99,7 FM di Decatur, Illinois
_________________________________________________________________
DECATUR BLACK LIBERATION RADIO UNDER ATTACK!
`SWAT Team Raids Home of Micro-Radio Broadcasters'
_________________________________________________________________
By Tom Burghardt
Editor, Antifa Info-Bulletin
*
SAN FRANCISCO -- Napoleon Williams and Mildred Jones, the
director's of Decatur's Black Liberation Radio (BLR, 99.7 FM)
were arrested on Saturday, May 10 by a police SWAT team.
Williams is being held on $20,000 bail and remains imprisoned.
As many subscribers are well aware, BLR has been subjected
to a relentless series of attacks by the forces of repression
since first going on the air in 1990 (see "Background" below).
By serving as Decatur's "voices of the voiceless", exposing
police brutality, creating a strong alternative cultural voice
for the oppressed and for providing a bridge between striking
Staley and Caterpillar workers and the black community, Williams
and Jones are experiencing the full weight of corporate/state
repression.
Napoleon and Mildred are facing felony federal charges of
"eavesdropping" on officials who have kidnapped and stolen their
children. The current charges stem from a January 9, 1997 raid
on their home and the seizure of their radio equipment,
computers, files and other materials by the Illinois State
Attorney General's office.
Write and call your protests to the Illinois State Attorney,
Jim Ryan, demanding the unconditional release of Napoleon
Williams and Mildred Jones, the dropping of these bogus charges
and the return of their children. E-mail the Decatur Herald &
Review with a copy of your protest (see below).
As independent media outlets - from micro-radio to the
internet - challenge a corporate-state media hegemony that
defends the "fundamental order of things", we must step up to the
plate and DEMAND freedom for Napoleon Williams and Mildred Jones!
VIVA BLACK LIBERATION RADIO!
AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL!
THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!
*
SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
JIM RYAN, STATES ATTORNEY
Office Locations:
500 South 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-1090 - (General Information)
100 W. Randolph
Suite 11, 12, & 13
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 814-2503 - (General Information)
E-Mail a copy to the Decatur Herald & Review at:
hrnews@webmart.net
*****
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 11:46:06 +0100
From: Leslie Swanson
Subject: Napoleon and Mildred Williams busted!
Hi Tom,
This is Jo over at SFLR. I wanted to let you know that
Napolean and Mildred Williams, of Black Liberation Radio in
Decateur, Ill, had a SWAT team enter their home yesterday and
take them to Jail. The street was cordoned off, their electricity
was shut off and the door was broken down. A sympathetic listener
observed this and called us because Napolean had played some of
our tapes on the air. They are currently in Macon county jail,
217-424-1341, and will be arraigned "monday or tuesday". The
people at the jail would not tell me what the charges were, only
that it was a "federal offense". I suspect this stems from the
"eavesdropping" accusation the local da's office leveled against
them earlier this year. The whole concept is completely idiotic
if you know anything about radio transmitting equipment...but I
suppose the decateur da's office just doesn't know to trump up a
decent excuse for shutting Black Liberation Radio down.
Please get the word out, and tell people to call the jail
and ask them what the charges are. Thanks,
Jo,
San Francisco Liberation Radio (93.7 FM)
http://www.herald-review.com/1220/nap511.html
_________________________________________________________________
POLICE TAKE WILLIAMS INTO CUSTODY
`Black Liberation Radio operator accused of felony eavesdropping'
_________________________________________________________________
By ROBIN RIVERS, H&R Staff Writer
Decatur Herald & Review
May 11, 1997
DECATUR -- After eluding police since a Macon County grand
jury handed down indictments April 7 on felony eavesdropping
charges, Black Liberation Radio operator Napoleon Williams was
arrested Saturday at his home. Williams was taken into custody at
11:02 a.m. at 629 E. Center St. Also arrested was his girlfriend,
Mildred Jones, on a charge of concealing and aiding a fugitive.
Police used a battering ram to break in the front door after
several hours of negotiations proved futile, said Decatur City
Council member Betsy Stockard.
She and several others went to the house earlier in the
morning to try to negotiate with Williams and ensure his safety,
she said.
''I was there as a private citizen in hopes that nothing
would go wrong,'' she said. ''It was as if they were going in to
get someone who was armed and very dangerous.''
Decatur Police Sgt. Wayne Hughes said local law enforcement
officials had been told to refer all questions about the arrest
to the Illinois Attorney General's Office.
