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<font size=3>Via Kiilu Nyasha<br><br>
Greetings All:<br><br>
Be sure to check out the letter from Eddie. Eddie had sent
<br>
it to me with a personal note prior to hearing from Erica Woodland,
so <br>
I asked if she had it online so I could share it with y'all. You
will <br>
surely understand after reading it why brothers like Eddie are
being <br>
locked away from our oppressed communities, especially our "at
risk" <br>
youth.<br><br>
Eddie has been incarcerated now for 40 years!<br><br>
Free Eddie and all political prisoners.<br>
Free 'em all!<br>
Peace, power, and love,<br><br>
Kiilu<br><br>
<b>SPRING LETTER from Eddie Conway<br><br>
Greetings,<br>
I hope this update finds everyone in good health and high spirits. April
of 2010 will mark the fortieth (40) year that I have been held unjustly.
I would say illegally but the fact is that, those in power change the
definition of what is legal whenever it suits them. However, regardless
of what definition they ascribe to my imprisonment, the facts remains, I
am here because of what I believe not for anything that I have done. I
have delayed writing this update for a couple months while waiting to
release my book <i>The Greatest Threat</i>... More on the book
later…<br><br>
First, a look back to the last update and the progress made since then.
In 2009, we started a mentoring project known as Friend of A Friend at
the institution where I'm now housed. The last seven months of 2009 were
spent training 20 prisoners to be mentors. Eighteen of these men
graduated with the help of the American Friend Service Committee's Peace
with Justice Program in Baltimore. We are currently training twenty-five
new mentees. Our goal: through our shared skills, experience and
knowledge we will produce prisoners that are critical thinkers and able
leaders. This will go a long way in changing the direction of the prison
system and the communities from which these young men come.<br><br>
During our initial training process, we worked with a local Baltimore
production group WombWork Productions. Together we presented a play for
the general population entitled THE BIRTH OF PEACE. The success of this
collaboration can be measured by the feedback we got from the general
population here. The men crave these type of activities because the help
them overcome the boredom and monotony of incarceration, and this in turn
helps to reduce the violence. We have a lengthy waiting list for new
mentees and our current mentees are very enthusiastic about being a part
of Friend of A Friend. The play was about finding a peaceful resolution
to conflicts between the various street organizations in our communities,
we intend on presenting this play again.<br><br>
As the years have rolled by my concern for my family has grown
significantly. Too many of my young family members are growing up and I
am missing out on being there for them, or experiencing their progress.
For example, some of my grandchildren are now going to school and others
are going to college. These are memories I'm only able to experience from
afar. My older family members (in particular my mother Eleanor) are
experiencing some minor health issues. The fact is many of us are just
getting old. Personally, I'm still struggling with high blood pressure,
but I believe it is under control. Gaining my freedom will correct most
of these things.<br><br>
My new legal team is researching my case in order to wage the next legal
battle to gain my freedom. My role in this effort will be focused on the
fundraising activities. So far, we have been very successful in this
endeavor.<br><br>
The support committees in Oakland, Los Angeles, and individuals in
Baltimore have done great fundraising work. Other supporters around the
country and abroad, have helped with both large and small donations. I
extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone. We are only $15,000 short of our
goal, and hope to raise this amount during our next fundraising drive. To
this end, we plan to use my new book, The Greatest Threat.<br><br>
The Greatest Threat examines the plight of the Black Panther Party
Political Prisoners/POW's and the role of the FBI's Counter-Intelligence
Program in their imprisonment. It is my belief that we need to examine
this phenomenon and how it has impacted anti-establishment activities and
dissent. This book is my attempt to put into political perspective the
system's response to any form of social discontent.<br><br>
To help in our fundraising drive we are giving a copy of The Greatest
Threat to anyone who donates $20.00 to the legal defense fund effort.
Anyone who can pledge future contributions, please contact Erica Woodland
at (410) 908-9865 or erica_woodland@hotmail.com, for additional
information. Thanks for your continuing support.<br>
In Struggle,<br>
Eddie<br><br>
The Greatest Threat</b>: <b>The Black Panther Party and COINTELPRO</b>
<i>by Marshall Edward Conway <br>
The Greatest Threat </i>puts the government’s war on the Panthers into
historical context. Marshall “Eddie” Conway, a veteran of the Black
Panther Party who has been held as a political prisoner for four decades,
has compiled the available documentation and research on COINTELPRO, and
traced its dirty history, from the active repression of the black
revolutionary movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, to the conditions of
Black America today and the dozens of political prisoners who remain in
U.S. prisons on charges stemming from their involvement in the Black
liberation movement. <br>
iAMWE Publications, January 2010 <br>
PO 4628<br>
Baltimore, MD 21212<br>
Baltimore 21212<br>
To order this book for donation of $20 contact Erica Woodland at (410)
908-9865 or erica_woodland@hotmail.com<br><br>
<b>Coming Soon: <br>
Marshall Law: The Life and Times of a Baltimore Black Panther</b>, by
Marshall “Eddie” Conway. The autobiography of Eddie
Conway. February 2011 | 232 pages | $15.95 AK
Press <br>
<br><br>
In 1970, the feds framed Eddie Conway for the murder of a Baltimore City
Police officer. He was 24 years old. They threw him in prison, took him
away from his family, his friends, and his organizing, and tried to
relegate him to a life marked by nothing but legal appeals, riots and
lockdowns, transfers from one penal colony to the next. But they
failed.<br><br>
Forty years later, still incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, Eddie
Conway continues to resist. Marshall Law is a poignant story of strength
and struggle. From his childhood in inner-city Baltimore to his political
awakening in the military, from the rise of the Black Panther Party to
the sham trial, the realities of prison life, escape attempts, labor
organizing on the inside, and beyond, Eddie’s autobiography is a reminder
that we all share the responsibility of resistance, no matter where we
are.<br>
<br>
<b>M. Eddie Conway #116469<br>
Jessup Correctional Institution<br>
P.0. Boy 534<br>
Jessup, MD 20794<br><br>
<br>
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