Source: Lecture 18, "The Struggle Within"
Tags: prison reform, mass incarceration, George Jackson, Attica, prison rights movement, politics of visibility, Underground Scholars, civil rights, law and order, indeterminate sentencing, determinate sentencing, solitary confinement, hunger strikes, Malcolm X, Angela Davis
This lecture traces how civil rights activism was reframed as criminal "disorder" by the state, fuelling mass incarceration. It covers the prison rights movement of the 1960s–70s, key figures like George Jackson and Malcolm X, and the role of prisons as sites of political struggle and intellectual formation. A guest speaker from Underground Scholars at UC Berkeley connects this history to present-day realities of incarceration, dehumanisation, and re-entry.
"Disorder became crime" (Gilmore)
Ruth Wilson Gilmore's framing of how the state recategorised civil rights protest and activism as criminal behaviour, justifying a repressive rather than reformist response.
Law and order narrative
The political rhetoric that emerged in response to civil rights activism, reframing demands for justice as threats to public safety, and legitimising mass arrests and incarceration.
Politics of visibility
The strategic effort to make the perspectives and experiences of incarcerated people visible to the public. Central to the prison rights movement of the 1960s–70s.
Indeterminate sentencing
A sentencing structure giving a wide range (e.g. 1 year to life), leaving release decisions largely to prison authorities. Criticised for enabling racial and political discrimination.
Determinate sentencing
Fixed-length sentences introduced as a reform to indeterminate sentencing. Removed judicial discretion but created new problems, including rigidity and harsh mandatory minimums.
Prison as training ground
The idea that incarceration, rather than breaking people, made them "impatient to be free" and politically radicalised.
Prison as place for intellectual formation
The concept that prison served as a site of self-education and political awakening, as described by Malcolm X and George Jackson.
Biblio-therapy
A practice in which texts were placed in the hands of minority prisoners, originally intended as a tool of assimilation. It backfired by fuelling radical political consciousness instead.
Solitary confinement
Isolation used as a tool to suppress political organising within prisons. Became a widespread strategy beyond its original scope.
Hunger strike
A form of political protest involving refusal to eat. Used by prisoners to demand recognition and rights, notably at Pelican Bay (2011) and by political prisoners in 1981.
Underground Scholars
A UC Berkeley initiative supporting formerly incarcerated students, founded on the principle of using knowledge to benefit others who have been through the system.
As civil rights activism intensified, the state responded with repression rather than policy reform.
The state targeted individual activists through killings and surveillance instead of addressing systemic issues through domestic policy.
Mass arrests at protests became a pipeline into mass incarceration.
Gilmore's phrase "disorder became crime" captures this shift: protest was recast as criminality.
Rooted in revolutionary politics and broader social movements.
Shifted strategy from simply stating grievances to ensuring those grievances were heard and acted upon.
Built on the politics of visibility: centring the voices and perspectives of those inside prisons.
Argued that prison reform and social reform are inseparable.
Sentenced at 18 years old to an indeterminate term of 1 year to life.
His case illustrates the discriminatory potential of indeterminate sentencing.
Became politically radicalised in prison: "Met Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Engels, and Mao when I entered prison and they redeemed me."
Drew a direct connection between his personal experience of incarceration and the broader struggle for social justice.
His death remains contested. According to the guest speaker, Jackson and Johnny Spain left the building to spare the lives of others inside.
Angela Davis was blamed by Jackson for his brother's death.
Prison as training ground
Prisons made people "impatient to be free," radicalising rather than pacifying.
Prisons were used as a political tool to jail draft resisters.
Michael Simmons spent 3 years imprisoned for resisting the draft.
Malcolm X questioned who the real "enemies" were.
Prison as place for intellectual formation
Malcolm X: "Don't be shocked when I tell you I have been to prison because all Americans have been to prison."
A paradox emerges: state violence and incarceration can produce freedom movements and democratic consciousness.
Prison as site of struggles
Connected to uprisings such as the Attica prison riot.
At Attica, prisoners demanded humane treatment and rehabilitation rather than deprivation.
