Marilyn Buck
Encyclopedia
Marilyn Jean Buck was an American Marxist revolutionary
, convict, and feminist poet, who was imprisoned for her participation in the 1979 prison escape
of Assata Shakur
, the 1981 Brinks robbery
and the 1983 U.S. Senate bombing. Buck received an 80-year sentence, which she served in Federal prison, from where she published numerous articles and other texts. She was released on July 15, 2010, less than a month before her death at age 62 from cancer.
, the daughter of Louis Buck, an Episcopalian minister. Her mother was a nurse; both are deceased. The family was active in the civil rights movement
; when Dr. Buck opposed segregation at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, picketed, and harshly criticized the bishop, crosses were burned on their lawn and he was removed as minister from the congregation of St. James in Austin, Texas, a congregation which had been integrated by the previous clergyman and his family. Dr. Buck returned to his veterinarian career, from which he had entered the clergy, to support his family .
Buck attended the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Texas at Austin
, graduating from New College of California
while incarcerated. She subsequently earned a Master's degree in Poetics from New College.
(SDS) and in 1967 moved to Chicago where she edited SDS' New Left Notes and attended an SDS teacher-organizer school. With other SDS women she helped to incorporate women's liberation into the organization's politics. She subsequently returned to San Francisco where she worked with Third World Newsreel
in outreach in support of Native American
and Palestinian sovereignty and against U.S. intervention in Iran
and Vietnam
and in solidarity with the Black liberation movement. With colleague Karen Ross
, she explained their practice: "We stop people on the street, and confront them with our films. Involve them as participants. It has come to them during a walk down the street, they’ve stumbled upon it. They have been confronted. The decision to watch, to register disgust or interest is now theirs. To those inquisitive, we explain more."
In 1973 Buck was convicted on two counts of purchasing (otherwise legal) ammunition
using false identification and sentenced to ten years in prison. In 1977 Buck was given a furlough
from prison and went underground instead of returning.
, who had been convicted of killing a policeman, and a leading member of the Black Liberation Army
(BLA), escaped from a New Jersey prison with help from a number of associates outside. In 1983 Buck was recaptured and convicted of participating in Shakur's escape.
Along with a number of BLA members and supporters, Buck was convicted of conspiracies to commit armed robbery in the Brinks robbery of 1981
in which a guard and two police officers and a guard were killed. She allegedly drove the getaway car
as well as helping to obtain a safe house
and weapons. During the investigation into the armed robbery and killings, investigators found weapons and papers in an apartment in East Orange, New Jersey
rented by "Carol Durant", an alias of Buck.
Papers there led police to an address in Mount Vernon, New York
, where they found bloody clothing and ammunition belonging to Buck. Earlier in 1981, Buck participated in a similar armed robbery of a Brinks truck in the Bronx, during which one of the guards was murdered.
case, a series of bombings in protest of United States foreign policy in the Middle East and Central America.
The May 12, 1988 indictment
described the goal of the conspiracy as being "to influence, change and protest policies and practices of the United States Government concerning various international and domestic matters through the use of violent and illegal means" and charged the seven with bombing the United States Capitol
building, three military installations in the Washington D.C. area, and four sites in New York City. Warnings were called in and no one was injured. The Capitol was targeted in retaliation for recent U.S. military invasions of Grenada
and Lebanon
. The military sites bombed were the National War College
at Fort McNair, the Washington Navy Yard Computer Center, and the Washington Navy Yard Officers Club. In New York City, the Staten Island Federal Building, the Israeli Aircraft Industries Building, the South Africa
n consulate, and the offices of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association
were bombed or targeted. Six of those charged in the case have since been released from prison and one was never captured.
, political prisoners and related issues to Sojourners Magazine
, Monthly Review
, and other journals and anthologies.
She published her poetry in journals, anthologies, a chapbook
, and an audio CD
. She received a PEN American Center
prize for poetry in 2001. Her poems appeared in the anthologies Hauling Up the Morning, Wall Tappings, Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth, Seeds of Fire, and in her chapbook, Rescue the Word. Her poems appear on the audio CD Wild Poppies (Freedom Archives 2004).
Her translations and introduction to Cristina Peri Rossi
's poetry appeared in State of Exile, Number 58 in the City Lights Pocket Poets Series
.
.
Communist revolution
A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism, typically with socialism as an intermediate stage...
, convict, and feminist poet, who was imprisoned for her participation in the 1979 prison escape
Prison escape
A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers...
of Assata Shakur
Assata Shakur
Assata Olugbala Shakur is an African-American activist and escaped convict who was a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army...
, the 1981 Brinks robbery
Brinks robbery (1981)
The Brink's robbery of 1981 was an armed robbery committed on October 20, 1981, which was carried out by Black Liberation Army members; including Jeral Wayne Williams , Donald Weems , Samuel Smith, Nathaniel Burns , Cecilio "Chui" Ferguson, Samuel Brown ; several former members of the Weather...
and the 1983 U.S. Senate bombing. Buck received an 80-year sentence, which she served in Federal prison, from where she published numerous articles and other texts. She was released on July 15, 2010, less than a month before her death at age 62 from cancer.
