| Description | Track 1: recording setup 0.51 mins
Charles Parker interviews Mary Clemmy, George Jackson's literary agent. She talks about meeting George Jackson for the first time in San Quentin after exchanging correspondence, and becoming his agent through negotiations with his attorney Fay Stender following discussion with her friend, Jessica Mitford. She describes being shown some of George Jackson's prison letters and her reactions to his writing style and use of language. She discusses the sale of the book to various European countries, the worsening of George Jackson's prison situation, and her feelings towards him. She describes his life in prison and the psychological and physical pressures placed on him when in solitary confinement, and gives her views about the California prison system, its rehabilitation programmes, the indeterminate sentencing which has resulted in prisoners, and black prisoners in particular, serving longer sentences than they would under fixed sentencing. She goes on to talk about the brutality and humiliation faced by black prisoners, being provoked by white prisoners and white prison officers and getting into trouble which makes their sentences longer. She discusses demand for screenplays and recordings to be made from George Jackson's prison letters, his transfer to San Quentin, and and describes her visit to see him there, the disapproving attitudes and harassment she and Jackson's attorney experienced from the prison officials, and finding that George Jackson had been given twenty nine days in solitary confinement with no privileges including visiting privileges for six months, and could not see them. She also talks about seeing the condemned room where George Jackson had to receive his visits (tracks 2-11).
Total: 34.30 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF565D1005980 |