warden o the sherif that | wouid ke to see
" requested. The guard unlocked the
door and ws gone.

o

Thet Likle o we
£EUNG In MY RiGHT @R

I knew | needed physical therapy if | vas aver
touse it agan. | had lesrmed to it with my
left hand, but that was no substiute. | nseded
more specific diagnosis of xactl what had
been damaged befos | wauld know whether
or ot | would eve use it again,sven with
physical therapy.

Isolation was drving me up the wll. |
noeded materials o write and o draw,paint,
orsketch, Al my requests went unhasdac.

| s parmitiad nothing,including pesnut i
and s small bl 0 5id movement in my arm
When th i doctor exarined me | ket
i about my arm.

“Why;we doctors aerit gods, you know.
Theres nothing anyone can do when someane
iz paralyzed”

“But they said | might get better | protestc,
“On,yes, and the physical therapist at
Roosevelt ssid that some peanut ol
might help”

“Peanut " ha asked, laughing. Trat's a
good one. | can't it a proscipton for that
o can 12 My acvice o you s o frget
about allof that st You dont nead sy of i,
Somatimes i ife we just have to accept
tings that are unpleasan. You sl have one
good am-

I kep talling bt couid ses | vas wasting
my tme. H had no ntention of even tying to
elp me. "Wl would you atlesst prescribe.
some vtamin 67"
1T SEEMED LIKE the miceof the ight Someone v
Caling me. Waking ma ug. Whatdid they want? Sucdenly
1w sware of all inc of scty. Polce, thscrackling of
walie-talies, The lace was buzzing.

HeaE, pot THis ou

one of them said, handing me a batobe.

“Whats ing an?" | asked. You're being moved Whera am |
being moved 97" Vol fnc ot when

getther

Ashaslchair s wating. | fgurec hey wre taking me fo il
There was & caravan of poice cars outside the hosptal. It
looked ke | was gonna be n parade again.

The rde was plassant. Justlooking at houses and trees
and paople passing by in cars was gaod. We arrved at the
prison at sunisa, inthe middle of nowhere It was an ugly,
two-story brick buding. They pushed me up the stairs to
the secon laor.

| putina cellithtwo doors. A door of bars was on the
nd directy utside of that was s heavy metal door
with 'ty peephola that | could arely ses through, The cell
contained cotwith a ough green blanket on it and a diry
white woaden bench with hundred names scratche on it
Adjacent t the cellwas the bathroom, with a ik, a ot
and s shower. Hanging abore the sink was the bottom of &
pot orpan. I wss supposed o serve as a miror, bt | could
barely sea myselin . There was an windon coered by
e thick metal scroens facing a parking It a ield, and,

| walked around th cel, to the bath,tothe window, {0 the
door. Back and forth unt | had tred myselfout | was st
pretty weak. Then |lay down on the cot and wondered what
hisplace was going o be e

heee i was,

fiest Jfly :’rnsm
$1 MILLION
IR ISOLATION

ASSATA SHAKUR

© Assata Shakur was a mamber
ofthe Black Panther Party (8PP) and then a
loaderin the Black Liberaton Army (BLA).
She was implicated n saris of BPP bank
obberies inthe late 60 and was targeted by
the FBI uhich made her the subject o &
natianwide manhunt in 1971, When she vias
captured in 1972 she was not charged with

I May 1673, Ascata Shakur was stoppect on
the New Jersey Turmpike long with her fisnds
Zayd Shakur and Sundiata Acoii allaged for
riing with broken talight, Thera vas &
cubsequent shoot out tha resuted n the
desths of Zayd Shakur and s New Jersey.
State Poice Traoper named Werner Foerstr
Aszata was shot ice during the ncident
\whils hr arms were rased in surrender.In
1977, ater soveral court appearances and
trias, che was found guilty of murdar and
assauitand sentenced o fe n prison. Assata
ascape from pison in 1970 with he help of
four members of the BLA, Afte ning for
several years a5 & fugitve in the US, she
eventually made it o Cuba n 1984, She sl
lves there. The FBI has branded her as &

*domestc tarorst” and offered a revard of $1

millon for her captur.

Joy James explains the enduring sppesl of
‘Assats Shakar, ‘Shakur i singular because.
<he i a recagnizable female revolutionary,
one not bound to a male prsana (p. 138)
James cids, "Alang with Harriet Tubman,
Shakur would become one of the few black
female figures i the United Staes recag-
nzed as & leader n an organizston that
publecl advocated armed sef-defense
against racistvolence (p. 139)"

In 1988, Shakur published her best-seling
autobiography ‘Assata’ The folloving s an
edited excerptfrom the book.
g men o, for manky
or cigarste, baught from
cher-orker nmtes pefry
matehboes ful of solen
nutmeg | grabbed & box a5
though twere a pound of
heswy drug. Stredinto &
glass of cold water,a penny.
matchbox fullof utmeg

hac the ick o hree or

four rers.

Wit some money sent by Ell |
s fnaly bl to by st for
betir highs fom guards nthe
pizon Smugging toprisoners
was the guards sideling; every
pison's inmates knaw that's
bow quards make mostof
i ling.

| prefered he soltary that
i behavr brought .|
wouid pace for hours ke
cursing sl fo myzet And
my ot targete et |
Bile and God. But hare wa

alegal it o how mch tma

|

Fehind Lore, o man

Ci07 7

neve( reformy

[

money,r connections, you
could get ranstared t tis
Colony whose penl poicies
<ounded amost oo good o
be rue. Somehow, Els
effors n my beal were
successhlin ate 194F, and |
was ransfared o Nk
1 GOT TEN YEARS. The gils
gatone o e years, n the
Women's Reformatary st
Framingham, Massschusets

Yon near ‘M‘ld bl

s was in February, 19461
wasnt uite buerty-ons, | had
noteven stared shavng, They
took Shorty and ma,hand-
cuffed togethar to the
Charestown State Prison.

That sooms surpisng, aver
e the cozens years snce |
have been out o prison.
Bacause your rumber in
pison became partof ou
You never hoard your name,
only your number On all of
your clathing every tem, wa
yournumber, stancilad. It
grew stencled on your brsin.

g chins ]
have deep feaing for othar
human beings should think a
long, kang time before he
votes o have cther men kdpt
behing bars — caged. | am ot
Saping there shoukdtbe
pisons, but here shouldt
be bars. Behin bars, a man
never reforms. He vil never
forget, He never will get
completely aver the memory
ofthe bars:

Aferhe gets ou, s mind
friesto erasa the experiencs
but ha canit Ive talked with
numerous former comsicts
has been very neresting fo
me o fn that s of our mingis
had blttad away many detals
of years in prizon. But n every
case,he wil tll you that he
cant forga those bars

s a*fsh (prison slang for
now inmate) at Charlstour, |
was physicaly miserable andt
a5 i tempret s snake,
being suddenly withoutcruge.
The cols dicn't have running
water. The prison had been
buitin 1805 — n Nagoleon's
day — and was sven syled
after the Bastile Inthe iy
cramped cel. | could e on my
cot and touch both walks. The
todet was covered pai |
don't care how stong you are,
you cant stand hasing o smell
auhol cellrow of defecaton.

Awnle Y.

it oY ‘f"‘"

THE FRISOH PSYCHOLIEIST
inteniewad me and he got
caled avery ity name | coud
hikc,and the prison chaglin
got calld vorse. My first
leter, remember was from
my refgaus brather Pibertin
Dkl toling me his noinoss
church was going to pray for
me.| scraued hma ey m
ashamed {0 tink of today.

Sk ST SR ||
remember sesing her cach
ersef,thentyto i at m
nowin the faded cungareas
Stencied with my rumber
Neither of us could find muck
to say unti | wished she
hadntcome at all The guards
with guns waiched sbout ity
conviets and vistors. | have
heard scores of new prisonars
Swesring back n ther celi
that when free their frstact
wouid be o waylay those
viting-room guards, Hatrec|
ofen focused on them.

