| | "Widen the prison gates, the resistance is growing" -Tom Hastings, in review of Jailed for Justice: A Woman's Guide to Federal Prison Camp. The United States imprisons more than 2.2 million persons. More than one million are incarcerated after conviction for non-violent actions. Growing numbers of these are peaceful protesters who risked prison to bring attention to violations of moral, civil and international laws by corporations, the military, and the U.S. Government. In one movement alone, the SOA Watch, nearly 300 persons have been sentenced for civil disobedience, a Class B Misdemeanor tresspass, and have served, collectively, over 100 years of prison time and over 50 years probation and home confinement. It is the poets, the preachers and the prophets who endure prison for peaceful protest, while the perpetrators, the politicians and the pentagon planners unleash unspeakable violence on a war-weary planet with apparant impunity. But everywhere, people of conscience and conviction are rising in movements for social and environmental justice throughout this country. We are acting boldly and bravely, and when we enter the U.S. prison system as a consequence, we are changed. As has been said, "when we disrupt government, we disrupt our own lives." Some among us enter prison with the advantage of our racial, class and social privilege. We come out of prison with a deepened personal awareness of the systemic injustice that is so often hidden. The prison experience can make us more aware and convincing advocates for social justice. Reading the stories of women and men who voluntarily risk prison can be a powerful preparation for anyone willing to speak out and take action in these challenging times. The books, essays, poems, appeals, songs and speeches of released prisoners will help us all "catch the courage," as Kathy Kelly has said, to keep on walking forward. They deserve a wide readership. I hope this site can help spread the word. Clare Hanrahan, Asheville, NC |