At least a dozen people gathered around officers near Martin
Luther King Jr. Drive and Morgan Street along Center as early as
8:30 a.m., said Decatur resident Shuaib Neel.
''We all were very concerned about the safety of Napoleon
Williams and Mildred Jones,'' Neel said. He and Stockard talked
to Williams by phone until Decatur Police Cmdr. Richard Ryan
arrived.
''We negotiated with Napoleon trying to get him to accept
the warrants and come on out,'' Neel said.
Williams is charged with three felony counts of
eavesdropping, said Dan Curry, chief spokesman for Illinois
Attorney General Jim Ryan. It is alleged Williams recorded phone
conversations of two employees of the Illinois Department of
Children and Family Services and an employee of the Bridgeway
Foundation, which has contracts for child services with DCFS.
He is being held at the Macon County Jail on $20,000 bond.
Jones' bond has not been set.
For the past few years, Williams has used his unlicensed
station, operating out of his home, to argue his case to regain
custody of his and Jones' daughters -- Unique Dream and Atrue
Dream -- from DCFS.
An arraignment date has not been set.
Williams and Jones had been actively eluding police, Curry
said, since Williams was notified on April 7 of the charges and
subsequent arrest warrants.
''We haven't been able to find him until today,'' Curry
said.
On April 22, Williams went to the State Capitol in
Springfield in an attempt to ask state lawmakers to investigate
the Macon County judicial system. But his visit came on a day few
officials were available because the legislature was not in
session.
At that time, Williams told a reporter that he believed
warrants for his arrest existed. But said he would not be taken
into custody peaceably.
The case, Curry said, is now in the hands of the state.
''We're prosecuting them,'' he said. ''It was referred to us
by the (Macon County) state's attorney.''
Charges against Williams stem from a Jan. 9 raid on
Williams' and Jones' home in which Decatur police seized
broadcasting equipment including transmitters, antennas, tape-
recording equipment, tapes and other items that officials said
constitute eavesdropping under Illinois law.
State law defines eavesdropping as using a ''device to hear
or record all or any part of any conversation unless he does so
.. with the consent of all of the parties to such
conversation...'' or using ''any information which he knows or
reasonably should know was obtained through...eavesdropping...''
It is a Class 4 felony, punishable by one to three years in
prison for a first offense.
Charges against Williams were not made public until
Saturday. The seized equipment has not been returned.
The January raid silenced 99.7 FM Black Liberation Radio for
about 48 hours before Williams' supporters rallied and supplied
new equipment.
Saturday's arrests did not knock the station off the air,
and broadcasts of Williams' material and taped music continued.
Copyright 1997 Herald & Review, a division of Lee
Enterprises. All rights reserved.
*****
* AFRIKAN FRONTLINE NETWORK *
E-mail: nattyreb@ix.netcom.com
Web: http://www.webcom.com/nattyreb
_________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND
_________________________________________________________________
By Sis Marpessa
(This "Background Report" originally appeared in AFIB,
January 21, 1997)
*
On January 9, 1997, the Illinois Attorney General's office
stormed and raided Black Liberation Radio in Decatur, Illinois,
seizing all broadcast equipment as well as personal items that
had nothing to do with the radio station, including a computer
and files regarding the ongoing battle of station owners Napoleon
Williams and Mildred Jones to regain custody of their two
daughters who were kidnapped from them by the state of Illinois.
"It's amazing. You can buy a Uzi fully assembled, but it's
illegal to buy an FM transmitter fully assembled in this
country," Bro. Napoleon told the Decatur Herald Review. "Radio
is one of the cheapest forms of communication you can find.
Homeless people don't have nothin' (else), but they have a
radio," he said. "We've got something that's this easy to get
information to people, why aren't we using it to get something
more than just Top 40 records and jingles and things of that
sort? Why aren't we putting things like this to use?".
Establishment media refers to Decatur Black Liberation Radio
as a "pirate" station. "Pirate says that you're stealing
something," said Napoleon. "A thief of the high seas or something
like that. We're not stealing anything. The people of Decatur
fill these airwaves, it is not just Napoleon & Mildred's, it's
*the people's* station, and we DEMAND an answer as to why it was
raided and closed."
