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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 4, 1971)
Editor’s note: The information in this article is a collection of facts released by the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis, 3450 West 43rd Street, Suite 104, L.A., Calif. 90008. Under the direction of Prof. Davis, NUCFAD is coor dinated by her sister, Fania Davis Jordan. Even though her spirits are high, Prof. Davis is suffering from malnutrition, lack of exercise (mental and physical) extreme decaying of teeth and is constantly denied the right of adequate medical treatment. Because we live in a capitalistic society, capital is the immediate solution to aid in maintaining her life. Therefore, we ask for DONATIONS of $1.00 or more . . . or less! Alycia P. Simmons 4th year pre-law student local representative NUCFAD Analogy: There is a species of fly, called the June Fly, from the moment a June Fly is born, it has four hours to live; if one was born at 12:00 midnight, in darkness and gloom, it never would, in its lifetime, understand the concept of day and light. This is the case with the Euro-Americans. George Jackson Soledad Prison The ‘June-fly’ government in the U.S. of A recognizes the fight to uphold one’s humanity as being a revolutionary act thus causing the false difference between “personality” and “politics” to be no longer maintainable. It is in this light we must understand the life of Angela Davis, for the struggle of the true revolutionary, is as she said, “to merge the personal with the political where they’re no longer separate.” It is only when “you don’t see your life, your individual life, as being so im portant” that it begins to become important, politically, for others in the common fight for freedom. She has given her life for the struggle. In order, then, to un derstand this life, we must un derstand the struggle. The struggle began two cen turies ago when a former European colony decided to catch up with Europe. It succeeded so well that the United States of America became a monster in which the taints, the sickness, and the inhumanity of Europe have grown to appalling dimensions. Now in the 71st year of the 20th century, we find the government of this country engaged in aggression, sup pression, oppression, and ex ploitation of the poor and colored peoples throughout the world and right here at home. it we look arouna us we see that somehow or another a very small minority of people in this country have all of the wealth in their hands and to top that, we don't even see them out working. We do not see them in factories. We do not see them in the fields. We do not see them using their labor to produce the products which they then present. That tells me that something is wrong. Why is it that the masses of the people in this country have to work eight hours a day every day and somehow or another what they produce goes to some people who are sitting out at a country club, on a golf course, and not doing a damn thing? TTiat tells me that the real criminals in this society are not all of the people who populate the prisons across the state, but those people who have stolen the wealth of the world from the people Those are the criminals. And that means the Rockefellers, the Kennedys, and that means the state, that is designed to protect their property, because that’s what Nixon’s doing, that’s what Reagan’s doing, that’s what they re aU doing. And so every time a black child in the city dies we should indict them for mur der, because they’re the ones who killed that child.” These words were spoken by Professor Angela Davis June 27, 1970, having returned from studying abroad and after joining in the struggle against op pression. Realizing the op pressors would respond with every level of repression and go to any lengths to silence and, if necesary, murder any individual who spoke out the truth and organized against their system, Angela dared to speak out. FBI agents arrested Angela in her commission of these crimes had not been furnished. In ad dition, the attorneys charged, Angela “has been and is the object of persecution by the Governor and authorities of the State of California who, because of her membership in the Communist Party and her political opinions and beliefs caused her to be ousted from her post as assistant professor of philosophy at the University of California and have now caused her to be charged with murder and kidnapping.” Extradition, they concluded “would constitute a violation of the 1st and 14th Amendments to the Constitution . Superior Court Judge E. W. McGuire and Marin County Jail Commander Lt. Newal Snyder have put major roadblocks in Prof. Davis’ way by refusing to release to her a copy of the Grand Jury transcript illegally ordered sealed last month and by only permitting Miss Davis two visitors per day, each of whom can have up to ten minutes per visit. The uncertainty of her own legal position at this time is a condition that California state authorities seem bent on provoking. We, as comrades, should remember as we fight her in carceration in Marin County Alycia P. Simmons Angela Davis: the struggle of a Black woman revolutionary New York City on Oct. 13, charging that she was a federal fugitive from justice after having ensued what was perhaps the most vicious and intensive manhunt in the history of this country. A young Black woman without any prior record of arrest, not directly accused of the commission of a crime, became the third women in history to be placed on the FBI “Ten Most Wanted” list, giving any crazed racist the right to shoot her on sight. While held in the Women’s Detention House in New York City, fighting extradition to California where she had been charged with kidnap for ransom, murder and conspiracy, Angela was placed in solitary con finement. She had been isolated in a “psychological ward”, away from her fellow prisoners; placed under 24 hour surveillance and harrassment. In the tradition of all political prisoners, her captor had separated her from contact with others, for they feared even there, her right of free speech, the power of her ideas. And while she was bound in solitary con finement, outside, her accusors have continually attempted to try and convict her in the mass media. Richard Nixon congratulated J. Edgar Hoover upon her “capture” saying that her arrest would serve as an example to “all other terrorists.” A lawsuit by the National Conference of Black Lawyers, mass demonstrations, thousands of letters and telegrams achieved a victory by Judge Lasker’s ruling to have Angela Davis released from solitary confinement. Her rights were also stripped from her when Herbert Marcuse, her former instructor at the University of San Diego, was turned away at the door of her cell on Oct. 23. Henceforth, only members of her immediate family would be allowed to visit her. Legal moves by her attorney, 26-year-old Margaret Burnham and co-counsel John Abt, in cluded a petition for a writ of habeus corpus which argued that Angela’s arrest and im prisonment were un constitutional and illegal since the original complaint and af fidavit purpotedly charging Angela with murder and kid napping did not substantial!., charge