WW News Service Digest #368
1) Conditions worsen on Texas death row
by WW
2) Support builds for detained Muslim leader in Michigan
by WW
3) 65 years as a people's artist
by WW
4) Philadelphia school takeover: State double-crosses parents
by WW
5) Worker solidarity from Baltimore to South Africa
by WW
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Jan. 10, 2002
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
PRISONER SPEAKS OUT DESPITE REPRESSION:
CONDITIONS WORSEN ON TEXAS DEATH ROW
By Teresa Gutierrez
The progressive movement's attention is rightly turned to
the U.S. government's so-called war on terrorism. Civil
libertarians and progressives are examining and opposing the
strengthening of the U.S. government's repressive apparatus--
especially the "Patriot Act." They are also responding to
the preventive detention of an unknown number of Arab and
Muslim immigrants.
At the same time, the political climate following Sept. 11
has ushered in a wave of terror in another area of U.S.
society: the concentration camps of the poor, otherwise
known as prisons.
Interviews with prisoners on Texas death row and letters
from prisoners are revealing that inmates there are facing
an escalated wave of repression.
Long before Sept. 11, conditions in U.S. prisons were
horrible and getting worse. With the passage of the Anti-
Terrorism Act and the Prison Litigation Reform Act, both
signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996,
conditions had been steadily deteriorating.
The PLRA was designed to limit prisoners' access to federal
courts due to allegedly frivolous lawsuits. But the state
has gone so far as to consider the rape of women prisoners
by prison guards "frivolous."
The repression takes many forms. The Michigan chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union documented last year that
several prisons in that state refused to send or deliver
mail to prisoners unless it was in English. This meant that
prisoners fluent in a language other than English were
unable to communicate with their families or legal
representatives.
Human and constitutional rights are under attack while the
prison-industrial complex is growing by leaps and bounds.
More poor and oppressed people are being sent to jail. And
as the deepening recession is creating more poverty, these
figures are sure to increase. According to the Washington-
based Sentencing Project, more women are now behind bars
than at any other time in U.S. history.
The case of the Miami Cuban 5, who received an extremely
lengthy and harsh sentence, is an indication that
conservatives in the U.S. judicial system are emboldened by
the political climate in Washington. The five Cubans were
unjustly convicted of espionage against the U.S. this past
June 8 in federal court. Yet the aim of the five patriots
was to prevent terrorist attacks against Cuba from U.S. soil-
-something that counter-revolutionary groups have done many
times over the years.
With stepped-up repression, it is inevitable that the
prisoners' rights movement will develop and grow in the
coming period.
INDICTMENT OF TEXAS DEATH ROW
President George Bush has firsthand knowledge of the
appalling conditions of U.S. prisons, as well as of the
death penalty. Bush oversaw the execution of over 150
prisoners while governor of Texas--overwhelmingly poor and
oppressed people.
Back on Oct. 16, 2000, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert
had commented on a report on the death penalty in Texas
released that day. "It's a chilling report," he stated, "and
as I began reading an advance copy I couldn't help but think
of the governor of Texas, a candidate for president of the
United States, gloating on national television about
executions still to come.
"The new study reads like a horror story in which fairness
and justice are the first casualties in a system that often
seems deliberately designed not to find the truth but to
keep the state's assembly line of death rolling at all
costs, even at the cost of executing the innocent."
The study contains myriad examples of grotesque injustice,
including the sentencing of innocent defendants to death,
deliberate falsification of evidence, the execution of
profoundly brain-disabled defendants, routine misuse of so-
called expert testimony and rampant racism.
One chapter in the study profiles the cases of six men who
were executed despite "substantial and compelling doubts
about their guilt."
Despite the right-wing political climate since Sept. 11, a
wealth of information has leaked out of the hellhole of
Texas death row. Prisoners who risk retaliation are speaking
out against the rise of repression and deteriorating
conditions.
LONG LIVE THE SPIRIT OF EMERSON RUDD!
