5 Civil Rights Activists Who Are Imprisoned

Some activists are regarded as political prisoners.

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Russell Maroon Shoatz, 69 - Russell Maroon Shoatz was a community activist who founded the Black Unity Council and served in the Black Liberation Army prior to his 1971 conviction for murdering a Pennsylvania police officer. On May 8, 2013, the self-designated "New African Political Prisoner” Shoatz filed a lawsuit demanding an end to his solitary confinement. (Photo: Pennsylvania Police Department)
Ed Pointdexter, 70 - Ed Poindexter was one of the leading members of Omaha, Nebraska’s Black Panther chapter. The chapter worked  to desegregate Omaha’s Peony Park Swimming Pool and tackled domestic issues such as welfare rights, police brutality, absentee landlords and Omaha’s school system. Poindexter and Mondo we Langa were sentenced to life in prison in 1971 on convictions for a bombing that resulted in the death of an Omaha police officer. (Photo: David Fenton/Getty Images)The Black Panther Party - Originally named The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, the movement was founded in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. The organization's purpose was initially to monitor predominantly African-American neighborhoods and protect residents from police brutality. (Photo: Photo12/UIG/Getty Images)

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Activists Who Are Imprisoned - The fight for civil rights in the U.S. is often remembered by keystone events like Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington address. But groups like the Black Panthers and the Black Liberation Army also simultaneously fought for fairness and justice. Several of those activists are serving life sentences for taking the lives of innocents during their quest for equality. Here’s a look at the African-Americans who are living out their lives away from the society they fought to help establish. – LaToya Bowlah (Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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