Decatur's Black Liberation Radio daily broadcasts featured
information on the truth of police brutality in Decatur, the
family's unbelievable ordeal at the hands of Macon County State's
Attorney Larry Fichter and the Dept. of Children and Family
Services to regain custody of their two daughters (an ordeal
which began when Black Liberation Radio first aired), tapes of
Malcolm X, Kwesi Mfume and many other inspirational speakers.
They featured live call-in segments so that the otherwise
voiceless Decatur residents could air their concerns and
viewpoints, on Sundays broadcast gospel services and some
evenings aired rhythm and blues, defying the notion that broad-
based access to our people is a right solely reserved for a
certain few, and dedicating their very lives to the FREE FLOW of
information!!
Decatur Black Liberation Radio has also brought together
unemployed blacks and whites with the predominantly white workers
who have undergone bitter strikes in the 90s (Caterpillar, etc.).
It has given them all a voice, not just locally but to a degree
nationally. Napoleon was the keynote speaker at the recent Micro
Broadcasters Convention in Oakland, as this case epitomizes the
lengths that the state will undertake to silence *all* microradio
operators. The very *least* we can do in support of them is to
purchase a 32 cent stamp and MAIL A LETTER to the Illinois
State Attorney General's office!
PLEASE DON'T DELAY!!
Napoleon requests donations and any and all equipment, i.e.
CD's, CD players, tapes/players, mics, etc. to help them re-
establish Decatur Black Liberation Radio and fight back
against the Illinois Attorney General's office. Please send
what you can to:
NAPOLEON WILLIAMS
629 East Center
Decatur, IL 62526
(217) 423-9997
TOGETHER WE WILL WIN!!
*
Just remember this: The first person to die in the so-called
Free Radio movement was a Black man (Michael Taylor in Los
Angeles) killed in a controversial and mysterious fashion
last year, and these people in Decatur have had their kids
seized, equipment impounded, and then been thrown into jail
by government agents. Please let us adopt this very serious
case in Decatur as our own and not allow them to be crushed
into silence.
-- Bro. Komboa Ervin, Black Autonomy International
NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT!! DON'T WAIT UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE!!
_________________________________________________________________
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107,
material appearing in Antifa Info-Bulletin is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving this information for research and educational
purposes. Submissions are welcome. **
_________________________________________________________________
ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN (AFIB)
750 La Playa # 730
San Francisco, California 94121
E-Mail: tburghardt@igc.apc.org
-----
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 00:35:38 -0700
From: Arm The Spirit
Subject: Black Liberation Radio In Decatur Raided Again!
-----
* PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE *
_________________________________________________________________
BLACK LIBERATION RADIO IN DECATUR RAIDED AGAIN
_________________________________________________________________
April 8, 1997
Black Liberation Radio in Decatur, Illinois has been raided
once again by state and local authorities.
On the morning of Tuesday, April 8, several uniformed
Decatur police officers and representatives of the Illinois state
attorney general's office came to the home of Napoleon Williams
and Mildred Jones, the founders of Black Liberation Radio.
The officials produced no warrant, but they told Mildred
Jones that her husband Napoleon Williams had been indicted by a
grand jury for "felony eavesdropping". In the course of a
conversation with Jones, the officials threatened that the
couple's five-month-old son, Miracle, might be taken away from
them. The officials stayed for several minutes, checking the
basement of the couple's home on Center Street in Decatur to make
sure that Williams was not there. They then watched the house for
an hour. When Mildred Jones left the residence later in the day,
they followed her.
This is the latest of many acts of official harassment. For
six years, Black Liberation Radio, a small, unlicensed FM
station, has courageously exposed police brutality and official
misconduct. It played a particularly important role in helping to
build ties between the African American poor of central Illinois
and the largely white work force at the local Caterpillar Tractor
plant during the bitter strike at that company during the early
1990s.
The April 8 raid follows a similar raid by state and local
police officers which took place on January 9, 1997. In the
January raid, officers seized broadcasting equipment. A search
warrant for the January 9 raid authorized the police to look for
evidence of "eavesdropping", a felony under Illinois law.
However, many of the items seized in the January 9 raid had
nothing to do with eavesdropping: compact discs, personal files,
and a personal computer, for instance.
The threat made by the officers on April 8 -- that the state
might take custody of the couple's five-month-old child, Miracle
-- is particularly ominous. An Illinois state agency took custody
of the couple's older daughter, Unique Dream, in 1992 and of the
younger daughter, Atrue Dream, in 1994. The couple is still
fighting to regain custody of those two children.
