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 … Continue reading Thousands Rally to Defend KPFA Radio
Category: Civil Liberties
Editorials
School Resegregation is on the Rise The gains of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s through the 1970s are collapsing at an ever increasing rate. The effects can be seen in housing, employment opportunities-and especially in education. Time magazine noted in 1996, "After two decades of progress toward integration, the separation of Black … Continue reading Editorials
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 … 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 … Continue reading New Threats to Execute Mumia
COMMENTARY BY MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: Anatomy of the Lie
COMMENTARY BY MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: Anatomy of the Lie 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 … Continue reading COMMENTARY BY MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: Anatomy of the 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 … Continue reading Vanity Fair and ABC-TV Stories of Mumia’s ‘Confession’ Collapse
Youth in Action
'Our War is Right Here at Home' Following are excerpts from a speech given by Paul M., 18, at an antiwar rally in Santa Rosa, Calif., on June 25. Paul is a member of the San Francisco chapter of Youth for Socialist Action (YSA). I am a high school student and I have here with … Continue reading Youth in Action
Mexican Police Raid Indigenous Towns in Chiapas
By GERRY FOLEY Four and a half years after the uprising of the Indian communities in the lowlands of the Mexican state of Chiapas, the Mexican and national local authorities, despite promises of reform, have not abandoned their campaign to beat the rebel communities back into submission. On June 4, more than a thousand federal … Continue reading Mexican Police Raid Indigenous Towns in Chiapas
Mumia’s address to Evergreen students: A LIFE LIVED, DELIBERATELY
Evergreen College students asked Mumia Abu-Jamal to address the theme, "A Life Lived, Deliberately." The following excerpts from Jamal's June 11 speech are indicative of his desire to present his revolutionary views without equivocation. Welcome, students of Evergreen, and thank you for this invitation. On the MOVE. Long live John Africa. I feel privileged to … Continue reading Mumia’s address to Evergreen students: A LIFE LIVED, DELIBERATELY
Evergreen College Graduates Hear Mumia Abu-Jamal
By JEFF MACKLER A number of the nation's major corporate media, including The New York Times, felt compelled to report on the fact that Pennsylvania death row political prisoner and award-winning journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal was selected by Evergreen State College students in Olympia, Wash., to present a 13-minute audiotaped address during the graduation ceremonies on … Continue reading Evergreen College Graduates Hear Mumia Abu-Jamal
Santa Cruz Cops Beat Protesters at Antiwar Rally
Socialist Action spoke to activist Steve Argue, who was arrested on May 22 at an antiwar protest in Santa Cruz, Calif., along with four other protesters. Donations for Steve's legal defense can be sent to the Steve Argue Solidarity Committee c/o Tracy DeAngelis, 234 High St., Apt. #3, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Socialist Action: What … Continue reading Santa Cruz Cops Beat Protesters at Antiwar Rally
Mumia’s address to Evergreen students: A LIFE LIVED, DELIBERATELY
Evergreen College students asked Mumia Abu-Jamal to address the theme, "A Life Lived, Deliberately." The following excerpts from Jamal's June 11 speech are indicative of his desire to present his revolutionary views without equivocation. Welcome, students of Evergreen, and thank you for this invitation. On the MOVE. Long live John Africa. I feel privileged … Continue reading Mumia’s address to Evergreen students: A LIFE LIVED, DELIBERATELY
Evergreen College Graduates Hear Mumia Abu-Jamal
Evergreen College Graduates Hear Mumia Abu-Jamal April 24, 1999: Close to 50,000 demonstrators marched in Philadelphia (above) and San Francisco to support Mumia. This fall, supporters must redouble efforts to save Mumia from execution. By JEFF MACKLER A number of the nation's major corporate media, including The New York … Continue reading Evergreen College Graduates Hear Mumia Abu-Jamal
Santa Cruz Cops Beat Protesters at Antiwar Rally
Santa Cruz Cops Beat Brotesters at Antiwar Rally Police break up legal protest. Officer brutalizes woman and child before Steve Argue intervenes. Socialist Action spoke to activist Steve Argue, who was arrested on May 22 at an antiwar protest in Santa Cruz, Calif., along with four other protesters. Donations for Steve's legal defense can … Continue reading Santa Cruz Cops Beat Protesters at Antiwar Rally
Fightback: ‘Memories of My Mind’
FIGHTBACK by Sylvia Weinstein 'MEMORIES OF MY MIND' This is a song written by my friend Jack: If you see me sitting with a teardrop in my eye, it's just a memory passing by And if you see me walking and I don't say hello it's just a memory that I know Time goes … Continue reading Fightback: ‘Memories of My Mind’
Growing Support for Mumia Riles Philadelphia Police and Media
By JEFF MACKLER The April 12, 1999, issue of Work in Progress-the national AFL-CIO publication for organizers, staff, officials, and activists-carried an article headlined, "ILWU: Free Abu-Jamal." The article, indicative of the growing support for Abu-Jamal among working people in the United States, reads: "Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union will hold regular … Continue reading Growing Support for Mumia Riles Philadelphia Police and Media
Kidnapped Kurdish Leader on Trial in Turkey
By GERRY FOLEY The trial of Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the main Kurdish organization in Turkey, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), is scheduled to begin at the start of June. It is expected to last about a month and a half. Diyarbakir, in Kurdish region of Turkey. After gov't kidnapped Ocalan in February, protesters called … Continue reading Kidnapped Kurdish Leader on Trial in Turkey
Police Beat Antiwar Activist
SANTACRUZ, Calif.-On May 22, during a protest by the Santa Cruz Coalition to Stop the Bombing, anti-war activist Steve Argue was brutally beaten by Santa Cruz police and arrested. The anti-war protest had been called to protest a black-tie fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, who has voted for war appropriations. Police attacked several of … Continue reading Police Beat Antiwar Activist
New York City Schools Hold Mumia Teach-In
By MARILYN VOGT-DOWNEY NEW YORK-On Tuesday, May 11, 1999, more than 23 high schools participated in a teach-in on Mumia Abu-Jamal organized by faculty, students, and staff in the New York public schools. Inspired by the January 1999 teach-in organized by the Oakland Education Association in Oakland, Calif., schools, this teach-in included both school-day programs … Continue reading New York City Schools Hold Mumia Teach-In
Ossie Davis Meets Mumia and Calls for New Trial
PITTSBURGH-After spending almost two hours with Mumia Abu-Jamal on death row at State Correctional Institution Greene in Waynesburg, Pa., on May 12, Ossie Davis called for a new trial for Mr. Jamal and released the following statement: "It was an extraordinary visit because I was dealing with, I think, an extraordinary man. There was a … Continue reading Ossie Davis Meets Mumia and Calls for New Trial
Three Strikes: The Legacy of Opportunism
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER "The Legacy: Murder and Media, Politics and Prison." A film by Michael J. Moore. To be broadcast on the Public Broadcasting System beginning June 1. Modern readers of the novel "Moll Flanders" are properly horrified when the heroine is condemned to the gallows for merely stealing a bolt of cloth. But "Moll … Continue reading Three Strikes: The Legacy of Opportunism
Zapatista Leader Writes to Mumia
At the San Francisco April 24 rally, ski-masked clad representatives from the National Commission for Democracy in Mexico read solidarity greetings from Subcommander Marcos of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. Excerpts appear below: I am writing to you in the name of the men, women, children and elderly of the Zapatista Army of National … Continue reading Zapatista Leader Writes to Mumia
Thousands March to Protest N.Y. Police Killing
By CLIFF CONNER NEW YORK-On April 15, some 20,000 to 25,000 New Yorkers marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to rally at Federal Plaza in Manhattan to express their outrage over the police shooting of Amadou Diallo, a 22-year-old African immigrant. Diallo, who was unarmed and innocent of any crime, was killed on Feb. 4 by … Continue reading Thousands March to Protest N.Y. Police Killing
ILWU Leads April 24 March for Mumia Abu-Jamal in San Francisco
By JEFF MACKLER SAN FRANCISCO-A magnificent, youthful, multi-racial, shouting and chanting, two-hour column of 25,000 protesters marched here on April 24 in defense of the Pennsylvania death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. Close to 50,000 people attended the coordinated actions in San Francisco and Philadelphia, making April 24 the largest demonstration for a U.S. political … Continue reading ILWU Leads April 24 March for Mumia Abu-Jamal in San Francisco
April 24: Thousands March in Philadelphia for Mumia
By MARILYN VOGT-DOWNEY PHILADELPHIA-The largest event ever held for Mumia Abu-Jamal in his home city took place on April 24, his 45th birthday. Organizers estimated that from 20,000 to 25,000 participated in the event. The energetic crowd was approximately 40 percent people of color and in large proportion youth. Buses and vans brought people from … Continue reading April 24: Thousands March in Philadelphia for Mumia