By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO
As a tribute to George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery on the fifth anniversary of their senseless deaths, the AFRO recently published an informative supplement on May 23, 2025, under the banner, “Remembering George Floyd.”
The supplement included articles on a variety of topics, including changes that have occurred within the city and police department of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Floyd died at the hands of police officers; pressing concerns about police reform as noted by attorney Benjamin Crump, often referred to as “Black America’s Attorney General;” increased pessimism among Blacks related to the lack of racial equality in U.S. cities; and the need for greater transparency and police accountability.
One week later, on May 30, the AFRO received correspondence from Warden David Allen, who heads the Department of Corrections state prison in Florida, more often referred to as Raiford Prison, which indicated that the supplement had been impounded by the prison and therefore not delivered to an inmate who regularly receives the print edition.
The AFRO reached out to the warden to discuss the prison’s policy but did not receive a response. However, the document issued by the prison indicated that the publication had been withheld because it was deemed to be a security threat and a detriment to the prison’s rehabilitation programs. Five articles were specifically referenced.
Melba Pearson, a Miami-based criminal justice policy and civil rights attorney, said such actions are commonplace in Florida, as prison officials routinely deny access to an extensive list of books, newspapers and magazines which they say include content that “once read, would make inmates angry and want to lash out at the officers.”
“More often, the justification for keeping materials off prison shelves is not cut and dry. But what is clear is they don’t want inmates to read about any reform efforts within America’s prisons and jails or in society,” said Pearson, who previously worked at the ACLU where she routinely addressed policies that threaten or limit the constitutional rights of inmates.
“Prison officials don’t want inmates to have access to articles that focus on returning citizens who have been assisted by restorative justice programs located in their hometowns and communities and who have successfully turned their lives around,” she said. “In their defense, Florida’s prisons are understaffed, and most officers are both overworked and underpaid. So, concerns about maintaining order and keeping everyone safe are valid.
“But over the past decade, at least, many rehabilitation programs have been eliminated due to budget cuts,” she continued. “Inmates today have few options when it comes to becoming better educated, learning skills or just keeping themselves occupied in positive ways.”
Have prison inmates become a forgotten community?
While prisoners retain some First Amendment rights, including the right to receive reading materials, these rights are not absolute and are subject to restrictions related to prison security and order. Courts have generally upheld the right of prison officials to censor reading materials that pose a serious threat to prison security.
Florida bans the most books with over 22,000 titles restricted. Texas is not far behind; its prisons have banned over 10,000 titles, including books on computer coding and career preparation.
At the same time, racial and ethnic disparities in law enforcement continue to abound in Florida, as addressed in “Unequal Treatment: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Miami-Dade Criminal Justice, ACLU Florida Greater Miami, July 2018.”
Nationwide, Black men are currently imprisoned at a rate that is nearly six times greater than the rate of White men, and Black women are imprisoned at a rate about twice that of White women (The Sentencing Project, 2017).
In Florida, 48 percent of the state’s prison population is Black, though they represent only 16.8 percent of the population (Florida Department of Corrections, 2017; US Census, 2017). And Black defendants who are not Hispanic are sentenced to longer prison terms than any other racial or ethnic group.
Broadway Cuthbert Harewood, a Miami native, said the state criminal justice system needs to be revamped – from the top down.
“I think the police sometimes get a bad rap within the Black community, but it only takes one clown – one bad policeman – to impact relations between Blacks and law enforcement,” Harewood said. “As for the police, they follow orders to keep their jobs. But given the disparities, many Blacks still fear the police and they have good reason. We don’t believe we’ll be treated fairly. Once we’re sent to jail, that feeling continues.”
When asked if incarcerated people of color represent a forgotten community, Pearson said, “Yes, 110 percent.”
“Florida needs a coordinated network for reentry services because today, it depends on what area of the state you’re returned to as to whether returning citizens will be robustly embraced or not, and if there are programs that provide assistance for them,” she said.
Justice Thurgood Marshall once said that the “need for identity and self-respect are even more compelling in the dehumanizing prison environment.”
“When prison gates slam behind an inmate he does not lose his human quality, his mind does not close to ideas, his intellect does not cease to feed on a free and open interchange of opinions, his yearning for self-respect does not end, nor his quest for self-realization conclude,” Marshall said.
Marshall’s sentiments are echoed at Howard University’s Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center School of Law. According to its website (www.thurgoodmarshallcenter.howard.edu.), the Center envisions a future where our current prison institutions are rendered obsolete — a future where the caging of bodies and minds is no longer normalized — and is committed to working towards actualizing that vision.
Because prisons have unique security challenges, U.S. courts make room for the curtailment of some First Amendment rights in prisons. However, prisons do not have unfettered discretion to censor publications.
As the Supreme Court articulated in Turner v. Safley, “prison walls do not form a barrier separating prison inmates from the protections of the Constitution. Freedom of speech is not merely freedom to speak; it is also freedom to read. Forbid a person to read and you shut him out of the marketplace of ideas and opinions that it is the purpose of the free speech clause to protect.”
Advocacy requires education `
Brother Lyle Muhammad serves as the executive director for Circle of Brotherhood, a Miami-based organization of mostly Black men from all walks of life dedicated to community service, crime prevention, and conflict resolution and mediation.
Muhammad said he’s not surprised that the officials at Raiford Prison impounded the publication produced by the AFRO.
“As a former reporter for The Final Call, I have found that any publication that tends to raise the conscious level, particularly for Black inmates, has historically always been under higher scrutiny,” he said. “When it comes to publications being blocked and banned from institutions… that’s a sign that their idea of rehabilitation has nothing to do with raising one’s level of consciousness.”
Muhammad said any advocacy on this matter has to begin with understanding the law.
While courts do give some leeway to prisons to curtail First Amendment rights due to their unique security challenges, they do not have unfettered discretion to censor publications.
As the Supreme Court articulated in Turner v. Safley, “prison walls do not form a barrier separating prison inmates from the protections of the Constitution. Freedom of speech is not merely freedom to speak; it is also freedom to read. Forbid a person to read and you shut him out of the marketplace of ideas and opinions that it is the purpose of the free speech clause to protect.”
Muhammad said, “Prison officials say certain publications or books are not allowed and we comply. But that’s because we don’t really understand the standards of law to get past their denial. Our organization has been successful because we include advocacy as part of our game plan. When you combine knowledge of the law and advocacy, you stand a far better chance of overcoming injustice.”
Great Job D. Kevin McNeir & the Team @ AFRO American Newspapers Source link for sharing this story.
