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
Category: Prisons
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
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
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
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
Commentary: New York’s ‘Blue Wall of Silence’ Totters
By MARILYN VOGT-DOWNEY The trial that began on May 4 of four New York policemen in connection with the August 1997 brutalization of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima has taken two surprising turns. Beginning in the second week of the trial, three NYPD policemen actually took the stand to support the prosecution's charges that one of the … Continue reading Commentary: New York’s ‘Blue Wall of Silence’ Totters
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
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
Free Lori Berenson!
Socialist Action spoke recently with Kristen Gardner, a spokesperson of the Free Lori Berenson committees. She was a college roommate of Berenson, who was jailed three years ago in Peru on charges of being linked to the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). She has been playing a leading role in building the campaign for Lori's release. … Continue reading Free Lori Berenson!
N.Y. Killer Cops Indicted as Protests Grow
By MARILYN VOGT-DOWNEY NEW YORK-A Bronx grand jury indicted four New York City police officers on charges of second-degree murder in the Feb. 4, 1999, death of West African immigrant Amadou Diallo. This is a great step in the battle for justice but a long way from conviction. Diallo was gunned down by Edward McMellon, … Continue reading N.Y. Killer Cops Indicted as Protests Grow
Black Prison Population Approaches One Million
By JOSEPH RYAN A recent analysis of Justice Department statistics has confirmed what most African Americans have known to be true for years: The U.S. criminal justice system, the courts, and the police have had a long-standing policy of arresting, prosecuting, and imprisoning Blacks-especially young Black men-at a rate out of all proportion to their … Continue reading Black Prison Population Approaches One Million
Youth in Action
YSA at March 6 Mumia Conference By ADAM RITSCHER "We are young fists and voices for Mumia!" This was the opening cry at the Youth for Socialist Action (YSA) workshop to organize high school students at the March 6 "Race for Justice" Mumia conference at UC Berkeley. The audience, of between 60-70 youth jammed into … Continue reading Youth in Action
Youth in Action
'Mumia's Life is in Our Hands' Paul M., a high school student in San Francisco and a member of Youth for Socialist Action, spoke at a high school workshop at the Match 6 conference for Mumia Abu-Jamal in Berkeley, Calif. Portions of his remarks follow: I am going to talk about the state of Mumia's … Continue reading Youth in Action
Berkeley Conference Emphasizes Unity for Mumia
By JEFF MACKLER BERKELEY, Calif.-A March 6 "Race for Justice" Western Regional Conference for Mumia at the University of California here attracted over 1500 activists. The conference demonstrated the broadest unity yet achieved in the effort to take the emerging national mass movement to stop the execution and demand a new trial to a new … Continue reading Berkeley Conference Emphasizes Unity for Mumia
Support Grows for Mumia and April 24
By JEFF MACKLER Support is building for the April 24 mobilizations in Philadelphia and San Francisco for award-winning journalist, death row political prisoner, and former Black Panther, Mumia Abu-Jamal. In a new development, it has been announced that the San Francisco march and rally will be led by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). … Continue reading Support Grows for Mumia and April 24
Commentary by Mumia Abu-Jamal: An ‘Impartial’ Killing
"The hungry judges soon the sentence sign, And wretches hang that jurymen may dine." -Alexander Pope (1688-1714), "The Rape of the Lock" (1712) The dog days of August 1982 drew several people to the pools in Chicago's Washington Park, strangers who would meet and be thereafter linked for life. Among them, Marilyn Green and … Continue reading Commentary by Mumia Abu-Jamal: An ‘Impartial’ Killing