Earth Day
Some 125,000 people participated in the 25th anniversary of Earth Day here on April 22. A largely youthful crowd gathered in the Mall in front of the Capitol Building under a huge banner saying, "Earth Day 1995 - Don't Turn Back the Clock."

The main event was organized by a Minneapolis-based group called Concerts for the Environment, a coalition of several national environmental groups. Participants heard speeches and popular musical groups. Many of the speakers talked about how the progress that has been made on environmental issues is being threatened by legislation in Congress.

Prior to the start of the concert, about 3,000 people organized by the National Parks and Conservation Association marched from Malcolm X Park to join the crowd at the mall.

An "Environmental Petition to Newt Gingrich" was circulated at the event. The petition, entitled "An Environmental Bill of Rights and an Earth Day 1995 Action Agenda," calls for protecting the Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and phasing out nuclear power.

"You can't put economics over environment and the people," said Gill Green, a student at American University, who was one of many circulators. "The contract is ripping social institutions apart and is full of hypocrisy. They talk about family values, but won't help poor women get off welfare."

Thirty students from Rutgers University attended. They belong to New Jersey Public Interest Action Group. Some of them have also been participating in protests on campus against the racist comments by the university president.

Alyson Kennedy
Brian Williams
Washington, D.C.

Protest hits cop brutality
Chanting "No justice-no peace!" over 100 people participated in a spirited march to the Boston Police Department headquarters demanding justice for the Rev. Accelyne Williams who died in a police raid on his apartment one year ago. "The death of Rev. Williams represents a chain of events that this racist society perpetrated on the oppressed," said one marcher, Earl Brown, a student at Northeastern University.

The march was preceded by a rally held in the Union United Methodist Church where activists from the community as well as religious and elected officials demanded a just compensation for the family of the 75-year-old Methodist minister who died of heart failure at the hands of Boston police.

The cops had burst into Williams's Dorchester apartment in a drug raid based on a tip provide by an informant. After breaking down the front door, police chased Williams to his bedroom, breaking down that door as well. They then flipped him on his stomach and handcuffed him as one cop thrust his knee in Williams's back.

At the rally, James Dilday, one of the attorneys for the Williams family, pointed to other victimizations by the police and described the protest as being " in defense of all those who have been victimized by the Boston Police Department." He said "Williams death was another example of the systematic and callous disregard that the police have for rights, safety, and welfare of the residents of the minority community."

No criminal charges have been brought against any of the police involved in the death of Williams. One officer received a 30-day suspension with pay while two others were reprimanded.

John Harris
Boston, Massachusetts

More on Eastern Europe
I would like to hear more on the crisis of leadership in Eastern Europe and the political situation there. Thank you for the only working-class perspective being presented today.

Adam Wolfe
Evansville, Indiana

Keep me up on Curtis
Please keep me abreast of the Mark Curtis situation. The turning right in this state may keep Mark framed-up for a long time. I can't believe it.

Love the Iowa connection to international (Cuba) stories!

Thanks.

John Roethig
Dubuque, Iowa

Contract with America
I am writing to request a subscription to your weekly newspaper. Unfortunately, I am unable to pay for it - as is the case for most captives.

However, if a subscription is provided it will be circulated among many interested parties here. There is much concern among the brothers here about the so-called Contract with America and I am convinced the Militant will be an invaluable aid in my attempts to analyze it and keep informed of the latest developments, among other things. Thank you.

A prisoner
Adrian, Michigan

Control Units
We are all aware of the proliferation of the growing cancer called control units. National focus has been on Pelican Bay; Marion, Illinois; Florence, Colorado; and Westernville, Indiana. But it's important to realize that almost all gulags have control units - usually titled "administra-tion control," "administration segregation," and "local control." All are isolation blocks, labeled as "administrative" for the sake of litigation - but are definitely punitive segregation.

My activism got me placed back in the control unit. Ohio is breeding a hate factory in their control units, and it's time for a change.

A prisoner
Lucasville, Ohio

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