NT-132

The following program is from N E T.

Speaker 1
Inside these walls of San Quentin Penitentiary are perhaps three of the most well known prisoners in recent history. They're called the Soledad brothers. And not too far from here and another penal institution is Professor Angela Davis, who has also been in the public eye. Of the 23,900 prisoners in California's 12 state prisons. 30% of them are Black. Nationally, there are about 400,000 inmates and close to 1/3 are non white. In an effort to shed some light on how Bblack people are affected by the correctional and judicial institutions. Black Journal spoke to those involved with Angela Davis and the Soledad brothers. inmates in San Quentin and Soledad prisons, in lawyers, families and friends of some of those who consider themselves political prisoners. Substantiation for what goes on in a prison is very difficult. This is not a vindication of what has taken place. And this is not a vindication of crime per se. It is an attempt to find out what the penal institution and the correctional systems as an institution I doing to rehabilitate those that society is judged to be wrong?

Speaker 2 Angela Davis footage
the signs of a conspiracy, a cropping up a conspiracy, whose present goal appears to be the destruction of the very possibility of education in the state. Now, I think it's significant, as I said, before, that the regents chose me as a target of their attack. I think it's symbolic. Because Bblack members of the Communist Party are far, far from being the only Black people who are beginning to see that this society must be thoroughly transformed if we're going to solve these basic problems. All over the country, Black people, Chicanos, White people, everybody, I think is waking up to this. I think we have to establish some priorities. We have to ask ourselves, whether we're going to make an effort now towards individual fulfillment or whether we're going to wage a fight for a more humane society. Whether we're going to create a strong defensive against what may very well become an era of facism.

Speaker 6 Sonia Walker from U.C.L.A
Well to my understanding, there are two kinds of political prisoners there, those political prisoners who are protesters, whose politics and activities are anti what American capitalist system thinks is apropos. And then there's other kinds of political prisoners, which are to me, Black brothers and sisters who were just caught up and not being able to make a living in American society. So that you have a situation you have Angela Davis, and you have Michelle, Michelle McGee, her co-defendant, in this case, both of them are political prisoners,

Speaker 7 R. V. Downing (Journal of Black Studies)
what they're doing to her is an exaggerated form of what happens every day to Black people in this country. And they're saying, to those communities through her, that, you know, people have to straighten up and fly, right, and be good Niggers, you know, and that they cannot, you know, challenge the system. And that's what Angela Davis is doing.

Speaker 4
Why did she, and also why why did you stay in the country?

Speaker 8 Kendra (?) Communist Party U.S.A
Right. Well see I think Angela answers that by saying that to have given herself up at the time that the warrant was issued for her would have been tantamount to putting her head on the executioner's block. And I think what what she means by that is that there was such a hysteria in this country. I mean, in the whole country, but especially in California, that as soon as the events ? took place, next thing you hear Angela Davis buys guns, you know, Angela Davis implicated in the Samuel fell?? incident and massive headlines day after day after day, and so that her escape had to be planned day to day. And it wasn't well planned, because there were no plans beforehand. So everything that she did was done day to day. I mean, the press that was used against her, she had pictures on the cover of every magazine,wanted posters. I mean, like putting her on the 10 Most Wanted list was like a, a license for any crazy racist to shoot her on site. And I'm sure that they would have accepted that had, you know, had that happened. There would have been no outcry if somebody had shot her, you know. And there just was no way for her to escape.