On Nov. 15, Emerson Rudd, a founder and leader of Panthers
United for Revolutionary Education, was executed. Rudd was a
political who fought against prison conditions and was a
friend, defender and leader of other prisoners.
Rudd refused to go "willingly" to the death chamber,
officials said. So they ordered the guards to gas him.
Prisoners report that the warden then used Rudd's execution
to launch a wave of repression. One prisoner explained, "To
begin with, who would willingly go to their death? Rudd did
begin to fight and even with his hands and legs cuffed, I'm
sure it was quite a fight!"
About 15 to 20 guards came dressed in riot and anti-gas
gear. Witnesses say the guards repeatedly gassed Emerson.
Even the warden of the prison participated in his gassing.
Emerson's face was dragged along the floor to the death
chamber. Prisoners say that Emerson was kicked and beaten
"beyond words."
Prison officials claimed Emerson had drugs in his cell and
that was one reason they had to beat him. But another
prisoner writes, "Maybe there was and maybe there wasn't.
But if there was, how did it get there? Who is doing
anything about the guards who bring contraband into the
prison?"
After Emerson's execution, death row prisoners were
immediately put on lockdown, which severely curtails their
movement and allows them access only to basic items. The
guards searched and damaged prisoners' possessions,
including precious legal papers.
Basic necessities are still being confiscated and denied.
Prisoners are not allowed showers for days. Strict limits
are placed on personal possessions.
Another prisoner reports that Muslims on death row who were
practicing their religion during holy days were placed on
lockdown the day before fasting. This meant they could not
get the food they needed so they could eat after sundown.
This is not just a violation of their religious beliefs.
Many prisoners see this as an attempt by the guards to push
them over the edge.
Because of the extreme isolation prisoners on death row
experience--the lack of human contact--a book, or paper to
write with, or a radio or fan can make a big difference.
They can be decisive in a prisoner's life. These are
necessities for prisoners, not luxury items. They are a
right.
The restrictions being imposed on Texas death row today are
increasing tensions to intolerable levels. A prisoner
writes, "Even people who do not have 'low impulse control'
would have problems sitting quietly while gleeful guards rip
through their personal belongings."
President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft may think
that the events on Sept. 11 have given them the green light
to unleash a reactionary and repressive climate against the
rights of anyone who opposes U.S. policy.
But the conditions on Texas death row, like that of prisons
around the country, will ultimately be met with resistance.
Both inside and outside prison walls workers and oppressed
people will stand up for their rights.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Jan. 10, 2002
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
MICHIGAN: SUPPORT BUILDS FOR DETAINED MUSLIM LEADER
By Jane Cutter
and Andrew Freeman
Ann Arbor, Mich.
On Dec. 14, three Immigration and Naturalization Services
(INS) agents arrested Rabih Haddad in his home in front of
his wife and four children. Haddad, an immigrant from
Lebanon, is an active and well-respected member of Ann
Arbor's mosque--the Ann Arbor Islamic Center. Haddad is also
a board member of the Global Relief Foundation, an Islamic
charity.
Rabih Haddad is being held indefinitely without bond at the
Monroe County jail on charges of a technical violation of
his tourist visa, despite the fact that he has an
application pending for permanent resident status through
labor certification and employment sponsorship pursuant to
the Life Act of 2000.
Michael Steinberg, a lawyer from the American Civil
Liberties Union, stated that it is very unusual for the INS
to take action in cases that have pending paperwork. This
indicates that Haddad's imprisonment is part of a wider
pattern of racial and religious profiling and erosion of
civil liberties under the guise of "fighting terrorism."
Community support continues to grow for Haddad's release.
One week after Haddad was arrested, at least 300 people came
out for a vigil and candlelight march in his support at the
Ann Arbor Federal Building. Participants included many
members of Ann Arbor's Muslim community as well as other
anti-racist and anti-war activists.
Speakers at the vigil included U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers,
representatives of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination
Committee, George Lambrides of the Interfaith Roundtable in
Ann Arbor and people from other community organizations.
Hundreds also came out for Haddad's bond hearing in Detroit,
which was continued to Jan. 2.
