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PRODUCTION TEAM:
Tiffany Rodriguez — Photographer
Tiffany is 18, a senior at Fannie
Lo t Freedom High Schoo
Maria’Soriano — Writer
Maria is 18, a senior at Fannie Lou |
Hamer Freedom High School.
John Serrano — Artist
John is 18, a freshman at Hunter a
Javier Gaston-Greenberg — Poet . Ba
Javier is 17 and a senior at Be
Brooklyn Friends High School. ars
Suheir Hammad — Poet Ba 1X a
y. Lissett Barros & baa N
Neo Atkinson — Cover Artists Pa 5X
“SLAM facilitators: | Ba ea Pea : 33
| gandfa.Barros & Jed Brandt iy :
| 53 63 ns “A
| MUMIA TAMELIWE
1954 - Robert Westley Cook born, later changes his name to Mumia Abu-Jamal. 1968 - Mumia joins the



Mumia Abu-Jamal is. an’ African-American
activist: who became known for defending the
poor, the) homeless and speaking up about
police brutality and racism; 1m. 1968, atthe age
of fourteen, Mumia was arrested and beaten
for protesting ata rally against’ the openly
racist presidential: candidate George Wallace,
When he was fifteen he joined a campaign’ to
change the name of his high school to. Malcolm
X. Around’ this time, he also became a member
of the Black Panther Party, This is when the FBI
began keeping a) file on him. Having served as
minister of information for the’ Philadelphia
Black Panthers, Mumia‘ learned skills that led
him to a-career in media,

Mumia’ is “an award-winning: journalist: he
has been broadcast on several: national radio
shows , including the National’ Black Network,
National Public “Radio and the Radio
Information Center for the’ Blind. On) those
shows he spoke about the abuse of people off
color, and the MOVE organization.

MOME is a black organization: based: in
Philadelphia.: In1978, the police shot: at’ their
communal home. When one police officer got
shot, ten MOVE members were arrested and
prosecuted, By 198s, the Philly’s police depart=
ment’s: confrontation with MOVE led to: the
bombing of their house with women and chil-
dren still/inside, Mumia consistently covered
official press conferences and on his radio show
spoke about ‘the Injustices: that. were being
directed towards the MOVE organization by the
Philadelphia police, All this pissed off the police
department and then-mayor Frank Rizzo.

During, the summer of 1981 Mumia covered
the trial of John Africa, founder of the MOVE
organization: Africa defended himself and was
acquitted of a group of charges including
weapons-violations and conspiracy, Mumia was
very: Impressed) by John) Africa although: his
views were in the minority.

On the morning of December 9, 1981; Mumia.
was driving his taxi In downtown Philadelphia,
He noticed a police officer beating a young
blackman; When he went to find out what was
going on-he realized thatthe young black man
was his younger brother Bill Cook. Mumia got
into a struggle with the police and gunshots
were firéd. One shot hit Mumia in the stomach,

BY MARIA SORIANO

and the other shot and killed police
officer Daniel Faulkner,

Before Mumia was taken to, the
hospital for treatment, the police sav-
agely beat him and! then’ took their time
driving him to the hospital, During the trial, the
prosecution: claimed that. Mumia: loudly <con-
fessed that he had shot the police officer, This
confession was never evem mentioned’ until
two months after it supposedly happened, The
police officer who guarded: Mumia in the hospi-
tal reported that.Mumia didn't talk at all, and
the doctor that'Was.on callialso said the Mumia
didnt: talk But the jury never heard from the
police officer because the prosecution lied and
said that he wasn't available,

During his trial, Judge Albert: Sabo didn’t
allow Mumia‘s court appointed lawyer to pres
pare adequately, He Was given insufficient
money and didn’t interview one witness. When
Mutnia’ tried ‘to! exercise the right to defend
himself; he was accused of distuption and was
removed from the courtroom for most of the
proceedings. Tddge Sabo has sentenced more
people to death than any;other sitting judge in
the United States,

Witnesses say chat they saw. someone run-
ning away from the scene, but it doesn’t appear
in the police report, Mumia’s ‘brother, perhaps
the most relevant witness was not interviewed
by either the defense or the prosecution. The
prosecution claimed that ballistics evidence
proved that Mumia was the shooter, but no one
got to see the report of the medical examiner;
neither-d4umia nor his gun: xore.over
tested for gunpowder residue aiid
ontop of that the bullet that
killed ‘the police: officer
was “lost.”

The prosecution “said
that. a Withess identified
Jamal as the shooter, but the
jury never heard from eyewi!
mess William 'Singletarry, He 63
entire incident and reported a): 1)
that Mumia wasn’t the shoot
came forward with a story that ditt
the “official story,” the police intimidated him

2 %.

SS

and he:.quickly ‘left the city. ‘Key witnesses
Veronica’ Jones, Cynthia. ‘White: and’ Robert
Cohobert testified iafavor of the police during
the trial’in 1982e1t was. later discovered that
Jones'was threaten@d with taking/away her chil-
dren ‘if she didn’t testify in) their’ favor.
Cohobert, a white <ab driver, told the police at
the scene that.a shooter ran. away, but some
how he ended'up agreeing with the police story.
When Veronica Jones testified in MuUmia’s sup>
port during the appeals process, she was imme-
diately arrested in the courtroom on old! out of
state charges, even though she was given
exemption from ‘criminal prosecution along
with Cynthia White.

At this: point in time, Mumia’s case js:at a
critical moment. This’ summer, Mumia will
appear in. court before judge William Yohn.
Yohn will hear oral arguments ‘and decide
whether the federal district court should give
Mumia.a new: trial, With this appeal, the federal
district court could review the old trial and newly
discovered evidence.