Speaker 10 Mtuine - Committee for Unified New Ark
You can't talk about a political struggle, until you have first given people a value system from which to operate. So we're saying the first struggle is a struggle to win the minds of the people and to win the minds of people that has to be done through a value system through a total lifestyle, a total ideology that has to be developed by that people in order to liberate themselves. Talking about that left wing ticket will take over, or white people co opting our leaders or CO opting our images. I think the case of Bobby Seale is an exemplary one in that in the beginning, it was the Chicago 8 and all of a sudden it became Chicago 7 and it just so happened that the Chicago 7 were all White boys and shall we say, they gained their fame at the expense of Bobby Seale. Matter of fact, I saw a book just the other day by Abbie Hoffman, and the title of the book said, Chicago 8. Now the 8 was crossed out and over the 8 they had 7, and a picture of Bobby Seale gagged and bound in the courtroom. Now, to me, that's like, exactly what it's all about. It's all about Co-opting your people co-opting your leaders when you do not have an ideology that you develop, and that fits your particular situation. So when people talk about Communism, like I said before, that's just another ism that was created and written by White boys who were neither concerned about nor understood the problems of Black people. Beyond everything, she's still my sister, and I want her to survive.

Speaker 13 - Howard Moore, Chief Defense Counsel for Angela Davis
I feel that as a lawyer, my obligation is to use my talents in my peoples' struggle. We are now emphasizing Angela Davis because she is in the public eye. She's getting a lot of attention through media. And because of the drama connected with the event, you have a legal right to buy guns. The only requirement is that you comply with applicable state and federal laws. She complied with those laws. There's no law against supporting the Soledad brothers. There's no law against petitioning, picketing, and speaking about the injustice is to all Black political prisoners throughout the United States. So matter of fact, you have a constitutional right to do that. I mean, there's no reason why every man who goes to court couldn't have a lawyer of his choice, a lawyer who's competent, there's no reason why a man has to remain in jail because he's unable to post bonds. There's no reason why a man should face go to trial in a court of law, when he has not had the benefit of an investigation by trained investigators, or he hasn't had access, access to scientific and expert advice in his defense, but it's a conscious political decision, not for people not to have it. And this is more common, is more regular, more routine, when it comes to Black people. Therefore all Black people wherever they are, whatever their crimes, even crimes against other Blacks, they are political prisoners. Because political system has dealt with them differently than it has dealt with Whites. Whites get the benefit of every law, every loophole. Whites get the benefit of being judged by their peers, by other White people. Blacks cannot benefit from a jury trial, a jury trial is almost set to result in the conviction of Back person. Judges send people to prison who have never been to prison in their life. they send a man to prison for 20 years, and have no idea what a prison looks like, and perhaps don't care, and judges who are supposed to be the guardians of the law are out golfing, work two days a week, sometimes work two or three hours a day. And things of that sort. Let's get rid of all that and have courts that actually take place in the community. For example, in a large housing project in Chicago. Chicago's good example, because it looks as though they must have 50 miles of projects in Chicago. Why should they have to go downtown to the Cook County courthouse for justice? Why can't the people in the housing project have their own court and decide who should be fined for assault and battery? Or Who should be fired for stealing a Radio or Television? Who should be fined, who should be punished? And what the punishment should be for urinating in the hallways and things that people do? I mean, why should this judicial power that rightly belongs to people be administered solely from one location downtown in the Cook County Courthouse or in some precinct courthouse? I mean, why can't the people themselves administer this power?

Speaker 16 John Thorne - Attorney for George Jackson
The Soledad brother's case in the prison itself probably can be said to have started on January 13, 1970. At that time, for the first time in months, they decided that they would put both Black and White prisoners together in a small exercise yard. This had not occurred for many, many, many months. And they turned them out after skin searching each of these men to make absolutely certain they had no weapons of any kind. One at a time, one white, one black, one white, one black into a small exercise yard. Prior to that time they had posted on the wall.

The guard in the prison who was the most expert marksman, he had a high powered rifle. And the very thing that anyone could have anticipated did happen. Some kind of a scuffle broke out. He fired four times. At the end, one white had been nicked with a bullet.Three black men were dead. The district attorney very shortly thereafter announced that he was sure a grand jury would find it was justifiable homicide. And sure enough, it took exactly three days for a jury to come up with that kind of a conclusion.

