“‘I hated it and lost my breath every time I did it. But I have done it and I am here.' By ‘here' Marilyn is referring to being in prison in large part related to her unwillingness to stay in her place as a woman or a white person during her years with the Black liberation struggle” (Thompson, 2001, p. 123-124).

Marilyn Buck was arrested in 1973 for buying two boxes of ammunition with false identification. At the time, she was working with the Black Liberation Army. She was sentenced to ten years. She spent four years in prison, was granted furlough for a short time, and never returned. Buck went underground for eight years and then was arrested and convicted of conspiracy charges, including a “successful initiative to free Assata Shakur, a Black Panther now living in exile in Cuba” (Thompson, 2001, p.277). She is currently serving an eighty year sentence in Dublin, California. In prison, Marilyn's antiracist work includes speaking up for Black or Latina women, leading poetry workshops and translating for Spanish-speaking inmates (Thompson, 2001). Here is one of Marilyn's poems (Thompson, 2001, p. 278-279):

To the Woman Standing behind Me in Line Who Asks Me How Long This Black History Month Is Going To Last

the whole month
even if it is the shortest month
a good time in this prison life

you stare at me
and ask me why I think
February is so damn fine

 I take a breath
prisoners fight for February
African voices cross razor wire
cut through the flim-flam
of Amerikkan history
call its cruelties out
confirm the genius of survival
creation and
plain ole enduring

a celebration! 

…

the woman drops her gaze
looks away and wishes
she had not asked
confused that white skin did not guarantee
a conversation she wanted to have 

she hasn't spoken to me since
I think I'll try to stand
in line with her
again

Please see: http://www.prisonactivist.org/pps+pows/marilynbuck/
for more information, and for links to more of Buck's poetry and essays.

For the story of another white antiracist prisoner, see David Gilbert page.

References

Thompson, Becky. (2001). A Promise and a Way of Life: White Antiracist Activism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.