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Philadelphia, PA
The Peoples' International Tribunal for Mumia Abu-Jamal was held in Philadelphia on December 6. A reports of the Tribunal and of jurists' findings are on this server.
San Francisco, CA
December 6 - Some 3-5,000 demonstrators marched and
rallied in San Francisco on Saturday to demand freedom for former
Black Panther, award winning journalist and death row political
prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Framed-up by Pennsylvania's racist "justice" system in 1981
for a crime he did not commit, Abu-Jamal continues to sit on
death row. A target of the FBI's infamous COINTELPRO program and
a decades-long vendetta by Philadelphia cops, Abu-Jamal is housed
in SCI-Greene, a notorious "Super-Max" high-tech hell-hole.
According to Amnesty International's Secretary General, who heard
testimony from Mumia on prison conditions in November.
Jump-starting the spirited march and rally, a 15-foot high
"prison" embellished with the names of US political prisoners
such as Leonard Peltier, Sundiata Acoli, Laura Whitehorn, Dr.
Mutulu Shakur -- and a hundred other freedom fighters -- was torn
down. Out of the symbolic wreckage of the US prison industrial-
complex, a 12-foot giant Mumia puppet surrounded by fluttering
doves symbolizing freedom for all political prisoners, led the
march to UN Plaza in downtown SF. Demonstrators chanted, "Tear
down the prisons wall by wall, free Mumia Abu-Jamal!"
Oslo, Norway
The "Free Mumia" campaign in Oslo, Norway had a demonstration outside
the US Embassy Saturday the 6th of December, to mark the 16 years Mumia
have been imprissoned, and to show support to the Peoples International
Tribunal for Justice for Mumia Abu Jamal. The Campaign in Oslo is
located to the autonomous youth house Blitz. BLITZ, Pilestredet 30 c, 0164 Oslo, Norway
Vancouver, B.C.
Two hundred boisterous Vancouver civil rights activists rallied at the U.S.
Consulate on Saturday December 6 in defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal,
joining thousands of people who demonstrated in cities around the world
that day demanding the release of Mumia.
A letter of protest was read and delivered to the U.S. Consulate
before the demonstrators marched to the slogan "Off the sidewalks and into
the streets, this racist system can be beat!" commandeering main downtown
thoroughfares on a two kilometre march to the Vancouver Pre-Trial Centre, symbolic of cop violence and judicial prejudice against Blacks, Latinos,
First Nations, East and South Asians, lesbians, gays, radicals, and
unionists in Vancouver.
The Vancouver rally was organized by the Free Mumia Now Coalition and chaired by Sara Parker-Toulson and Shahaa Kakar of Simon
Fraser University's Public Interest Research Group (SF P!RG). Over 30
endorsers and 18 speakers represented the broad range of organizations and
individuals who united on December 6 to support Mumia-Abu Jamal and called
for an end to the racist and McCarthyite justice system which has
imprisoned him for fifteen years.
For more information on the Vancouver Free Mumia Now Coalition contact
Shawna Hellenius 604 874-9041 or Sara Parker-Toulson 604 872-2761, email
shawna@portal.ca.
Charlottesville, VA, and Toronto were also sites of organized demonstrations in support of Mumia on December 6.
Chicago, IL
December 4 - Artists, poets and musicians organized a Day of Art for Mumia, which included 'street art', painting and performance in the Loop mid-day and a well-attended poetry/performance event at the Chopin Theatre in the evening.
Los Angeles, CA
Musicians, poets and other artists held "An Evening with Justice in Mind" at the Veterans Wadsworth Theatre on December 5. Performers included Spearhead, Culture Clash, Exene Cervenkova & Auntie Christ, Kamauu Daood, Medusa & Feline Science, The Che Guevara All Stars.
Dublin, Ireland
Demonstration Against the U.S. Death Penalty in Dublin, Ireland on July
4th 1997.
Over 50 people gathered at the US embassy to protest against the death
penalty in the US and to highlight the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. For
over an hour we chanted slogans, passed out leaflets and listened to
talks about the how the death penalty is racially driven in the US; and
how the US state has never had a problem with framing and/or executing
dissidents (like Joe Hill, Sacco & Vanzetti, Black Panthers, American
Indian Movement members).
Organised by the anarchist Workers Solidarity Movement, the protest was
also supported by members of the Anti-Racist Campaign and the Socialist
Party. Media coverage included several mentions on national radio news
and a short piece in the Irish Times (second biggest daily newspaper)
Santa Cruz, CA
On April 4th 1997, the anniversary of the assasination of MLK Jr.
We here in Santa Cruz, California recognized it as a day of freedom in the quest
of freeing our brother Mumia Abu-Jamal. There was about 400 people in
attendance, who were accorded a wonderful evening of readings from Death
Blossoms. Poet Adrienne Rich, Activist/Professor Bettina Aptheker, were
among the esteemed readers of the eloquent writings of Mumia's latest
book. The event was an extraordinary show of unity and power as the
audience was enthralled and uplifted throughout the evening by emotional
rendering of Mumia's passionate prose.
[more reports on the Days of Remembrance - April 4 and 5 - as they arrive]
Greensboro, South Carolina
One grueling and amazing week later, I am happy to report that the Pam Africa Greensboro speaking tour was a tremendous success, and I'm not just tooting the Greensboro horn. People are really stepping forward to DO something for Mumia--one local minister has offered to help get a BUSLOAD together for the next demonstration. Pam got to speak to a total of about 500 people during the week--three college campuses, three bookstores, an anti-racist youth group, and a union hall (which gathered over 25 people despite an inch of ice on the roads, a major factor in the balmy south). We raised a lot of money, and definitely raised some consciousness too, on a variety of issues, from the prison economy to gentrification, from racism to local issues like the case of Kwame Cannon, a 27 year old African-American man currently serving TWO LIFE SENTENCES for six non-violent cat burglaries. (Kwame's mother, Willena, a local activist and former member of the Communist Workers Party, successfully sued and held the city of Greensboro liable for the deaths of five CWP members after Klansmen and Nazis attacked an anti-racist demonstration in 1979.) Pam and her crew pulled no punches during their busy schedule--challenging people on what they were going to do to prevent the legal lynching of yet another freedom fighter, and people are responding to the challenge. And like their visit in November of 1995, Pam and co. were able to bring together workers and students, black and white, and find important points of unity while respecting the autonomy of different groups. We're sad to see them go, but we send with them our best wishes in building the movement to FREE MUMIA!!!
Scott Trent, Greensboro Committee to Defend Mumia Abu-Jamal
More Action Reports:
January - December 2000 |
January - December 1999
January - December 1998 |
January - December, 1997 |
January - December, 1996
September - December, 1995 | August 1 - August 12, 1995 |July 27 - July 31, 1995
July 5 - July 26, 1995 | June
2 - July 4, 1995 | Most recent reports
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