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Another Great Myth of US History – Concerning Juneteenth
CONCERNING JUNETEENTH: The Great White Father, Union General, came to Texas and notified the slaves that they were now free, to their great jubilation. The fact is that the enslaved throughout the South had a great system of communication of news, called the “grapevine”. They often knew more about what was going on than the…
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Privileges: Prison & “White Skin”
Prison management involves use of both carrot and stick. The carrot is the “privileges” offered to the prisoner for obedient behavior. This encourages the inmate to view as a favor that which he should be receiving as a matter of right, to reduce him to dependence on the jailer’s good will, to a slavish mentality.…
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Racism & it’s Centrality – Excerpt from “The Crime of Impunity – The Crime of Punishment”
ON THE CENTRALITY OF RACISM In a book devoted to crime and punishment, why has racism been so much its centerpiece? First, because racism is this country’s key crime. And second, because racism is at the heart of the criminal justice system. We need not revisit the horrors of the slave past. These are usually…
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Racism & the Criminal Justice System – Excerpt from “The Crime of Impunity – The Crime of Punishment”
CONCLUSION The penal system is but a replica — in more brutal form because hidden from public view — of the larger society outside the walls. Each day, correction officials commit untold numbers of crimes against inmates. And the perpetrators of such crimes are, from a moral standpoint, far inferior to those who are being…
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Organizing for Organizing’s Sake
We are not about organizing for organizing’s sake. We are trying to organize a political force capable of changing our society in fundamental ways. And we understand that the only force capable of doin£ so are the masses of the people, people who are conscious of their fundamental interests, who are confident in their ability,…
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Race, Class, and Revolution – A Few Amplifying Remarks
Originally written June 3, 1996. CAPITALISM Capitalism breeds and is inseparable from racism, xenophobia, sexism, and a limitless assortment of inequities. Inequitable practices and the bigotry that rationalizes them are profitable! Capitalism is organized on the principle of dog-eat-dog, survival of the most ruthless. It is overwhelmingly competitive in nature. The capitalist sharks are sharp…
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The Centrality of Racism
Racism is not central because it is only central to people of color, which it obviously is, but because it is central to the entire population…
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On the Death Penalty
Why do we oppose the death penalty? Not for purely humanitarian reasons, not, because we are pacifists, not because we do not believe in taking life. We are prepared to fight for our liberation, including waging war. Naturally, we do not believe in taking life unnecessarily. We believe in a penal system that stresses rehabilitation…
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Life or Death: Taking Away Habeas Corpus
A barrage of laws and an avalanche of court rulings are stripping us of one right after another. Over one million people in prison and 3,000 on death row (the numbers mounting at unprecedented speed). No jobs for ghetto youth? “Lock ’em up.” Failing schools? “Lock ’em up.” No real drug prevention or treatment effort?…
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Are the Peacemakers Always Blessed?
As the tide of racial hatred rises throughout the country, as the incidents of racial violence escalate, as the gulf between the different communities grows ever greater, as elements in the media and various politicians whip up racial antagonism, into the breach steps people of good will, trying to reduce tensions, to build bridges, and…
