The War Before: The True Life Story of Becoming a Black Panther, Keeping the Faith in Prison, and Fighting for Those Left Behind by Safiya Bukhari

Author:Safiya Bukhari [Bukhari, Safiya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-02-16T17:06:00+00:00

What Is the Problem?

The list of political prisoners is long and their sentences are even longer. The government of these United States would have you believe that these people are common criminals. The United States government waged an orchestrated campaign to demonize, vilify, and criminalize these people in the eyes of the community and the world prior to bringing them to trial and during the years of their incarceration. For the most part, they've done their job well-so well, in fact, that even the most progressive elements of our community hesitate even to speak the words "political prisoner" when they come together. When you bring those words up, they change the conversation.

Such things as the length of the sentences given these brothers and sisters; their treatment before, during, and after their trials and since their incarceration; the level and type of security they have been subjected to during their incarceration; the denial of parole; etc., are evidence that they are not being treated as common criminals but rather as political prisoners. Yet the government says they are not political prisoners-even though the same government will readily admit that it is the politics, discipline, and humanity of these prisoners that set them apart from the rest of the prison population. To paraphrase the words of Nelson Mandela, the people went into prison as dedicated and disciplined members of political organizations, and they still are.

The government of the United States would have you and the world believe that these women and men are gangsters and com mon criminals. Our task, our job, is to change this. Since they are being treated differently because of their political beliefs and affiliations, they must be recognized as political prisoners and prisoners of war.

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