Tuesday, June 29, 2010

FRIDAY JULY @: Screening of Operation Small Axe and Q&A with Brother JR

From Free Mumia Coalition NYC:

This film showing is a prelude to the Annual 4th of U-lie Protest for the continued denial of justice for Mumia, the threat of his execution, and the demand for a Civil Rights Investigation of his entire case. Remember, Mumia too was and continues to be a victim of police terrorism. That will be Sunday, July 4th, 10 AM – 2 PM between 5th and 6th Streets on Market Street. We will then join the Avenging of the Ancestors until 4:30 PM.  Call 212 330-8029 if you would like to travel to Philly with the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition.

Join us at the NYC Premiere of 

Operation Small Axe
followed by Q & A with Brother JR

Friday July 2 - 7:00 pm
at the Solidarity Center
55 West 17th Street, 5th Floor

Suggested donation: $10 (no one will be turned away)
Light refreshments will be available

"Operation Small Axe" is a documentary about police terrorism in Oakland California in 2009 and the people's resistance to it. The documentary concentrates on the internationally known case of Oscar Grant and Lovelle Mixon.

The film includes scenes from the Oakland rebellion and shows footage of the community shutting down Mayor Ron Dellums when he failed to take any action or even make a statement against the cold-blooded police murder of Oscar Grant. People voicing their opinion in the film include Cynthia McKinney, Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr., attorney John Burris, journalist Davey D, activist Angela Davis, and Willie Ratcliff, the publisher of the Bay View Newspaper plus more. The film is directed by Adimu Madyun.

JR Valrey, Minister of Information of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee, was charged with a felony as part of the varying charges brought against more than 100 of the protestors. The charges against him and the others were ultimately dropped because of the community's strong stand. The cop charged with brutally killing Oscar Grant is on trial in LA and a verdict is expected within two weeks.
There is much to learn from this intense struggle which took place in Oakland as we all face the constant threat of police terror.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Message to the U.S. Social Forum from Mumia Abu-Jamal

Ona Move!

Dear Friends at the Social Forum;

As I write this, it has just been announced that the petro-multinational, BP, has failed at its ‘Top Kill’ plan, and the Gulf of Mexico is being more fouled by the hour.

If ever there were a time to honestly question the madness at the heart of capitalism, it is now, as people are repulsed by what they are seeing, week after week, and now month after month, of environmental wreckage, corporate greed, and government subservience.

Because, in truth, this is what capitalism, unbridled, unregulated, looks like: the spoilage of the natural world for private gain.

Just a few weeks ago, we saw the Supreme Court essentially write off the damages awarded to the devastated native population of Alaska, who suffered from the Exxon Valdez disaster. Their award was cut by over 90%, making it a windfall for Exxon. It’s no wonder their bottom line is looking so good.

Again – that’s capitalism!

If folks at this Forum don’t grasp this moment, to build the Movement, then this moment will pass, and the era of crony capitalism will give us all nightmarish dystopias that will make these days look like the good old days.

To quote the late, great Kwame Ture, “Organize! Organize! Organize!”

This is written, by necessity, several weeks before the Forum, but I’m willing to bet that even as these words are heard, either the leak will not have been fixed; or, even if it is, then the Gulf waters are still as foul, still as toxic, still as ugly: if not worse.

If the struggle isn’t to make such environmental crimes such as these unthinkable, then it is for nothing.

Thank you all! Ona Move!

Long Live John Africa!
Mumia Abu-Jamal

Monday, June 21, 2010

FREE MUMIA COALITION AT US SOCIAL FORUM! SEE YOU THERE!

