The New Afrikan Prisoners Organization was a revolutionary nationalist cadre organization. Its members were imprisoned nationals of the colonized nation - New Afrika. It was committed to raising the awareness of all our people towards the political, economic, and socio-cultural forces which serve to oppress and exploit us, and which seek to maintain the subjugation of the nation. In addition to other materials, this collection contains a complete set of the periodical Vita Wa Watu.
From the mid-1970s, The Statesville Prisoners Organization, which later morphed into New Afrikan Prisoners' Organization, attempted to unite prisoner groups at several Illinois facilities. NAPO was developed in 1977 as a way to sharpen collectivity among prisoners and between prisoners and the urban communities from which they came. Within the Illinois prison system, NAPO led study groups, wrote articles, tried to foster unity among disaffected Black prisoners, and worked to maintain connections to Black organizing in Chicago and other big cities. Ultimately, NAPO ceased being a prisoner group in 1980 after the publication of book seven of Notes from a New Afrikan P.O.W. Journal. The journal transitioned into Vita Wa Watu with book eight and continued to publish writings from those involved in the New Afrikan Independence Movement.