I spoke by phone with Mildred Jones on the evening of April
8. She stressed that Black Liberation Radio needs three things:
donations, legal help, and media coverage. An out-of-town
attorney may have to be hired for Napoleon Williams, and this
could prove to be expensive.
Please spread the word about this incident. Donations and
messages of support can be sent to:
MILDRED JONES
629 E. Center Street
Decatur, Illinois 62526
Tel: (217) 423-9997
*
Chris Mahin,
People's Tribune Editorial Board
P.O. Box 3524
Chicago, IL 60654
phone: 773-486-3551
fax: 773-486-1728
e-mail: chris@noc.org
Date: Sat, 17 May 1997 17:00:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leslie Swanson
Subject: More Repression in Decatur
-----
* SAN FRANCISCO LIBERATION RADIO, 93.7 FM *
_________________________________________________________________
BLACK LIBERATION RADIO:
`MORE REPRESSION IN DECATUR'
_________________________________________________________________
*
Illinois authorities along with Decatur police once again
returned to the home of Napoleon Williams and Mildred Jones.
This occurred apparently on Friday, May 16. No doors were broken
this time, but a number of tapes were confiscated. I was
supposed to do an interview with Mildred on Saturday afternoon
but have not succeeded in reaching her. There was a DJ who
answered the phone and who said that, yes, the cops did come
back. The station, however, is still on the air, he said. He
was unable to tell me anything about how many tapes were
confiscated, or what kind.
- Richard Edmondson, SF Liberation Radio
*****
http://www.herald-review.com/1220/napoleon515.html
-----
_________________________________________________________________
WILLIAMS BACKERS SEEK FEDERAL PROBE
`Black Liberaterian Radio operator gains support'
_________________________________________________________________
By ROBIN RIVERS, H&R Staff Writer
Decatur Herald & Review
May 15, 1997
DECATUR -- More than 50 people, standing in support of
jailed Black Liberation Radio operator Napoleon Williams and his
girlfriend Mildred Jones, filled up Center Street in front of the
couple's home Wednesday to send one message -- the truth must be
told.
''The truth must be revealed and applied,'' the Rev. C. Ezra
West said about Saturday's arrest of the pair and their continued
court battle to regain custody of their daughters. ''This must be
resolved in earnest and with immediacy. We cannot allow this to
rob us of our rights and security. We must stand together.''
Williams was arraigned Tuesday in Macon County Circuit Court
on three felony counts of eavesdropping. He was taken into
custody Saturday morning at his home and is being held on $20,000
bond, said Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, spokesman for Illinois Attorney
General Jim Ryan.
Jones was arrested on a charge of concealing and aiding a
fugitive. She has been released.
In a prepared statement, the group calling itself a
coalition of central city voters accused four organizations and
individuals of conspiring against Williams and Jones, violating
their civil rights, and called for a U.S. Justice Department
investigation into the Macon County judicial system.
Calling Williams a ''local political prisoner,'' Devon
Joyner made accusations of abuse of power against Macon County
State's Attorney Larry Fichter, Circuit Court Judge John Davis,
the Illinois Attorney General's Office and the Decatur Police
Department. ''We demand the action of public officials,'' Joyner
said. ''We believe that civil rights have been violated.''
Fichter would not comment.
''If you've been following this you know that all questions
must be referred to the Attorney General's office,'' he told a
Herald & Review reporter on Wednesday. ''This office isn't
handling anything.''
For the past few years, Williams has used his unlicensed
station, operating out of his home, to argue his case to regain
custody of his and Jones' daughters -- Unique Dream and Atrue
Dream -- from the Illinois Department of Children and Family
Services. He was indicted on April 7 by a Macon County grand jury
on charges which stem from a Jan. 9 raid on Williams' and Jones'
home. On that date, police seized broadcasting equipment
including transmitters, antennas, tape-recording equipment, tapes
and other items that officials said constitute eavesdropping
under Illinois law.
Williams is charged with allegedly recording phone
conversations of two employees of DCFS and an employee of the
Bridgeway Foundation, which has contracts for child services with
DCFS.
Eavesdropping is a Class 4 felony, punishable by one to
three years in prison for a first offense.
The arrest, the group on Wednesday said, was an attempt to
silence Williams.
''There were people in the crowd here that believed that the
intent on last Saturday was to kill Napoleon Williams ... for a
Class 4 felony, almost a misdemeanor,'' West said. ''This is
America. Those kinds of fears should not be haunting the common
citizens' minds.''
