Marilyn Buck
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Marilyn Jean Buck (December 13, 1947–August 3, 2010) was an American
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
, feminist poet, and
anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...
,
anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influenc ...
, and
anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and delibera ...
activist, who was imprisoned for her participation in the 1979 prison escape of
Assata Shakur Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947), also known as Joanne Chesimard, is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1977, she was convicted in the murder of state troope ...
, the 1981 Brink's 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 as well as poetry. 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
Temple, Texas Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the city has a population of 82,073 according to the 2020 United States census, U.S. census. Temple lies in the region referred to as Central Texas and is a principal city in th ...
, to Virginia Buck, a nurse, and Louis Buck, an Episcopal minister. Her family was active in the civil rights movement. Louis Buck opposed
segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of human ...
at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, picketed, and harshly criticized the bishop. In response, crosses were burned on the family's lawn, and he was removed as minister from the congregation of St. James in Austin, a congregation which had been integrated by the previous clergyman and his family. Louis Buck returned to his veterinarian career, from which he had entered the clergy, to support his family. Marilyn Buck attended the
University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
and the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
. She subsequently earned a master's degree in Poetics from New College.


1960s and 70s activism

At the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
, Buck was involved in organizing against the Vietnam War, as well as
anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and delibera ...
activities. She joined
Students for a Democratic Society Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships a ...
(SDS) and worked with Austin's underground newspaper, ''
The Rag ''The Rag'' was an underground press, underground newspaper published in Austin, Texas from 1966–1977. The weekly paper covered political and cultural topics that the conventional press ignored, such as the growing antiwar movement, the sexu ...
''. In 1967, Buck 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 The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminism, feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued till the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which resu ...
into the organization's politics. She subsequently returned to
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
where she worked with
Third World Newsreel Third World Newsreel (formerly known as Newsreel) is an American media center and film distribution company based in New York City. History Newsreel, the forerunner of ''Third World Newsreel'', was established in 1967 as a collective. "In 1973, ...
in outreach in support of Native American and Palestinian sovereignty and against U.S. intervention in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
and
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
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 Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...
using false identification and sentenced to ten years in prison. In 1977 Buck was given a
furlough A furlough (; from , "leave of absence") is a temporary cessation of paid employment that is intended to address the special needs of a company or employer; these needs may be due to economic conditions that affect a specific employer, or to thos ...
from prison and went underground instead of returning.


Support for the New Afrikan Independence Movement

In 1979,
Assata Shakur Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947), also known as Joanne Chesimard, is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1977, she was convicted in the murder of state troope ...
, who had been convicted of killing a policeman, 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
Black Liberation Army The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was an underground Marxist–Leninist, black-nationalist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of New Afrika (RNA) mem ...
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 were killed. She allegedly drove one of the
getaway car A crime scene getaway is the act of departing from the location where one has committed a crime. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of a c ...
s, as well as helping to obtain a
safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is a dwelling place or building whose unassuming appearance makes it an inconspicuous location where one can hide out, take shelter, or conduct clandestine activities. Historical usage It may also refer to ...
and weapons. During the investigation into the armed robbery and killings, investigators found weapons and papersThe Brinks Robbery of 1981 - The Crime Library on truTV.com
in an apartment in
East Orange East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, rented by "Carol Durant," an alias of Buck. Papers there led police to an address in
Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Moun ...
, where they found bloody clothing and ammunition belonging to Buck.


Resistance Conspiracy case

In 1985, Buck and six others were convicted in the Resistance Conspiracy case, a series of bombings in protest of United States foreign policy in the Middle East and Central America. The May 12, 1988,
indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...
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 The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
building, three military installations in the Washington, D.C., area, and four sites in New York City. Warnings were called in before each of these bombings and no one was injured. The Capitol was targeted in retaliation for recent U.S. military invasions of
Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...
and
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
. The military sites bombed were the
National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within 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. History The National ...
at
Fort McNair Fort Lesley J. McNair, also historically known as the Washington Arsenal, is a United States Army post located on the tip of Buzzard Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D ...
, the
Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is a ceremonial and administrative center for the United States Navy, located in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C. (federal District of Columbia). It is the oldest shore establishment / base of ...
Computer Center, and the Washington Navy Yard Officers Club. In New York City, the Staten Island Federal Building, the
Israeli Aircraft Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI; ), is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 14,000 employees as of 2021. IAI is state-owned by the government ...
Building, the
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
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.


Crimes, convictions, and sentences

Source: 1973: Buck received a 10-year prison sentence for acting as a gun runner for the Black Liberation Army. 1988: Buck was convicted of racketeering, armed robbery, and allegedly being an accomplice murder. The conviction covered both the Rockland County holdup and a 1981 armored-car robbery in the Bronx in which a guard was killed. It also covered the escape from prison in 1979 of the Black Liberation Army leader Assata Shakur, which Buck allegedly facilitated. 1990: Under a plea agreement, Buck was sentenced to an additional 10 years for having taken part in the bombings of government buildings, including the United States Capitol, during her time as a fugitive.


As an author

While in prison, Buck contributed articles on
women in prison Approximately 741,000 women are incarcerated in correctional facilities, a 17% increase since 2010 and the female prison population has been increasing across all continents.solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...
,
political prisoners A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
and related issues to '' Sojourners Magazine'', ''
Monthly Review The ''Monthly Review'' is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. Established in 1949, the publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...
'', and other journals and anthologies. She published her poetry in journals, anthologies, a
chapbook A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...
, and an
audio CD Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA or CD-DA), also known as Digital Audio Compact Disc or simply as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs. The standard is defined in the '' Red Book'' technical specifications, which is why t ...
. She received a
PEN American Center PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide thr ...
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). Buck translated and introduced
Cristina Peri Rossi Cristina Peri Rossi (born 12 November 1941) is a 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 work ...
's poetry book ''State of Exile'', which was Number 58 in the
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. The series included Allen Ginsberg's literary milestone "Howl", which led to an ob ...
.Peri Rossi, Cristina, translated with an introduction by Marilyn Buck. ''State of Exile''.
Pocket Poets 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. The series included Allen Ginsberg's literary milestone "Howl", which led to an ob ...
Number 58. San Francisco, California: City Lights, 2008. .


Death

Marilyn Buck died at home in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
on August 3, 2010, after a long battle with
uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the ute ...
, having been
released Released may refer to: * Released (Jade Warrior album), ''Released'' (Jade Warrior album), 1971 * Released (Patti LaBelle album), ''Released'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1980 * ''Released: 1985–1995'', an album by Kronos Quartet, 1995 * ''Released'' ...
from the
Federal Medical Center, Carswell The Federal Medical Center, Carswell (FMC Carswell) is a United States federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, for female inmates of all security levels, primarily with special medical and mental health needs. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of ...
on July 15 of that year.Fox, Margalit
"Marilyn Buck"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', August 5, 2010. Accessed August 5, 2010.


References


Works

* Buck, Marilyn. 2002. ''Rescue the Word''. San Francisco, California: Friends Of Marilyn Buck. * 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, ). Retrieved fro
Political Prisoner Status under International Law by Marilyn Buck
on May 1, 2010. * Buck, Marilyn. 2004. "The U.S. Prison State". ''Monthly Review'' February. Retrieved fro

on March 20, 2008. * Buck, Marilyn. 2008. Introduction and translation in Peri Rossi (2008). * Buck, Marilyn, Laura Whitehorn, 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, fro
Incarceration ... Narratives: Prison Interviews
* 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. . Available as mp3 downloads a
Wild Poppies – Poetry by and with Marilyn Buck
* Buck, Marilyn. 2012. ''Inside/Out: Selected Poems''.
City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American synchronized sound film, sound romance film, romantic comedy drama, comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a ...
. .


External links


Marilyn Buck: Political Prisoner, Poet, Writer, Translator, Teacher
from the Friends of Marilyn Buck
"U.S. political prisoner freed after decades in prison"
''Workers World'', July 26, 2010
National Jericho Movement
Search results for Marilyn Buck * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Marilyn 1947 births 2010 deaths American anti-war activists American anti-racism activists American Marxists American political writers American women poets American prisoners and detainees Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from uterine cancer in the United States University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni New College of California alumni People from Temple, Texas 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American translators American women non-fiction writers 20th-century prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government 21st-century prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government