The Washington Peace Letter is published monthly for the social justice community of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It's purpose is to support local, national and international struggles against oppression. It seeks to present a radical analysis of current events, covering information not readily available in the corporate media.

On June 14, the District of Columbia Zoning Commission unanimously rejected the application of Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) to build a private prison-for-profit on parkland at Oxon Cove, in D.C.’s Ward 8. Throughout the year-long fight against this proposal, the focal point of the opposition has been the Ward 8 Coalition, an initially small group of localized activists that eventually expanded across D.C. and into Maryland, gathering strength as it grew.

To be sure, much of the credit for the defeat of this ill-conceived project belongs, ironically enough, to CCA itself, an organization of such blatant greed, cynicism and outright incompetence that no amount of high-paid public relations could overcome its notoriety. Nonetheless, the mobilization of community opposition to the prison by the Ward 8 Coalition was an impressive feat of proactive organizing that played an essential role.

The various members of the Ward 8 Coalition are now at a crossroads, and some are beginning to map out strategies for moving the larger struggle forward, building on the momentum from the present victory. For instance, the future of the Oxon Cove site is still in doubt. Will development of another sort occur there, or will the site be transferred to the District and preserved as an urban park, as the Interior Department had originally intended before Congress mandated its giveaway to CCA? Many residents of Ward 8 will be working with the D.C. Environmental Network and others to push for preservation.

On another front, the future of the incarceration system in D.C. remains ominous. The District is still mandated by Congress to house at least 50% of its felons in a private prison after the Lorton, Virginia facility closing in 2001 (this by Congressional mandate as well).

The District also continues the process of revamping its sentencing guidelines to bring them up to harsh Federal “truth-in-sentencing” standards. Currently, the D.C. Sentencing Advisory Commission is developing plans to abolish parole for many felonies, effectively removing any rehabilitative incentive from incarceration. The Commission is also looking to install a unified sentencing system in which both felonies and misdemeanors are assigned predetermined sentences, effectively removing a judge’s discretion and consideration of mitigating circumstances from the process.

There are even moves now by D.C. Councilmembers Harold Brazil, chair of the Judiciary Committee, and Charlene Drew Jarvis to change the designation of some petty drug offenses from misdemeanors to felonies (K. Sinzinger, “Council mulls felony status for marijuana,” Common Denominator, May 31, 1999). This would conveniently feed into our future prison-for-profit business in D.C., guaranteeing a steady stream of young, non-violent offenders to fill the beds and maintain the cash flow.

Relating to this, and underlying the entire debate about this prison, is the whole question of what to do with D.C.’s felons if a prison is not built here. The proponents of the Ward 8 prison have done their best to promote the idea that building a private prison in D.C. is in the interest of the inmates, who will be kept closer to their families. “Inmates Are People Too” is what their t-shirts, paid for in part by CCA, said.

The larger challenge for the prison opponents is to counter this sentimental argument favoring a CCA prison with an opposing argument that not only convinces inmates’ families that a private prison is not in their interest, but leads also to an overall questioning of our entire “criminal justice” system. Why do we even need to build more prisons, considering the fact that most incarcerated felons are non-violent drug offenders who belong in rehab and treatment programs, with alternative and community-based sentencing - not in prison? Why are we as a society surprised when our alienated, impoverished youth - raised in abandoned neighborhoods without hope or opportunity, without stable and nurturing families or communities, and with a government that delights in redirecting its vast resources out of their grasp - engage in anti-social and destructive behavior? If we profess to care so deeply about inmates, why do we not work harder as a society to prevent them from becoming inmates in the first place?

Lessons Learned for Coalition Building

The Ward 8 Coalition has been, in many ways, a model for how coalitions are supposed to work: a diverse array of organizations and individuals who put their political and ideological differences aside and unite around a common goal. Too often, coalitions dilute their effectiveness—or outright disintegrate—because some members do not appreciate the inherently fragile nature of a coalition. This may lead, for example, to one or more elements within the coalition attempting to take it over, feeling that only their perspective is the correct one, but not wanting to take the time to argue their points with those who disagree or who are simply less developed politically. Furthermore, the coalition as a whole may fail to adhere to principles of democratic consensus-building, inadvertently allowing certain views to dominate while turning off others whose opinions go unheard. In extreme cases, some coalition members simply refuse to work with others who won’t agree with them on every point, choosing instead to collect their figurative marbles and go home. When we consider the frequency with which these scenarios happen among so-called progressives, it should come as no surprise that we consistently lose the campaigns we take up.

In the case of the Ward 8 Coalition, however, a relatively united front was maintained because members were committed to focusing on a single common goal—stopping a CCA prison from being built at the Ward 8 site. The political ideals contained within this united front ranged from the fairly conservative to relatively radical. Member groups ranged from civic and business organizations who simply oppose a prison in their community (and hold little opinion about having a prison elsewhere), to environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth who oppose development of any sort on this beautiful parcel of parkland. Still others in the Coalition included the International Socialist Organization, the Green Party, the Statehood Party, and Jews United for Justice, all of whom challenge in various ways the entire prison system and the priorities reflected in our society’s increased investment in imprisonment juxtaposed with a decreased social service investment.

Rather than allowing itself to become bogged down in an internal tug-of-war over these differences, the Coalition actually drew strength from its diversity. As a result, the fight against the prison was waged on a number of fronts, increasing the effectiveness of the overall campaign. Some coalition members were interested in building grassroots awareness about the issue by going door-to-door in the neighborhood, speaking one-on-one to people and developing valuable lists of contacts for future actions. Others made presentations before civic organizations, or cultivated support from labor unions. Still others felt that their forte was lobbying elected officials or providing testimony at hearings, and so that’s where they put their energy. Those who believed in the power of more public actions organized marches and rallies that energized the masses and caught the attention of the media.

Stop the Prison-Industrial Complex!

It is in the spirit of cooperative coalition-building that the fight against the prison-industrial complex, and the fight for real justice and opportunity for all, will flourish in D.C. The challenge continues to be getting the word out to the people, and shining light on the realities of our current criminal “injustice” system. All who are inspired by the organizing opportunities presented above are encouraged to get involved!

Steve Donkin is coordinator of the Criminal Justice Committee of the D.C. Green Party. He can be reached at (202) 986-9438.

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