At a media conference on Dec. 18 at the Ann Arbor Community
Center, Haddad's wife, Salma Al-Rashaid, shared the pain and
distress her husband's arrest has created for her and her
four young children. On the eve of Eid il-Fitr, one of the
holiest days in the Islamic calendar and an important time
for family to celebrate together, the INS took Haddad away
from his home and would not say where he was going.
Other speakers at the news conference included Tariq Colvin
of the Muslim Community association of Ann Arbor, Phillis
Engelbert of the Ann Arbor Ad Hoc Committee for Peace,
Michael Steinberg, and Joseph Dulin, principal of Roberto
Clemente High School and founder of National African
American Parent Involvement Day.
The media conference, sponsored by the Ann Arbor Ad Hoc
Committee for Peace, also condemned the racist profiling of
Arab and Muslim men. Print, television and radio reporters
attended.
TARGETED FOR COMMUNITY WORK?
An immigration judge ordered Haddad's bond hearing closed on
Dec. 19, so that the public was not allowed to witness the
proceedings. At that hearing, despite four character
witnesses and evidence of enormous community support, Haddad
was not granted bond and was held pending continuation of
the hearing on Jan. 2.
It is hard not to conclude that Haddad has been targeted for
his work in the community.
Rabih Haddad has been a very visible representative of the
Muslim community in Ann Arbor, especially since the Sept. 11
tragedy. He spoke at a town hall meeting sponsored by Rep.
Rivers.
Since the start of the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan, he has
also spoken out repeatedly on behalf of the Afghan people.
Haddad is on the board of trustees of the Global Relief
Foundation. The U.S. government froze the assets of the GRF.
Government officials alleged that the GRF "supports
terrorism."
At the press conference, reporters asked about GRF's alleged
link to terrorism. Tariq Colvin of the Muslim Community
Association explained that GRF is a legitimate charity that
provides support to widows and orphans in various parts of
the world. The GRF has also provided aid to Afghan refugees.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Jan. 10, 2002
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
65 YEARS AS A PEOPLE'S ARTIST: CELEBRATING IRVING FIERSTEIN
By Sue Davis
"Many artists dream that their work will be viewed in
galleries. But artist Irving Fierstein took his talent to
the people's movement, in the streets, where it has been
seen by millions who have marched and rallied for justice
over more than three decades," said Sara Flounders, co-
director of the International Action Center, at the Dec. 18
opening of a retrospective show of Fierstein's work.
Flounders was referring to the hundreds of illustrated
banners on a wide range of political themes that Fierstein
has painted since the mid-1970s. Perhaps the most famous
image he created was "Free South Africa" in 1987--two black
fists breaking chains above a map of Africa.
The artwork was seen on banners, buttons and placards at
anti-apartheid marches all over this country. The image soon
became a symbol recognized worldwide. It appeared in Spike
Lee's movie "School Daze," in the movie "Cry Freedom" about
anti-apartheid martyr Steven Biko, and on the cover of
Esquire magazine.
Fierstein's art is on exhibit at the national office of the
International Action Center in New York City until Jan. 5.
For two weeks the IAC, home to numerous progressive
campaigns, is transformed into a gallery, its walls lined
with Fierstein's artwork. The exhibit includes 23 paintings,
nine banners, 10 lithographs, and albums and scrapbooks
containing photos of Fierstein's banners carried in
demonstrations over the decades.
Fierstein, a member of Workers World Party for many years,
developed the art form of the painted banner to new heights.
But his work is not limited to this. Examples of his
evocative, expressive paintings, lithographs and etchings
depicting a host of social justice themes are included in
the show.
What made him become political, he explained, was not being
able to find work as an architect after graduating from
technical school during the depths of the Depression in
1932. So he became a very successful self-taught commercial
artist who in his spare time contributed his talent and
political vision to the movement for social change.