But Decatur Police Cmdr. Mark Barthelemy said the lives of
Williams and Jones were never threatened.
''That day police department personnel determined that
Napoleon Williams was inside his residence. Previous attempts to
inform Mr. Williams of the warrants and to have him come forward
did not result in him turning himself in,'' Barthelemy said. ''He
was told repeatedly that our intent was not to harm he or his
wife. They refused to come outside until a representative from
the Attorney General's office arrived and spoke with him about
his children.
''At that time, under authority of law, members of the
police department did force entry into the home. There were no
injuries, no harm, no threat to them at any time. That was our
last resort.''
Joyner said the case has gone far beyond Williams, Jones and
their children.
''It's about violating the constitutional right to the
pursuit of happiness,'' he said. ''Napoleon represents every one
of us out here.''
Copyright 1997 Herald & Review, a division of Lee
Enterprises. All rights reserved.
*
SEND PROTEST LETTERS TO:
JIM RYAN, STATES ATTORNEY
Office Locations:
500 South 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-1090 - (General Information)
100 W. Randolph
Suite 11, 12, & 13
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 814-2503 - (General Information)
E-Mail a copy to the Decatur Herald & Review at:
hrnews@webmart.net
*
Napoleon Williams and Mildred Jones need financial support
to fight these bogus charges! Please send contributions to:
BLACK LIBERATION RADIO
629 East Center
Decatur, IL 62526
(217) 423-9997
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 12:28:17 -0700
From: SF Liberation Radio
-----
* SAN FRANCISCO LIBERATION RADIO - 93.7fm *
_________________________________________________________________
NEW ATTACK ON BLACK LIBERATION RADIO:
MILDRED JONES GIVEN 3 YEARS IN PRISON
________________________________________________________________
By Richard Edmondson, SF Liberation Radio
At a court hearing on Friday, June 13, 1997, Mildred Jones,
partner of Napoleon Williams and co-founder of Black Liberation
Radio in Decatur, IL was handed down a 3 year sentence on a
charge of probation violation. The sentence stems from a
December, 1995 arrest on a shoplifting charge, with state
authorities alleging she stole a purse from Walmart. I taped a
phone interview with Napoleon this morning, in which he explained
the circumstances surrounding the arrest. According to Napoleon,
the purse in question was Mildred's own purse. She was accused
of stealing by store security after they did not see her enter
the store carrying her purse. She did not have the purse at the
time she entered the store because Napoleon had already carried
it inside earlier. All of this is explained on the tape, which I
will attempt to upload at: http://radio4all.org/test
We have had mixed success uploading sound to this website,
probably due to our own lack of experience with sending sound via
internet, so in case the upload is not successful,
here are a few additional details:
Mildred, as of Saturday morning, 11am PDT, was in Macon
County Jail awaiting transfer to the Illinois prison for women at
Dwight, IL. At the hearing on Friday she had requested 10 days
to get her affairs in order but was denied this. Her probation
officer, Patrick J. Berter, alleges she violated her probation in
the following manner:
1. Failed to report to the Macon County Day Reporting Center on
Nov. 18, 1996, Nov. 21, 1996 and March 3, 1997
2. Failed to abide by scheduled office visit at 3 pm on Dec.
26, 1996, Feb. 6, 1997 and Feb. 20, 1997
3. Failed to abide by a 7 pm curfew on Nov. 14, 1996, at 7:34
pm.
The above is quoted from circuit court papers faxed to me by
Napoleon. Mildred is presently 5 months pregnant. It is
expected she will give birth in prison and that the baby will be
taken from her by state officials. Her and Napoleon's two
daughters were taken from them in 1992 & '93. The only remaining
child is a boy, Miracle, who remains free of the clutches of
state officials but has been spirited out of Decatur in order
that he remain so. Napoleon's eavesdropping charges are still
pending; his case has been continued to July 1.
Black Liberation Radio, for those who may not know, is a
micro radio station in Decatur which has been on the air since
1990 addressing such issues as poverty and police brutality. The
station and its operators have endured a long history of
harrassment by local and state authorities, including arrests on
dubious charges, raids, the removal of children from their
parents, etc. The station was raided by the Illinois Attorney
General's office in Jan. of this year. On May 10, the second
raid this year took place when a SWAT team broke down the front
door and took Napoleon and Mildred to jail. The raid in Jan.
resulted in the confiscation of all broadcasting equipment.