1 FIRST GOT IGH N ChARLESTf
on nutmeg. My cellmate s
among atfeast s uncred

N
S

”_ ntroduction! Malcolm X sutabiography pubshed i 1965 had and sl has & fi

significant influsnce on the consciousness o incarcerated peaple in the United
States. In Soul on e, Edridge Claaver wote about the impact tha Malcolm X
ad on blck prisoners in particulr

L ————
h hd isen o (aowes dets o rethoights.For h rsson b s ‘
—

symbal f hape, & model for housands of black comicts who found themsehes
apped in the vicous PPP cycle: prison parole-prison. One ting hat the jues,
polcemen and adminisratos of prisons seem never to have understood, and
for which they ceraily do not make allowances, is tat Negro convics, basical
rather than sce thamselves as criminals and perpelators of misdesds, look
upon themseives as prisoners o war the victms of a vicous dog-cat-dog
cocil systam that s =0 heinus 3 fo cancel out heir own malefactins: nthe
gl thers < no right o wrong,

Rather than aving and paying a debt o sociaty,Negro prisaners feel thatthey
e teing abused. that hei imprisanment = simpy sncther form of oppression
ich they have knoun sl thei ves. Negro inmates fel tht they are being
e, that s “society” that owes tham, that should b paying them, a debt

erca' penclogy does not take ths nto account Malcolm X 4 and black
omicts know that th ascansion o pawer of Malolm X or man ke him
would aventually have revlutionied panclogy. Malolm delered mercless
and damning indictmentof prevaiing parology (. 58-59)"

Malcom X spent neary seven years locked behind brs and converted o lsam
‘whie he s imprizoned. Upon his relasse, he became commited o the socis
nd potical upit f black peopl and s an inspration o mions. The
following i an escerpt fom The Autobiography o Malcol X that recourts

<ome of his experience of captuty and confinament. /1t
W PERSUNT WY wAtiny
0 HAVE GEES ahbentifigif
FHER Mo AN BEIRGS
ou el [ TR A LU
'ONG [IME BEFCRE BE
VOTES TRV OTAER
MENKET SEHIND BARS -

CAGED.
Ofcoursa after the courts overuld them and
they were compeled t reease ma from soltry
confinament and 24-haur guar, they had o
sesi other ways 1o asset ther dorminance

Unlke the other women wha ara baing held for
il am forced o wear inttuionsl lthin.
They sa | am high securty risk and thy want
o make it ificut for me to excape

Ty refuse o permi my storeys o give me
legl materil uniess they frstread t over
demonstrating that they hase no respact
whatsasver for the confidentlty which s
suppose o exist befween lawyer and clant.

| COULD CONTINUE TO ENUMERATE A HUNDRED LITTLE
THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE IN THE HOPE OF BREAKING
WE, BUT | CONTINUE TO GIVE NOTICE 0 THEN THAT THERE IS
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THEY CAN DO T0 BREAK MY DETERHI-
NATION TO KEEP STRUGGLING,

THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN ACCOMPLISH THIS 1S BY TAKING MY
LIFE AND THEN THEY WOULD HAVE T0 FACE THE WRATH OF
THE PEOPLE. THE SAWE HOLDS TRUE FOR ERICKA, BOBBY,

GEORGE, THE SOLEDAD BROTHERS, ETE.

PaXes

Tis i & prison and the sirocious conditons
that charactarze ikl every Ameican
priscn ar present n this place. Rather than
Startwith the specifc treatment | have been
recning, I would ke to deinests the
Greumstances under wich sl of us are
compelled o e

Fistof all the prison s filhy t s nfestd with
osches and mice. Often we discover roaches
cooked into aur food. Not 3 long ago,a sster
found a mause tal inher soup. A few days ago
s crining a cup of coffes and | was forced
1o 5pitouta s,

Roaches eraly cover the wals of our cells st
nigh, cravling scross our bodies whila we
e, Every night we hear the screarms of
inmates wha wake up o find mice scurying
across their bodie, | discovered an in bt
with me las ight i fact

‘The medicalconditions hre are abominatle.
The doctors are racsts and entrely nensiive
1o the neads af the women here. One sister
who i housed inmy corridor complsined to
the docto notfoolang aga tht she had
terble pains inher ches,

THERE 15 AFSOLUTE Y NOTHING

THEV CAN DO

Afer ubich the doctor suggested o her that
<he get a job wihaut once examining her 1
was ate discovered that the st had tumors
i hr braast and needed immedita hospial
atenton. Thi is indicatv of the way e are
ireated here,

We spend mostof our e inather 5 x ' cals
with fith and cancrete floors oroutsice on the
bare cordors, We ae not ven allowed to
plce blankets on the flaor where we must st
1o protectcursehes from th fith and the cold

o talk a it about the lbary they have a
collection of adventure stories and romances
‘which they have designated the brarg It s
impartant t reaize that skthough th prson
popuation s 05 percent Black and Puerto
Rican, found only fve or ix baoks about
Black people and erature in Sparish s
extremely scarce,

1 could go on and on but perhaps now | will
turm to the specifc kinds of eatment | have
been receiving myzelf. | am convinced that
the authortes in this place have boen
instructed to make Ife s dificlt a possivle
for me, probably in oder to conince me to
<top fightng extraditon.

]
ANGELA DAVIS

© inthe summerof 1970, Angela Davis began to work on &
campaign t free mprisonad Black Panther actists who were known s the
“Soledad Brotners? Dav came tonatonal stenton afte 17-year old Jonathan
Jackson (brother of George Jackson) burst o a Calfomia courtroom and
abiucted Judge Harold Haley prosecutor,and three femle jurars, whis feeing
o prsaners o tal for murder, Jonathan Jacksan had hope t exchange the
hosiages for the releaze of his brcthar George and the other Soledad prisoners.
Unfortunatsy Jonsthan, bwo prisaners, and Judge Haley were al iled during
th incident. A shotgun that was used i the incident was found o be registered
o Angela Davis, She was incicted and placed on the FBI's Mast Wanted s,
Facing conspiracy snd murder charges, Davi went no hdng, She was eventusly
aested in New York n October 1970 Angela Davis became & cause cébre
and an intoratonal campaign was estabished to froe her Davis would
eventually face a il in March of 1972. In June 1972, she was acquied of ll
charges. Angela Davis remains & prominent vice for socal justice and
‘ransformation todsy.

The folowing is s excerpt rom an interview with Angels Davs a he New York
Woren's House of Detention n October 1970,
MY #f
Sx3F ]
ceLt f

swear | want o cry sometimes when | ook st
some of the olde prisoners who have been
in prizon 0 long that hey hod cony
with peopla who aren' there and blink teir sad
1y four o fve minu
up nside svery tme | watch those oldcomicts
ahuffing simiessy srcund te yard with 1o
partcusrdestination in mind. Wt they fee!
mever s beyond my scope of know-
ing, and il not attemt t ante nfo
roubled mind Tris wouid be unfar, | think Al
an do st this stage ofthe game i ook at my
oldar brthers of ppression and wonder i tis
il ba me 15 or 20 years fom o

atons

1 wel

CAN 1 HOLD ONY WILL 1 LAST? WILL 1
SOMEDAY HOLD CONVERSATIONS WITH
GHOSTS? WILL 1 LET WY MIND PLUNGE
DUWNARDS INTO THE PIT OF LOST SOULS,
WHERE 17 1S GOLD AND DAMP AN LONELY?

]

Thase aa things | often tink sbout 1y ot
to ik about them but the harder |y the
more v they bocome in my mind.Itis
encugh o make a cat shake his closed fists
at the k.| feel this way because | know
Something i very wrong, I not right tha
man should spend halfof i Ife behind
prison vl becausa of mistake he made in
i youth. | know this is rang because | have
<aen what long period of ncarceration have
done to the mind — he soul

have seen cats
leave here tuice as hostle, ice as confused
tuice 2 ant-social than they were when they
entered. Deplted of noarly al of th

uices, they are “thrown back” nto saciety
whers they are expectad to function ke nor-
malhuman beings. And hen society wonders
why recidvism iz 50 high n the county uhy
man serves five o tanyears in prison only to
g0 out and commit the same actsgain

mertal

THE PIT IS HELL! I 15 A BURNING, FLAMING HELL. CUT OFF FROM SOCIETY, DEPRIVED
OF THE SOFF-TOUCH OF A WOMAW, RELEGATED T0 THE TNSANE WORED OF UNSAYOR
FODDS, HARD BEDS, SECOND-HAND INFORMATLON: TEEDLESS HARASSENT AND
INTIMIDATION, ARCHAIG THERAPEUTIG PROGRANS, DBSOLETE VOCATIONAL TRAI-
UG, INFERIOR SCHOOLS, STUFFY CELLS, UNFAIR MAILING AND VISITING PRIVILEGES,
RACIST PRISON GUARDS, VIOLENGE, TREACHERY, WURBER AND SO MANY OTHER EVILS
THAT YOU GET D122Y JUST TH{UKING ABOUT'THEM, YOU FIND YOURSELF SOMETIMES