Fierstein's activism as an artist began in 1937. At age 23
he helped organize the Commercial Artists and Designers
Union. One of his earliest projects was a Times Square
billboard in 1938 in support of the Spanish Civil War
freedom fighters against fascism. His oil painting depicting
the 1963 beating of civil rights activist Fanny Lou Hamer in
a Mississippi jail hangs in the Martin Luther King Jr.
Center for Social Change in Atlanta.
"I want my work to expose the ruling class and support
working and oppressed people," said the 87-year-old artist
at the exhibit opening. "With solidarity and action we shall
win," he concluded.
Many people in the audience paid tribute to Fierstein. "You
can't count the number of people who have been moved by
Irving's work; it's truly people's art," said Hillel Cohen.
"Irving's banners are weapons in the struggle," stressed
Larry Holmes.
"Thank you for all the oppressed," added Teresa Gutierrez.
"Irving's symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle was a real
contribution to that struggle," noted Monica Moorehead.
"Long live the revolutionary art of Irving Fierstein!"
Laurie Fierstein, Irving's daughter and a long-time fighter
for social change, emphasized that in 1948 when U.S. and
British imperialism were setting up the Israeli settler
state, the artist was among a handful of communists in the
U.S. who vocally opposed it. "It takes a certain amount of
iron will to stand virtually alone," she said, especially as
a communist from a Jewish background.
She also described an argument Fierstein had with his pro-
Zionist doctor in the period after Sept. 11. When Fierstein
told his physician that he was opposed to the U.S. war, she
threw him out of her office.
"You can always find another doctor," Laurie Fierstein
concluded. "You can never find another Irving."
Though Fierstein's fine art has been exhibited in numerous
group shows in New York, this is the first retrospective
encompassing the entire range of his work. It will be on
display through Jan. 5 at the IAC, 39 W. 14th St., Room 206,
Manhattan.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Jan. 10, 2002
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL TAKEOVER:
STATE DOUBLE-CROSSES PARENTS
By Betsey Piette
Philadelphia
Thousands of Philadelphia high school students walked out of
school on Dec. 19 to protest the state's pending takeover of
the city's school district. The next day protesters occupied
the offices of the Board of Education, vowing to stay to
keep the public in control of the schools.
But despite these protests and widespread public opposition,
on Dec. 21 Mayor John Street agreed with Pennsylvania Gov.
Mark Schweiker to allow the state to take over the city's
schools. The agreement, which set up a five-member "reform
commission" to oversee the school district, also opens the
way for privatization of the fourth-largest school district
in the country. Under amendments to state Act 46, passed
initially to break teacher strikes, the state would have
taken over the district with or without the city's
agreement.
The reform commission will be comprised of three appointees
from the state and two from the city. But only three votes
will be needed to sign contracts with private providers,
including Edison Schools Inc. At the first meeting of the
commission on Dec. 28, with only Chairperson James Nevels in
attendance, 10 retainer contracts were awarded to lawyers,
consultants and a public relations firm headed by a major
fund-raiser and supporter of the Republican Party.
Community groups filed lawsuits challenging the state's
deals to allow Edison to take over without a bidding
process. A coalition of unions and community groups filed
for an injunction arguing that if Edison signs a contract
with the state, it would violate a conflict-of-interest law
that prohibits state agencies from awarding contracts to
companies that have served as government consultants.
The state had paid Edison $2.7 million earlier this year to
conduct a study of the Philadelphia schools in which the
company recommended privatization. Commonwealth Court Judge
Joseph Doyle denied that request for an injunction, claiming
that the reform commission which will run the schools is not
a "state agency," even though a majority of its members will
be appointed by the governor as part of the state's takeover
of the city's schools. Edison's stock quickly jumped from $1
to $19.55 per share after the ruling.
The state claims it has to step in because the city's school
district is in debt. Yet state officials dismiss as
irrelevant that Edison has always operated in the red. In a
stock prospectus issued in August, Edison admitted it was in
serious financial trouble. From all appearances, Edison
needs the Philadelphia schools more than the city needs
Edison.