At that news of the grand jury decision that it was justifiable homicide and nothing. No action would be taken against the guard came out over the radio and television and into the prison, and approximately 30 minutes later, this guard was found dead for which the Soledad Brothers had been accused of murder. Now the interesting thing is that the prison immediately tabbed it a retaliatory act, and said that it was in retaliation for the murder of the three blacks. Following that several months later In July, yet another guard was killed, and now there were seven more blacks that had been charged, and they've been charged with killing this guard. Again, the prison has tagged this a retaliatory act,

Speaker 17 Tamu Ushindi
Well, it's impossible for them to have a fair trial like ,some of the things that have happened so far indicates this. Like when we go into court, their judge, the judge who presided over their last hearing, I mean, like in his opening remarks to the group of people who were in the courtroom in support of the brothers was that he wanted to remind us that we were in a court of law and not at some pool hall or a barbecue table. This was directed to the Black people who were in the courtroom, members of their family and friends.

Speaker 4
Whats wrong with the states case against them

Speaker 16 John Thorne, Attorney
Well the state in this situation has allegedly some 12 or 13, 14 witnesses who supposedly are going to testify that these individuals committed the crime. I can assure you, they're going to be a great number of others who are going to testify contra-wise namely that they couldn't have committed the crime because it happened up on the third floor and these men were not up on the third floor. It's going to be a difficult case, because there's a determination to see that they are convicted,

Speaker 4
what kinds of things are being done to see that they're convicted? Well,

Speaker 4
What was a few things you think are needed within the prison in terms of form?

Speaker 20 Inmate San Quentin Prison
They should have some type of people from the street to come in man to come in and counsel because we are subjected to all type of men, you know what I mean to where like when I was in the hole I just got the hole. I did seventeen months over there. And there were no toilet no nothing in it. No, no nothing in the cells. You know what I mean? Defecation in a can You know what I mean? And you just stayed over there. You shower once a week. Know what I mean? You ain't got no hot and cold water and you got nothin but cold water.

Speaker 4: What are you in for. How long you been here?

Speaker 21 Inmate San Quentin Prison
I've been in, I've been to San Quentin for 20 months now. (How long you going to be here?). I think about another two years.

Speaker 4
Whatcha you gonna do when you get out?

Speaker 21:
Well, I'm gonna try to go out and get my people you know, so I'm trying to do nothing here.

Speaker 4
How do you spend your day?

Speaker 21:
I work in the gymnasium you know, You know I just you know, lift weights recreation time.

Speaker 4
You're not taking any trade?

Speaker 21
Now I was told when I first got up here that I was dangerous. And I was militant and they didn't want me in any kind of trade. I was staying locked down for about six months when I first got up here. And then they finally got me a job in the gym. They told me I couldn't get anything else. They told me to we had a year wait list. So I went to the board and the board I really wanted to get a transfer. But it's cold up here bro' you know, I mean? You get no ? all kinds of ways. Every step we ever do, every step we try to make to advance ourselves, is contrary to them. We real racists you know, we revolutionaries, because what we believe? I mean, that's what they try to do is stomp on our beliefs, you know, they wants to advance No.

Speaker 4
You think you have you have any problems because you gave this interview?

Speaker 22 Inmatr
Well, Brother, I really don't know. Like I said, I always expect the worst and hope for the best. Me because like I said, I was locked down for a poem I wrote, you know. So behind this interview there is no telling what might happen.