From info@freemumia.com

Dear Supporters and Friends of Mumia,

About ten days ago, we let you know that International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition will be in Detroit at the upcoming US Social Forum. We specifically mentioned the Prison Assembly that we have participated in planning. That Assembly will take place on Thursday, June 24 between 1 and 5:30 PM in Cobo Hall . Sundiata Sadiq will be representing us at that Assembly Both Suzanne Ross and Sundiata were involved in its planning conference calls. In addition, we will be participating in the People's Assembly on Cointelpro. Suzanne will be present at that. That workshop is taking place at the same time as the Prisoner Justice Assembly, also in Cobo Hall, at 1 PM. We think both the Assembly and workshop are very important not only in their own right, but specifically for our work to free Mumia.

As for workshops: we will be participating in three of them.

US POLITICAL PRISONERS: LEONARD PELTIER, MUMIA ABU-JAMAL, AND THE CUBAN FIVE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1-3 PM, WC3, Room 348,
Delaney Bruce, Chair, National Free Leonard Peltier Committee, Marjorie Cohn, past Presdient of the National Lawyers Guild, Pam Africa , International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal & Suzanne Ross, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC), Stan Smith, Chicago Committee to Free the Cuban 5. We will be discussing similarities and differences between these three cases and how we can help each other to free them all.

YOUTH & STUDENTS TO FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1-3 PM

Learn about the case of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, why young people continue to be inspired by him 28 years after his incarceration on Death Row, and why his case continues to be so important today.
Larry Hales, leader of the March 4 student/youth protests, recently visited
Mumia, and Pam Africa of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Sundiata Sadiq will be present at that workshop.

THE LONGEST RIDE FOR THE CUBAN FIVE, MUMIA, AND PELTIER: TRANSFORMATION MINISTRY, THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 10AM – NOON

The Longest Ride for the Cuban Five, Mumia, and Peltier.
Disciples of the Healing of Humanity! The Transformation Ministry.
We don't know much about this workshop but we will be there as we have been working very hard for the past year as members of the Riverside Church Prison Ministry in New York (the legendary church at which Dr. Martin Luther King gave his 1967 speech against the US war against Vietnam).

Also, look for our table. We will have large visible signs about Mumia. We could definitely use help in giving out palm cards, getting letter/petitions to Eric Holder signed, selling Campaign for a Civil Rights Investigation buttons and the Amnesty International Report on Mumia's case.

If you'd like to contact us, and we look forward to meeting as many of you as possible, call Sundiata Sadiq at 914-672-5807 or Suzanne Ross 917-584-2135. We will be in Detroit by Monday night and staying through at least Friday.

Ona Move! Long live Mumia! Long live the people's struggles! May this coming week energize, clarify, and unify us all!


--Mumia is Innocent!  Stop the Frame Up!  Free Mumia!--

Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition, NYC
P.O. Box 16, College Station, NY, NY 10030
212-330-8029, www.FreeMumia.com, info@FreeMumia.com

ANNUAL JULY 4 PROTEST FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL

CONTACT: ICFFMAJ, 215-476-8812

BETWEEN 5TH AND 6TH STREETS ON MARKET
PHILADELPHIA
10AM - 2PM
JULY 4

HELP BUILD AND SUPPORT OUR ANNUAL JULY 4 PROTEST FOR MUMIA WHICH WILL BE HELD FROM 10AM-2PM IN PHILADELPHIA BETWEEN 5TH AND 6TH STREETS ON MARKET! THIS YEAR THE THEME IS "ANCESTRAL UPRISING!" AND WILL FEATURE SUPPORTERS DRESSED AS OUR REVOLUTIONARY ANCESTORS! (WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO PORTRAY BRO. MALCOLM X AND BRO. FREDERICK DOUGLASS, SO PLEASE BE IN TOUCH IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE INVOLVED). THE AVENGING THE ANCESTORS COALITION WILL TAKE OVER FROM 3 TO 5PM AT THE SAME LOCATION AND WILL FEATURE OUR ANCESTORS ENSLAVED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON.

JOIN BRO. IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE AND THE INT'L CONCERNED FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL IN LETTING THIS SYSTEM KNOW THAT WE HAVE COME TOO FAR TO TURN BACK NOW AND WE WILL NEVER, EVER STOP FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE FOR MUMIA!

