Russell Maroon Shoatz is a political prisoner who has been held unjustly for over thirty years, including two decades in solitary confinement. He was active as a leader in the Black Liberation Movement in Philadelphia, both above and underground. His successful escapes from maximum-security prisons earned him the title “Maroon.” This is the first published collection of his accumulated written works, and also includes new essays written expressly for this volume.
Despite the torture and deprivation that has been everyday life for Maroon over the last several decades, he has remained at the cutting edge of history through his writings. His work is innovative and revolutionary on multiple levels:
• His self-critical and fresh retelling of the Black liberation struggle in the U.S. includes many practical and theoretical insights;
• His analysis of the prison system, particularly in relation to capitalism, imperialism, and the drug war, takes us far beyond the recently-popular analysis of the Prison Industrial Complex, contained in books such as The New Jim Crow;
• His historical research and writings on Maroon communities throughout the Americas, drawing many insights from these societies in the fields of political and military revolutionary strategy are unprecedented; and finally
• His sharp and profound understanding of the current historical moment, with clear proposals for how to move forward embracing new political concepts and practices (including but not limited to eco-socialism, matriarchy and eco-feminism, food security, prefiguration and the Occupy Wall Street movement) provide cutting-edge challenges for today’s movements for social change.
Russell Maroon Shoatz is a dedicated community activist, founding member of the Black Unity Council, former member of the Black Panther Party, and soldier in the Black Liberation Army. He is serving multiple life sentences as a U.S.-held prisoner of war.
Chuck D is an American rapper, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious hip-hop music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the group Public Enemy.
Fred Ho is a jazz baritone saxophonist, composer, bandleader, playwright, writer, and social activist. He has written and produced many books and albums, including most recently the books Diary of a Radical Cancer Warrior (2011) and Raw Extreme Manifesto (2012), and the albums Snake Eaters and The Year of the Tiger. He is one of the founders of Scientific Soul Sessions. More information about Fred’s incredible career can be found at http://www.bigredmediainc.com
Quincy Saul is a writer, organizer and musician. He is a columnist for Capitalism Nature Socialism and a co-founder, writer and organizer for Ecosocialist Horizons. He is the author of Reflections of Crisis: The Great Depression and the 21st Century (2010), and the co-producer of The Music of Cal Massey. He is a columnist for The Africa Report and his articles have been published by numerous online outlets including Narco News and Area Chicago. He is a member of Scientific Soul Sessions.
Matt Meyer is author and editor of six books, including four titles on contemporary Africa and PM Press’ Let Freedom Ring: A Collection of Documents from the Movements to Free U.S. Political Prisoners. He is a New York City-based educator and activist, and a founder of the anti-imperialist collective Resistance in Brooklyn. Meyer has served as national chair for both the War Resisters League and the Peace and Justice Studies Association, and has been called a natural coalition-builder who “provides tools for today’s activists” by Argentine Nobel Peace laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel.