A new transmitter was obtained with help from Free Radio Berkeley
and the station was back on the air within two weeks.
Miraculously, the station remains on the air today, but with one
founder in jail, and the other facing prosecution, things could
be said to be hanging only by a slender thread at this point.
That's all for now. Will try to upload the interview with
Napoleon.
*
Napoleon Williams and Mildred Jones need financial support
to fight these new charges! Please send contributions to:
BLACK LIBERATION RADIO
629 East Center
Decatur, IL 62526
(217) 423-9997
_________________________________________________________________
NEW BLACK LIBERATION RADIO WEB PAGE UP!
_________________________________________________________________
Hey folks!
OK, the new web pages for Black Liberation Radio are up.
Please look them over and get back to me with feedback, ideas,
etc etc. The URL is:
http://burn.ucsd.edu/~blr
Right now, i still don't have any graphics on them...but
i'll have access to a scanner again in a week or so and will
spruce things up then. We're still working on getting excerpts
from the audio and video on there too.
btw, if you haven't seen 'em yet, paul riismandel also has a
few web pages set up for BLR at:
http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~p-riism/blr.html
take care!
sprite
* * *
Date: Sat, 26 Jul 97 11:56:35 -0700
From: Paul_W._Griffin@bmug.org (Paul W. Griffin)
Subject: (en) repression in Decatur
Dear Reader,
First of all, I'm sorry about the long CC list. I'm writing this to let
you know that Black Liberation Radio is still encountering a lot of trouble
from the Illinois State Attorney's office. Napoleon Williams is being charged
with felony eavesdropping, his partner Mildred Jones was just sentenced to
three years in prison for probabtion violation, and two of their children,
Unique and Atrue, are in the custody of the state. This is happening because
the State Attorney's office doesn't like what he hears on Black Liberation
Radio. Since Larry Fichter couldn't get the FCC to shut this station down, he
took matters into his own hands. Anyway, if you can help please send your
support to:
Black Liberation Radio
c/o Napoleon Williams
629 East Center St.
Decatur, IL 62526
Phone (217) 423-2737
Fax (217) 423-9997
Thanks for reading this message and please pass it on! -Paul Griffin
Date: Sat, 2 Aug 1997 17:08:33 +0000
From: "Lyn Gerry"
Subject: (Fwd) Black Liberation Radio (fwd)
- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sue Supriano
PRESS RELEASE
JULY 31, 1997
SUPPORT BLACK LIBERATION RADIO, DECATUR, ILLINOIS--
HELP GET MILDRED JONES OUT OF PRISON
KEEP NAPOLEON WILLIAMS OUT OF PRISON
Black Liberation Radio, run out of the house of Napoleon Williams and
Mildred Jones, is an unlicensed micropower radio station in
Decatur,IL.,-- a city of 100,000 with four major multinational
corporations: Catepillar, Firestone, Archer Daniels Midland and
Staleys. Black Liberation Radio has been on the air since 1990
addressing such issues as poverty, unemployment and police brutality.
Macon County, the county where Decatur is located is Klan country and
generally extremely racist. Though 16% of Decatur is African
American, Black Liberation Radio is the only radio station where music
with black artists and black perspectives can be heard. The radio
station has consistently been a voice for working people and as more
and more people listened the more the station was seen as a threat to
the power structure. Napoleon Williams and Mildred Jones have endured
a long history of harassment by local and state authorities, including
arrests on dubious charges, raids, the removal of their children into
foster care, etc.. They have both served time already for the dubious
charges and thus it could be said that they have already been
"political prisoners".
The station was raided by the police (Notice, it's not even the FCC.
but the police.) in Jan. at which time the broadcasting equipment was
taken. A new transmitter was obtained with help from Free Radio
Berkeley and the station was back on the air within two weeks. The
second and last raid this year on Napoleon & Mildred's house took
place on May 10 when, at the order of the Illinois Attorney General,
a SWAT team broke down the front door and took Napoleon and Mildred to
jail. Miraculously, the station remains on the air today, but with one
founder in prison and the other facing prosecution.