IF YOU NEED TRANSPORTATION, PLEASE CALL THE FREE MUMIA COALITION (NYC) AT (212) 330-8029

Sunday, June 13, 2010

URGENT! Phone Campaign for Chuck Africa


 
ONA MOVE! I'm sending this email out to inform you of a very serious situation happening with our brother, Chuck Africa. This falls on the heels of us exposing Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Monica Yant Kinney and all of the information we were able to put out during media interviews marking the twenty-five years since the bombing. Also, we just got a June 21st hearing date on the murder complaints we filed against officials for murdering our family in 1985. This government is now targeting Chuck and the signs are very clear. First, Chuck was recently transferred from SCI-Graterford, where he was with our brother Mike Africa to SCI-Retreat, a Pennsylvania prison where there is no other MOVE person. Officials at SCI-Retreat put Chuck in the hole and we just received a letter from him that he was attacked by an inmate. that's how this system operates when they target somebody. They isolate you and then do all manner of things to put pressure on you and ultimately arrange to take you out if nothing else breaks you. They did it with Leonard Peltier, only Standing Deer, the person who was supposed to assassinate Leonard, couldn't do it and he exposed the conspiracy. Chuck and all of the MOVE 9 are soon coming up for parole and we know this system does not want any of the MOVE 9 out here on the street but this goes beyond parole - Chuck's life is at stake here. We know that these people are capable of doing anything to avoid releasing innocent MOVE people from prison and we put nothing past them. We're asking people to contact SCI-Retreat (570 735-8754) and speak to the Superintendent, James McGrady about this situation. Chuck says that a key player in this set up is a guard named L.T. Dukes, so his name should be mentioned. Chuck's full name and number is Charles Sims Africa #AM 4975. We know we don't have to tell you to expect officials to feign ignorance of any problem and probably deny everything but don't fall for it. Something serious is happening with Chuck and we're not taking it lightly at all. Thanks for your support.

Ramona Africa
for the MOVE Organization

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Mumia Legal Update from Attorney Robert Bryan

LEGAL UPDATE - JUNE 8, 2010

There are significant developments on various fronts in the coordinated legal campaign to save & free Mumia Abu-Jamal. The complex court proceedings are moving forward at a fast pace. Mumia’s life is on the line.

Court Developments: We are engaged in pivotal litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia. At stake is whether Mumia will be executed or granted a new jury trial on the question of the death penalty.

Two years ago we won on that issue, with the federal court finding that the trial judge misled the jury thereby rendering the proceedings constitutionally unfair. Then in January 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court vacated that ruling based upon its decision in another case, & ordered that the case be again reviewed by the Court of Appeals.

The prosecution continues its obsession to kill my client, regardless of the truth as to what happened at the time of the 1981 police shooting. Its opening brief was filed April 26. Our initial brief will be submitted on July 28. At issue is the death penalty.

In separate litigation, we are awaiting a decision in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on prosecutorial abuses, having completed all briefing in April. The focus is on ballistics.


Petition for President Barack Obama: It is crucial for people to sign the petition for President Barack Obama, Mumia Abu-Jamal & the Global Abolition of the Death Penalty, which was initially in 10 languages (Swahili & Turkish have since been added). This is the only petition approved by Mumia & me & is a vital part of the legal effort to save his life. Please sign the petition & circulate its link http://mumialegal.org/node/72 .

Nearly 22,000 people from around the globe have signed. These include: Bishop Desmond Tutu, South Africa (Nobel Peace Prize); Günter Grass, Germany (Nobel Prize in Literature); Danielle Mitterrand, Paris (former First Lady of France); Fatima Bhutto, Pakistan (writer); Colin Firth (Academy Award Best-Actor nominee), Noam Chomsky, MIT (philosopher & author); Ed Asner (actor); Mike Farrell (actor); Michael Radford (director of the Oscar winning film Il Postino); Robert Meeropol (son of Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, executed in 1953); members of the European Parliament; members of the German Bundestag; European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights; Reporters Without Borders, Paris.

