Free Speech Society: Forum for prison activists inside and out

by J. Heshima Denham

The Free Speech Society (FSS) is primarily a movement to defend and preserve the rights of imprisoned activists to inform society of the social contradictions of the prison industrial slave complex in hopes of educating the people not only to the existence of these social ills but their impact on their daily lives.

The Free Speech Society is composed of embedded reporters who are committed to exposing the structural inhumanity of the modern prison industrial slave complex (PISC) and its interconnections to the social ills which affect us all. We are your eyes and ears, committed to providing you the truth about the use and misuse of your tax dollars as they feed the insatiable man of the modern prison industrial slave complex.

Recidivism and criminalization are systemic components of the prison industry intentionally manufactured to ensure the ever-expanding influence of the PISC in our daily lives, and it is our job, our responsibility, our duty to inform you of its intricacies.

However, the Free Speech Society is not only a movement composed of embedded reporters for the people, but also a forum for progressive activists to analyze these social ills with the intent of developing viable solutions to them, hand in hand with the people. This means the Free Speech Society (FSS) is also a forum for progressive activists and social critics in society at large to ensure that they have a space to work hand in hand with imprisoned activists to articulate and expose the interconnections between the structural inequities inherent in capitalist society and their manifestations in the socially hostile microcosm of prison – racism, sexism, classism etc.

Goals

The present goals of the Free Speech Society are to:

1. expand the number of activists in society who want to join and support the Free Speech Society;
2. provide financial and infrastructural support for FSS activists to both carry out their purpose and defend themselves against repression. This means the Free Speech Society will develop a “war chest” to cover the costs of civil litigation, copies, filing fees and supporting FSS activists in fulfilling their mission;
3. develop a team of legal professionals – lawyers, paralegals, investigators etc. – to defend the First Amendment rights of Free Speech Society activists both free and bond;
4. develop youth activists to form Free Speech Society chapters in their schools, communities and social circles;
5. develop FSS chapters on college campuses across the U.S. with a focus on journalism majors and activists students;
6. develop an “emergency response network” to aid imprisoned Free Speech Society activists experiencing censorship, repression or other attacks on their First Amendment rights.

It is our sincerest hope that all of you reading these words will join us in this historic effort and support the FSS with your time, talent and treasure.

For more information and to get involved, contact Steve Marinot, martinot4@gmail.com; Abdul Shakur (s/n J. Harvey), C-48884, CSP-COR-SHU 4B1L-25, P.O. Box 3481, Corcoran, CA 93212; Jona Sinsai (s/n Heshima Denham), J-38283, CSP-COR-SHU, 4B1L-25, P.O. Box 3481, Corcoran, CA 93212; Michael Zaharibu Dorrough, D-83611, CSP-COR-SHU, 4B1L-22, P.O. Box 3481, Corcoran, CA 93212; Kijana Tashiri Askari (s/n M. Harrison), H-54077, CSP-COR-SHU, 4B1L-31, P.O. Box 3481, Corcoran, CA 93212. Typed by Adrian McKinney.