Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Slavery is Model for US Prison Book-Banning
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
10 Sep 2019
🖨️ Print Article

Although First Amendment guarantees of freedom of expression apply to prisoners, the “catch is that these rights can be restricted in the interest of security,” said Professor Brittany Friedman, a sociologist at Rutgers University. Slavery sought to perfect the imprisoning of both mind and body, said Friedman, and is a model for pervasive book banning in US prisons.

Mass Black Incarceration

Related Podcasts

Involuntary Servitude in the Prison System
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Involuntary Servitude in the Prison System
24 June 2022
Savannah Eldrige is the founder of Coaliton to Abolish Slave
White Capitalist Law vs “Uncontrollable Blackness”
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
White Capitalist Law vs “Uncontrollable Blackness”
01 September 2020
The United States “criminalizes Black Americans,” but Black men “are not looking to be controlled” by this racist system, said Douglas
 Getting Out the Word: #PrisonsKill
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
Getting Out the Word: #PrisonsKill
25 August 2020
The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, IWOC, “is committed to the militant organizing of prisoners that takes its leadership and focus from

More Stories


  •  LGBTQ Newsletter Surveys Prison Conditions
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    LGBTQ Newsletter Surveys Prison Conditions
    19 Oct 2020
    The newsletter for the prison abolition organization Black and Pink sent out a 133-page questionnaire to incarcerated LGBTQ persons, earlier this year, so that “we can laser beam solutions to the n
  • Anti-Blackness Spread by Global Capital
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Anti-Blackness Spread by Global Capital
    19 Oct 2020
    The ideology of anti-Blackness is both a prerequisite to the rise of capitalism and a product of its spread around the world, said Adam Bledsoe, a professor of Geography, Environme
  •  Protests in Minneapolis Disrupted by Orange-Shirted “Collaborators” with Cops
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Protests in Minneapolis Disrupted by Orange-Shirted “Collaborators” with Cops
    19 Oct 2020
    A group calling themselves “violence interrupters” played a role in the October 7 arrest of 50 protesters demanding community control of police, said Jae Yates, of the Twin Cities
  • The Useful Tool: Kamala “Heartbeat Away” Harris
    Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    The Useful Tool: Kamala “Heartbeat Away” Harris
    15 Oct 2020
    If Biden wins, Kamala Harris will be put forward as a kind of “co-president,” as a palliative for the lack of substantive relief from the forces that are plaguing Black lives.
  • Freedom Rider: Left Out of the Debate
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Left Out of the Debate
    14 Oct 2020
    If the needs of the people aren’t being addressed, what is the purpose of putting Biden and Harris into office?
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us