VIDEO: Chris Hedges, Eddie Conway and Ojore Lutalo on the Dehumanization of American Prisoners
"I think their goal was to dehumanize every prisoner because if you have a dehumanized prisoner, you can control him and the environment,” former Black Panther Conway says.
In his TeleSUR show, “Days of Revolt,” Chris Hedges continues his conversation with former Black Panther Eddie Conway and former Black Liberation Army member Ojore Lutalo. They discuss the American prison system as moneymaking machine, the horrors of solitary confinement and what it means to resist against a system built up to break people down.
WATCH Part 1: Chris Hedges Looks at Violence Against Blacks With Revolutionaries Eddie Conway, Ojore Lutalo
Conway, who spent the first seven of his 44 years in prison in solitary confinement, says the system operates with purpose.
“I think their goal was not obedience and subservience,” he explains. “I think their goal was to dehumanize every prisoner because if you have a dehumanized prisoner, you can control him and the environment.”
It wasn’t easy finding ways to resist. Conway says he and others organized to demand a minimum wage, created a library system and started using radio to communicate with one another.
“Everything that we organized to enhance our humanity, they attacked,” he says.
Lutalo, who spent 22 of his 28 prison years in solitary confinement, says he was isolated from everyone, thrown into a mental health ward and woken by attack dogs.
“[The oppression] was never-ending,” he says.
To learn more about how both these men fought for their humanity, watch the interview below:
–Posted by Jenna Berbeo
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