By JOE AUCIELLO Harper Lee, “Go Set A Watchman,” (New York: HarperCollins, 2015), 288 pp., $27.99. Why throw away the Christmas turkey after it’s been eaten? It can still be used. Take the carcass, simmer with water, and the bones make a good stock for soup. Take the carcass of a popular novel—its discarded rough … Continue reading Harper Lee’s discarded leftovers
Tag: racism
Film: A racist killer on trial
By GAETANA CALDWELL-SMITH British filmmaker Marc Silver’s documentary, “3 ½ Minutes 10 Bullets,” mainly consists of the trial of Michael Dunn, the killer of Jordan Davis, a Black teen. It plays out like television’s “20/20” or “Dateline” production, with no commercials. Despite the current inflamed debate on racial injustice, director Silver offers us a cool-headed … Continue reading Film: A racist killer on trial
Mumia speaks on Charleston
By MUMIA ABU-JAMAL A young white man, barely at the age of his majority, walks into Charleston's most storied Black church and, before he leaves, a new history is written. Attending the Wednesday night Bible study, he sits for nearly an hour, but his mind isn't on the life of Jesus nor his disciples. It's … Continue reading Mumia speaks on Charleston
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?
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
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
Prison sanctions Lynne Stewart for 45 days
By JEFF MACKLEROn Aug. 1, imprisoned radical attorney Lynne Stewart, who is serving a 10-year sentence at a federal medical prison in Carswell, Texas, on frame-up charges of conspiracy to aid and abet terrorism, was sanctioned by prison authorities for 45 days.Stewart’s offense? On behalf of a fellow inmate, Stewart mailed a copy of letter … Continue reading Prison sanctions Lynne Stewart for 45 days
Court Confirms Ten-Year Sentence for Lynne Stewart
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today confirmed the 2010 decision of Federal District Court Judge John Koeltl to change his 28-month jail sentence for radical attorney and human rights activist, Lynne Stewart, to ten years. The court’s June 28, 2012 decision was not unexpected. Following federal prosecutors’ appeal of what was … Continue reading Court Confirms Ten-Year Sentence for Lynne Stewart
Justice for Trayvon Martin!
<!--[if !mso]> <![endif]--> Fight back against racist lynchings! Outrage at the murder of Trayvon Martin has sparked a wave of protests in recent days. Demonstrations numbering in the tens of thousands have been held in New York; 8000 marched in Philadelphia, 3000 in Seattle—and more in Chicago, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. Demonstrations as large as 25,000 have … Continue reading Justice for Trayvon Martin!
Mumia freed from solitary
It took a petition with 5000 signatures, gathered in a few days, to the Philadelphia District Attorney and prison officials to compel the warden at SCI Mahanoy to release Mumia Abu-Jamal from his “worse than death row” solidarity-confinement “hole.” The excuse? Mumia refused to cut off his dreadlocks! While on death row at SCI Greene, … Continue reading Mumia freed from solitary
A Visit with Mumia Abu-Jamal
Comrades, Brothers and Sisters: Heidi Boghosian [executive director, National Lawyers Guild] and I [Johanna Fernandez, Educators for Mumia] just returned from a very moving visit with Mumia. We visited yesterday, Thursday, Feb. 2. This was Mumia’s second contact visit in over 30 years, since his transfer to General Population last Friday, Jan. 27. His first contact visit was … Continue reading A Visit with Mumia Abu-Jamal
Bay Area forums to hear author of book on Kevin Cooper
A coalition of social justice activists in the San Francisco Bay Area has organized a Feb. 5-12 book tour for J. Patrick O’Connor, the author of “Scapegoat: The Chino Hills Murders and the framing of Kevin Cooper.” O’Connor’s new book provides a detailed analysis of Cooper’s case and exposes the broken criminal “justice” system in … Continue reading Bay Area forums to hear author of book on Kevin Cooper
Letter from Lynne Stewart
An appeal of Lynne Stewart’s lengthened sentence is set for 8 a.m., Feb. 29, at the federal courthouse at New York’s Foley Square. There will be an all-night rally for Lynne in the square, starting at 7 p.m. Information: (917) 853-9759. After the disaster in July 2010, when Judge Koeltl, following the directives of the … Continue reading Letter from Lynne Stewart
Act Now to Get Mumia Out of Solitary Confinement!
