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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
ARC Blogs
Introduction: This is a first of many
guests that we will invite to contribute to our ARC Blogs. Brother Amon-Ra is currently in the Alabama state prison
system doing time. He also makes cultural key chains in prison that you can purchase on our ARC Black Inventors page.
Amon-Ra personally benefits from the sale of the key chains. The next ARC Blog will be out in August. So stay tuned!
Life in the Alabama State Prison System
By: Brother Amon-Ra
Imagine a place where manhood is displaced and human beings are treated inhumanely:
assaulted, denied medical care and food, and warehoused under leaky roofs that drip onto them and their meager belongings.
Money that these people are able to acquire is extorted from them. Their labor is exploited for the personal benefit
of those hired by the state and visiting relatives undergo verbal, physical, and sexual harassment from employees.
It sounds unreal, but this place is no figment of the imagination. Perhaps you are wondering which dehumanizing and
uncivilized third world country I speak of. I refer not to Asia, the Middle East or even Africa. Upon viewing
the Southeastern portion of any map of the United States, you will easily locate what some call “The Heart of Dixie”.
I call it a third world country. Welcome to the Alabama prison system.
Upon entering prison, it is wise to become
acquainted with the “prison code”, a set of rules beyond official rules that are created by prisoners to establish
and maintain conduct conducive to mutual respect and protection against abuse from employees. Alabama is void of such
inmate discipline. There is no “prison code”. Most don’t even bother to read the official department
rules (if available), nor prisoner rights manuals. Educational opportunities are shunned, books are undervalued, personal
standards and expectations are low. Justification is explained by stating “this is prison.” Every
excuse that can be thought of is offered in defense of people that appear to be men, yet refuse to act like men.
As a consequence, extreme overcrowdedness goes legally unchallenged, inmate mail is stolen by correctional staff and
employees. Haircut, shoe shines, and other personal services are illegally performed free of charge. Inmates die
of heart attacks and strokes due to denial of medical attention and proper nutrition. Clean clothes and linen are not
provided to everyone, a situation which contributes to the rise and spread of staph infections.
I recently read
the case of Pugh vs Lock that was filed several years ago. Within this class action suit, Alabama inmates addressed
various issues including but not limited to overcrowding, abuse, and prison conditions, etc. One important lesson we
can learn from Pugh vs Lock and the prison rights movement throughout the US is that we are not powerless. We need to
revitalize this case, for the Alabama Department of Corrections is in violation of the judgment awarded in favor of the inmate
population. Civil action is not the only available avenue. Criminal charges shall be filed to address the felonious
behavior of the state employee in addition to complaints to federal & state agencies.
Prisoners, these human
beings, must come together, never compromising their dignity, and put forth an effort to improve our condition and put aside
fear and ignorance. We need more men and fewer boys, more time in the law library and less time on the basketball court,
more time reading an educational book and less time watching T.V. In short: more work and less play is what we need
to reclaim our humanity and ensure our future health and welfare.
Amon-Ra
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