By FRANZ HATTAM The battle for free speech and critical journalism at Pacific Radio reached a fever pitch on Aug.14 when the national news show, "Democracy Now! "(DN), hosted by Amy Goodman, was nixed by Pacifica Executive Director Bessie Wash. Wash ordered that Pacifica's New York affiliate, WBAI, replace Goodman's daily live broadcasts with reruns. … Continue reading Pacifica Radio Bureaucrats Suspend Amy Goodman
Category: Civil Liberties
Youth in Action
Racists given the boot in St. Paul By ADAM RITSCHER ST. PAUL, Minn.-Recently several Midwestern white supremacist groups, namely the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the Minneapolis-based National Socialist Movement, announced their intention to hold a joint "White Unity" rally. The date they chose for this rally was Aug. 25, and … Continue reading Youth in Action
Another Death Row Prisoner Released
By PAUL M. Charles Fain was released from prison in Idaho on Aug. 23 after nearly 18 years on death row. DNA tests proved that he wasn't responsible for the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl, for which he was convicted in 1982. The tests were performed on three hairs found on the clothing … Continue reading Another Death Row Prisoner Released
Hearing Scheduled for Kevin Cooper Case
By PAUL M. An evidentiary hearing will take place this month to examine the possibility that police tampered with crucial DNA evidence in the case of Kevin Cooper. Cooper is on death row at San Quentin State Prison in California. In 1985 he was convicted of murdering a Southern California family. There is strong evidence … Continue reading Hearing Scheduled for Kevin Cooper Case
US Blacklists Ethnic Albanians
The U.S. has blacklisted a series of ethnic Albanian nationalist organizations and leaders, the German international radio service, Deutsche Welle, reported on June 28. The report was immediately picked up by the Belgrade daily Politika as well as by the Macedonian daily papers. From the accounts, it seems that the so-called Prevention of Terrorism Act was invoked, … Continue reading US Blacklists Ethnic Albanians
More Police Misconduct in Kevin Cooper Case
By PAUL M. In the struggle to prove his innocence, death-row inmate Kevin Cooper has always had to contend with police corruption. Although he won the right to DNA testing last December, his defense team recently made a shocking discovery-key evidence just about to undergo testing may have been tampered with. The results of the … Continue reading More Police Misconduct in Kevin Cooper Case
As Mumia Activists Gear Up Efforts, New Court Decision May Help Defense
By JEFF MACKLER Efforts to win the freedom of death-row political prisoner and award-winning journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal have intensified over the past months. Imprisoned for the past 20 years following a racist frame-up trial for a murder he did not commit, Jamal and his new legal team are preparing critical new documents to present in … Continue reading As Mumia Activists Gear Up Efforts, New Court Decision May Help Defense
South Carolina Says: ‘Free the Charlseton Five!’
By MARTY GOODMAN COLUMBIA, S.C.-Some 5000 demonstrators gathered here on June 9, chanting, "Free the Charleston Five!" The Charleston Five are trade unionists framed on felony riot charges stemming from a police attack on a union picket line against a non-union ship docked at a Charleston, S.C., port. The five have been under house arrest. … Continue reading South Carolina Says: ‘Free the Charlseton Five!’
Forty Years Since Freedom Rides Took on the Segregationist South
By JAN BIRCH In 1961, members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a Northern-based civil rights group, relaunched the Freedom Rides. The first Freedom Rides, sponsored by CORE and the Fellowship for Reconciliation, a religious group, had taken place in 1947. Black members and white members had gone on a "Journey of Reconciliation," trying … Continue reading Forty Years Since Freedom Rides Took on the Segregationist South
Beverly Murder Confession and New Defense Affidavits Reaffirm Mumia’s Innocence
By JEFF MACKLER A Philadelphia press conference called on May 5 by Mumia Abu-Jamal's new legal team has opened a new stage in the fight for Mumia's freedom. Attorneys Marlene Kamish and Elliot Grossman presented a sworn statement by Arnold R. Beverly stating that he, not Jamal, had killed police officer Daniel Faulkner in the … Continue reading Beverly Murder Confession and New Defense Affidavits Reaffirm Mumia’s Innocence
Mumia Activists Sentenced for Liberty Bell Protest
In an ominous development, in late April, several key activists in the movement to save Abu-Jamal's life were sentenced to one year supervised probation for their alleged "failure to obey a lawful order" of a national park ranger at a peaceful protest at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia last July. Hundreds of people participated in … Continue reading Mumia Activists Sentenced for Liberty Bell Protest
‘Giuliani Wanted to Criminalize the Community’
By Leo Schwartz Socialist Action reporter Leo Schwartz interviewed New York Haitian activist Daniel Simidor on April 24. Socialist Action: The New York Haitian community was enraged by the racist 1998 attack on Abner Louima by four white New York City cops, in which Louima was beaten and sodomized with a plunger handle. Then Guinea immigrant … Continue reading ‘Giuliani Wanted to Criminalize the Community’
Youth in Action
