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Free The Camp Allen Brothers

By VVAW

The trials grind on in the case of the Camp Allen Brothers, sixteen Norfolk sailors accused of participating in a so-called brig 'riot' last Nov. 26. All of them are enlisted men, all of them are Black. Since Nov. they have been threatened, harassed, isolated, racially insulted and beaten. The brothers are under a tremendous strain, and the brig today is just as explosive as it was at the time of the so-called 'riot'. Instead of stopping this racist harassment of the prisoners, the brig and base commanders seem to encourage it as if trying to provoke a confrontation.

To get to the bottom of what led up to the rebellion of the 26th, the Defense Committee, the GI project organizing the defense, started a petition campaign to get a Congressional investigation of the situation. Reb Shirley Chisholm, (D-NY), responded and agreed to send two aides to the brig. When they attempted to see the Brothers, the Navy responded with red tape and bureaucratic excuses, fearing what they might find. Ms. Chisholm expressed her "total disgust with the Dept. of navy," and pledged to "pursue the matter to the fullest extent possible." The brass clearly can't have the conditions in their prisons being made too public.

As the Defense Committee noted, the whole question is not 'who did what', but 'what' was the situation in the brig last Nov. and 'why' did the prisoners feel that the base and brig commands were unable or unwilling to change it? The point is, 'these men wouldn't be on trial now if they weren't enlisted and Black...Officers don't go to the brig, because the brig isn't mean for them. The brig is really just a POW camp for enlisted men. Just like in all other POW camps, enlisted men in brigs fight back.'

The need for support of the Camp Allen Brothers has become critical. Of the seven who have already been tried, all but one received brig time, (1-4 months), and all received Bad Conduct Discharges. Of the six remaining, at least 3 or 4 will receive General Courts-martial where they could be put away for many years, if convicted.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Write or wire the Black Caucus to encourage a Congressional Investigation: The Congressional Black Caucus, c/o Hon. Louis Stokes, 315 Cannon Bldg., Wash, DC 20515
- Send a letter of support to the Camp Allen Brothers.
- Send a contribution to help publicize the trials.
- And for more information write:
THE DEFENSE COMMITTEE
BOX 1492, Norfolk, VA. 23501