Eddie Conway's Memoir Book Reading & Release Party to Take Place at The Patterson, Sept. 23

September 23 at the Patterson, Bashi Rose, Rain Pryor, Marc Steiner, Mama Kay of WombWork Productions, and Doc Cheatham from the NAACP read excerpts from former political prisoner Eddie Conway's memoir. Marshall "Eddie" Conway is the former member the Baltimore Black Panther Party. In 1969, he uncovered evidence of the FBI's infiltration of the Panthers as a part of the COINTELPRO initiative, and found himself locked away, just one year later, convicted of a murder he did not commit. Currently in his 40th year of incarceration in a State of Maryland correctional facility, he has played a leading role in a variety of prisoner support initiatives, including the formation of the Maryland chapter of the United Prisoner's Labor Union, and the ACLU's Prison Committee to Correct Prison Conditions. His memoir consists of four decades of memories experienced within the Maryland prison system. Some selections from the book are beautifully poetic, while others depict the violence of imprisonment and the parallels to slavery.

Guest performances include drumming of Street Delegates, and original hip-hop by The Dri Fish of THE 5th L. An audience Q&A with Conway via phone follows. All three books are on sale to benefit Conway's defense fund. Additionally, a selection of Emory Douglass prints will be on exhibit and for sale. Douglass worked as the Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party from 1967 until the Party disbanded in the 1980s, and whose graphic art has become an iconic representation of the struggles of the Party.

For more information, please visit www.creativealliance.org