Speaker 1
Letters from prisoners and pressures from the Soledad brothers Defense Committee, led to an investigation by a caucus of black California legislators on conditions inside Soledad prison. Chairman of the Black Caucus is state senator Mervyn Donnelly,

Speaker 23 State Senator Mervyn Donnelly:
we found that there was a great deal of racism at Soledad. There was discrimination against Blacks and that some of the white guards had deliberately perpetuated this system of racial inequality at the prison system. That the men had complained that UN was putting their food and in some instances glass and that they had been subjected to a great deal of racial slurs and inhumane treatment. And this was perpetuated by developing a system of White class status where you find white most of the Whites getting better jobs and the bBlacks getting very menial jobs. In addition we heard actually heard you know, the whites, calling the blacks, a number of names in our presence there. Hollering into the the security section of the prison. The guards are mostly men who come back from the service. Men who served in the military police and the special police forces. So there are a number of ex servicemen, many of whom come from southern states. These guys are inadequately trained. They are paid very, very low salaries.

A prisoner has no way now of filing a complaint. There is no way of processing a grievance. And so if he is deliberately discriminated against, and we have evidence of this, there's no way he can address his grievances. A large measure, the things which he has been trained, have become obsolete in the community when he comes out. Many of them spend a great deal of time making license license plate for automobiles, when they come out in the outer world, there are no license plates to be made. Because all the license plates are made in the prison. They some of them become cabinet makers, but we don't have cabinet makers in a traditional sense anymore. Everything has been cut by channels in the factory and glued or stapled on. So they are not adequately trained to meet the challenges of an automated society.

Speaker 4
What type of changes you'd like to see inside the prison.

Speaker 22
I'd like to see it this prison system you're totally eradicated. The stone they have going here as a prison is a concentration camp man. That's all I see. It is they got Blacks coming in here for petty's with a prior for spitting on the sidewalk. I mean, half the brothers in here, man, you know are in here because their poor, this is the only reason that they're in the penitentiary. If they were had to have money, were able to acquire Legal Aid or something, they wouldn't be in a pen in the first place. You know, like myself, half of us got railroaded here didn't know what we was doing, made little ol funny deals with the DAs and everything and ended up in the pen you know. and you know, myself as a prison system this is a total failure. I haven't seen you know, in my five years here, I haven't seen anyone go to the street and continue to be a success. You hear him about him dying or hear he's strung out on dope. You usually see him coming back through the gates not too long afterward he's released from here. Political prisoners, as far as any Black man who is aware of himself and aware of the plans that's going down out on the streets today as a political prisoner. You know, because this is what the down on the people at the board for now, when you go to the board and they're asking you about clean time, how much clean time you have, how much time you have would write up. They are asking you what do you think about the Black Panther Party? What do you think about Huey Newton or the ?Authority Board, the parole board? What do you think about the Huey Newton? What do you think about the Black Panthers? You know what I mean? Why you must Why do you have this outlook? Do you have a kid killin' white people? And all of this stuff like this here, you know, all the questions they ask you have a political tinge and tune to them you know, is everybody here who's aware of hisself is so far it's man, you know? All, this Oh, all I see man is opression I see let's see another whole form of genocide. That's all i see.

Speaker 4
Mrs Jackson, how long is your son been in prison

Speaker 25 - Mrs. Georgia Jackson, Mother of George and Jonathan Jackson
since 1961. He was with a fellow who robbed a service station in Los Angeles. They were in his old car together. and according to a witness, a young man who worked at the filling station, he said that this man came into the gun and robbed him that he didn't see my son at all. This witness was at the courthouse the morning that they had the trial, the so called trial, the hearing, the morning that the judge sent him to state prison with an indeterminate sentence. You know, that means that he can go there and stay 12 years before they decide how long they want to send him to stay. In the meantime, he's waiting there for the board to decide the number of years they want to him to stay in prison. I know once I was lucky enough to talk to a counselor at San Quentin, who happened to be a Black man and he told me that my son spoke out too much in his own defense. And if he would learn to keep quiet more, and just be humble, when he went before the board, take everything they accused him of, and not say anything back that he would be better off. But I don't see how a person can be better off making a dog of themselves or bowing down to anybody. And I think that people, I didn't raise them in a way where you could accuse them of something and if they were guilty or not, they just take it. I think every man should have the right to stand up and defend themselves. I don't think that should be a privilege that's only reserved for White people. I think black people should have it too. I have talked to prisoners who've come from San Quentin and Soledad and Tracy he said that my son taught them how to read . And so I said, Well, maybe if he has been in prison for 10 years, and he's labeled an animal, he has done some good in this world. And that's the only consolation I can have right now. But he has tried to help his fellow man, even at the risk and the cost of his own life and staying in prisons so long.

