By MICHAEL SCHREIBER — UPDATED APRIL 6 — Supporters of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal are on emergency alert concerning his deteriorated health. Protests have been held around the world demanding that prison authorities grant Mumia his right to proper medical treatment. On March 30, Mumia fainted in prison and was taken to the Schuylkill Medical … Continue reading Mumia Abu-Jamal in hospital ICU
Category: Civil Liberties
Struggle to desegregate Boston’s schools
By JOE AUCIELLO — BOSTON — This current academic year marks the 40th anniversary of the struggle to desegregate the Boston Public Schools. No celebrations were held to mark the event; there was no commemoration and little public commentary. Local television stations made no use of the ample film footage they possessed and broadcast no … Continue reading Struggle to desegregate Boston’s schools
‘Advantages’ of CIA torture?
BY JEFF MACKLER While mass murder via “legally approved” wars remains the weapon of choice of today’s imperial conquerors—especially the United States—torture, conducted properly and legally and with the help of modern science, does have its advantages. Or so we are given to understand. The forme moderne now practiced by the CIA and defined as … Continue reading ‘Advantages’ of CIA torture?
Charlie Hebdo: Imperialism’s new 9/11?
BY JEFF MACKLER The Jan. 7 Paris bombings and shootings afforded French and allied capitalist heads of state—some 50 presidents and prime ministers plus top U.S. officials, all complicit with mass murder—the opportunity for an unprecedented show of unity under the call of “I am Charlie Hebdo.” We note the hypocrisy of the perpetrators of … Continue reading Charlie Hebdo: Imperialism’s new 9/11?
MLK Day of Resistance
MLK-Day of Action, Resistance, and Empowerment (MLK-D.A.R.E.) is organizing a march in Philadelphia on Jan. 19. The broad-based coalition hopes to “reclaim” Martin Luther King Day with a focus on political action. The demands of the march are: a $15 minimum wage and the right to a union; an end to the police department’s “stop and … Continue reading MLK Day of Resistance
Judges question NYPD spying on Muslims
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER PHILADELPHIA—Federal judges in a Jan. 13 appeals court hearing have indicated that they are favorable to the premises of a suit against the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for its surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey. The suit, Hassan v. City of New York, had been dismissed by a federal district … Continue reading Judges question NYPD spying on Muslims
Militarized police aimed at Black America
By MARTY GOODMAN The military weapons we saw on display in Ferguson, Mo., are part of the militarization of police forces across the U.S. Its roots began with the SWAT teams under Democrat Lyndon Johnson, whose war of extermination against the Black Panther Party was continued under Republican Richard Nixon. As Michelle Alexander explains in … Continue reading Militarized police aimed at Black America
Youth on the move!
By JOE AUCIELLO Even a brief look at the racial landscape in America today would convince a reasonable person that, in essential ways through the years, too little has changed. Differences in wealth, income, education, employment, incarceration, etc.—differences that are growing to the disadvantage of Blacks—are still based on race. The election of a Black … Continue reading Youth on the move!
Mumia Abu-Jamal: Making torture legal
By MUMIA ABU-JAMAL In the week of the Senate Intelligence Select Committee’s report on CIA torture of terror suspects, we’re reminded how little Americans know about how the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency rolls in the real world. Predictably, the 500-page summary of a 6700-page report erupted into a political and media firestorm. Networks and cable … Continue reading Mumia Abu-Jamal: Making torture legal
Outrage at racist grand jury decisions
By MARTY GOODMAN — NEW YORK, Dec. 4 — The horror of Ferguson was repeated on Dec. 3 when a 23-person grand jury in Staten Island, N.Y., failed to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner, a 43-year-old Black man. The cause of death was ruled a homicide by chokehold by the … Continue reading Outrage at racist grand jury decisions
Obama’s Fake Immigration Reform
By JOHN ORLAND The Great Deporter’s new executive order for a “sweeping overhaul of the immigration system” deserves no praise. If there is anything “sweeping” about President Obama’s immigration policy, it is his six years of deporting 2.4 million immigrants, his repeated lies regarding his so-called legal incapacity to issue presidential executive orders to mitigate … Continue reading Obama’s Fake Immigration Reform
Mumia speaks on Ferguson
By MUMIA ABU-JAMAL Like a fever, the news broke. But unlike a fever, it brought no relief. For the news, from the perspective of the national Black community, wasn’t good. The 12-member grand jury in Ferguson, investigating the killing of a Black teenager, Mike Brown, returned with “no true bill,” legalese for no charges, no … Continue reading Mumia speaks on Ferguson
Lessons of Ferguson
By CLAY WADENA As of press time for Socialist Action newspaper, the grand jury investigating Michael Brown’s death at the hands of Officer Darren Wilson has still not issued its decision. The grand jury is made up of six white men, three white women, two African-American women, and one African-American man. Nine out of the … Continue reading Lessons of Ferguson
Snowden speaks in ‘Citizen Four’
By GAETANA CALDWELL-SMITH It is chilling to know for a fact that since 9/11/2001, the U.S National Security Agency, NSA, has been tracking phone calls from ATT and Verizon, and also bank activity, internet searches, and all social media sites used by every person in America. It also tracks our credit card purchases—on the internet … Continue reading Snowden speaks in ‘Citizen Four’
Indigenous people protest racist NFL logo
By CHRISTINE FRANK In the largest demonstration yet, 5000 Indigenous People and their supporters marched and rallied to demand that Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington NFL franchise, change the racist name of his team, the “Redskins.” On Nov. 2, the team was in Minneapolis to play the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Stadium on the … Continue reading Indigenous people protest racist NFL logo
Rasmea Odeh found guilty
Rasmea Defense Committee statement — In a travesty of justice, Rasmea Odeh today was found guilty of one count of Unlawful Procurement of Naturalization. For over a year, Rasmea, her supporters, and her legal team have been battling this unjust government prosecution, saying from the start that the immigration charge was nothing but a pretext … Continue reading Rasmea Odeh found guilty
Anti-Mumia gag law protested
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER Since Mumia Abu-Jamal was railroaded to death row on false charges of killing a Philadelphia police officer 33 years ago, he has won acclaim for his eight books and thousands of articles and radio commentaries. Known as the “voice of the voiceless,” Mumia has become one of the foremost progressive political essayists … Continue reading Anti-Mumia gag law protested
Justice for Rasmea Odeh!
UPDATED REPORTS FROM THE TRIAL: Socialist Action has received the following on-the-scene reports from the Rasmea Defense Committee. We express our solidarity with Rasmea Odeh, who was arrested in October 2013 for allegedly falsifying papers she had filled out for immigration to the United States. Previously, she had been imprisoned by Israel, who accused her … Continue reading Justice for Rasmea Odeh!
Mumia speaks on new prisoner gag law
Political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal gave the commencement speech Oct. 5 at Goddard College, where he earned his degree, at the invitation of the graduating students. Mumia prerecorded the speech from his prison cell. The ceremony was moved forward three hours to avoid threatened disruption resulting from from police efforts to silence Mumia. Immediately following Mumia’s … Continue reading Mumia speaks on new prisoner gag law
Michael Brown lives on in the movement!
By CLAY WADENA The United States is moving closer and closer to a period of reckoning in regard to centuries of racist exploitation, oppression, and murder. The young Michael Brown, whose life was taken on Aug. 9 by Ferguson police, haunts the dreams of those who wish to beautify, hide, and deny the brutal treatment … Continue reading Michael Brown lives on in the movement!
Children trapped at the border
By LISA LUINENBURG Since October 2013, about 57,000 unaccompanied children from Central America have been apprehended crossing the border into the United States. This number jumped 159% between 2011 and 2013, and the total number of children caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border this year is expected to reach 74,000. Most of these children come from … Continue reading Children trapped at the border
All out for Michael Brown!
By CLAY WADENA “I don’t have a gun, stop shooting!” — Michael Brown, Rest In Power, killed by a Ferguson, Mo., police officer on Aug. 9. Unarmed, Michael had already been shot in the back once when—according to witnesses—he turned around, raised his arms in the air to surrender, and pleaded for his life. Brown, … Continue reading All out for Michael Brown!
‘It stops today!’ — Eric Garner, NYPD victim
By CLAY WADENA “Every time you see me you want to mess with me. I’m tired of it. It stops today! I’m minding my business, please just leave me alone.” — Eric Garner, Rest In Power, killed by NYPD July 17, 2014. Eric Garner’s last words ring with righteous anger, disgust, desperation, and fatigue. Garner … Continue reading ‘It stops today!’ — Eric Garner, NYPD victim
Supreme Court: Tool of the ruling rich
BY JEFF MACKLER Whenever I flinch at yet another reactionary U.S. Supreme Court decision I am reminded of Anatole France’s famous observation, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets, or steal bread.” In late June, in the now infamous Hobby Lobby case, the … Continue reading Supreme Court: Tool of the ruling rich
Court releases Dr. Sami Al-Arian
Political prisoner Dr. Sami Al-Arian is free! Al-Arian, a computer-engineering professor at the University of South Florida and nationally known as an activist in the struggle for civil liberties for the Muslim and Palestinian American community, has been jailed for over 11 years on spurious charges related to his support for the struggle for Palestinian … Continue reading Court releases Dr. Sami Al-Arian