Early life and education
Buck was born December 13, 1947 in Midland, TexasMidland, Texas
Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...
, the daughter of Louis Buck, an Episcopalian minister. Her mother was a nurse; both are deceased. The family was active in the civil rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
; when Dr. Buck opposed segregation at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, picketed, and harshly criticized the bishop, crosses were burned on their lawn and he was removed as minister from the congregation of St. James in Austin, Texas, a congregation which had been integrated by the previous clergyman and his family. Dr. Buck returned to his veterinarian career, from which he had entered the clergy, to support his family .
Buck attended the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, graduating from New College of California
New College of California
New College of California was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President, Father John Leary. After 37 years, it ceased operations in early 2008....
while incarcerated. She subsequently earned a Master's degree in Poetics from New College.
1960s and 70s activism
At the University of Texas, Buck was involved in organizing against the Vietnam War, as well as anti-racist activities. She joined Students for a Democratic SocietyStudents for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
(SDS) and in 1967 moved to Chicago where she edited SDS' New Left Notes and attended an SDS teacher-organizer school. With other SDS women she helped to incorporate women's liberation into the organization's politics. She subsequently returned to San Francisco where she worked with Third World Newsreel
Third World Newsreel
Third World Newsreel is an American media center and film distribution company based in New York City and established in 1967 as Newsreel.-History:...
in outreach in support of Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and Palestinian sovereignty and against U.S. intervention in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and in solidarity with the Black liberation movement. With colleague Karen Ross
Karen Ross
Karen Ross, is the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. She was appointed to this position on January 12, 2011. She had previously served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, a position she accepted in 2009. From 1996 to 2009, she was...
, she explained their practice: "We stop people on the street, and confront them with our films. Involve them as participants. It has come to them during a walk down the street, they’ve stumbled upon it. They have been confronted. The decision to watch, to register disgust or interest is now theirs. To those inquisitive, we explain more."
In 1973 Buck was convicted on two counts of purchasing (otherwise legal) ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
using false identification and sentenced to ten years in prison. In 1977 Buck was given a furlough
Furlough
In the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...
from prison and went underground instead of returning.
Support for Black Separatists
In 1979, Joanne Chesimard also known as Assata ShakurAssata Shakur
Assata Olugbala Shakur is an African-American activist and escaped convict who was a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army...
, who had been convicted of killing a policeman, and a leading member of the Black Liberation Army
Black Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
(BLA), escaped from a New Jersey prison with help from a number of associates outside. In 1983 Buck was recaptured and convicted of participating in Shakur's escape.
Along with a number of BLA members and supporters, Buck was convicted of conspiracies to commit armed robbery in the Brinks robbery of 1981
Brinks robbery (1981)
The Brink's robbery of 1981 was an armed robbery committed on October 20, 1981, which was carried out by Black Liberation Army members; including Jeral Wayne Williams , Donald Weems , Samuel Smith, Nathaniel Burns , Cecilio "Chui" Ferguson, Samuel Brown ; several former members of the Weather...
in which a guard and two police officers and a guard were killed. She allegedly drove the getaway car
Getaway car
A crime scene getaway is the act of fleeing the location where one has broken the law in order to avoid apprehension by law enforcement. It is an act that the offender may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes....
as well as helping to obtain a safe house
Safe house
In the jargon of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a safe house is a secure location, suitable for hiding witnesses, agents or other persons perceived as being in danger...
and weapons. During the investigation into the armed robbery and killings, investigators found weapons and papers in an apartment in East Orange, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
rented by "Carol Durant", an alias of Buck.
Papers there led police to an address in Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City borough of The Bronx.-Overview:...
, where they found bloody clothing and ammunition belonging to Buck. Earlier in 1981, Buck participated in a similar armed robbery of a Brinks truck in the Bronx, during which one of the guards was murdered.
The Resistance Conspiracy Case
In 1985, Buck and six others were convicted in the Resistance ConspiracyResistance Conspiracy
The Resistance Conspiracy case was a Federal Judicial trial in the United States in which six people were charged with the 1983 U.S. Senate bombing and related bombings of Fort McNair and the Washington Navy Yard: Marilyn Jean Buck, Linda Sue Evans, Susan Rosenberg, Timothy Blunk, Alan Berkman,...
case, a series of bombings in protest of United States foreign policy in the Middle East and Central America.
The May 12, 1988 indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
described the goal of the conspiracy as being "to influence, change and protest policies and practices of the United States Government concerning various international and domestic matters through the use of violent and illegal means" and charged the seven with bombing the United States Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
building, three military installations in the Washington D.C. area, and four sites in New York City. Warnings were called in and no one was injured. The Capitol was targeted in retaliation for recent U.S. military invasions of Grenada
Invasion of Grenada
The Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, was a 1983 United States-led invasion of Grenada, a Caribbean island nation with a population of about 100,000 located north of Venezuela. Triggered by a military coup which had ousted a four-year revolutionary government, the invasion...
