https://themilitant.com/2019/08/31/florida-prison-officials-lift-ban-on-5-issues-of-militant-after-protests/
Florida prison officials lift ban on 5 issues of ???Militant??? after protests
??By Seth Galinsky
Vol. 83/No. 33
September 9, 2019
In the face of growing support for the fight against the censorship of
the Militant, Florida prison officials have rescinded the ban on five
issues of the socialist newsweekly. All those who support the right of
prisoners to read literature of their own choosing can use this victory
to strengthen the fight to overturn the ban on eight other issues of the
paper.
Issue nos. 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 were banned solely because they
included articles reporting on the censoring of previous issues of the
Militant in Florida prison. Officials alleged that two of the issues
encourage ???activities which may lead to the use of physical violence or
group disruption,??? and all five issues present ???a threat to the
security, good order or discipline of the correctional system.???
The prison system???s Literature Review Committee upheld the bans on issue
nos. 24, 25 and 26 before the Militant???s attorney, David Goldstein, had
a chance to appeal the original impoundments by local prison wardens. In
Florida, any warden can arbitrarily impound publications until they are
reviewed by the committee.
But as more letters opposing censorship arrived ??? a dozen new letters
since Aug. 1 calling on Florida officials to cease the unconstitutional
bans ??? the committee reversed course. On Aug. 19, they overturned their
previous decision, without any explanation why they upheld the bans in
the first place.
The Florida Press Association, which represents every major paper in the
state, was one of the newest backers of the fight against censorship.
The committee also received letters from prominent individuals in North
Carolina, professors, and more than a dozen Walmart workers in Illinois.
They joined with others who have been backing the fight for months,
including Amnesty International-USA, PEN America, the National Coalition
Against Prison Censorship, the National Lawyers Guild, the American
Civil Liberties Union-Florida, the American Library Association???s Office
for Intellectual Freedom and many more.
The first ban on the Militant the review committee upheld this year was
issue no. 15, which featured an article on the New York tour by Albert
Woodfox, who spent 40 years in solitary confinement in Louisiana. He is
campaigning to abolish solitary confinement. Most of the other issues
were banned covering the fight against Florida prison censorship.
In a new twist the impoundment notice of issue no. 29 does not list a
single offending article, in violation of the Department of Correction???s
own rules. It makes the baseless claim that the paper ???contains criminal
history, offender registration, or other personal information about
another inmate or offender.???
In addition to listing an article on censorship, the notice for issue
no. 30 says ???Page 7 Racist.??? This is a bizarre charge since the only
articles on the page dealing with racism point out the need for working
people to overcome divisions, including opposition to race-baiting as
well as scapegoating of immigrants, to effectively confront the crisis
caused by capitalist rule.
In the paper???s latest appeal, Aug. 27, Goldstein notes that the true
purpose for the impoundments is ???to try to ban the Militant based on
prison officials disagreement with its political and ideological views.???
Censorship ???breeds resentment and often people draw the conclusion that
these censored ideas must be in their interest,??? Judy Ancel, executive
producer of the Heartland Labor Forum, a weekly radio show in Kansas
City, wrote the Literature Review Committee Aug. 27. She urged officials
to let prisoners ???have access to a broad range of literature.???
There are fights taking place against censorship in prisons in other
states, including a successful effort to overturn decisions by officials
at Danville Correctional Center in Illinois to remove some 200 books
from the prison library that they deemed ???racially motivated.??? The
titles included Harriet Beecher Stowe???s Uncle Tom???s Cabin and W.E.B. Du
Bois??? The Souls of Black Folk.
???The end of the ban on five issues of the Militant is a big victory,???
said Militant editor John Studer. ???Now is the time to step up the effort
to involve more organizations, prominent individuals and co-workers in
sending letters to Florida prison authorities calling on them to lift
all the bans. Every victory against prison censorship of the Militant
will aid similar fights around the country.???
In This Issue
Front Page Articles ???Miners win support in fight against Blackjewel
???Workers in Puerto Rico face crisis of colonial rule
??????New York Times??? changes its ???story,??? says race-baiting can topple
Trump
??????We need to organize workers to defend environment, safety???
???Florida prison officials lift ban on 5 issues of ???Militant??? after
protests
???Working people in Syria face growing crisis from attacks by Assad regime
Feature Articles ???Gov???t to give pork bosses sole power over line speed
Also In This Issue ???Communications Workers hold four day strike across 9
states
???Toronto cop who killed youth paroled after only two years
???Organize workers to defend class interests
???Israeli rulers bomb Tehran???s bases in Syria and Iraq
On the Picket Line ???Airline catering workers picket Dallas airport in
contract fight
???Asda store workers in U.K. rally against concessions contract
Books of the Month ???Socialist revolution is ???historical mission of
modern proletariat???
25, 50 and 75 years ago
Letters
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York, NY 10018?? -?? themilitant@xxxxxxx
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George Carlin
??? Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe,
and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they
have to touch it to be sure. ???
??? George Carlin