1970 Folsom Prison strike
| 1970 Folsom Prison strike | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | November 3, 1970 – November 22, 1970 (53 years ago) | ||
| Location | Folsom, California, United States | ||
| Lead figures | |||
Martin Sousa, Inmate Sal Candelaria, Brown Berets Huey P. Newton, Black Panther Party Charles Garry, 3rd World Legal Defense Counsel | |||
| Number | |||
| |||
The 1970 Folsom Prison strike was a significant event for U.S. prison reform and protest. During the strike over 2,400 incarcerated individuals as the Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California initiated a work stoppage and hunger strike. The strike began on November 3, 1970 and lasted for a total of 19 days. The strike was organized to address various grievances, including racial discrimination, inadequate medical care, overcrowding and labor conditions. Prisoners from different background such as the Black Panther Party and Brown Berets, participated helping the strike gain attention across the states. The strike was declared the day prior to the 1970 California gubernatorial election, increasing public and political attention to the demands.[1][2]
Manifesto
[edit]The manifesto, written by the inmates, outlined a series of demands relating to the injustices within the prison system. The organizing committee issued a manifesto, which reads in part:
"We the inmates of Folsom Prison have grown to recognize beyond the shadow of a doubt that because of our posture as prisoners and branded characters as alleged criminals, the administrators and prison employees no longer consider or respect us as human beings, but rather as domesticated animals selected to do their bidding in slave labor and furnished as a personal whipping dog for their sadistic, psychopathic hate.
In our efforts to intellectually expand in keeping with the outside world, through all categories of News Media, we are systematically restricted and punitively offended to isolation status when we insist on our human rights to the wisdom of awareness. "[3][4][2]
Demands
[edit]The Folsom Prison demands, as outlined in the manifesto, issued in 1970 outlined the key areas where the incarcerated individuals sought reform to the prison system. There were 31 demands listed in total.[3][4][2]
- Access to Legal Counsel
- Improvement of Medical Services
- Improved Visitation Rights
- Explanation for Solitary Confinement
- Set Time Limits for Solitary Confinement
- No Political Segregation
- Freedom from Political and Racial Discrimination
- Right to Refuse Forced Labor
- End Tear Gas Use on Isolated Prisoners
- Abolition of Indefinite Sentancing
- Fair Employment and Compensation
- Right to Unionize
- Earning Wages ( to support families)
- Accountability for the Misconduct of Guards
- Enforcement of Minimum Wage Laws
- Political Asylum for Political Prisoners
- Trial by a Jury of Peers
- End to Physical Abuse
- Protection for Political Prisoners
- Expanded Legal Aid for Prisoners
- Improved Working Conditions
- Workplace Injury Compensation
- Accredited Vocational Training
- Transparency in Welfare Funds
- Reform of the Parole Board
- Creation of an Oversight Board
- Compliance with the Folsom Manifesto
- Stop Racial Manipulation by Authorities and Guards
- Culturally Relevant Counseling
- End Racial Bias in Parole Decisions
- Right to be Present During Searches
Many of the demands raised in the manifesto continue to be points of discussion in the ongoing debate around prison reform and criminal justice. Topics such as overcrowding, racial disparities, and healthcare for inmates are still relevant concerns. While some of the reforms have been implemented since he demands were made, many of these issues remain central to prison reform advocacy efforts. [1][2][3][4]
Media
[edit]In October of 1970, Sacramento's KXTV, also known as Channel 10, was the first to report that there was word of a strike being called at the Folsom State Prison for November 3rd. Martin Sousa, the strikes' main organizer, had been working at the print shop inside of the prison and was able to print the demands and manifesto. Sousa then was able to send copies out to the Prison Law Project and the Coordinating Council of Prisoner Organizations, both bay area leftist groups. Fueled by outside support and media coverage from both local radio and television stations, the strike gained enough fire to last a historic 19 days. On November 17, 1970 outside support groups for the strike called a press conference. From this was created the "birth date" of the United Prisoners Union with the aid of Sousa. On November 22 Warden Craven broadcast a speech to the prisoners, offering them a chance to return to work, along with the consequences if they refused, thus ended the strike.[1]
Effects
[edit]During the strike almost all of the prisoners at the Folsom Prison refused to leave their cells for 19 days, becoming the longest prison strike in the U.S. The strike's notability has come from being nonviolent and the prisoners' unified stance despite their diverse political and racial backgrounds. The strike helped to inspire a wave a prison reformation movements across the country as seen in the Attica Prison riot.[1][2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Cummins, Eric (1994). The Rise and Fall of California's Radical Prison Movement. Stanford University Press. pp. 199–201. ISBN 978-0-8047-2232-2.
- ^ a b c d e "Freedom Archives Search Engine". search.freedomarchives.org. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
- ^ a b c "Folsom Manifesto for the California Statewide Prison Strike, 1970". San Francisco Bay View. 26 October 2018.
- ^ a b c "The Folsom Prisoners Manifesto of Demands (Nov. 3rd 1970)". abolition notes. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
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