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. The military sites bombed were the National War College
National War College
The National War College of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. It was officially established on July 1, 1946, as an upgraded replacement for the...
at Fort McNair, the Washington Navy Yard Computer Center, and the Washington Navy Yard Officers Club. In New York City, the Staten Island Federal Building, the Israeli Aircraft Industries Building, the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n consulate, and the offices of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association or Policemen's Benevolent Association ' is the name of several labor unions representing police officers. One such union is the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of New York, which is the largest union representing members of the New York City Police...
were bombed or targeted. Six of those charged in the case have since been released from prison and one was never captured.
As an author
While in prison, Buck contributed articles on women in prison, solitary confinementSolitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
, political prisoners and related issues to Sojourners Magazine
Sojourners Magazine
Sojourners magazine, a progressive monthly publication of the Christian social justice organization Sojourners, was first published in 1971 under the original title of The Post-American. The magazine publishes editorials and articles on Christian life, the church and the world, Christianity and...
, Monthly Review
Monthly Review
Monthly Review is an independent Marxist journal published 11 times per year in New York City.-History:The publication was founded by Harvard University economics instructor Paul Sweezy, who became the first editor...
, and other journals and anthologies.
She published her poetry in journals, anthologies, a chapbook
Chapbook
A chapbook is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chap-book was formalized by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera , popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales,...
, and an audio CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. She received a PEN American Center
PEN American Center
PEN American Center , founded in 1922 and based in New York City, works to advance literature, to defend free expression, and to foster international literary fellowship. The Center has a membership of 3,300 writers, editors, and translators...
prize for poetry in 2001. Her poems appeared in the anthologies Hauling Up the Morning, Wall Tappings, Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth, Seeds of Fire, and in her chapbook, Rescue the Word. Her poems appear on the audio CD Wild Poppies (Freedom Archives 2004).
Her translations and introduction to Cristina Peri Rossi
Cristina Peri Rossi
Cristina Peri Rossi is an Uruguayan novelist, poet, translator, and author of short stories.Considered a leading light of the post-1960s period of prominence of the Latin-American novel, she has written more than 37 works. She was born in Montevideo, Uruguay but was exiled in 1972, and moved to...
's poetry appeared in State of Exile, Number 58 in the City Lights Pocket Poets Series
City Lights Pocket Poets Series
The City Lights Pocket Poets Series is a series of poetry collections published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and City Lights Books of San Francisco since August 1955...
.
Death
She died at home in Brooklyn on August 3, 2010, after a long battle with uterine cancerUterine cancer
The term uterine cancer may refer to any of several different types of cancer which occur in the uterus, namely:*Uterine sarcomas: sarcomas of the myometrium, or muscular layer of the uterus, are most commonly leiomyosarcomas.*Endometrial cancer:...
.
Works
- Buck, Marilyn. 2002. Rescue the Word. San Francisco, California: Friends Of Marilyn Buck. NoISBN.
- Buck, Marilyn. 2003. "The Struggle for Status under International Law U.S. Political Prisoners and The Political Offense Exception to Extradition" in Joy James, ed., Imprisoned Intellectuals: America's Political Prisoners Write on Life, Liberation, and Rebellion (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003, ISBN 0742520277, 9780742520271). Retrieved from http://marilynbuck.com/PP_status_international_law.html on May 1, 2010.
- Buck, Marilyn. 2004. "The U.S. Prison State". Monthly Review February. Retrieved from http://www.monthlyreview.org/0204buck.htm on March 20, 2008.
- Buck, Marilyn. 2008. Introduction and translation in Peri Rossi (2008).
- Buck, Marilyn, Laura WhitehornLaura WhitehornLaura Jane Whitehorn was born in April 1945 to Lenore and Nathaniel Whitehorn of Brooklyn, New York. As a college student in the 1960s, she organized and participated in civil rights and anti-war movements. as well as involvement in a series of revolutionary bombings and armed robberies...
, and Susie Day. 2001. "An Interview with Marilyn Buck and Laura Whitehorn: Cruel But Not Unusual: The Punishment of Women in U.S. Prisons". Reprinted in the Wayland Faculty Seminar 2003-2004, Incarceration, Narrative, and Performance. Rhode Island: Brown University. Retrieved March 26, 2008 from http://www.brown.edu/Departments/African_American_Studies/wayland_fac_seminar/interview/laura_whitehorn.html. - Freedom Archives, ed. 2004. Wild Poppies: A Poetry Jam Across Prison Walls - Poets And Musicians Honor Poet And Political Prisoner Marilyn Buck. San Francisco, California: Freedom Archives. Audio CD. ISBN 0972742247. Available as mp3 downloads at http://freedomarchives.org/wildpoppies.
- Buck, Marilyn. 2012. Inside/Out: Selected Poems. City LightsCity Lights BookstoreCity Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence...
. ISBN-10: 0872865770, ISBN-13: 9780872865778.
External links
- Marilyn Buck: Political Prisoner, Poet, Writer, Translator, Teacher from the Friends of Marilyn Buck
- Wizard, Mariann G. Warrior-Poet Marilyn Buck: No Wall Too Tall, The Rag Blog
- National Jericho Movement