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The following is excerpted from Staughton Lynd’s forthcoming book, LUCASVILLE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF A PRISON UPRISING (Temple University Press).
One of the many ways that Attica lived on in the uprising at Lucasville had to do with race.
Tom Wicker’s memorable book on the Attica rebellion drew on the experience of a prisoner named Roger Champen.
“You’re always going to have a problem” with black-white relations, Champen believed. But in D-yard, “as days went by, food got scarce and the water began to be scarce, [blacks and whites] became more friendly. The issue about race became minimal. . . . Nothing means anything except the issue at hand.” When he made his first D-yard speech, Champ saw that “the whites had backed off and had a little, like, semi-circle off to the left.” He told them that the revolt was not a “racial thing,” that they had “one common enemy, the wall. The wall surrounds us all. So if you don’t like me, don’t like me, don’t like me after, but in the meantime, let’s work together.” That advice had prevailed . . ..
One of the many ways that Attica lived on in the uprising at Lucasville had to do with race.
Tom Wicker’s memorable book on the Attica rebellion drew on the experience of a prisoner named Roger Champen.
“You’re always going to have a problem” with black-white relations, Champen believed. But in D-yard, “as days went by, food got scarce and the water began to be scarce, [blacks and whites] became more friendly. The issue about race became minimal. . . . Nothing means anything except the issue at hand.” When he made his first D-yard speech, Champ saw that “the whites had backed off and had a little, like, semi-circle off to the left.” He told them that the revolt was not a “racial thing,” that they had “one common enemy, the wall. The wall surrounds us all. So if you don’t like me, don’t like me, don’t like me after, but in the meantime, let’s work together.” That advice had prevailed . . ..
Did you ever wonder what happened to Ohio Supreme Court Justice Andy Douglas, the pro-labor Republican, after he retired from the Court in 2002?
Sans his robe, he’s been wearing many new hats, so to speak. The website of the politically well-connected law firm Crabbe, Brown and James lists him as a partner as of 2003. A June 24 article in the Toledo Blade lists him as “former Ohio Supreme Court Justice . . ., executive director of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association and a close political advisor of Joe Deters,” the Republican State Treasurer in the middle of a criminal investigation.
The Plain Dealer reported, “Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice, Andy Douglas, one of Deters’ closest political advisors, is one of Pavlish’s attorneys.” A private investigator, Thomas Pavlish, was ordered to answer questions about a records request concerning the foreman of a secret grand jury who was investigating allegations involving contract-steering and bribery at Deters’ office.
Sans his robe, he’s been wearing many new hats, so to speak. The website of the politically well-connected law firm Crabbe, Brown and James lists him as a partner as of 2003. A June 24 article in the Toledo Blade lists him as “former Ohio Supreme Court Justice . . ., executive director of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association and a close political advisor of Joe Deters,” the Republican State Treasurer in the middle of a criminal investigation.
The Plain Dealer reported, “Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice, Andy Douglas, one of Deters’ closest political advisors, is one of Pavlish’s attorneys.” A private investigator, Thomas Pavlish, was ordered to answer questions about a records request concerning the foreman of a secret grand jury who was investigating allegations involving contract-steering and bribery at Deters’ office.
Recently I had the pleasure of attending a family reunion in a small town in the Northwest corner of Arkansas. Being in the Ozarks allows one to appreciate some of America’s natural beauty. We were in the retirement community of Bella Vista, just north of Bentonville. Never heard of it? Bentonville is the world headquarters of Wal-Mart. That’s right, I was in the belly of the beast.
One evening my vegan brother-in-law and my vegetarian wife decided it was time to purchase some food for our rented townhouse. We were told the only place to go would be the community market. We were thinking a community market would be like our very own in Clintonville, Ohio. As we pull in, my wife quickly points out that it is in fact, a “Wal-Mart Community Market.”
After reluctantly entering and shopping, we went to the checkout line. The other two quickly said, “We’ll be outside.” Alone with the cashier, I was saddened and distraught by feeling forced to give money to Wal-Mart -- not unlike the feeling of a progressive voting for John Kerry.
One evening my vegan brother-in-law and my vegetarian wife decided it was time to purchase some food for our rented townhouse. We were told the only place to go would be the community market. We were thinking a community market would be like our very own in Clintonville, Ohio. As we pull in, my wife quickly points out that it is in fact, a “Wal-Mart Community Market.”
After reluctantly entering and shopping, we went to the checkout line. The other two quickly said, “We’ll be outside.” Alone with the cashier, I was saddened and distraught by feeling forced to give money to Wal-Mart -- not unlike the feeling of a progressive voting for John Kerry.
