Donny the Punk

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Donny the Punk, July 1995

Stephen Donaldson (July 27, 1946 – July 18, 1996), born Robert Anthony Martin, Jr and better known by his nickname Donny the Punk, was an American political activist and the founder of Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc.. He is best known for his work on prison reform and his participation in the punk subculture.

1 Early life
2 Early activism and jail experiences
3 Later activism, writing, and death
4 Quotes
5 References

[edit] Early life

Donaldson was the son of a Navy officer and himself became a sailor. He took the name Stephen Donaldson after graduating from high school.

[edit] Early activism and jail experiences

After having been active in gay and student organizing at Columbia University [1], Donaldson became involved with activism in protests against the Vietnam War. 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 males. [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, but also taking a number of graduate school classes at Columbia University to study religion. During his subsequent incarcerations, he would 'hook up' with powerful male inmates to keep from being beaten and attacked again; although, he would have to have sex in exchange for this protection. This is where the word "punk" in his nickname comes from. A jail house punk is the term used to refer to the inmates who trade sex for inclusion into a group that ensures their physical safety. An explanation of Donny's theory of being a punk appears as a letter in the book We're All Doing Time by Bo Lozoff.

[edit] Later activism, writing, and death

He was president of Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc, an organization which helps prisoners deal with the psychological and physical trauma of rape, and works to prevent it happening. He was perhaps the first anti-male-rape activist with any amount of public attention in the United States.

As Donny the Punk, he was also a respected writer and personality in the punk and anti-racist skinhead movements and was published in punk zines such as Maximum RocknRoll, Flipside and J.D.s. In the mid-1980's, Donny was the chief organizer of The Alternative Press & Radio Council, which brought together members of the punk community (fanzine editors, college radio DJ's, and others) from New York City, New Jersey, and Connecticut. This co-operative effort met on Sundays before the weekly CBGB Sunday hardcore matinees and organized several benefit concerts. The group also published a newsletter and in 1986 released a compilation LP entitled "Mutiny On The Bowery" on Mystic Records, composed of live tracks recorded at the group's benefits. Among other active members of the APRC were WFMU-FM deejay Pat Duncan, MaximumRockNRoll columnist Mykel Board, and Jersey Beat fanzine editor Jim Testa.

He 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.

In 1996, he died from AIDS.

[edit] Quotes

"I've gotten into Shiva Hinduism from Buddhism, in part because there's a very strong phallic-worship tradition there. And I can relate to that. I can relate to the phallus as the symbol of total power, of creativity, and see how it emanates a sense of awe, which is the basic feeling of religion. You know, the uncanny. The awesome. The hallowed. All the feelings that have nothing to do with good and evil. Just this sense of incredible power, this overwhelming energy that is so other, so totally other, and yet it touches you so closely inside. That's religion."