Washington, DC
April 24, 2012
Activists marked political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal's 58th birthday and
29th year behind bars with a protest billed as "Occupy the Justice
Department/ Occupy for Mumia." The action also nearly coincided with the
April 23 birthday of Marshall "Eddie" Conway, a leader of the Black
Panther leader in Baltimore who has been held political prisoner by the state
of Maryland for 43 years, drawing some of his supporters to the rally.
-----
Background
Mumia was a member of the Black Panther Party until 1970, and a
journalist of great integrity, known for reporting police brutality and other
government abuses in the Philadelphia area. He was also a well-known supporter
of the MOVE organization, a revolutionary naturalist group based in the heart
of Philadelphia. MOVE advocates a
holistic existence for all people--a drug-free, alcohol free, environmentalist
lifestyle, emphasizing self-sufficiency, self-respect, and discipline--something
anathema to Philadelphia's ruling racists. As a consequence, the organization
became the target of a very long-ranging campaign of annihilation by the
Philadelphia authorities. That campaign culminated in the May 13, 1985 raid and
aerial bombardment of the house habited by MOVE members on Philadelphia's Osage
Avenue. The firebombings and police shootings resulted in the murders of 11
men, women, and children, and the jailing of Ramona Africa, the sole adult
survivor. And it destroyed 61 surrounding homes.
Mumia's writings and his ongoing support for MOVE evidently propelled
him into the government crosshairs, because in late 1981, he was linked to the
shooting of a Philadelphia police officer, William Faulkner. In 1982, Mumia was
convicted following very questionable trial proceedings, including the
retention of the presiding judge, Sabo, who reportedly stated "Yeah, and
I’m going to help them fry the nigger" (a reference to Mumia, reported in
an affidavit by a court stenographer), and witnesses who later said they were
pressured into testifying in a manner that favored the prosecution. Following
three short weeks of jury deliberation, Mumia was sentenced to the death
penalty. Undaunted, he continued to criticize U.S. government repression,
authoring six books, hundreds of articles, and radio broadcasts from death row.
Extremely well-informed and articulate, he spoke and wrote earnestly against
U.S. imperialist adventures abroad, including the Iraq war and AFRICOM. He
earned the support of Amnesty International, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Toni
Morrison, and other notables, who variously called for inquiries into his
unjust incarceration, appeals, or freedom for the jailed journalist. In 2012,
after years of pressure from his supporters, Mumia's death penalty sentence was
dropped, and the sentence commuted to life in prison.
----
On the bright sunny morning of April 24, the International Concerned
Friends and Family of Mumia Abu Jamal (ICFFMAJ) and the MOVE organization
spearheaded a rally for Mumia at the Department of Justice. Friends of MOVE,
Decarcerate PA, Students Against Mass Incarceration, DC Troy Davis, the
National Jericho Movement, Occupy DC, Occupy Baltimore, the Rebel Diaz Arts
Collective, Workers World Party, the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, the All Peoples
Congress, the Baltimore Black Think Tank, Jamaat al-Muslimeen, Bradley Manning
supporters, and many other groups and individuals came together in one of the
most energetic actions for a political prisoner held in Washington, DC, to
date. The protestors heard Johanna Fernandez (outspoken Mumia supporter and
professor from Baruch-CUNY); King Downing (American Friends Service Committee);
Pam Africa (Minister of Confrontation of MOVE, and Chairwoman of ICFFMAJ);
Ramona Africa (MOVE); Br. Abdul (MOVE organization; he read Mumia's deeply
poignant statement penned for the occasion); Chuck D, Dead Prez, Jasiri X,
Rebel Diaz, and Jay Sun--all politically conscious hip-hop artists known for
their support of Mumia and other political prisoners; Mauri Saalakhan (Peace
and Justice Foundation); Laila Yaghi (Free Ziyad Yaghi Campaign); Imam Khalil
Rahman (Imam Al-Jamil supporter); Mumia supporters from France; and
others.Around 3:00 pm, protestors left the DOJ for a spirited march through
DC's downtown, passing the FBI and CIA buildings, and other landmarks of state
repression. The protest culminated in a second rally at the White House, where
a police cordon was pulled tighter and tighter around the protestors as some
activists, who had pledged to commit civil disobedience, positioned themselves
for the action. Twenty-seven activists were arrested and removed to the
Anacostia Prison Facility to be booked, protesting for Mumia's freedom.
----
AfterwardThis Muslim writer marveled at the sight of the predominantly
youthful protestors, particularly those conducting civil disobedience, who had
come forth to take a stance for unjustly held captives, a command clearly laid
out in Islam's Holy Book. It was in stark contrast to "Islam on Capitol
Hill," a mass prayer held not so long ago at the U.S. Capitol a short
distance away, by the gigolos of the Muslim community, who endeavoring to ally
themselves with the power structure, induced their unwitting constituents to do
"sajood" (genuflection) to that grotesque symbol of Babylon. As those
with Muslim names clamored for ill-sought White House invitations and
Presidential Council appointments, inviting the agents of repression into their
Islamic Centers and Mosques, the youth at the White House gates on April 24,
most of whom were not Muslim by title, walked the path of Christ (AS) and
Muhammad (SAW), fighting for the rights of the most oppressed and
downtrodden--the political prisoners. What will it take for the rest of us to
follow?
©2012
by Nadrat Siddique
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