European Parliament; Rosa Luxemburg Conference; World Congress Against the Death Penalty; Geneva Human Rights Film Festival: We began the year with a major address to the annual Rosa Luxemburg Conference in Berlin, Germany, sponsored by the newspaper junge Welt. The large auditorium was filled with a standing-room audience. Mumia joined me by telephone. We announced the launching of the online petition, Mumia Abu-Jamal & the Global Abolition of the Death Penalty.

A large audience on the concluding night of the World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Geneva, Switzerland, February 25, heard Mumia by telephone. He spoke as a symbolic representative of the over 20,000 men, women & children on death rows around the world. The call came as a surprise since we thought it had been canceled.  Mumia’s comments from inside his death-row cell brought to reality the horror of daily life in which death is a common denominator. During an earlier panel discussion I spoke of racism in capital cases around the globe with the case of Mumia as a prime example. A day before the Congress on February 23, I talked at the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival on the power of films in fighting the death penalty & saving Mumia.

On March 2 in the European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium, members Søren Søndergaard (Denmark) & Sabine Lösing (Germany) announced the beginning of a campaign to save Mumia & end executions. They were joined by Sabine Kebir, the noted German author & PEN member, Nicole Bryan & me. We discussed the online petition which helps not only Mumia, but all the condemned around the globe.

Donations for Mumia's Legal Defense & Online Petition: The complex litigation & investigation that is being pursued on behalf of Mumia is enormously expensive. We are in both the federal & state courts on the issue of the death penalty, prosecutorial wrongdoing, etc. Mumia's life is on the line.

How to Help: For information on how to help, both through donations & signing the Obama petition, please go to Mumia’s legal defense website www.mumialegal.org.


Checks should be payable to the National Lawyers Guild Foundation, which is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (write "Mumia" on the lower left of the check). The donations are thus tax deductible and go exclusively to Mumia's legal defense. Donations to any other group in the U.S. do not go to his defense. The checks should be mailed to:

Committee To Save Mumia Abu-Jamal, P.O. Box 2012, New York, NY 10159-2012 

Conclusion: Mumia remains on death row under a death judgment. He is in greater danger than at any time since his arrest 28 years ago. The prosecution is pursuing his execution. I win cases, & will not let them kill my client. He must be free.

Yours very truly,
Robert R. Bryan
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

Save the Date!! 4the of U-Lie for Mumia Abu-Jamal!!

Help build and support out annual July 4 protest for Mumia which will be held from 10 am - 2 pm in Philadelphia between 5th and 6th streets on Market!

This year the theme is "Ancestral Uprising!" and will feature supporters dressed as our revolutionary ancestors! (We are still looking for someone to portray Bro. Malcolm X and Br. Frederick Douglass, so please be in touch if you would like to be involved.)

The Avenging the Ancestors Coalition will take over from 3 to 5 PM at the same location and will feature our ancestors enslaved by George Washington.

Join Bro. Immortal Technique and the International Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal in letting this system know that we have come too far to turn back now and we will never, ever stop fighting for justice for Mumia!

Mark your calendars now!!

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Mumia Coalition to Participate in US Social Forum - Your Help Is Needed!

From freemumia.com:


Dear Friends of Mumia,

The Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition is participating in the following workshop at the US Social Forum in Detroit.  If you are interested in participating in planning conference calls or have any questions about this assembly, please call our hotline 212 330-8029 or write me at suzannewross@gmail.com.  I will get back to you as soon as I can.

In the struggle,

Suzanne Ross, 
for the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)


Prison Justice
People's Movement Assembly


Thursday, June 24, 2010

1pm - 5:30 pm Cobo Hall 03-45

  • We recognize that the United States has the highest rate of incarceration on the planet.  This imprisonment disproportionately targets communities of color and the poor.
  • We struggle to end state violence, fight the drug war, challenge the incarceration of youth, women, immigrants, trans and queer people, stop the death penalty and life without parole, end solitary confinement, and free all political prisoners.
  • We will identify points of unity, define intersections with other movements, share difficulties and triumphs, and begin to formulate a national strategy.

