Portland’s Victory Garden Project organized a protest march on Friday, September 15 starting at Woodbury Campus Center and ending on Congress Street. The rally, in response to President Richard Pattenaude’s decision to have Thomas Manning’s art exhibit, “Can’t Jail The Spirit,” removed from campus, boasted the banned artwork. More than fifty people participated in the march through Portland’s streets.
In a statement released to the press on Tuesday, September 12, the Victory Garden Project (VGP) said, “In censoring the art show, Pattenaude is limiting campus discussion on the definition of the term political prisoner – a complete reversal from the art exhibit’s original intention!”
Pattenaude had previously released a statement explaining his decision. “Any reasoned discussion of ideas has been overshadowed completely by Mr. Manning’s and Mr. Levasseur’s criminal acts, and the pain and suffering they caused.”
The artist, Thomas Manning, was found guilty of killing a New Jersey State Trooper in 1981 and is currently serving a 133-year sentence in a federal facility in West Virginia. Police associations from New Jersey to Maine were outraged when USM announced the exhibit showcasing Manning’s work was to be displayed on the walls of Woodbury. The university pulled the exhibit a week later due to the negative response from law enforcement associations.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Raymond Luc Levasseur, a longtime friend and former partner of Manning’s, responded to law enforcement’s disapproval of the exhibit. “It’s their first amendment right,” said Levasseur. “They’re just trying to establish an emotional right. We feel like we have the same right, and we have strong emotions about people the police have abused and controlled. Some of the media has indicated that there’s only one side to this story: a homicide conviction. That’s a one-dimensional media. We want to open up the discussion…about who and what is a political prisoner.” He added that he was not sure if he was still invited to the university’s symposium on political prisoners planned for October 4.
Levasseur was imprisoned for nearly 20 years for his part in 22 bombings and nine bank robberies in the 1970s and ’80’s. He collected Manning’s paintings the day after USM’s Art Department removed the display from the walls of Woodbury.
Protesters began to assemble at 5 p.m. at the Campus Center in Portland. The march moved up Forest Avenue and High Street to Congress Street Square. Portland’s traffic police escorted the marchers safely along the route. Drivers passing by honked their horns or shouted their approval.
Many of the marchers carried plastic-covered pieces from Manning’s collection. Others carried prints of the paintings, or handmade signs and banners demonstrating their stance on free speech, artistic expression, and the right of assembly.
Several speakers were present at the Congress Street rally, including members of the Jericho Group, Portland’s Victory Garden Project, and the National Lawyer’s Guild. Dan “Chill Breeze” Martinez and Richard Cambridge of the Massachussettes-based performance-activist group Presente provided songs and poetry related to free speech and political activism. A buffet table was provided for the crowd, and an open mic forum followed Presente. A slideshow of Manning’s art played throughout the evening.
A speaker at the open mic, Nancy Page Akres, read an alleged phone transcript of a phone conversation between her and the USM President’s Office. She claimed USM backed down from threats of violence from “plants” in the system, and when she asked who she was speaking to, she was hung up on.
Marie Follayttar was among the crowd of students and faculty from USM. She was one of the students whose art was chosen to be displayed with Manning’s at the Woodbury exhibit. Dan Chard, another USM student, also protested on behalf of the Victory Garden Project.
Absent from the rally was Levasseur. Mrs. Jamilla Levasseur, his wife, would only tell the Free Press that he couldn’t make it, and would not comment further.
The President of the Teamsters Local 340, Jim Carson, along with two members of the union, made a presence at the protest, representing several police associations. Said Carson, “Obviously we recognize free speech, everyone has a right to do what they’re going to do, but we have an equal right to show that we don’t agree with it. That’s what we’re doing.”
Crowd reactions from the evening varied, but most agreed the assembly went quietly and were glad for an opportunity to support free speech.
Several members of Portland’s police force were present. One officer told the Free Press they were only maintaining public safety, and would not comment further.
When the Free Press asked Jonah Fertig of the Victory Garden Project what the purpose of the rally was, he replied, “We just wanted to show that they still can’t jail the spirit.” The VGP and Levasseur plan to tour Manning’s exhibit down the East Coast.