Michigan black-majority cities are singled out for destabilization

An economic system that doesn't feed, clothe, and house its people must be and will be overturned and replaced with a system that meets the needs of the people.

As the economic crisis continues to grip America and threatens to get deeper, people in working class communities across the country are beginning to stand up and demand that government serves the people's interests, not those of corporations.  As we stand up, we come under fire from corporations and governments.  This is especially true in America.

The Benton Harbor struggle is a case in point and holds lessons for the American people.  Will we have prosperity and democracy, or live in poverty under the heel of open corporate rule?

The attack on democracy in Benton Harbor shows that the corporate power structure is determined to crush anyone who stands in it's way.  It's part of a process underway across America in various forms.  After the once-stable BH working class community began resisting, the race card was played to impose the open rule of corporate power as a way of containing the entire area.  This tactic has been repeated across Michigan with black-majority cities being singled out and painted by the media as incompetent to run their own affairs.  Whirlpool calls in their very own puppet, James hightower, who just lost the election by a landslide.

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I have tried to spread the word among BH children to watch out for the weakest, and to empathize with those less fortunate.

We devote everything to love and solidarity;  this is the founding principle of Black Autonomy Network Community Organization.

Thank you Benton Harbor for standing when I needed you the most!

Rev. Pinkney

Riverwest Radio Interview with David Sole

Listen to a one-hour interview with David Sole about Rev. Pinkney's case on Wisconsin's Riverwest Radio.

Rev. Pinkney Fights for His Life at Marquette Prison

Rev. Edward Pinkney is fighting for his life at Marquette Branch Prison. He has been challenged not by inmates, but by unskilled, untrained, uneducated, unprofessional, unadvised, unaccountable correctional officers under Warden Robert Napel. There have been several incidents of improper use of force. Threats and abuse from guards were allegedly so frequent several prisoners kept a makeshift calendar to keep track.

Every single day there is a major problem. Racism has taken total control of the prison. It cannot be denied that correctional officers at Marquette Branch Prison use unnecessary force against inmates in the prison, either to exact punishment or to retaliate for something the inmate was perceived to have done. This place is like a concentration camp, in the sense of prisoners confined in a racist, violent environment. Adolf Hitler's legacy is alive in the dictator Warden Robert Napel who operates this camp with impunity. There has never been a check and balance system.

Wardens throughout Michigan have stolen millions and millions of tax dollars, prisoners' benefit fund money, and from families of prisoners. What we need in Marquette Prison is a complete investigation of all funds that have been received over the last ten years. There is not one correctional officer who would stand up to the dictator Warden Robert Napel. Even the new director appears to be intimidated by this man. Marquette Prison is nothing but an old tomb that must be closed down. Calling for a complete audit to uncover misused funds will help us move in that direction.

The Department of Corrections does not have consistent policies that are followed consistently. Every day the "policy" is something new. "This may be the policy today, but we are not using that one today and there is nothing you can do about it." The grievance process is a fraud, along with the misconduct hearing.

Warden Napel condones the practice of racism, discrimination based on the belief that some races are by nature superior. White privilege is tremendous here. There are four white gangs, but it is not the white gangs, it is the correctional officers who are harassing, threatening, and intimidating the Black prisoners, including myself.

This battle is vital to making sure the prison system is accountable to the public and that justice is being fairly dispensed. Marquette Prison has a long history of abuse of prisoners by correctional officers. It is so far away that Lansing doesn't really care what happens to prisoners in Marquette. The prison has many defects, including but not limited to inadequate legal assistance, racism, violence, dehumanization, inadequate health care, and educational services that are essentially absent.

We have a system that is designed to destroy you, both outside the prison system and inside, mentally, physically, and morally. The public allows the system to do whatever they want to do to prisoners without saying a word.

Warden Robert Napel has egregiously used his power in an attempt to silence me by restricting my telephone for 180 days or more. Even though I should have won my administrative hearings based on the rules and evidence, the administration is so intimidated by this warden, they ruled in his favor. I am fighting for my life inside this prison where racists rule and I need your help. Will you help me, Rev. Edward Pinkney?

Rev. Pinkney Out of Solitary Confinement

With some relief, we can report that Mrs. Pinkney has heard from her husband, Rev. Pinkney, by email. He reported that after supporter David Sole from Detroit visited him on Nov. 20, Rev. Pinkney was arrested and placed in segregation (solitary) in the Level V (maximum security) section of the prison. He was kept there in segregation until Nov. 25. Now he is back in the Level I sleeping area that is contaminated with mold which already negatively affected his health.

He can receive letters and books. Please send cards, letters, and books to:

Marquette Branch Prison, Rev. Edward Pinkney N-E-93 #294671, 1960 US Hwy 41 South, Marquette, MI 49855

Rev. Pinkney on Benton Harbor's new mayor

Benton Harbor elected Marcus Muhammad with over 60% of the vote - a land-slide victory for the people.  The former puppet and Whirlpool Race manager, Mayor James Hightower, was easily defeated.

The once stable working class of Benton Harbor was devastated by automation and globalization;  the community began to resist.  The Whirlpool Corp. took over local government so that together they could destroy the people of Benton Harbor.

In the south, the state of South Carolina has always had the most fearful Black population.  In the north, it's Benton Harbor.

Mayor-elect Muhammad says he will work with all residents and businesses to move Benton Harbor forward.  He stated, "With leadership comes great consequences:  I am looking forward to working with the residents."

We must not accept a world where poverty destroys the lives of the weak and vulnerable, including children.  The election shows what a community can do if we work together;  there are more of us than the enemy.