Speaker 26 - Frances Chinn, Sister of George and Jonathan Jackson
Jonatha, Well, he's he was at school age. You know how it is, when you're in school. You're taught a lot of things. But when you see that things aren't like you think they are? Then you react. Especially a young person growing up in this day and age. They react, they react violently, and especially when something is happening to maybe a person in your family. Awful, dreadful injustice is happening to someone in your family that you love and respect very dearly.

Speaker 1
Why do you think it happened?

Speaker 26 Frances Chinn
Why? Because George was accused of this murder in January. And we had gone to court several times. We knew that he wasn't going to get any justice in the court. It was just obvious the way they were treated. They were shackled. They were in prison clothes, their hair wasn't combed. Their hands were chained, their feet were chained. They were chained through their crotch around their waist, and they had steel leg guards.

Speaker 27 Mrs. Bessie Phillips - Mother of Jesse Phillips "Soledad Seven"
There's a lot Black people can do. For one thing, black people can stop being ashamed or prison, or people what they have in prison, or relatives that they have in prison, or even knowing that there's someone in prison. I don't feel that I don't feel that there is need for shame any longer. There never was in the first place. But this is the level of awareness that I'm at now.

Speaker 1
Self advancement through education or S.A.T.E. is an organization formed by brothers in San Quentin, who willingly spoke of conditions inside that institution, in spite of fears of reprisals,

Speaker 11
dealing with some of the oppressive methods of discriminatory and racist practices, that is practice here. Dealing with self advancement through education, we come together primarily in order to educate our brothers into a revolutionary culture vein is because this educational system, if we did want it to participate, they won't let us participate because it's discriminatory and it's racist. And then we can go on into many details. And I'll explain this to you which

Speaker 12
we can't even buy Black products from the canteen. we gotta sit back and suffer with with VO5 and suntan lotion. Brothers we don't need no suntan lotion, what we need is Black products.

Speaker 7
They took brothers to the hole for saluting George Jackson. You see, took them to the hole man for saluting their brother when he come out in the yard to go for a visit. And these are the things that's happened to us man, and our people out there, man, they don't even relate to this man. You know...

Speaker 30
it's like, when a man sits back and tells you that you cannot have an Afro comb and you cannot grow your hair. The first thing he's telling you is that you don't even exist to him. You see what I mean? So if you don't even exist, and you ask yourself the question, what are you doing here in the pen? So what are people doing to alleviate this whole situation period. Like a lot of people out there are in positions to have not do something at least investigate this matter and make these things known and carry these things throughout the community so that people will understand that people in here have relegated themselves past the so called criminal point, shall we call it? In other words like the whole question of criminality like in the brother Rocio McGee's case that his brother was given life for so called $10 robbery and a kidnap. This brother has been down seven years. You see on top of just $10 relegated man to be in a position to do seven years in the penitentiary. That is genocide itself.

Speaker 1
For anyone, confinement in prison is an endless nightmare. For Black people it's that and more. They're called Correctional Institutions. Yet as several inmates pointed out, it's the conditions inside prisons which need the most correction. The complaints of brothers in Soledad and San Quentin can be heard in penitentiaries all over America and reflects the feelings of many Black people. But such injustice is deeply embedded in this country and a result of institutionalized racism. Those familiar with prison conditions say change will come when Black people and others concerned lend support to the brothers in every prison and make sure that our representatives also represent these forgotten Black men. Finally, we must answer the imprisoned sisters and brothers who asked Where is justice?

Credits over singing.