Block Report Radio special on KPFA
Celebrate Mumia’s birthday and his fight to keep the revolution alive on Saturday, April 24, 4-6 p.m., on KPFA 94.1 FM and KPFA.org. April 24 is the 56th birthday of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the award-winning journalist who has spent the last 28 years on death row in Pennsylvania. He was convicted for the shooting death of a Philadelphia police officer, Daniel Faulkner, in December 1981 – a crime he insists he did not commit. Mumia’s commentaries “live from death row” have made him perhaps the world’s most famous and revered political prisoner.
Saturday’s two-hour special on KPFA, produced by Minister of Information JR of Block Report Radio and the First Voice Apprenticeship Program, will feature Philadelphia journalist Linn Washington, former presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, Prisoners of Conscience Committee Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., hip hop artist M1 of dead prez and other notable voices, along with commentaries by Mumia himself, who, despite facing the possibility of imminent execution, has never stopped speaking truth to power and organizing the people with his wise words. Spread the word and tune in KPFA Saturday at 4 p.m.
Here’s the archived show, a must-listen! Listen to Saturday’s two-hour special on KPFA.
A message to all friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal from Yuri Kochiyama
Mumia’s birthday is April 24 and we would like to celebrate a gigantic Freedom Birthday Remembrance for Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Please join Pam and Ramona Africa and all who love and admire Mumia by avalanching him through the month of April with Freedom Birthday wishes. And, to those who can afford to, please send a few dollars through postal money orders. This would be helpful when he is released.
Mail cards to: Mumia Abu-Jamal, AM 8335, SCI Greene, 175 Progress Dr., Waynesburg, PA 15370-8090.
Tell your family members, friends, fellow workers, neighbors, classmates etc. Also, notify progressive radio stations, newspapers and organizations. Please do so immediately.
Remember what Mumia has endured at the hands of the U.S. government and the Pennsylvania criminal justice system. Mumia has already done 32 years and is still on death row because of prosecutorial misconduct. Yet he is innocent! Act now before it is too late.
Don’t let Mumia become another victim of a government’s destructive history. Mumia’s life is in peril and must be saved. He is needed to teach us how to fight for a better world for all. If ever Mumia was needed, it is now!
Join us in celebrating Mumia’s birthday and let it be a celebration for Mumia’s freedom!
Remember we need him more than he needs us. We need him, not only for today, but for all the tomorrows coming. Join us. Write to Mumia now.
Support a civil rights investigation for Mumia Abu-Jamal! Come to Washington, D.C., on April 26!
by the International Action Center
This is a critical moment in the long battle to save the life of world-renowned African-American political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been on Pennsylvania’s death row for almost 28 years. Millions of people worldwide know that he has never had a fair trial or appeals process before a jury of his peers – that he has been denied his basic legal and constitutional rights.
Recent developments are ominous and dangerous. In the past year all possibilities for a new trial have been closed off by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, which has sent Mumia’s case back to the Third Circuit court for reconsideration of his possible execution – without a new sentencing trial.
Mumia’s life is in grave danger – now more than ever!
In this 28th year of the international struggle for justice for Mumia, the legal system’s alternatives are either life in prison without parole or execution. Thousands of people around the globe say “NO WAY!” as they plan celebrations of Mumia’s 56th birthday on April 24 in a strong demonstration of the continually growing, vibrant national and international movement.
It has been nearly a year since the campaign began to call for Attorney General Eric Holder and the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a full civil rights investigation into 28 years of violations of Mumia’s legal and human rights – all part of the campaign to silence this extraordinary fighter for justice.
Already 40,000 petitions and postcards have been collected which demand this investigation. Last June the Free Mumia Coalition and others lobbied the Congressional Black Caucus and appealed to the NAACP 100th anniversary convention to support this campaign, which this esteemed organization is doing.
The first 20,000 petitions were delivered to the U.S. Department of Justice on Nov. 12, 2009, following a press conference with Amnesty International, the NAACP, representatives from Haiti and Germany, among others, with solidarity messages from hundreds of international labor activists and unions. Every Thursday, there is a weekly call-in campaign to the U.S. Department of Justice, calling for a federal civil rights investigation. Call the Justice Department at (202) 353-1555.
Come to Washington, D.C., on April 26!
On April 26, we will go back to Washington, D.C., to deliver another 20,000 letters and post cards. There will be a press conference at 11:30 a.m., then a walk to deliver more petitions to the U.S. Department of Justice at 1:00 p.m. We will call for a meeting and a full-scale civil rights investigation. To say “NO” is just not acceptable. (For information, see www.freemumia.com/april26.html.)
We are gearing up for this stage of the struggle, as the right-wing forces in the city of Philadelphia – including police, politicians and courts – and the state of Pennsylvania, are trying with all their might to assure that Mumia is executed. The so-called “free press” is helping them, as newspapers and TV “news” spew disinformation about Mumia’s case and write hostilely about him.
This campaign is an uphill battle that needs your support! The government is doing all it can to discourage and undermine it. We will not be stopped! We plan to organize and keep organizing in the long struggle ahead!
There is vital support from the NAACP, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Riverside Church Prison Ministry, dozens of international unions, actor Ruby Dee, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Professors Cornel West, Noam Chomsky and Henry Louis Gates, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, and hundreds more national and international organizations.
However, people from all over the country and worldwide must make their voices heard and their presence felt in order to convince the federal government to investigate the 28-year railroading of Mumia and denial of his basic rights to due process. It is the strength of people protesting that will pressure the Justice Department to review the racist frame-up of this leading international journalist – the “Voice of the Voiceless,” as he’s known to millions, who read, listen to and treasure his words.
It was a mass demonstration in August 1995 which stopped his execution then!
How you can help now! Funds are urgently needed!
Donate NOW to help the campaign to win Mumia’s freedom! Go online to http://www.iacenter.org/prisoners/mumia/donatemumia.
Crucial expenses for this campaign include bus transportation to Washington, D.C., printing of palm cards, fliers and petitions; making of banners and signs; hall rentals for press conferences and meetings; purchase of video supplies; copying and express mailing of vital legal and other documents; hosting of international guests for the April 26 activity – and so much more!
This is a grassroots campaign! All funds are donated by people such as you from around the country. We appeal to you to donate as much as you can to make this campaign a viable and successful one. This may be the last chance to challenge the court’s refusal to grant Mumia one iota of justice.
Also, you can sign the online petition at http://www.iacenter.org/mumiapetition.
We thank you for your support and hope to see you in Washington, D.C. on April 26 and beyond.
Signed by,
Pam Africa, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (Philadelphia)
Suzanne Ross, Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (New York City)
For more information and to get involved, contact the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition, P.O. Box 16, College Station, NY, NY 10030, (212) 330-8029, www.FreeMumia.com, info@FreeMumia.com.