The Aftermath of Proposition 21 By JAVIER ARMAS A series of ballot propositions have been passed recently in California that severely attack the democratic rights of youth, people of color, and the working class in general. The worst one yet, concerning the rights of minors, was approved by voters in early March by 65 percent. … Continue reading Youth in Action
Fightback: The Happy Imperialist
The happy imperialist is one who can ride roughshod over the world without any worry about getting their just rewards. No one has the strength to "get even." NOT YET! In the March 30 San Francisco Chronicle there is an article entitled, "Drug Task Force Conducts Sweep South of Border." The article starts, "Arresting a … Continue reading Fightback: The Happy Imperialist
Youth in Action
By JAVIER ARMAS "You can't stop us!" "Prop. 21 is war on youth!" "We have the real power!" These are some of the many radical chants that hundreds of young people were repeating when they broke into a school in the Mission District of San Francisco. This was called "the last showdown"-the last day of … Continue reading Youth in Action
Prop. 21 Targets Youth in California
By JAVIER ARMAS California voters are faced with a decision this March-whether or not to pass Proposition 21. Many California youth are threatened and becoming politicized on this issue. What is Proposition 21, and why are young people so threatened? Proposition 21 gives prosecutors, instead of judges, the power to send many juvenile cases to … Continue reading Prop. 21 Targets Youth in California
It is Critical that We Defend Police Victims in Seattle
The following letter was received from Steve Argue, who was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer after cops attacked a Santa Cruz, Calif., rally against the U.S. bombing of Yugoslavia last May. Steve was sentenced to nine months in jail, which he is now serving. Dear Socialist Action, I have received the December … Continue reading It is Critical that We Defend Police Victims in Seattle
A Critical Period in the Battle to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal
The following letter was initiated by the National Coordinators of the movement to free the framed-up Black political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal. The coordinators and other prominent defense activists have listed a number of the upcoming major events designed to win new support for Mumia's demand for a new trial. The new millennium will usher in … Continue reading A Critical Period in the Battle to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal
Why Was King Murdered?
By ROLAND SHEPPARD On Dec. 8, a jury awarded Corretta Scott King and her family $100 in damages resulting from the conspiracy to murder her late husband, Martin Luther King. The trial was initiated by the admission of Lloyd Jowers on national TV in 1993 that he had hired King's assassin as a favor to … Continue reading Why Was King Murdered?
Kurdish Leader to Appeal Death Sentence to European Court
By GERRY FOLEY Lawyers for Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Workers Party of Kurdistan (PKK), who was condemned to death in Turkey at the end of June, held a news conference on July 20. They complained that they had not yet even been given the State Security Court's written verdict, despite the fact that it … Continue reading Kurdish Leader to Appeal Death Sentence to European Court
Thousands Rally to Defend KPFA Radio
By JEFF MACKLER BERKELEY, Calif.-Some 50 years ago, the Pacifica chain of radio stations charted unprecedented ground in U.S. radio broadcasting. Pacifica became the first network to be supported entirely by listener contributions as opposed to corporate advertising or foundation grants. Today, one in five people in America lives within reach of the FM frequencies … Continue reading Thousands Rally to Defend KPFA Radio
Justice for Max Antoine!
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER On a hot June night three years ago, police officers in Irvington, N.J., assaulted and tortured a Haitian American man, Max Antoine, in front of his family and friends. According to the witnesses, Max Antoine had done nothing illegal, nothing to provoke the cops. And yet, the force of the attack has … Continue reading Justice for Max Antoine!
New Threats to Execute Mumia
By JEFF MACKLER According to the July 12, 1999, Philadelphia Daily News, the state of Pennsylvania intends to sign a warrant in August 1999 for the execution of innocent death row inmate, journalist, and political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. Pam Africa told Socialist Action that she contacted the article's author, John Baer, to verify his source. … Continue reading New Threats to Execute Mumia
Commentary by Mumia Abu-Jamal: Anatomy of a Lie
By MUMIA ABU-JAMAL NEWS ITEM-A 47-year-old substitute teacher announces he heard former Black Panther Mumia Abu Jamal admit murdering a Philadelphia police officer. Vanity Fair magazine features an interview with Phillip Bloch, who tells the reporter that Jamal made the admission to him during a visit in winter of 1992 at Huntingdon prison. The FOP … Continue reading Commentary by Mumia Abu-Jamal: Anatomy of a Lie
Vanity Fair and ABC-TV Stories of Mumia’s ‘Confession’ Collapse
By JEFF MACKLER Last month, the nation's corporate media blared forth with "new evidence" demonstrating the guilt of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Former Pennsylvania Prison Society member Phillip Bloch was quoted in a lengthy article published in the July issue of Vanity Fair and repeated in an updated rebroadcast on ABC's 20/20 to the effect that Jamal … Continue reading Vanity Fair and ABC-TV Stories of Mumia’s ‘Confession’ Collapse