Edison spent $400,000 for a public relations campaign to
sell itself in Philadelphia. Opponents of Edison, however,
point to other school districts that have dismissed the
company because of its poor performance. In 61 of the 69
schools Edison runs, students perform substantially below
standard levels, according to a study commissioned by
Philadelphia Congressperson Chaka Fattah, who is calling for
a federal investigation of Edison's claims that it has
turned around most of the low-performance schools it
manages.
Just last week the state of New Jersey put Edison-managed
schools in Trenton on probation for low academic
performances. In Wichita, Kan., the principal and assistant
principal of an Edison school were dismissed for promoting
cheating to improve state test scores.
Edison stands to get a $101-million consulting contract if
proposals previously made by Schweiker win approval from the
reform commission. While maximizing their profits, the
company has already suggested that it will cut 500 teaching
positions and out-source maintenance and other service
contracts.
Historically Edison has hired less experienced teachers and
afforded no union protection. The future of unions under
Edison is already being raised as a concern by the
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and Local 1201 of the
Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union, which represents bus
drivers, cafeteria workers, carpenters, painters, etc.
State officials claim that privatizing the schools is the
only solution, yet parents and students have continuously
offered alternatives, including equitable state funding for
all school districts. Currently an average of $6,000 to
$7,000 is spent per year per student in the Philadelphia
schools, yet across the county line schools in Lower Merion,
for example, spend $14,000-$16,000 per student per year.
As long as school funding is tied to property taxes,
Philadelphia students will continue to suffer, since over a
third of the city's property is tax exempt.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Jan. 10, 2002
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
FROM BALTIMORE TO SOUTH AFRICA:
WORKER SOLIDARITY NEEDED TO DEFEAT PRIVATIZATION
By Andre Powell
Baltimore
"Our democracy, our own liberation is not for sale,"
proclaimed Congress of South African Trade Unions First Vice-
President Joseph Nkosi. He addressed an audience of trade
unionists and community activists on the campus of Morgan
State University, a historically Black college here, on Dec.
11.
Nkosi talked about COSATU's continuing battle against
privatization in South Africa. He explained that
privatization has already taken place in education, public
hospitals, the transport system, electricity, water, parks,
swimming pools, telephone lines and all areas related to
telecommunications.
Privatization has made almost 2 million people unemployed in
South Africa.
But, he told the audience, COSATU has done a lot of work in
mobilizing against privatization in many areas of the
country.
During the World Conference Against Racism in Durban this
summer, COSATU organized a massive march of 100,000 and
brought the city to a standstill.
When the threat of privatization of the railways arose, the
railway union staged sit-ins in the minister's office and
successfully stopped it in its tracks.
"We have held pickets in every area where there is
privatization," Nkosi added. "We are mobilizing every person
around this issue, including students and pensioners."
COSATU has had many discussions with the government about
the need for nationalization instead. "We have sacrificed
our lives. We have sacrificed everything," Nkosi stressed.
RICH GET RICHER
Nkosi linked the battle over privatization to the world
struggle against globalization. "We must say there are
alternatives to globalization."
He defined what the International Monetary Fund and World
Bank mean when they talk about poverty relief for Africa:
"There is no poverty relief in Africa that is going to take
place through the IMF and World Bank. It is an alternative
structural adjustment program that they are putting into
place. They know they must come up with a new terminology
that says it is a poverty relief program in Africa.
"In Africa there are countries that are owned by IMF/WB
through this globalization. Advisors from think tanks
outside of the borders of Africa are putting pressure on the
governments. These consultants have been trained by IMF/WB
and are strategically deployed to advance and push for
structural adjustments through programs which camouflage
their true role as agents for IMF/WB."
Unions in Zimbabwe are waging a similar struggle against
privatization. Mathilda Shakuda, the Treasurer-General of
the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions, outlined the misery
brought to her country by privatization and globalization.
"When hospitalization is needed ambulances don't have gas to
come and get you. There is a shortage of medicine. People
with AIDS are sent home to die without medicine."
She concluded, "IMF policies are just to enhance the rich to
get richer and the poor to get poorer."
