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FREEDOMWAYS FOURTH QUARTER 1971
down upon me without warning. It happened like this. It was noon and I was walking down the school hall on my way to lunch. When I got near the principal's office, I was stopped by a guard. The guard asked me to step into the principal's office and when I stepped into the office, he quickly shut the door behind me and locked it. I shouted, "Hey, what's going on?" He replied, "You'll know soon enough!" I was locked up in the room alone for about 35 minutes (that is, the entire lunch period).
When I was released from the room, I saw major Poiry, a senior guard, coming toward me down the hall with a large box. The Major was confiscating all my books and papers. I inquired, "Why are you taking all my books and personal papers?" The Major said, " All this stuff will be taken to the warden's office for inspection, and you are to return to your cell for transfer."
I was transferred to the prison industries. I was barred from the school and prison library permanently, and the warden ordered burned all my personal papers which consisted of all my research notes on books I was writing and a manuscript copy of my book Science and Africa. I have never been so disgusted and mad in all my life. No one could convince me that the warden was so ignorant and stupid.
After this incident I was constantly harassed by guards and labeled a Black Muslim agitator; and yet for seven years I had had no serious conduct violations (I have never had a fight with another inmate during my entire stay in prison). My crime was that I was Black and I was helping other Black inmates. 
I started studying civil and criminal law so I could combat the official harassment with suits in the courts. I filed a civil rights suit in the Federal District seeking an injunction and/or restraining order forbidding the warden to further deprive me of my constitutional rights and practice racial discrimination under color of state law. Although I had ample grounds for action on the part of the court, my civil action was erroneously dismissed without  prejudice because I failed to exhaust phony grievance procedure set up by the warden after I filed my complaint. 
Also I was getting more and more impatient with the calculated racist insults and senseless guard brutality. So I and other inmates got together and began writing letters to our state representatives and to Congressman William Clay complaining of racism. Most of the letters were answered and on one occasion we were visited by a Black woman state representative. But matters were still not getting

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