Join ‘Militant’ fight against Attica ban!

The fight by the Militant and other opponents of prison censorship to reverse Attica prison officials’ ban on the paper’s Oct. 3 issue containing articles on the 1971 Attica rebellion deserves the support of workers and democratic-minded people everywhere.

Combating efforts of the propertied rulers to restrict the political space and rights of workers behind bars is part of advancing human solidarity and the unity of the working class.

Incarcerated workers’ access to books, newspapers and other cultural and political material is vital to their capacity to maintain their dignity, defend their rights and to be part of the world and take part in the unfolding class struggle. It is part of the broader fight to end solitary confinement, denial of adequate health care and other abuses inflicted on prisoners.

The Militant is proud to have dozens of subscribers in prisons across the country — 140 in 19 states at last count. Readers get the paper around to many more fellow inmates. The Militant has successfully pushed back prison censorship for decades, including a string of attempts to impound it in recent years.

One victory in this struggle — won by protests following the Attica rebellion — is registered in the New York State Department of Correction’s own regulations, which name the Militant as one of the publications that “shall generally be approved.” However, Attica officials impounded the Oct. 3 issue, claiming articles in it “incite rebellion against government authority.”

Other publications, individuals and organizations that defend the right of the Militant to reach its subscribers and the rights of our brothers and sisters behind bars have joined in appealing this act of censorship. These include the National Lawyers Guild, the Gathering for Justice and Justice League NYC, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the San Francisco Bay View, Karin Deutsch Karlekar of PEN America and Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park Five defendants railroaded to prison in 1990 on frame-up rape and assault charges.

Tell your union, political group, friends and co-workers about this important fight. Send a letter of support. Make a financial contribution to help defend the rights of workers behind bars and the Militant.

Related articles:
Fight against ban on ‘Militant’ at Attica wins support
Fight prison censorship

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