WE'RE STILL ONA MOVE!! ARE YOU?!! LET'S DO THIS!!
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WRITE Hon. William H. Yohn, Jr., c/o Leonard Weinglass
6 West 20th Street, Suite 10A, New York, NY 10011
and urge him to do everything in his power to ensure that Mumia
Abu-Jamal receives a new, fair trial.
TAKE A STAND!
Contact the following political persons and let them know how you
feel about the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal:
Gov. Thomas Ridge Ph: (717) 787-2500 Fax: (717) 772-8284
State Sen. Vince Fumo Fax: (717) 783-5210
(215) 952-1096
State Rep. Marie Lederer Ph: (215) 426-6604 Fax: (215) 560-3995
(717) 763-3756
U.S. Rep. Chakah Fattah Fax: (215) 387-5407
State Rep. Andrew Carn Fax: (215) 560-2691
State Rep. Leanna Washington Ph: (215) 242-0472 Fax: (215) 242-6118
PA Atty. Gen Mike Fisher Ph: (717) 787-3391 Fax: (717) 772-4526
Mayor Ed Rendell Fax: (215) 686-2180
The International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
have meetings at 7:00 PM every Wednesday at 4601 Market Street,
5th Floor, Philadelphia.
===========================================>
From: Ali1950@aol.com
October 22, 1999
Judge William H. Yohn, Jr.
RE: COMMONWEALTH vs. MUMIA ABU JAMAL
Dear Judge Yohn:
This letter comes to you as an urgent request for you to lift the death
warrant signed by Gov. Ridge and grant a stay of execution. In addition,
I am respectfully requesting that this Court grant Mumia Abu Jamal an
evidentiary hearing on the writ of habeas corpus. My reasons for these
requests are as follows:
On October 15, 1999, attorneys for Mumia Abu Jamal filed a federal
writ of habeas corpus containing over 160 pages which carefully cite at
least 29 violations of Mr. Abu Jamal's constitutional rights. These
violations
include, but are not limited to; the suppression of evidence by police
officers
and the prosecution; the coercion of witnesses by police to fabricate and/or
change evidence; the ineffective assistance of defense counsel during the
trial; the court's denial of Mr. Abu Jamal's right to represent himself
during
his trial; the expulsion of Mr. Abu Jamal from the courtroom during his
trial;
the clear BATSON violations made by the prosecution when it used all of its
preemptory challenges to remove black people from the jury; and the
statements made by the prosecution regarding Mumia Abu Jamal's
involvement in the Black Panther Party during the sentencing
phase of the trial to insure that he received the death penalty.
Each of these violations, standing alone, is egregious enough to warrant
full evidentiary review by this Court, but taken as a whole, the totality
of the
circumstances mandate a careful and independent review of all of the facts in
this case by this Court. And while the Court considers the petition, it is
imperative that the Court issue a stay of the execution of Mr. Abu Jamal,
currently set for December 2, 1999, as soon as possible. If the Court does
not issue the stay immediately, Mr. Abu Jamal would be kept in phase two
isolation on death row, an unjust, cruel and tortious situation that further
compounds the injustice that this innocent man has had to endure.
Sincerely,
Gilda Sherrod-Ali, Esquire
Co-Chair, Criminal Justice Section
National Conference of Black Lawyers;
Acting Director, Jericho Legal Defense Fund
cc: Leonard Weinglass, Esquire
Mumia Abu Jamal
Imhotep Alkebulan, NCBL
Safiya Bukhari, JLDF
========================================>
RIGHT ON!, Sis. Kamaria, and all the hardworking comrades
in CHICAGO! Fantastic news! FREE MUMIA!
From: Kamaria Ngozi <ngozi@secapl.com>
Revolutionary Greetings,
The Black Radical Congress Chicago has placed an ad in today's Chicago
Defender along with a list of signatures. The African American Committee
to Free Mumia Abu Jamal & The Chicago Committee to Free Mumia signed on to
help make this happen. Be sure to pick up two copies today, one for you
and one for a friend. The same ad will run on Monday. Asante Sana!!