her with these, and further, that probably cause of . . and a flagrant denial of due process of law.” After Federal Supreme Court Justice John Harlan dismissed the attorneys’ plea for a writ of habeus corpus on Tuesday, December 22 thereby cleaming the way for Prof. Davis’ ex tradition—the state’s plans for Angela became a question of mystery and concern for the large crowd of her supporters gathered outside of the Women’s House of Detention. Shortly after 2:00 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 23, Angela was awakened and told that her lawyers wanted to see her downstairs. She complied with the order, but upon reaching the bottom floor was then told that she was being extradited to California immediately (it’s certain that prison authorities tricked Angela in order to prevent angry protest from her sister inmates NUCAD). Prof. Davis said that she wanted to go back to her cell and gather up her papers, books and clothes, but the authorities refused and grabbed at her. Miss Davis put up her hands to ward off her attackers, but she was crushed to the floor under the weight of two policemen (not matrons) who jumped her from behind. Having pinned her down, they “subdued” her, handcuffed her and dragged her to the Corrections Depart ment van pulled up at the rear of the prison. At 3:05 a m. the van sped off into the night, escorted by a phalanx of ten NYC squad cars. Political prisoners, as Angela herself has often pointed out, are always at the mercy of an oppressive and arbitrarily cruel state. Prof. Davis was eventually taken to McGuire Air Force Base at Fort Dix, New Jersey, where a California Air National Guard transport plane was waiting to take her on a 12 hour flight to Marin County. Authorities claimed to fear the hijacking of a commercial flight and therefore planned a military operation; however absurd their fear, their brutal treatment of the Professor Davis is without legal precedent, to be compared only with the gagging and shackling of Bobby Seale in a Chicago courtroom The morning after her arrival Prof Davis appeared in court for her forma! arraignment. In spite of her recent brutal manhandling and lack of sleep, she greeted her supporters with a raised fist that it was the pressure of the crowds in New York City which got Angela out of solitary con finement. On the day of her scheduled arraignment, the few spectators and many press people allowed into the cour troom were searched three times. Contrary to inaccurate press reports, a huge rally was conducted in San Francisco at the Federal Building on the day of Opinion Prof. Davis’ extradition in cluding Angela’s mother and father, her two brothers and sister Fania Jordan, the national coordinator of the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis (NUCFAD). It’s a logical conclusion that Angela’s freedom won’t be won by legal maneuvering, although her attorneys are competent and talented. Massive pressure exorted by millions of Americans on state and local authorities, can free all political prisoners. There is no alternative. Ths black Women of Yale University cabled Mrs. Sally Davis with single words of love and respect: “Miss Davis freedom is our hope and desire.” Artists, musicians, and in tellectuals of many nations have reacted strongly to Angela’s capture and imprisonment. Areatha Franklin, the most famous and talented of American Motown and R & B singers, known as Soul Lady No. 1, says that she’s ready to go to Angela’s bail $250,000 if the courts will let her: “Black people will be free . . I’m going to see her free if there is any justice in our courts, not because I believe in communism, but because she’s a Black woman and she wants freedom for Black people . . . I want to use (my money) in ways that will help our people.” WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT CAN YOU DO? WHAT WILL YOU DO? You are part of the problem if you are not part of the solution The first thing you can do is to continue to read this article. Another aspect of this struggle is seen in David Pointdexter responding to charges filed against him “for harboring a fugitive.” he says “.. . I just don’t know what criminal they are talking about my harboring. I wasn’t seen with Senator Eastland of Mississippi or a Pentagon general. Certainly Angela is no criminal.” He continued, ‘‘those in the movement who are critical of my acts will be judged much more severely than I if they don’t now come to Angela’s defense. The question should not be why we were caught, but why Angela was charged in the first place with being a ‘criminal’ ...” Of those convicts involved in the San Rafael courthouse battle on August 7, only one survived—a 31 year old Black man sentenced to life imprisonment in 1963— Ruchel Magee, a “jail lawyer" distrustful of court appointed attorneys, is now Angela’s co defendant, likewise charged with murder, kidnapping and con spiracy to commit both. His story is that of many thousands of blacks, browns, Asians, Puerto Ricans and poor whites who fill American jails. Because his story is particularly shameful, it must be told over and over again. Briefly, Magee was driving to Compton in l>os Angeles, in 1963 with a dope dealer and during the ride they began to argue; a fight eventually ensued which was broken up by the LAPD. Magee and his companion were beaten so badly that each man spent several days in a local hospital. In what was apparently a clumsy attempt to cover up the savage beating, the police charged Magee with kidnapping and robbery. Magee was quickly convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment but the trial was a cruel farce: Magee’s public defender argued that his client was innocent by reason of in sanity (although it was clear to the jury that the outraged Magee was quite sane), and the state prosecutor himself asked that the state s principal witness be dismissed from the witness stand and his testimony stricken from the record beecause the testimony was so obviously perjured. By such means was Ruchel Magee sent to San Quentin for life imprisonment. Since his conviction eight years ago, Magee has been dragged into court in heavy chains and shackled to a chair; he has sometimes been gagged for angrily protesting his legal lynching. He has become a desperate man. Magee is right in believing that the state wants to kill him. His knowledge of the beatings and murders of San Quentin inmates by guards has made the prison authorities afraid of what Magee has to say. The result was the incredible proposal made to Magee in his San Quentin cell by his current court-appointed counsel, Leonard Bjorkland, by offering him (Magee), in November of 1970, immunity from further prosecution and parole if he would testify that Angela Davis had supplied him with a gun on or about Aug. 7. Furthermore, Bjorkland claimed that he was making this offer on behalf of the Marin County judges Wilson (Angela’s pretrial judge) and McGuire. Before Magee threw him out of his cell, Bjorkland told Magee that he would either perjure himself and testify against Angela or he would be sent to the gas chamber. Strange as it may seem his story is true. This is the first of a two-part series. The conclusion will he printed tomorrow.