Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

Join Resistance Behind Bars author Victoria Law for a reading and discussion on women's acts of resistance and organizing behind prison walls. She will be joined by Laura Whitehorn, former political prisoner and editor of the newly-released The War Before: The True Life Story of Becoming a Black Panther, Keeping the Faith in Prison, & Fighting for Those Left Behind, a collection of writings by former political prisoner/BLA member Safiya Bukhari, for a reading and discussion on women's acts of resistance and organizing behind prison walls.

In 1974, women imprisoned at New York's maximum-security prison at Bedford Hills staged what is known as the August Rebellion. Protesting the brutal beating of a fellow prisoner, the women fought off guards, held seven hostage, and took over sections of the prison. While many have heard of the 1971 Attica prison uprising, the August Rebellion remains relatively unknown. Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women documents both collective organizing and individual resistance among women incarcerated in the U.S.

The War Before traces Bukhari’s lifelong commitment as an advocate for the rights of the oppressed. Following her journey from middle-class student to Black Panther to political prisoner, these writings provide an intimate view of a woman wrestling with the issues of her time—the troubled legacy of the Panthers, misogyny in the movement, her decision to convert to Islam, the incarceration of out spoken radicals, and the families left behind. Her account unfolds with immediacy and passion, showing how the struggles of social justice movements have paved the way for the progress of today.

The Green Arccade
1680 Market Street (at Gough), San Francisco