QUESTIONING YOUR MiN EXISTENCE. IS ERIGATEMNG | THNK EACH MIGHT EVERY
CONVIC IN THIS PLACE THANKS WHATEYER G0D HE BELIEVES IN FOR SEEING HIM

SAFELY THROUGH THE DAY, WHEN | LAYMY HEAD DOWN ATAIGHT, 1 KNOW | A
THRNKFUL T0 WHATEVER 600 EXIST THAT | WASK'T SHAIKED T0 DEATH OR POI-
SONED BY THE ROTTEN FOOS, OR SHOT I THEWEAD BY SOME TRIGGER-HAPPY GUARD
LOOKIN FOR A REPUTATION 2

THEPIT !

ALFRED HASSAN

Flsom Prsen whose ltlers and essoy |
appeared in & bk called Masimu Secur
Lators fram Prian publshed in 1972. Tha
follaing s a0 excarpt from i ez e\
ThePit / ik \

3049

We spendithe vest majarty of our te veg-
etsting and punging deeper ntoth pit of
lostsouls.t i wonder that we behave ke
Snakes cravling sraund atthe botom of &
deop, darkpit When you cage a man up ke
an animl how elze do you expect fo him to
behave? No man, no matter uhat he has done
in e, deserves to b trested e an animl.
13 man has don something o bad that we
cant stand o ook athim,then <hoot i, But
don'ttampar with s soul.If h s tyrant,
then relieve i of his misry with a bulletin
s brain. But don't whip is mine.Dorit e

to him when ha knows you arefing, Don't
han i that hit sbout rehabittstion. Don't
make promises you'l never keep. A man can
Stand 20 much. You can bet the fesh but

it il scon become sccustomed f th pain
Butthe mind i vey, very tencer, I can stand
=0 much. And once the mind i gone, what o
you o with the bocy? Yu put the bty out
on theyarc Yeah,thats t. Walking down long
conidors,in small ooms, cross tha nestly
trimmed grass. I taking sbout the comicts
wh are nthe Pt frever
sy Ul A Black Vew f P e Ay 1971 e
1 e Blck Scholn i sy
o= e Pecpmienciign ele e

T vt e s s ety ety
pison' first floor) i soltary confinement Ono couid stay n
the hole for week or a fetime depending upan his color and
atttuce, It here i the ole that men are made and broken at the
<ame time. I i here that the previos threat of getting urt can
reslize sl all o0 cuicky And i here that the seeds of Black
Consciousnass have been culivated n the minds of

many black men.

It very difcutfo s layman such sz | a describe the simo-
sphare of the hol but | shall ry: | bleve that the very frstthing
that the brothe notces sbout the ale i the dezoltensss and
S — T ————y
me. | dort beive that | had
<uch a faelng o nfense amptiness n my fe
before then, | ha been st o he hole to have my attude
changed,becaus ated,t was not conducve o “good
order” A brothr had ust been murdered by
worked in the hole, and rathe than go through tha typ of thng,
1 pretende o be insttutionalzed. Fortunately my stay only lasted
fourtaen days and | s returned o the ganaralinmate population.

ards who

Life i tha holeis epitomized by one big question mark Ucer-
taity i th order of the day Your vistors are turned around at the
gate when they come tosea you The food quantty and qualy s
drastcaly recucad toth levelof subsistence. You might gt a
shower and you might ot — depanding upan whether o not the
guard's vife was good o him the night befor, | believe trt
i the hole that i the most mamorable aspactof the prison

. They are all the same, and ye they are tofally
difrent fram one ancther.

e ney

57/ 6000 ORDER

v},
A !

Wit in 1970, Zayd Shaku, the deputy
ministe of nformation for the New Yark
State chapter of the Black Panther Party
and also ance a prisoner, echoes Jacksor's
<ense that many biack men wil svantuall
find themselves behind bars, He a0
suggests that fe n prian i an extension

o e in some disadvantaged communites.

" We have people who ars forced at gunpoint

"4kt v behind concrete and steel. Others of
s, inwhat we ordinarly thnk of as the
communiy v at gunpoint again i amost
the same conditions. The penitentiaries, &
they call hem, an the communites are
plagued with the same thing: ciope, discase,
police brutaly, murder and rats unning over
the places tha you dhell in.

We recagniza that mast o the miltant
dissatisfad youth ae off n the pententiris.
Eighty porcent o the prison population is
black, brown and yellow peogle. You look.
around and say; ‘what happened o my man.
I haven't seen i for a fong time, then you
et busted, go tojail and there he s. Pisons
ar0 an extension of tharoprassion. n these.
penitentiares are the Malcolms, Claavers
Huey P. Newtans, Bobby Seales and ail
other polical prisoners. Now the inmates
are moving fort to harmess theiroun

§ rwnwrrenve pence

o s prisoners,

destinies. They'ra not relying on g,
damagogic politcians to recress their
grievances. Of course, the courts didn't
redhess their gievances i the first place,
S0 there's o sense in rlying on them
either. There's very it diffrence.
batween the peniantiares in California
and those in New York, New Orleans,
Alsbama or Chicago. Is the same system.
America i the prison. Allof America is

a prison whers the paople are being | |,
heldcapive by the ratach criminals” |

Inthe curent era of mass incarceration,
is critical that we re-engage with priscners
who can teach us something about thir

prisons are really an exfension of our communifies —

expariences of captvity and confinement.
Their sories and their voices are mportant.
in our eforts to dsmantle the Prison
Industrial Comples. The selactions offered in
this publication are llwriten by biack
prisoners and focus on their experiences
nd observations sbout incarceraton.

We niteall ofyou t vist the Blackiinside
extibiton in fall 2012, Informatin about
the exhiton il ba avaiable t
blackinsde2012worcpress.com,

/ Mariame Kaba
intrduction !
introduction /
troduct

O-

Nearly 2.3 milln people are kacked in America' prisons and
i oy In the 19605, Malcoim X suggasted that ‘America
mens prison’ His tatemant s ven more appropriste today
The Unitc States has fe percentofthe world's popuiaton and
twentyfve percent o = prisanars.To call the Unied States &
prison naton i o b stating th cbviaus, Hawever,notsvryone
is aqual targeted by the Prison Industal Complex. Afican
Americans,in partcua, e disproportonatelyimpaced by this
American spidemic of mass ncarceration. They comprise
forty-fu percent of the prian popuation exen whie only
maling up about uehe percent ofthetotl LS. opulation.

Over the years, number of unknown and famous prisonars
have witien about theirexperience of incarceration. Several
excallent antholagias of thei witing slready exist. This
publcaton, however, s a companion to an xhibion tled
Black/inside sout the hstory of black mprizonment in the
United States. The BlacklInsida exhiton consicers how a
=ystem of imprisoning Black men and women inthe Untec
States has been sustained from colonial imes tothe presert.
One of the gosls af the exhibton s to festure the voices of
bk prisoners addressing ther experence of captinty
confinement and freadon

George Jackson,who became knoun a2 an of the Soledsd
Brothers i aternfic example o a prisoner whose witng

helped t fuminats the experience of ncarcaration for a whole
generaton of peaple across the world. He wroe that his e as
a black man in Amerca prepared him fo isprison experience,

“Blackmen born i the ULS. and fortunate enough to five
st the age of ightaan are conditianed to accept the
inevtabily o prisan...Being bor & slave in a captive
Sacisty and never experiencing any objective basis for
expeciation had the eifect of preparing m for the
progressively traumtic misfortune thatled so many.
blackmen to the prison gate | was propared for prison.
Irequired only minor psychic adjusiments.

BLACK/I

BLACK PRISONERS WRITING

Aame oML Maomx »
1 Millonfor st s WA

Metsl Dog Banl Mae Mallry 2

I |Vt Liber King \k 2