Solitary confinement was used to suppress political organising but became a widespread punitive strategy.
Questions of self-defence applied both inside and outside prison walls.
Particularly significant in women's prisons, where confinement could also become a space for developing selfhood.
Spent 16 years in prison, including 8 years in solitary confinement.
Attended UC Berkeley as an undergraduate but initially hid his incarceration history.
Had never heard of George Jackson, the San Quentin 6, or Hugo Pinell until arriving at Cal.
Core message: "If people knew what was going on in the prisons, there would be a revolution, but people do not know and understand."
Argues that formerly incarcerated people should use their knowledge and experience to benefit others.
The plea bargaining system drives incarceration. People who go to trial often win, but the system pressures defendants into accepting plea deals.
Undocumented people in detention have virtually no civil rights protections.
Prisoners are dehumanised in the public imagination in subtle, often unconscious ways.
The biblio-therapy programme, intended to assimilate minority prisoners through exposure to texts, instead radicalised them.
Pelican Bay hunger strikes (2011): prisoners refused food for extended periods to protest conditions.
In 1981, 40 men went 60 days without food after losing their political prisoner status.
Underground Scholars initiative based at Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley, supports formerly incarcerated students.
⚠️ Be able to explain Gilmore's "disorder became crime" and how civil rights activism was reframed as criminal disorder to justify mass incarceration.
⚠️ Understand the difference between indeterminate and determinate sentencing, and why both have been criticised. George Jackson's case is the key example.
⚠️ Know the three framings of prison (training ground, intellectual formation, site of struggles) and be ready to give a specific example for each.
⚠️ The politics of visibility is a recurring concept: the idea that making prisoners' perspectives visible to the public is itself a political strategy.
⚠️ Common mix-up: biblio-therapy was intended as a tool of assimilation but became a catalyst for radical political education. Know the irony.
⚠️ Attica is likely to appear as an example of prisoner demands for humane treatment and the use of solitary confinement as political suppression.
Q: What does Gilmore mean by "disorder became crime"?
A: Gilmore argues that the state reframed civil rights activism and protest as criminal disorder, which justified mass arrests and mass incarceration rather than policy reform.
Q: Why was indeterminate sentencing criticised, and what problem did its replacement (determinate sentencing) create?
A: Indeterminate sentencing (e.g. 1 year to life) gave authorities wide discretion, enabling racial and political discrimination. Determinate sentencing removed that discretion but introduced inflexible, often harsh mandatory terms, creating a different set of problems.
Q: What is the "politics of visibility" in the context of the prison rights movement?
A: It is the strategy of making the experiences and perspectives of incarcerated people visible to the broader public, moving beyond simply stating grievances to ensuring they are seen and acted upon.
Q: Name and briefly explain the three framings of the prison discussed in this lecture.
A: (1) Training ground: prisons radicalised inmates and made them "impatient to be free." (2) Place for intellectual formation: prisoners like Malcolm X and George Jackson underwent political and intellectual awakening. (3) Site of struggles: prisons were locations of uprisings (e.g. Attica) and ongoing fights for humane treatment.
Q: What was biblio-therapy and why is it significant?
A: Biblio-therapy was a practice of placing books and texts in the hands of minority prisoners, intended to help them assimilate. It backfired by fuelling radical political consciousness instead.
Q: What was the significance of the Pelican Bay hunger strikes?
A: Prisoners at Pelican Bay in 2011, and earlier in 1981, used hunger strikes to protest conditions and the loss of political prisoner status. These strikes demonstrated that prisoners retained agency and could challenge the system through collective action.
mass incarceration, prison industrial complex, prison abolition, civil rights repression, law and order politics, George Jackson, San Quentin 6, Hugo Pinell, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Attica uprising, Attica prison riot, indeterminate sentencing, determinate sentencing, mandatory minimums, politics of visibility, prison rights movement, solitary confinement, SHU, hunger strike, Pelican Bay, draft resistance, biblio-therapy, Underground Scholars, UC Berkeley, plea bargaining, dehumanisation of prisoners, undocumented detention, prison as political tool, Ruth Wilson Gilmore