Mumia Abu-Jamal is being held in Administrative Custody (“The Hole” or Solitary Confinement) at SCI Mahanoy, Frackville, PA. Mumia’s death sentence has been dropped, and though he is supposed to be in General Population, he has been held in Solitary Confinement – shackled whenever he’s out side his cell (even to the shower), glaring lights … Continue reading Act Now to Get Mumia Out of Solitary Confinement!
A visit with Mumia Abu-Jamal
by Johanna Fernandez is a professor at Baruch College, a member of Educators for Mumia, and producer of the film, “Justice on Trial: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal.”Dear Friends:I visited Mumia yesterday, Dec. 15, in the new prison that houses him, SCI Mahanoy. Even though he has been released from death row, he remains in … Continue reading A visit with Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia’s Message to Occupy Wall Street
Mumia’s Message to Occupy Wall Street, as dictated while in Administrative Custody at SCI Mahanoy in Frackville, PA Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011My Friends of OWS,My message will have to be brief. But let not this brevity take from it, its strength.You are the central movement of the hour. You’re raising questions that are in the … Continue reading Mumia’s Message to Occupy Wall Street
No Death Sentence for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams announced on Wednesday, Dec. 7, that he would NOT seek a new sentencing hearing to execute innocent death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. On October 11, 2011 the U.S. Supreme Court, affirming two federal court decisions in the same case, effectively ruled that the sentencing portion of Mumia's 1982 trial was … Continue reading No Death Sentence for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Supreme Court rejects Mumia death penalty
The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 11 rejected the fourth effort in 30 years by Philadelphia prosecutors to execute innocent death-row political prisoner, award-winning journalist, and murder frame-up victim Mumia Abu-Jamal.In refusing to hear an appeal by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office, the High Court essentially affirmed that the sentencing instructions given to the jury … Continue reading Supreme Court rejects Mumia death penalty
Mumia on Occupy Wall Street
In Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park (renamed “Liberty Square” by the demonstrators), the cast of thousands swell in rebellion against the betrayals by the banks, Wall Street’s relentless greed, the plague of joblessness and the craven servility of the political class—both Republicans and Democrats—to their moneyed masters. In short, the central focus of their protest is … Continue reading Mumia on Occupy Wall Street
For Troy Davis and Mumia Abu-Jamal
Friday, Dec. 9, marks the 30th anniversary of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s incarceration on frame-up murder charges. Amnesty International, the NAACP, city and national governments, national labor unions, and prominent human rights groups and individuals around the world have backed Mumia’s demand for justice and his insistence on his innocence—as they did for Troy Davis.Mumia is still on … Continue reading For Troy Davis and Mumia Abu-Jamal
Interview with political prisoner Lynne Stewart
Attorney and political prisoner Lynne Stewart was interviewed by mail by Patricia Vickers, a founding member of the Human Rights Coalition (HRC) of Pennsylvania. Ms. Vickers is the co-founder/editor of The Movement magazine of the HRC. A former 1960s student activist, Ms. Vickers is an eco-feminist whose youngest son, Kerry “Shakaboona” Marshall, was a wrongly … Continue reading Interview with political prisoner Lynne Stewart
Harassment of WikiLeaks reflects mounting assault on civil liberties
by Jeff Mackler The WikiLeaks release of a quarter-million secret U.S. diplomatic cables in early December, as well as the earlier WikiLeaks revelations on U.S. mass murder of civilians and other heinous policies in Afghanistan and Iraq, confirm the fact that technological progress in the field of communications dramatically reduces the gap between the commission … Continue reading Harassment of WikiLeaks reflects mounting assault on civil liberties
History of White-Black relations in the U.S.
Latest Development in Mumia Case
by Michael Schreiber [The following article appears in the December 2010 edition of Socialist Action newspaper.] PHILADELPHIA—On Nov. 9, several hundred people rallied outside the federal courthouse here to “Free Mumia!” Inside the building, meanwhile, a three-judge panel deliberated over the fate of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the political prisoner and noted Black journalist who has been … Continue reading Latest Development in Mumia Case
Two new films fuel debate on Mumia Abu-Jamal
by Michael SchreiberPHILADELPHIA--Two films with radically opposed viewpoints about the case of death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal had their premiers here on Sept 21.Tigre Hill’s “The Barrel of a Gun” created a huge splash in the media, warranting the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Celebrities, city and state officials, and off-duty cops joined the … Continue reading Two new films fuel debate on Mumia Abu-Jamal