This press conference was held the evening before Amiri Baraka was to go to jail for "resisting arrest" in an encounter with police in June 1979. Writers and artists give statements in support of Baraka, and finally Baraka himself speaks, discussing his case as part of a history of harassment of black artists and as part of a move to the right capped off by the election of Ronald Reagan. "There's never been democracy or justice for African-Americans in this country," he says. The conference concludes with questions from the press corps.

1 compact cassette (1/8-inch magnetic audio tape)