By JEFF MACKLER The Feb. 19 Emergency National Conference to Save the Life of Mumia Abu-Jamal represented the broadest unity thus far achieved in the fight to save the life and win the freedom of U.S. political prisoner and death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. Seven hundred of the nation's leading activists, representing political forces and … Continue reading May 13 Set for International Protests for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Category: Prisons
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
May 13 Set for International Protests for Mumia Abu-Jamal
By JEFF MACKLER Pam Africa, national coordinator of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, announced during a recent nine-day San Francisco Bay Area speaking tour that May 13 has been set for national and worldwide protests to demand a new trial for death-row political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal. Mumia, imprisoned for the past … Continue reading May 13 Set for International Protests for Mumia Abu-Jamal
The Hurricane: A Courageous Life Story Told Hollywood Style
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER "The Hurricane," directed by Norman Jewison. Written by Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon. Starring Denzel Washington. "The Hurricane," the movie about Black prize fighter and prisoner Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, is a political event. Almost never does Hollywood venture to portray the life of a political rebel in a sympathetic manner. In this … Continue reading The Hurricane: A Courageous Life Story Told Hollywood Style
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
Factories in the Prisons
By SHIRLEY PASHOLK Whether from Karl Marx's "Capital" or Charles Dickens' novels and their many theatrical adaptations, most of us have formed pictures of the old English work houses. In the United States, 19th century chain gangs labored in fields and gravel quarries. Even in the 1960s, it was common to see chain gangs … Continue reading Factories in the Prisons
Prisons for Profit
By SHIRLEY PASHOLK In last month's Socialist Action, Shirley Pasholk described the increased use of prisoners as below-minimum-wage workers and even as strikebreakers by U.S. corporations. Her two-part series of articles continues below. Prison labor is not the only way businesses profit from the soaring U.S. prison population. Another method is through privatization of … Continue reading Prisons for Profit
Commentary by Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Shadow of Justice
News Item: Reputed mob figures Al Daidone and "Long" John Martorano were released from prison after 19 years imprisonment, after the Pa. Supreme Court affirmed the earlier decision of the Superior Court reversing their murder convictions in connection with the killing of labor leader John McCollough. A divided court ruled that prosecutorial misconduct in the … Continue reading Commentary by Mumia Abu-Jamal: A Shadow of Justice
Support Grows for Mumia as Federal Judge Reviews Case
By JEFF MACKLER Philadelphia's daily newspapers carried banner headlines on Nov. 19, when the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus announced its intention to introduce into the state legislature a House Resolution for a new trial for the innocent death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. This action by the Black elected officials comes in the face … Continue reading Support Grows for Mumia as Federal Judge Reviews Case
Youth in Action: Fighting for Mumia in the Midwest
As the movement to save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal enters a critical stage with the signing of a death warrant, young activists from across the Midwest are organizing for a fight. College and high school students in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois are setting up Mumia committees in their schools, breathing new life into … Continue reading Youth in Action: Fighting for Mumia in the Midwest
Free Leonard Peltier!
On Nov. 1, Native American and civil liberties organizations kicked off a month of protests against the continuing imprisonment of American Indian Movement (AIM) leader Leonard Peltier. The events are timely since they coincide with Thanksgiving, which allegedly celebrates friendship between Native Americans and European settlers. The opening events, in Washington, D.C., began with a … Continue reading Free Leonard Peltier!
Gloria Steinem Speaks for Mumia
Something is very rotten in the state of Pennsylvania. Gov. Ridge has signed 176 death warrants in the last five years. That's five times more than his predecessors signed in 25 years. He has done this in defiance of the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, both of which have urged a moratorium until the death … Continue reading Gloria Steinem Speaks for Mumia
The Life of a Black Man
The following editorial will appear in The Nation, Nov. 15, 1999. It is signed by novelist Alice Walker, poet June Jordan, and University of California at Santa Cruz professor and activist Angela Davis. A stay of execution was issued Oct. 26. Pending the outcome of the habeas corpus brief filed for the defense of Mumia … Continue reading The Life of a Black Man
Federal Court Stays Death Warrant for Mumia Abu-Jamal
By JEFF MACKLER On Oct. 13, Pennsylvania Gov. Thomas Ridge set Dec. 2 as the date of execution by lethal injection of African American political prisoner and award-winning journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal was falsely convicted of the 1981 shooting murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. On death row for the past 18 years, … Continue reading Federal Court Stays Death Warrant for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Puerto Rican Political Prisoners Accept Clemency
By GERRY FOLEY President Clinton's decision to grant clemency to a group of Puerto Rican nationalist prisoners who have already served more than 10 years in prison on political charges has become a major political issue in the United States. That is indicated, among other things, by the editorial in the Sept. 23 New … Continue reading Puerto Rican Political Prisoners Accept Clemency
‘Mumia Awareness Week’
By JEFF MACKLER The week of Sept. 19-25, "Mumia Awareness Week," saw countless marches, rallies, teach-ins, concerts, car caravans, film showings, and other coordinated actions to publicize the case of innocent death row political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal. Organizers estimate that the original goal of 100 cities was far exceeded with college and university events … Continue reading ‘Mumia Awareness Week’
Mumia Responds to Denial of his Appeal by Supreme Court
It was not unexpected that the Supreme Court would deny my appeal. The Supreme Court hears only a tiny percent of the cases that are brought before it, roughly 75 out of 7000 in one semester or a term of the Court. I entertained no expectations that mine would be granted. We have to remember … Continue reading Mumia Responds to Denial of his Appeal by Supreme Court
US Supreme court Rejects Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Appeal
By JEFF MACKLER On Oct. 4, the U.S. Supreme Court opened its fall term by releasing a list of all cases in which it denied defendants a "writ of certiorari." Death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal was among those listed. Jamal had filed his petition on April 22. Pennsylvania Gov. Thomas Ridge is expected … Continue reading US Supreme court Rejects Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Appeal
Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Radicalization of a Generation
The following speech, edited for space, was presented by Jeff Mackler to the Socialist Action National Educational Conference in San Francisco on Aug. 20. Mackler is the Co-Coordinator of the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and a member of the National Committee of Socialist Action. By JEFF MACKLER The state powers in Pennsylvania and … Continue reading Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Radicalization of a Generation
On Clinton’s ‘Poverty Tour’ – and Leonard Peltier
COMMENTARY BY MUMIA ABU-JAMAL As summer baked the land, American President Clinton began his poverty tour, the first of his presidency into the poorest pockets of American life, where American dreams sour into grim nightmares. The president of the wealthiest nation on earth visited the Appalachians, the southern California neighborhood of Watts, and, among other … Continue reading On Clinton’s ‘Poverty Tour’ – and Leonard Peltier
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
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