Ashraf Al-Jailani, a 39-year-old
Yemen-born geochemist from Ohio, has been jailed for more than 23 months without charges. His wife, Michele Swenson, spoke at the federal building on July 7 in Columbus, Ohio to expose another victim of the Bush administration’s great terror scare. As Michele tells it, her marriage to Ashraf was dramatically altered on October 23, 2002 when two immigration officers arrested her husband at his job at GoJo Industries in Akron. Simultaneously, six FBI agents raided the couple’s Kent apartment.
The FBI claimed the reason for the raid was that they found Al-Jailani’s business card in the wallet of a suspected Al Qaeda money-launderer. Michele explained that her husband was in the middle of a job search and had given away and mailed out hundreds of business cards. The FBI agent spent six hours confiscating papers, address books and copying computer files. The Cleveland FBI Bureau demanded that the Immigration Service neither deport nor allow bond for Al-Jailani on November 14, 2002.
The FBI claimed the reason for the raid was that they found Al-Jailani’s business card in the wallet of a suspected Al Qaeda money-launderer. Michele explained that her husband was in the middle of a job search and had given away and mailed out hundreds of business cards. The FBI agent spent six hours confiscating papers, address books and copying computer files. The Cleveland FBI Bureau demanded that the Immigration Service neither deport nor allow bond for Al-Jailani on November 14, 2002.
September 4th is the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Political Prisoners. Seven thousand prisoners are held by Israel. 4000 are on a hunger strike Since August 15th. Their health has deteriorated and already a mother of one of the prisoners fasting in solidarity died as a result of this. Human rights organizations are outraged but the US-tax funded Israeli government shrugs its shoulders. Israeli minister of “Justice” said it would be OK with him if they all died and he ordered even more repression at the prisons. Israeli minister of health said he is putting Israeli hospitals off limits to sick and dying Palestinian prisoners. “Moderate physical pressure” (a.k.a., torture) is still used by Israel and is taught to US servicemen to deal with resistance to occupation.
Our Central Ohio area native son Abe Bonowitz has been named “Abolitionist of the Year” by the Board of Directors of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP). He will be given this most special award at the Annual Conference of the NCADP in Washington, D.C. on October 16, 2004. Abe started his activism in Bexley, Ohio.
The “Army of God” (AOG) made a brief appearance in Columbus during June 26 Pride activities. Army of God “Anti-abortion Hero of the Faith” Chuck Spignola and AOG agitator and roving “photo journalist” Jonathan O’Toole accompanied by well-known local “sidewalk abortion counselor” Repent Man, a posse of (mostly) teenage boys wearing “Got AIDS Yet?” tees, and a crew of videographers, attempted to disrupt the annual Pride interfaith service, held in conjunction with Comfest, at the Goodale Park Gazebo. After about a 40 minute tete-a-tete with Columbus Police and Comfest representatives, the group was escorted off the premises. O’Toole and Spignola argued, often heatedly, that the police and Comfest were violating their First Amendment Rights. Police later allowed re-entry at another point, but the group made no attempt to interfere with the service still in progress.
A Zogby International poll taken on the eve of the Republican National Convention in New York City found 49.3% of New York City residents believe that some of our leaders “knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act.” The key question is how many members of the Bush clan knew, or does Cheney have them on a need-to-know basis only.
The American Civil Liberties Union and voting rights groups won a key victory in Florida on August 27 when an administrative law judge in Tallahassee struck down a new state rule that banned manual recounts in counties that used touch screen voting machines. Since the two leading makers of touch screen voting don’t provide paper trails, their machines make it impossible to have a recount. Florida state officials claimed that since the e-voting machines lack the capacity to determine “the voter intent” in close races, there was no need to allow for recounts with the error-prone machines.
There is a local effort afoot to bring Peacejam training to Columbus. The training and curriculum are provided free through Peacejam. This training is a one-day six-hour training geared to adults who have four or more high school-aged students to work with. One-year commitment of at least 1½ hours per week is expected. Ideal for high school teachers, after school groups, youth groups, agencies that serve youth, faith-based youth groups or individuals with four or more high school aged youth to work with. There is also an elementary curriculum (classroom-based) training available. Anyone interested in the training, contact Lezlie at 614-443-6334. We only need 20 people!
Peacejam facts: ¨ 11 Nobel Peace Laureates on board including Desmond Tutu and the Dali Lama
¨ Over 50,000 participants
¨ Over 140,000 community service projects started
¨ 93% of all participants believe an individual can make a difference
¨ 97% of all participants will be peacemakers for the rest of their lives
Mission Statement:
Peacejam facts: ¨ 11 Nobel Peace Laureates on board including Desmond Tutu and the Dali Lama
¨ Over 50,000 participants
¨ Over 140,000 community service projects started
¨ 93% of all participants believe an individual can make a difference
¨ 97% of all participants will be peacemakers for the rest of their lives
Mission Statement: