Open Letter from political prisoner, Russel
Maroon Shoats
I would like to offer a few words on the successful launching
of a unified "Amnesty" campaign for Political Prisoners
and Prisoners of war (PP/POWS) centered in this country.
The "Jericho '98" demonstrations held in Washington, D.C.,
San Francisco, Los Angeles, and elsewhere were a milestone
in our efforts to win the release of PP/POW. In that connection,
I believe the primary organizers and all of the participants
deserve the credit for making this historical event a
success. One that all of us can say marks the beginning
of a renewed international effort to free some of our
most tenacious, committed and knowledgeable freedom fighters.
It also was a step in the right direction in helping a
new generation of freedom fighters to come together and
draw energy and inspiration from their assembled contemporaries,
and the veterans of many historical campaigns and battles
of the past. I salute you!
Consistent
with that effort and building on Jalil A. Muntaqim's "From
Jericho '98 to the year 2000!" (an article in issue 5
of the Black Panther) I would stress our need to
place more immediate attention on one crucial point. We
need to get the various "Jericho Organizing Committees"
(JOC’s) to more effectively link our efforts with those
of the grass-roots poor and oppressed peoples’ efforts
to combat the racist, imperialist criminal "just-us" system
and their growing "prison industrial complex." In that
regard, the center of gravity, the center of power rests
with organizing the "immediate families" of the hundreds
of thousands of oppressed prisoners being held captive.
Those who have already taken action to force their immediate
concerns to the forefront of the political debate, especially,
the families struggling against the various aspects of
oppression within the prison system, amongst them the
JOC's will find their most seasoned supporters and most
powerful allies. A "lobby" that if carefully nurtured
will prove to be a force far surpassing any other segments
that the PP/POWS can hope to gain anything from but lip
service... for the for-seeable future! They are the most
oppressed element, the modern day relatives of slaves
who have nothing to loose but their chains.
[ Image By: Todd (Hyung-Rae) Taraselli - S.C.I. Greene
]
Some will have reservations about this approach. Fearing
that the PP/POW issue will get lost or side tracked if
immersed in a generalized struggle against the criminal
"just-us" system and the Prison Industrial Complex. That,
after all, did occur in the last generation. However,
in truth, I must say that the fault rested with the progressive
and revolutionary forces for failing to properly deal
with what was then known as "The Prison Movement." We
were out-flanked by a series of shrewdly contrived concessions
that in retrospect only served to tighten our chains.
Though cautious, I've learned my lessons, discarded my
phobias associated with that failure and now stand convinced
that my freedom and that of most other "recognized" PP/POWS
rests with and is dependent on fighting this battle in
close alliance with the above mentioned forces.
Embryonic efforts in that direction have been occurring
in various locales for some time. In my immediate area
progressives and revolutionaries from human rights activities,
prison reformists, death penalty abolitionists, anarchists,
nationalists, Pan Africanists, "Move" members and supporters,
and families of prisoners, have come together to mount
a number of impressive efforts. They've marched on the
state capital, on a number of state prisons, and attended
the Washington Jericho '98 March. They've gradually built
a Emergency Response Network that's capable of placing
"visitors" in any prison in the State system within hours
of need. They've done a great deal, up to now, to neutralize
the State's intention to execute Mumia Abu Jamal and others
sentenced to death, as well as help force this state's
most oppressive prison (SCI Greene at Waynesburg) to be
more cautious in implementing its repressive policies.
In that connection, their hundreds-strong demonstrations
(500 on one occasion) and law suits against that facility,
helped to crystallize the issues around the death penalty
and "Control Unit" prisoners. These efforts led to an
unprecedented series of firings, demotions and disciplining
of ranking officers at Waynesburg over a 3-month period.
The Warden was demoted and transferred; two Lieutenants
were fired; the major and a Captain were demoted; two
other guards were fired and seven other Lieutenants received
time off.
This coalition expressly recognizes the local PP/POW,
supports our demands for amnesty, always allows our advocates
to address their rallies, and otherwise works closely
with us. More importantly, there is a groundswell of prisoners
in the State system who are being encouraged and educated
by these efforts and who themselves are beginning to look
for ways they can join forces with us. None of that progress
could have been made without the efforts and participation
of those grass-root elements. In my opinion, they are
nothing compared to what the future holds!
In conclusion, I encourage all who read this to consider
doing something similar in their immediate areas and in
particular the JOC's. So that when the next Jericho Marches
and Rallies are held in the various cities, the families
of locally oppressed prisoners will also show up to demand
amnesty for those who are now "recognized" as PP/POWS
and in this way, they display a spirit of solidarity with
those of us who are lending "immediate" aid to their loved
ones’ concerns.
In Solidarity & Struggle
June 13, 1998
Russell "Maroon" Shoats
AF - 3855
1040 E. Roy Furman Hwy.
Waynesburg, PA 15370-8090
WHY WE ARE THE ANAHUAC NATION Mexica Movement
For at least four thousand years our people have
been the product of a single unit of civilization: Anahuac
("the land between the waters"). Anahuac, our land, covers
the geographic area from what is today called Costa Rica,
Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico
to that other part of our land that is now occupied by the
United States and called "The Southwest" (our Aztlan-Chicomoztoc
lands).
We, the Anahuac Nican Tlaca, have been melding, sharing,
and weaving our nation for at least four millennium. We
have historically been a civilization with many languages,
many city states (much like Italy was at one time), many
climates, many versions of our one civilization -- all
sprouting from our original Olmec mother civilization
that started around 1800 B.C.
Today we have European boundaries making a scar on our
souls and on our land (European Settlers shamelessly still
call our land their land). The scars-boundaries on our
land and on our flesh puts the power, the wealth and our
land in the hands of the descendants of Europeans. This
must change.
The darker to lighter degrees of scar on our physical
self has erroneously distorted our clear sense of being
Nican Tlaca -- a Full-blood and Mixed-blood Nican Tlaca
(Indigenous people).
Giving importance and dominance to that "racial scar"
(Mestizo) is what cripples us as human beings. It keeps
us from seeing ourselves without the rape (without the
European). That scar (the mixed blood in 50-70% of us)
keeps us in a continuous cultural and spiritual enslavement
to the Europeans. This racial scar has an easy solution.
It is a solution in much the same way that the Jew is
Mixed-blood and is a proud Jew with a rich history. We
too can be Mixed-blood Nican Tlaca and be Nican Tlaca,
with a proud rich Anahuac history.
But we are kept in ignorance of our true Nican Tlaca
Anahuac history, enslaved to the interests of European
Settlers. Our self-hate, conditions of submission, and
perpetuated poverty are all directly related to our ignorance
and the presence of Europeans on our land.
Ignorance makes us the perfect slaves. How stupid we
have been made: to deny the Nican Tlaca Anahuac identity
of who we are; to deny our ownership of our land; to deny
ourselves our true history and heritage. And how monstrous
they are to have no guilt, no sense of needing to right
the wrongs of their crimes. How monstrous to keep profiting
from our enslavement to their interests.
Of course they feel that they can justify all of their
past crimes. They even strain logic by justifying the
crimes that they continue to perpetrate on us even to
this day. They say we don't need to know who we are. They
say that we were not one nation -- that we didn't really
own our own land. Where do Europeans get all of this nonsense
from? From their own lies! And they continue to lie saying
that we are not one people -- that we were not civilized
before they invaded our lands!
Their European "logical" ideas of what is nation, boundaries,
race, language, and culture do not interfere with their
notion of "Western Civilization", or "Greek origins" to
their civilization. All of these notions are lies (Sumerian-Asian
origins are the true base of their version of "Civilization",
which Europeans had nothing to do with other than to benefit
from its creation - Europeans originated NO civilizations,
look it up).
There should not be a problem with our concept of the
Anahuac Nation -- one people -- but there is according
to Europeans and vendidos. Supposedly we were never a
united people.
Supposedly we were always fighting each other and that
negates our unity of the past or of the future. Well,
the French, the Italians, the Germans, all of their city-states
were at war with one another for centuries (and some even
to this day) and that doesn't prevent them from thinking
of themselves as one people, one nation, and then to think
of themselves collectively as a European people.
But this "you were never united" nonsense, and other
false problems, are presented to divide us. They exist
because Europeans and their descendants have a parasite's
interest in destroying all concepts of our people as a
united people, as a civilized people, as the owners of
the land that they have stolen. The concept of us being
one people, and the concept of our independence from the
European myopic megalomaniac vision of the world, is a
nightmare to Europeans and European Settlers. We are one
people. We have a great heritage of Anahuac civilizations.
Our history, our future, and our land is ours forever!
Our concept of Anahuac as a nation shouldn't be a problem
to our people, unless they think of themselves as Europeans,
or are wannabe Europeans. Our logic follows the same logic
of the Europeans –– and Asians, Africans –– and is perhaps
even more solid of an idea of "a people" than the ideas
of European or of a "Western Civilization."