Wearing my Black...
Kamaria
========================================>
From: Michael Novick <part2001@usa.net>
Via: dhayden@freenet.envirolink.org
HELP STOP POLICE BRUTALITY IN PORTLAND
After attending a peaceful protest in support of political prisoner
Mumia Abu Jamal Friday, October 15th, 6 people were arrested,
at least two of these individuals suffered extreme brutality from the
Portland Police. Craig Rosebraugh, locally and nationally known
activist with Liberation Collective had his arm seriously
broken, was trampled by police horse and was dragged a block and a half by
his broken arm to the “Justice Center.” Pain holds were being applied to
Rosebraugh’s arm throughout the arrest and transport. He was charged with
“disorderly conduct” and “failure to obey a park officer” and was
immediately rushed by ambulance to Emanual Hospital. Rosebraugh has been
diagnosed with an aggravated spiral fracture to his humorous.
Elaine Close, another well known activist with Liberation Collective was
forcefully pushed to the ground in the street full of moving vehicles. Both
a bus and a car barely missed hitting her. Close was then arrested and
dragged into the “Justice Center.” Her arm and wrist was severely bruised
from pain compliance holds from the Portland Police Department.
What You Can Do:
1)SPEAK OUT AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY.
a) Contact the mayor to demand an investigation into the use of excessive
force and false arrests that occurred at the October 15th demonstration.
Mayor Vera Katz
1221 SW 4th Suite #340
Portland, OR 97204-1995
tel: (503)823-4120
fax: (503)823-3588
mayorkatz@ci.portland.or.us
b) Call the Auditors office at (503) 823-4078 to set up a time to go before
the city council to demand an investigation into police misconduct in October
15th.
2) ATTEND ALL COURT APPEARANCES OF THE 6 ACTIVISTS
ARRESTED ON OCTOBER 15TH. Organize demonstrations outside
the “Justice Center” and courthouse to keep the pressure on the city.
The six have an arraignment scheduled for November 8th at 8:30 am
at the “Justice Center.”
3) Write letters to the editors of local papers including the Oregonian and
Willamette Week again demanding an investigation into the police misconduct
on October 15th.
4) ORGANIZE! The pressure needs to be kept up against the city of
Portland Police Department so that they understand that their policy of
brutality will not be tolerated. Organize further protests against police
brutality.
Try protesting at the homes of officers who have a history of brutality. The
only way this police violence will end is if we as a community organize,
speak out and say NO MORE!
For more information contact:
Liberation Collective
P.O.BOX 9055
Portland, OR 97207
(503) 525-4975
libcoll@aracnet.com
==========================================>
From: "C. Clark Kissinger" <cck1@earthlink.net>
Subject: New address to send contributions for Mumia
All financial contributions should now be made out to: "National Black
United Fund/Mumia" and mailed to the National Black United Fund, 40 Clinton
Street, 5th floor, Newark, NJ 07102. (Indicate whether contribution is for
"legal" or "organizing.")
========================================>
From: Franklin Seiberling <fseiberl@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu>
FYI ...
Mumia Abu-Jamal's web site,
http://www.mumia.org/
incorrectly identifies the documentary about his case as titled "Beyond a
Reasonable Doubt". The correct title is "Mumia: A Case for Reasonable
Doubt?". I have seen this video. Because of concerns about "bias" I have to
mention this video does take a pro-Mumia stance, but presents people
speaking out on both sides, including prosecuting and defense attorneys,
police and witnesses. A good feature of this video is that it lays out the
facts of the case, what happened, who was involved, and what are the police
accused of doing. This is a "must see" if you want to find out the basics
of the Abu-Jamal case.
Local "alternative" video stores sometimes have this tape, but forget
trying to find it at Blockbuster. The video may be mail-ordered from Facets
in Chicago by calling (800)331-6197. Here is full contact info for Facets:
Facets Multi-Media, Inc.
1517 West Fullerton Avenue
Chicago IL 60614
(800)331-6197
FAX (773)929-5437
E-mail: sales@facets.org
web site: www.facets.org
The Mumia video is 19.98 plus shipping.
There is an audio version of the video produced by Alternative Radio. The
one-hour cassette costs $13 including postage. You can call (800)444-1977,
or send a check to AR, PO Box 551, Boulder CO 80306, requesting "Mumia
Abu-Jamal: A Case for Reasonable Doubt?".
Paz
--Franklin Seiberling
Iowa City
===================================>
From: Los Angeles Black Radical Congress <brc_la@email.com>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Following is a Press Release/Statement from the Black Radical Congress
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT OF THE BLACK RADICAL CONGRESS:
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL - DEATH WARRANT SIGNED
October 18, 1999
Many who are familiar with the attempt to murder Mumia Abu-Jamal at the
hands of the "Criminal Justice System" registered shock, grief, and anger
after hearing the news that Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Ridge has signed
a death warrant for Mumia. The signing of this death warrant signals that
the stakes have been raised in the battle to save Mumia Abu-Jamal's life
and the state's attempt to kill him. This development also signals for
those who have been involved in efforts to obtain justice for Mumia, the
urgent need to escalate our efforts. A loud and united voice MUST send
forth the message that people will not capitulate in their efforts to stop
the execution of Mumia. Our efforts MUST proceed with the utmost
determination.
It has been repeatedly stated that justice denied to Mumia is justice
denied to us all. Mumia's execution will confirm resonantly for many Black
people in this country that no Black person has any rights that this
country is obligated to respect. This is the main issue here and we should
not lose sight of this historic fact. The predicament that Mumia finds
himself, is reflective of the of day to day injustices that Black men and
women in this society have had to endure since their enslavement and
subsequent second class status in the U.S. Everyday in this nation's
courts, Black people without the means to make excessive bail and who are
too poor to retain effective counsel, are at the mercy of racist judges
and juries. Recent repressive legislation has given state courts the green
light to deprive Black men and women of constitutional and human rights.
For many in our communities, Mumia's situation sets no precedent. However,
what is particular about Mumia's case, is his consistent refusal to allow
this blatant injustice to go unheard. And due to the tremendous outpouring
of support for Mumia, he is being used as an example to those who would
dare challenge this racist and class based system. In other words
silencing Mumia is an attempt by the state to silence the unruly, the
outspoken, and the dreamers of a new society.
The Black Radical Congress calls forth all progressive forces in this
country in general and the Black community in particular, to transcend
ideological differences, in order to unite and surpass the momentum of the
state's executioners. The Black Radical Congress recognizes that the
gravity of Mumia's current situation dictates that we magnify our efforts
in calling attention to Mumia's plight, and continue mobilizing all those
who will suffer from the ramifications of this great injustice that is
being orchestrated by repressive forces in this country, so that we may
bring pressure to bear in attaining justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal.
IT'S TIME TO RAISE THE POLITICAL STAKES!!!
