To: All Progressive Organizations

Oct. 10 -- This communique serves to alert all publishing and public interest organizations that the NC Department of Correction and prison systems across the South have implemented the most oppressive policy to date wherein practically every progressive, left-leaning publication and many mainstream publications have been banned from entering the prisons.

To date, those publications which are banned are: Maxim; FHM; Green Anarchy; Burning Spear; all ABC publications; all Move publications; and all anarchist publications.

To date, publications which are rejected at a frequent rate, but as yet not banned completely, are: Rolling Stone; AIDS/HIV publications; and Prisoner’s Rights publications.

The current move by the NC-DOC and prison systems across the South is designed to gradually prohibit all publications that even occasionally speak to prison issues, include prison commentary, and offer prisoner support or directives to those who offer support. Moreover, the underlying goal of these systems is to eventually prohibit and outlaw completely all reading material that serves to enlighten and educate prisoners.

This move by the prison systems became very intense immediately after the implementation of Homeland Security and the PATRIOT Act.

If an effort is not made very soon to challenge these policies that are being imposed on prisoners we will eventually be prohibited from recieving any progressive publications and, more likely, the prison systems will enact rules which specify the few mainstream publications prisoners can choose from. And I can assure you this short list will not include any progressive publications.

We understand that for the last two years practically every organization has been heavily involved in the issues involving Iraq and the war. And it has been during this period that the state governments, under the directive of the Justice Department, have had free rein to implement these widespread, oppressive acts against us. While no one was watching we have been subjected to everything from new rules and policies intended to lock us down to brutalities which are a breech of humanity. These state systems have now become so oppressively powerful that a movement must meet these atrocities head-on or we will be in constant conditions far worse than any Iraqi prison. We sincerely ask for your help.

Eddie Hatcher
Maury, NC