It’s Time to Bring Our Political Prisoners Home

Abstract

Defense of our political prisoners, and a serious campaign to win their release, should be at the heart of our attempt to build a broad movement against increasing state repression. Far from being a peripheral issue taken on by a small circle of loyal supporters, it informs the very nature of the movement we are trying to create. As conditions deteriorate further in this country, there will be new waves of resistance and more political imprisonment. From the nonviolent civil disobedience of those who occupied the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia, to the militant demonstrations and strikes like those that rocked Puerto Rico in 1998, political imprisonment will be part of the price that will be paid for standing up against injustice.