Some of the supporters involved in the move-
ment for Mumia are Amnesty, International, the
National: Coalition’ To Abolish The Death
Penalty, Johnnie. Cochran, David Dinkins, the
Dorismond: family, the Baez family and Martin
Lather King, IM, There areseveral celebrities like

i Prez. Mos Def, RagewAgainst The Machine,
| bi Hurricane” Carter who have stepped
vard-on Mumia's behalf.

Mantly.evenits have'takeniplace in
support of Mumia like rallies, ‘civil
disobediences and! marches.
Pressure from the people has kept
Mumia alive, Mumia. has received
a stay of execution, first: In 1995
and then-another in1999. Allithis so

ii
Muneiy | i that one day he can be heard and
Af if

the people can be heard and Mumia
can’ be given, back his freedom,

Mumia becomes an

a chapter of the Black Panther Party to become local If

er of Information. 1968-71 - FBI wages war on the Pa



ice brutality? Mumia’s, situation isa
very real possibility for many of our
young people, especially after the Diallo

That Was really'a wake up call for
lot oung heads.and they had totake
a second. look at Mumia’s case. There is a

system ‘of control aimed at our youth.
When innocent men get shot down, and ~

then their characters are attacked ‘by
politicians to justify it, resistance becomes
necessary. Mumia was someone who saw
that. He fought»back with organization
and information. Just because the police
are still trying to take him down doesn’t
mean we'll put up with it.

In your opinion, how do you think every-
thing that’s been going on with police
brutality will affect Mumia’‘s.case? Sadly,
| think it will help strengthen Mumia’s
support system. Not that this is a bad
thing, but it’s a shame that it takes such
ruthless murders for people to realize
it

Jit
ent cases of -

m
put edit

‘wit do you think young | people need to
do? They.need to continue with their cre-
ative approach in educating
ing other young people. The:
nize that culture is an indi
in building a movement. This is levident in
the role that the Hip-Hop culture has--
played in Mumia’‘s case and the move-
ment to smash police brutality.

What would Mumia’s release mean to the
movement, and what would it say about
the justice system? About the justice sys-
tem? That's a hard call. There’s a lot of dif-
ferent political interests involved. But
what it would say for and about the
movement is a whole other story. It
would be a true demonstration of our
strength, unity and determination. It
would inspire people to continue to be
committed to struggling for a better
world. This victory will be such a blow to
the system that the aftershocks are gonna
rock their shit for decades to come.

RACHEL in action as MC for the April 5th
Youth Day of fiction Against Police Brutality.
Schools walked out all over the city on the
4lst Day after the Diallo verdict.

reason t

n't do anything.

shot by a cop and Office



birds in this letter | by suheir hammad |

birds rest there
mumia

in your hair resisting
teeth bars the cuffs on
your wrists

fists full of young locks
they twisted you by
raining locusts down upon
ill-a-delph nights

smell of sewage under fresh
gear it was fear did this
tous you turn :
birds flaming your crown
around and turn us

it was fear did this

not medusa’s lust

no serpents temptation
it was fear froze us

turn around look at us

staining asphalt
bring us back » y

with your poet’s blood

yes you a poet

and you yes a lover
made his woman sigh

a father a panther man an
africa man a move man

dear mumia,

it is 2:30 in the morning and
preparing for a trip, i’m writing
you this. i‘ve often wondered
how you sleep. how often. are
there naps on death row? such
a thing as a sweet dream?
knowing your face and spigit
permeates the sleep of so many
who know about and work
against your incarceration and
appointed execution. what does

mumia you turn us poet
move us man us

pillars of salt weighed
down turnus our bodies
urns of ash

mud caked lids

we taste of tears

WHO SUPPORTS

Pu if i j
-
Suheir is an original New York poet, author

of two books and a student at CUNY.

a condemned man dream of?
does your body rise to meet the
sun each dawn? a last second
wish before you open your eyes
to be home, be anywhere else.

in the five years since the ‘95
summer of mobilization to stop
your execution, how many
poems have been written about
you, read at fundraisers, rallies,
in classrooms and around
tables? how many my own
dreams have you appeared in,
your hair always on fire, the
smoke rising in the shape of
osage ave's dead children? and
how have you slept? fuck the
Past 5 years. how have you
slept in the past 5 days? these
last 5 hours? |

This is a struggle that can’t
be abandoned. We've got to
do whatever we can to free
Mumia. — Johnny Cochran

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Casting his shadow on the world
And breast feeding the moon
He has light year burns

stot that haven’t reached earth
Brooklyn Friends covering his body

Caught in his black hole dreads
are Jupiter, Mars, Venus and me

Entangled in

Black pride

Kner dies of gunshot wounds. Mumia is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. TODAY - MUMIA IS ON DEATH ROW.

Whistling tornadoes

Dancing with smiles

Digging with words

Bathing in todays

Covered with yesterday's sweat
Whispering eternities

Visiting all as they awake

And welcome a new day

POEM FOR BROTHER MUMIA Black hope
BY JAVIER GASTON-GREENBERG Black power |
Black struggle

And out of the sunrise And he gently passes by Earth How many more are going to

Comes a traveling man from the cosmos _—_ Scratching the sky with lightning keep abusing this system.

The Alignment of the planets brings him — Exhaling clouds ; é

Piggy backing the sun Playing with tectonic plates as puzzles Those folice covering up for
the others need to be behind

bars for perjury. We are not
the minority, we're the majori-
ty. If we get riled up, we'll
stop the whole city. We can’t
allow Mumia to be another
victim of police brutality. He
speaks the truth. -Iris Baez,
(mother of Anthony Baez,
murdered by the NYPD)