-30-
The Black Radical Congress
National Office
P.O. Box 490365
Atlanta, GA 30349
Phone: (404) 768-2529
Fax: (404) 614-8563
===============================>
From: Veronique Viretto <viretto@lac2.gulliver.fr>
ICFF-MAJ / France
TO PROTEST FRENCH MAINSTREAM PRESS SILENCE
ON ABU-JAMAL CASE, THE FRENCH YOUNG COMMUNIST
YOUTH ORGANIZE A SIT-IN AT THE PARIS H-Q OF THE
FRENCH DAILY " LE MONDE "
Paris (France) Oct. 12 1999
This Tuesday evening seventy members of the French Communist Youth
movement conducted a peaceful sit-in at the Paris headquarters of the well
known French daily "Le Monde" (often spoken of as the French equivalent
of the New York Times). The sit-in which lasted just under 2 hours was a
local response to the rejection by the US Supreme Court of Mumia Abu-Jamal's
"a certiorari" appeal. In their flyer, the young people (some of them had
been
part of the fly-in from Paris to Philadelphia for the April 24th Mumia March)
wrote: "it is with anger and sadness that we learned that the U.S. Supreme
Court has turned down Mumia's appeal". It would appear that the youth
movement had noticed a scarcity of coverage by the French mainstream
press inspite of mounting mobilisation in France on behalf a new trial for
Mumia. Instances of this expanding mobilisation are: one thousand protesters
in downtown Paris on April 17th; the June 16 th sit-in by a group of
international
citizens for Mumia, in the American library in Paris; the September 3rd demo
which disrupted the gala opening of the American Film Festival in Deauville;
two thousand protesters in downtown Paris on September 25th as part of the
worldwide "100 cities for Mumia" movement; weekly pickets for Mumia outside
the U.S. Consulate etc. As a two-member youth delegation was being received
in the editorial section of the building, "Le Monde" journalists crossing
the lobby
witnessed the sit-in with averted eyes, heard the youth chanting freedom
songs
for Mumia and were asked to sign a petition asking Governor Ridge not to sign
an execution warrant (this petition has attracted 20 000 signatures to
date). After
an hour of perfectly controlled civil disobedience in the lobby, the youth
delegation
emerged from the elevator accompanied by an embarrassed and sheepish
Assistant
Chief Editor (Monsieur Jean-Yves Lhumeau) who maintained that Le Monde had
been on the verge of going to print with a full page on the death penalty
(he couldn't
remember whether Mumia's case was mentioned in it or not) but had to cancel
because of a coup d'état in Pakistan. Mr. Lhumeau, however, promised future
coverage of the growing French mobilisation in favour of Mumia, a definite
mention
of Mumia's case in their upcoming spread on the death penalty and reported
that he
had phoned AFP (Agence France Presse, the national French Press agency) to
confirm that a peaceful sit-in was taking place inside his building.
The sit-in ended at 7:30 P.M. with no intervention by the French police
although
plainclothes agents may have been present. Just before leaving the
building, the
spokesperson for the Youth Movement announced the weekly Mumia Picket in
front of the U.S. Consulate at Place de la Concorde for today October 13th at
6 P/M/ Paris time.
{The French Communist party is part of the French government coalition under
socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. The Ministry of Youth and Sports is
headed
by Ms M-G. Buffet of the French C.P.]
***Comité de soutien à Mumia Abu-Jamal
C/o Viretto & Dieudonné
18, place Jean Jaurès
13001 Marseille
Tel. / Fax : 04 91 42 98 47
Veronique Viretto<viretto@lac.gulliver.fr>
===================================================>
From: TCCDMAJ <meis@minn.net>
Thursday Oct. 21st, 1999, a demonstration was held in Amsterdam,
Netherlands, to FREE MUMIA! Organized by the Free Mumia committee in
Amsterdam, the demonstration attracted about 75 protestors, which was not
considered bad for a weekday afternoon. We wanted to confront the US
consulate during working hours.
Organized as a "Lawaaiprotest" (Noise protest), activists brought various
noise-makers, as well as their angry voices. After assembling at the
Rijksmuseum, we marched across a plaza to the US consulate, and the noise
began! The chanting crowd assembled across a bike lane from the consulate,
defended by a wrought iron fence. One group banged on the fence with
Kryptonite bike locks and rocks.
A delegation entered the consulate and demanded a meeting. Although they
were not treated as harshly as demonstrators in the US have been recently,
they were, of course, not taken seriously by the consulate personnel. But
no doubt they got the message! It was too loud to ignore!!
Photos from today's action are posted on the web at:
http://www1.minn.net/~meis/amsterdam
[Feel free to use these photos; they may not be posted for a long time
however]
========================================>
From: Art McGee <amcgee@igc.org>
Via: Nuafrikan@aol.com
Subject: People's Tribune: "Fighting Songs Support the People's Struggles!"
Note: The following article, written by Sarah Menefee, a Labor Party and
housing rights activist in San Francisco, appeared in the August 99
People's Tribune/Tribunal del Pueblo (Vol. 26, No. 8, p. 7.), the
bilingual newspaper of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America.
The League's website is: www.lrna.org
Fighting Songs Support the People's Struggles
by Sarah Menefee
When the several-thousand-strong Millions for Mumia marched poured into
San Francisco's Civic Center on April 24, led by the International
Longshore and Warehouse Workers Union and other labor and community
groups, they were met by the uplifting music and lyrics of Brother
Jahahara (harry armstrong) backed by fellow musicians and youthful
rappers:
"Another freedom fighter
is threatened with an early grave,
But, on the streets and in the jails
WE are preparing to rebel...
Cause, WE WON'T LET HIM DIE!
WE CAN NOT LET HIM DIE!
AND, WE SHALL NOT HIM DIE!
SAVE AND FREE MUMIA!
Brother Jahahara, who moved from Chicago to the Bay Area four years ago,
is a longtime fighter on many fronts, and these daily struggles inform his
music: he's a union and community organizer, west coast coordinator for
the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N'COBRA),
active in the Jericho Amnesty Movement and in the Black Radical Congress.
After speaking at a special League of Revolutionaries for a New America
educational about his work in the reparations movement, Brother Jahahara
shared his powerfully inspiring songs of struggle and liberation: for the
political prisoners of the (united) capitalist prison states; for Mumia
Abu-Jamal; for Mother Afrika and her scattered children; for "cash, land,
education, freedom, justice... reparations; for a working people's party;
and finally, "Jahahara Theme, WE'RE GONNA WIN!"
These songs—beautiful, driving, rhythmic, triumphant—fill the listener
with determination and hope, with the spirit to fight on. On keyboard,
drums and that most perfect instrument of all, the roused human voice,
Brother Jahahara sounds the future we envision as we organize and fight to
make it real.
This is art grounded in the survival and determination of the most
oppressed warriors who have risen out the dark night of enslavement,
exploitation, poverty, prison and terror, sounding a vision of justice,
equality, humanity and peace—for all of us, our best selves and dearest
aspirations. "The whole wide world will see... our victory!"
Brother Jahahara's collection—MOTHER AFRIKA, AND AFRIKANS,
WILL BE FREE—is available on 40 minute cassettes for only $8.00.
Proceeds benefit Brother Mumia, International Family & Friends of Mumia,
Jericho Amnesty Movement, N'COBRA and Provisional Government of the
Republic of New Afrika. Order tapes and materials from Foundations for
da Nu Afrikan Millennium, P.O. Box 10905, Oakland, CA 94610 or email
at NuAfrikan@aol.com
==================================================>
To support Mumia in London contact:
MUMIA MUST LIVE! BM Haven, London WC1N 3XX
Mumia@callnetuk.com
www.callnetuk/home/mumia
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To support Mumia in Australia contact:
Brett Collins
Breakout Design & Print (coordinator)
Justice Action (a spokesperson)
19 Buckland St, Chippendale, NSW 2008, Australia
P.O. Box 386, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia
email: brett@justiceaction.org.au
voice: 61-2-9281-5100 fax: 9281-5303
Please log into the Justice Action Web site, designed and sponsored by
Breakout Design & Print, exercising good corporate citizenship:
http://www.justiceaction.org.au
-----------------------------------------------
To support Mumia in Azania (South Africa) contact:
lesegomo@nwpg.org.za
====================================================>
WE MUST NOT FAIL! TAKE A STAND FOR YOUR BROTHERMAN!
International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
P.O. Box 19709 - Philadelphia, PA 19143
Ph: 215-476-8812 / Fax: 215-476-7551
E-mail: mumia@webcom.com
MUMIA MUST LIVE! TIME IS RUNNING OUT!