Free Mumia Coalition, Freedom Archives, Amnesty Movement, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, RNC8 Defense Committee, The Ordinary People's Society, War Resisters League, Grand Jury Resistance Project, All of Us or None, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Campaign to End the Death Penalty, California Coalition for Women in Prison (CA), Human Rights Coalition Pennsylvania, Resistance in Brooklyn, Center for Community Alternatives, Albany Political Prisoner Support, NY State Prison Justice Network, STAMP, Green Guerillas (NY), Philadelphia Political Prisoner Support, Transforming Justice, USSF Organizing Committee, Scott and Carrie Support Committee, International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu-Jamal

Friday, June 04, 2010

Pam Afrika Among Speakers at the United National Peace Conference

From freemumia.com:
United National Peace Conference
July 23 – 25, 2010, Albany, NY

Greetings to Peace Activists, Social Justice Activists, and All Concerned Organizations:

We are writing to urge you to attend the National Conference to Bring the Troops Home Now scheduled for Albany, New York, on July 23-25, 2010.

Below are Highlights of the conference program, showing speakers, workshops and agenda. Every effort has been made to make this event one in which the many groups and activists that make up the antiwar and social justice movements can gather together and discuss matters of vital interest covering a wide range of topics.  We are certain that you will find the conference inspiring, educational and, above all, helpful in finding the ways to unify and strengthen the movements struggling for peace and justice.  

You can register for the conference online at www.nationalpeaceconference.org or by filling out and mailing in the attachment.

Also attached is the Action Proposal being submitted for your consideration by the 25 conference co-sponsoring organizations. Anyone who registers for the conference and submits amendments to the Action Proposal or proposes additional demands or resolutions will have an opportunity to address the entire conference to urge adoption. Submissions should be sent to UNAC2010@aol.com and must be received no later than July 20.

Anyone attending the conference being held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel will enjoy free parking in the hotel's garage, which is adjacent to the hotel, (subject only to space limitations).

Finally, we urge that you register for the conference and make hotel reservations now. A specially discounted rate has been negotiated for a sleeping room (which can be shared at no additional expense by others staying in the same room) so be sure to avail yourself of the reduced rate by making your reservation promptly and in any event by June 25 when the lower rate expires. Make clear that you are with the National Peace Conference so that you can get that reduced rate and so that UNAC, which has reserved a bloc of rooms, can be credited accordingly. The hotel's number is 518-462-6611.

For more information,

write UNAC2010@aol.com or
call 518-227-6947 or
visit the UNAC website at www.nationalpeaceconference.org.

We look forward to seeing you in Albany July 23-25!

In peace,

Jerry Gordon
Secretary, National Peace Conference 

Campaign for a Civil Rights Investigation Addendum

From freemumia.com:

Dear Friends,

We meant to add, in describing Stage III of the Campaign for a Civil Rights Investigation of the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, that the grassroots component of the campaign is continuing in street actions, petition signing, and phone calls (as we noted, in two very successful actions, one on April 26 in DC and the other on May 14 at Columbia University). We are also asking for more institutional endorsements of the Campaign, particularly from churches, mosques, synagogues, AND UNIONS. Please help us in that effort if you are connected to any such institution. We will provide you with literature, videos, and speakers or whatever help you need. But what is most distinct about this Stage III is the development of our legal strategy with the help of the Center for Constitutional Rights and other legal experts in this area. We will keep you posted on that as there are any significant developments.

Please contact us at 212 330-8029 or through info@freemumia.com if you can help with any of the above initiatives.

We want you to know that we appreciate your continued support in the streets, in the petition collection, and with your generous financial contributions.

Suzanne Ross and Pam Africa
and for all of us in the
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition, International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Campaign for a Civil Rights Investigation of the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal