In showing the experience and humanity of prisoners, Rayson urged those outside of prison walls to attune themselves to the “powerful education of which prisoners are capable,” noting that “without the humanity, freedom, and counsel from conscious prisoners, I myself would be in a constant state of dread and despair.”

Image from Anthony Rayson Zine Collection. Back cover of Thought Bombs Issue #6 (featuring image of prison activist George Jackson [1941-1971]).

(Quote found in Prisons & Society, self-published zine. Rayson, Anthony. Prisons & Society ([1999-2007]). Anthony Rayson Zine Collection, box 2, folder entitled “Mini Zines/Prisons&Society, 1999-2007.” DePaul University Special Collections and Archives.)

Courtesy of: Anthony Rayson (collection at DePaul University Special Collections and Archives).

Believing that prisons served as the nexus of political struggle wherein black Americans lived “in the legacy that was slavery,” self-described anarchist and prison abolitionist Anthony Rayson aimed to reveal the greater truths of this flawed system through Thought Bombs, first published in 1997. Early editions featured artwork from Rayson's ten-year old son.

Image from Anthony Rayson Zine Collection. Front cover of Thought Bombs Issue #1.

(Quote from Thought Bombs #4, self-published zine. Rayson, Anthony. Thought Bombs, no. 4 ([1997]). Anthony Rayson Zine Collection, box 2, folder titled “Zines by Title: Thought Bombs #3 and #4; 1997. DePaul University Special Collections and Archives.)

Courtesy of: Anthony Rayson (collection at DePaul University Special Collections and Archives).

Rayson worked to get his zine into the hands of incarcerated people, and he often received and published correspondence with them. For example, Rayson published a letter from Glenn Wright, who was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, Illinois: “Don’t give up on us in here, we are depending on the help of those who can see the devastating effects of the prison system, not only on those in it, but to our families, to our children, to our friends, and to society as a whole.”

Image from Anthony Rayson Zine Collection. Front cover of Thought Bombs Issue #6.

(Quote in letter from Glenn Wright, published in Thought Bombs #13.5, self-published zine. Rayson, Anthony. Thought Bombs, no. 13.5 ([2000]). Anthony Rayson Zine Collection, box 2, folder titled “Zines by Title: Thought Bombs #11-15; 1999-2000.” DePaul University Special Collections and Archives.)