Stephen Donaldson (July 27, 1946-July 18, 1996), born Robert Anthony Martin, Jr, better known as Donny the Punk, was an American political activist. He is best known for his work on prison reform and his participation in the punk subculture. He died from AIDS in 1996.
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Early life and jail experiences
Donaldson was the son of a Navy officer, and he also became a sailor. He took the name Stephen Donaldson after graduating from high school. After having been active in gay and student organizing at Columbia University, Donaldson became involved with activism in protests against the Vietnam War.[1] In a 1973 Quaker peace rally at the White House, several demonstrators were arrested by police. Most of those arrested were released on $10 bail, but Donaldson refused to pay out of principle. On orders from the jailhouse warden, Donaldson was moved into a wing full of hardened criminals. That night, Donaldson was anally and orally raped dozens of times by an estimated 45 African American male inmates.[2] He had injuries to his rectum so severe that they required surgery, and he had to spend weeks in hospital after the attack. After his recovery, Donaldson called a press conference, and recounted the gang rape to reporters. He was acquitted of all charges. Donaldson went on to have severe emotional problems, landing back in jail several times. He also took several of graduate school religion courses at Columbia University. During his subsequent incarcerations, he would "hook up" with powerful male inmates to keep from being attacked again, which led to the word punk in his nickname. The term jailhouse punk refers to an inmate who trades sex for physical protection. Donaldson's explanation of being a punk appears as a letter in the book We're All Doing Time by Bo Lozoff.
Activism and writing
Donaldson was president of Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc., an organization that helps prisoners deal with the psychological and physical trauma of rape, and works to prevent it from happening. He was perhaps the first activist against male rape with any amount of media attention in the United States. As Donny the Punk, he was a respected writer and personality in the punk and anti-racist skinhead subcultures, and was published in punk zines such as Maximum RocknRoll, Flipside and J.D.s. In the mid-1980s, Donny was the chief organizer of The Alternative Press & Radio Council (APRC), which brought together members of the punk community (such as fanzine editors and college radio DJs) of New York City, New Jersey, and Connecticut. This co-operative group met on Sundays before the weekly CBGB Sunday hardcore matinees and organized several benefit concerts. The group published a newsletter, and released a compilation LP on Mystic Records in 1986, which was entitled Mutiny On The Bowery. The compilation featured live recordings from the group's benefit concerts. Among other active members of the APRC were WFMU-FM DJ Pat Duncan, MaximumRockNRoll columnist Mykel Board and Jersey Beat editor Jim Testa. Donny was assistant editor of the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality (Garland Publishing, 1990), and was editor-in-chief of a concise edition of the encyclopedia, which remains unpublished as of 2007.
Footnotes
External links
- Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc.
- Writings by and about Stephen Donaldson at SPR website
- Stephen Donaldson papers at the New York Public Library (pdf)
- Goad, Jim (1994). "The Punk Who Wouldn't Shut Up". Answer Me!: 26-30. (pdf)
