The Martin Sostre Collection (1923-2013; bulk 1967-1976) consists of correspondence, flyers, newsletters, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, articles, photographs, court documents, legal notes, and original drawings. Series 1, the Martin Sostre Papers, contains materials created by Sostre; these include drawings, legal documents with handwritten notes, published letters and articles, photographs, familial certificates, and newsletters Sostre wrote or edited, and documents on behavioral modification in prisons. Series 2, Correspondence, contains newsletters, informational mailings, petitions, and correspondence from various chapters of the Martin Sostre Defense Committee. Series 3, Flyers, contains demonstration and promotional flyers. Series 4, Court Records, contains affidavits, depositions, and court proceedings related to Martin Sostre. Series 5, Articles, contains newspaper clippings and photocopies, and other written material such as case studies, a thesis, and magazine articles.
Born in Harlem on March 20, 1923, Martin Ramirez Sostre was a prison activist and revolutionary. He served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946, and was dishonorably discharged for being involved in a fight. After his discharge, he returned to Harlem and was eventually arrested for possession of heroin in 1952. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, which he served at Sing Sing Correctional Facility until transferring to Attica Correctional Facility and then Clinton State Prison.
It was during these years that Sostre became involved in activism and radical politics. He joined the Nation of Islam and began using the prison library to study law. Sostre and other inmates brought a successful lawsuit against the Clinton State Prison warden for the right to possess the Quran and hold Nation of Islam meetings. After serving his 12 year sentence, Sostre was released from prison in 1964. He moved to Buffalo, New York, and left the Nation of Islam, eventually opening a bookstore called the Afro-Asian Book Shop, which specialized in radical literature.
The Afro-Asian Book Shop became a neighborhood hub for leftists, both Black and white. Sostre received several visits from local law enforcement and FBI agents. This tension came to a head in 1967, during riots and looting in the Cold Springs neighborhood of Buffalo, where the store was located. Police accused Sostre of making molotov cocktails in the bookstore to aid in the riots. Sostre was arrested on charges of inciting a riot, arson, and possession of narcotics. During his trial in 1968, the state of New York brought a witness named Arto Williams to testify that he had bought $15 worth of heroin from Sostre at the bookstore. Sostre insisted that the police were framing him, but was convicted and sentenced to up to 41 years in prison.
Thus began another battle against the prison system, as Sostre was repeatedly put into solitary confinement, punished for his refusal to submit to invasive examinations by prison officials. He sued the governor of New York at the time, Nelson A. Rockefeller, and other prison officials for unjust treatment in 1969. Sostre continued to maintain his innocence of the original charges, and committees for his defense formed to raise awareness of his case and demand his release from prison. In 1973 Arto Williams recanted his testimony, saying that he lied to get his own theft charges dropped. The defense committees, protestors, and several prominent leftist figures petitioned Governor Hugh L. Carey for Sostre's release. The cause was also taken up by Amnesty International. Governor Carey granted Martin Sostre clemency on December 25, 1975.
Sostre remained active in politics after his release from prison, becoming an aide to New York City Assemblywoman Marie M. Runyon. His work centered on tenants' rights issues. He got married to Lizabeth Roberts and the couple had two sons, Mark and Vincent. Sostre had an altercation with a tenant in 1984, shooting him and fleeing. He was arrested two years later after being seen in the New York Law School's library. Arguing self-defense, he was acquitted in 1987. Martin Sostre died at age 92 on August 12, 2015.
