From The Bottom Of The Heap: The Autobiography Of Black Panther Robert Hillary King (PM Press)

"In 1970, a jury convicted Robert Hillary King of a crime he did not commit and sentenced him to 35 years in prison. He became a member of the Black Panther Party while in Angola State Penitentiary, successfully organizing prisoners to improve conditions. In return, prison authorities beat him, starved him, and gave him life without parole after framing him for a second crime. He was thrown into solitary confinement, where he remained in a six by nine foot cell for 29 years as one of the Angola 3. In 2001, the state grudgingly acknowledged his innocence and set him free. This is his story." "It begins at the beginning: born black, born poor, born in Louisiana in 1942, King journeyed to Chicago as a hobo at the age of 15. He married and had a child, and briefly pursued a semi-pro boxing career to help provide for his family. Just a teenager when he entered the Louisiana penal system for the first time, King tells of his attempts to break out of this system, and his persistent pursuit of justice where there is none." "Yet this remains a story of inspiration and courage, and the triumph of the human spirit. The conditions in Angola almost defy description, yet King never gave up his humanity, or the work towards justice for all prisoners that he continues to do today. From the Bottom of the Heap, so simply and humbly told, strips bare the economic and social injustices inherent in our society, while continuing to be a powerful literary testimony to our own strength and capacity to overcome."--Jacket Copyright 9 Dedication 10 Acknowledgements 12 Introduction 16 A Word 26 Preface 28 Chapter 1 30 Chapter 2 32 Chapter 3 36 Chapter 4 42 Chapter 5 48 Chapter 6 56 Chapter 7 62 Chapter 8 68 Chapter 9 76 Chapter 10 84 Chapter 11 92 Chapter 12 102 Photographs 106 Chapter 13 118 Chapter 14 124 Chapter 15 132 Chapter 16 136 Chapter 17 144 Chapter 18 150 Chapter 19 154 Chapter 20 162 Chapter 21 170 Chapter 22 178 Chapter 23 188 Chapter 24 192 Postscript 202 Appendices 204 King Family Tree 206 Anita Roddick: A Friend of Distinction 208 A Poem for Alice (Africa) 210 Malik Rahim and the Founding of Common Ground 212 The Case of the Angola 3 216 Also Available from PM Press 220 About PM Press 225 >In 1970, a jury convicted Robert Hillary King of a crime he did not commit and sentenced him to 35 years in prison. He became a member of the Black Panther Party while in Angola State Penitentiary, successfully organizing prisoners to improve conditions. In return, prison authorities beat him, starved him, and gave him life without parole after framing him for a second crime. He was thrown into solitary confinement, where he remained in a six-by-nine-foot cell for 29 years as one of the Angola 3. In 2001, the state grudgingly acknowledged his innocence and set him free. This is his story. - [publisher](https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=506)