the riots consisted of white lynch mobs attacking blacks, and blacks fighting back. This reaction to a boxing match was one of the most widespread racial uprisings in the U.S. until the 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” Zirin points out that “There was a time in Texas when it was illegal to teach slaves to read. The fear was that ideas could turn anger often directed inward into action against those with their boots on black necks. It is perhaps the most fitting possible tribute to Jackie Robinson and Jack Johnson that they still strike fear into the hearts of those wearing the boots.” In the Dallas County jail, one of the largest in the country, a// publications are refused, including daily newspapers such as the Dallas Morning News. “They seem to have a rather callous disregard for the Constitution,” said Paul Wright, publisher of Seattle-based Prison Legal News, with a circulation of 9,000. He filed a federal lawsuit challenging the ban on First Amendment grounds, and won. His lawyer, Scott Medlock, prisoner rights attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, points out that some jails have argued that prisoners can watch TV news in jail, so they don’ t need access to publications. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_015284