Mildred went to the women's prison in Dwight, Il. on June 13. She's 7
months pregnant and is suffering from the intense hear and swollen
feet, making it difficult to walk. Her sentence is 3 years for
probation violation. The sentence stems from a Dec.1995 arrest on a
shoplifting charge with state authorities alleging she stole a purse
from Walmart. According to Napoleon the purse in question was
Mildred's own purse. She was accused of stealing by store security
after they did not see her enter the store carrying her purse. The
reason she didn't have it was because Napoleon had already carried it
inside earlier . The video of Napoleon carrying the purse inside
myseriously disappeared and therefore could not be presented as
evidence in court. Mildred has already served time for this charge.
The probation officer alleges she violated her probation by missing or
being late for several meetings and by not having completed her GED.
Napoleon said that the missed meetings were explained and excused (
one was coming from church a half hour late because of car trouble)
and another probation violation was that Mildred was charged with not
having gotten her GED when only 6 months had passed and she had been
given 9. There were written excuses and letters of support for Mildrd
which were never presented in court.
Mildred and Napoleon's 2 daughters were already taken from them in
1992 and 1993 and are in foster care. The taking of their children by
the Department of Child and Family Services seems to be punishment
for operating the radio station since, according to them, there have
never been any accusations of maltreatment of the children. Napoleon
refers to their two daughters as "the youngest political prisoners in
the U.S.".
They also have another young son who is living somewhere else so he
won't be taken into custody by DCFS also. It is certain that the
child Mildred is expecting will be taken from Mildred if it is born in
prison which it will be unless Mildred is released. Napoleon says
Mildred could be put under house arrest, if necessary, rather than in
prison, which, of course, would be a great improvement.
Napoleon is charged with eavesdropping-- a felony. He recorded
conversations he had with workers in the Dept. of Child and Family
Services about having their children returned to them. He's out on
bail and his case will be heard on August 12. Because of his past
history with DCFS Napoleon was trying to protect himself by recording
the phone converstations. His attorney is building his case on, what
he considers to be, the weakness of the eavesdropping law and asking
for the charges to be dropped. At least he does have a concerned
attorney, but the chances of finding justice in Macon County, Il. are
slim. Bringing the case to the attention of the country could be
helpful so they know there's a support system for Napoleon Williams
and Mildred Jones and we're watching.
Clearly these folks are victims of the legal and political system of
Decatur that is trying to protect the interests of the corporations
and institutions that Black Liberation Radio has been speaking out
against. Mildred does not have an attorney. Given Mildred's
experience with the Macon county court system she is trying to find
independent legal representation and money to pay the court costs--
even with a public defender court there are certain court costs that
must be paid.
We must support these courageous folks in their battle to continue
their free speech!!! And, of course, it's also in the wider interest
of all of us who could be next. Word needs to get out that these two
people's family has been broken up, their children have been taken
away and they have become political prisoners for operating Black
Liberation Radio. Cover the story, spread the word however you can--
the internet, contact your local television, radio stations and
newspapers about their story. There has been virtually NO coverage of
this injustice in the mainstream or alternative media. If we put the
national spotlight on them, get them some funds and an attorney to
fight for Mildred Jones as soon as possible-- before Napoleon goes to
court on August 12 and before their child is born-- we can make a
difference. Also--flood the Illinois Governor, Jim Edgar, with letters
asking for an independent (outside of Macon County) investigation of
Mildred's and Napoleon's cases and ask that she AT LEAST be put under
house arrest as opposed to imprisoned in the penitentiary.
The Gov. is Jim Edgar, 207 Statehouse, Springfield, IL 62706.
Mildred's address is Mildred Jones, B49044, P.O.Box 5001, Dwight, IL
60420. I'm sure she would appreciate any gestures of support. Be
sure to mention her number and the prison when writing to the Gov..
Even a postcard with one sentence would be helpful so their names
become known.
Napoleon Williams can be reached at 629 E. Center St., Decatur, IL
62526. His tel. numbers are (217) 423-2737 or (217) 9997. You can
call him direct now and interview him yourselves if you want-- until
Aug. 12. After that, who knows! So TIME IS PRESSING! They need to
know there's a support movement and we're watching! !
For much more detailed information Tracy Siska has a web page with
lots of information about Black Liberation Radio. Check it out at
http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~p-riism/rfc.html.
Thanks for your attention--
Sue Supriano
Free Radio Berkeley, etc.
(510) 540-8850
sues@ricochet.net
Any contact and suggestions to tactical@mail.nexus.it
Tactical Media Crew
c/o Radio Onda Rossa - Via dei Volsci 56, 00185 Roma (Italy)
Tel. + 39 6 491750/4469102 Fax. + 39 6 4463616