A Black Revolutionary Condemnation Of Prisons

Alcatraz prison cells
William Anderson
January 13, 2021

Prisons protect the ruling class. 

“The masses must be taught to understand the true function of prisons … The people must learn that when one ‘offends’ the totalitarian state it is patently not an offense against the people of that state, but an assault upon the privilege of the privileged few.” (Blood In My Eye) 

Where does “crime” come from?

“[After one concedes] that criminals and crime arise from material, economic, sociopolitical causes, we can then burn all of the criminology and penology libraries and direct our attention where it will do some good.” (Soledad Brother)

Prison enables repression. 

“The purpose of the chief repressive institutions within the totalitarian capitalist state is clearly to discourage and prohibit certain activity, and the prohibitions are aimed at very distinctly defined sectors of the class - and race - sensitized society. The ultimate expression of law is not order - it's prison.”

Prisons don’t rehabilitate. 

“To determine how men will behave once they enter the prison it is of first importance to know that prison. Men are brutalized by their environment – not the reverse.” (Soledad Brother)

Prison kills the spirit. 

“Capture, imprisonment, is the closest to being dead that one is likely to experience in this life.” (Soledad Brother)

We have a quick favor to ask:

PushBlack is a nonprofit dedicated to raising up Black voices. We are a small team but we have an outsized impact:

  • We reach tens of millions of people with our BLACK NEWS & HISTORY STORIES every year.
  • We fight for CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM to protect our community.
  • We run VOTING CAMPAIGNS that reach over 10 million African-Americans across the country.

And as a nonprofit, we rely on small donations from subscribers like you.

With as little as $5 a month, you can help PushBlack raise up Black voices. It only takes a minute, so will you please ?

Share This Article: