From: "Marpessa Kupendua" Save Address - Block Sender To: Save Address Subject: [Y4M] !*Shaka Lives on Through Our Struggle Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 20:41:34 -0400 ReplyReply AllForwardDeletePreviousNextClose FORWARDED MESSAGES ====================== NOTE: Ricky Jason is the real true and good brotha who let everyone know worldwide about the beating and gassing of his good friend Shaka after witnessing his battered condition during a prison visit. Nuff respect! ------------------------ From: Sent: Sunday, July 02, 2000 4:52 PM governor bush killed an innocent man gary graham (shaka sankofa ) my friend from ricky jason 7-2-2000 i'm sitting here thinking, i still can't believe that my friend gary graham (shaka sankofa) is gone. the killing part of this whole thing is that governor george bush of texas is running for president the man don't care about human life, if he can get on national tv and say he don't care if this hurt his campaign what do he care about. shaka also wrote an opening letter to governor bush that he directed me to send via express mail,which i did. shaka wrote the letter on 1-22-200. shaka ending words to governor bush in his letter were: before i go any further, sir, let me say that it is not my intention to patronize or challenge you in any way that will lead you to feel that, in the end, there must be a winner and a loser. communication, is the objective. so, let us now, if we can, agree to disagree. thank you sir for your time,attention and consideration. never forget that you and your actions will receive the deserved verdict from posterity and history. you can see shaka was fighting for his life and wanted to live, we had great plans to do great things, for one shaka wrote a book on his life, and we put out a cd with shaka speaking live called "let the evidence be heard" and also have two oil paintings, one of shaka, and one of shaka and mumia together, he also wanted to work with the youth. we have done all of this in the year and a half, i've been seeing him every week on hell texas death row. i feel that it was a disgrace that governor bush wouldn't see rev. jesse jackson to talk about this URGENT MATTER. rev jesse jackson have done a lot for blacks and whites, he risk his life going to the other country to get the white us army men, and he brought them back safe, when president clinton couldn't go and do his job,and other usa. leaders. when jesse jackson needed their help, clinton didn't return the flavor in other words they used rev.jesse jackson. i'm sitting here hurting because i knew my friend wanted to live, just thinking of him on that death bed, I KNOW HIM! HE WAS THINKING THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME, THIS IS IT. I KNOW HE WAS SCARED I CAN FEEL HIM, BUT HE DIED WITH STRENGTH AND DIGNITY, HE WAS THAT KIND OF PERSON STRONG!. I LIKE TO THANK EVERY ONE THAT HELPED IN SHAKA'S PLIGHT. WEBSITE : SAVESHAKA.0-DEC.COM RICKY JASON (409-924-7303) ---------------------- Note from Mark Clement: If you have not ordered your CD, Let the Evidence Be Heard, you will not regret ordering it. Call Ricky Jason at 409-924-7303 or e-mail . On the CD you will hear, Really Gonna Miss You, a song Ricky wrote and sang to Shaka many times on death row. ===================================> From: Sent: Monday, July 03, 2000 1:52 PM MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO SHAKA SANKOFA (formerly known as Gary Graham) FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2000 at 6:30 pm House of the Lord Church 415 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn NY (2,3,4,5 toNevins Street, A Train to Hoyt-Schermerhorn) Join us in a celebration of the life of An African Freedom Fighter - Shaka Sankofa. A true HERO who has left us all his LEGACY OF RESISTANCE! NEVER GIVE UP! Shaka Sankofa was murdered by Gov. George W. Bush and the racist-fascist state of Texas / America. Shaka was an innocent man who died fighting back! WE WILL NEVER FORGET! CREATIVE RETALIATION! "The admirable thing about that young man, poor, marginalized and black, and perhaps for those reasons condemned to death without proof, is how during his interminable wait on death row he developed an impressive political and social conscience which was expressed at the moment of his execution. He didn't go like a lamb to the slaughter. He forcibly resisted the execution process right up until his death, as he had promised. He spoke like a prophet. He called for the fight to go on against what he called the holocaust or genocide that is being suffered by African-Americans. He demanded the vindication of his innocence. He died like a hero." Fidel Castro =====================================> From: Mark Clement Sent: Friday, June 23, 2000 2:56 PM Europe Outraged Over U.S. Execution by COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press Writer BERLIN (AP) -- Europeans, who have mounted furious anti-death penalty campaigns, reacted with outrage but little surprise Friday to news that the state of Texas had executed death row inmate Gary Graham. Opposition to the death penalty is unanimous among European governments, and the issue is increasingly one on which Europe has asserted its independence from America. Because Europeans feel they share so many values with the United States, they are even more perplexed that it won't abandon capital punishment. ''It does not fit: The United States presents itself on the one hand as the world police defending human rights, and on the other side it carries out the death penalty,'' said German lawmaker Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. She called on the German government to ''make this detestable topic the object of discussions with our American friends.'' European anti-death penalty activists are pinning hopes for change in America on the presidential campaign that has made capital punishment a national debate. In the wake of the Graham case, presumptive GOP nominee and Texas Gov. George W. Bush was taking the brunt of their attacks. Italy's Communist newspaper Il Manifesto took a direct swipe at Bush, featuring a photo covering a third of the front-page under the headline: ''The executioner doesn't let up.'' The head of Italy's Democratic Left party, Walter Veltroni, called Bush ''cold and bureaucratic'' after the governor commented that ''justice was done.'' The outrage was amplified by a study published last week by Columbia University that found two-thirds of all death penalty appeals from 1973-95 were successful. The study's authors said that fact indicates serious flaws in the capital punishment system. ''It is an important step that this knowledge can't be set aside anymore -- not even in Republican circles,'' said Sina Vogt, a spokeswoman in Germany for the European Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. ''We think it is absolutely necessary that Bush joins his colleague in Illinois in a moratorium on the death penalty while the system is reviewed. That is the first step.'' While the opposition to Graham's execution was widely expressed on general principle, critics in Italy, Germany, Britain and at the United Nations said it also violated international law because Graham was 17, a minor, at the time of the crime for which he was sentenced to die. Graham was found guilty of the 1981 murder of a man during a holdup outside a Houston supermarket. The state parole board and appeals courts rejected his arguments that he was convicted on shaky evidence from a single eyewitness and that his trial lawyer did a poor job. ''It is a textbook example of how flawed the U.S. approach to the death penalty is,'' Amnesty International spokesman Rob Freer said in London. ''The U.S. also flouted requirements of international law that an accused person should have adequate legal assistance throughout the process and that the penalty should not be imposed if there is a serious doubt about the person's guilt.'' U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, who had appealed directly to Bush for a stay of execution, said the execution ''ran counter to widely accepted international principles.'' Robinson said she ''acknowledged the seriousness of Mr. Graham's crime,'' but contended that ''abolition of the death penalty contributes to enhancement of human dignity and progressive development of human rights.'' AP-NY-06-23-00 1438EDT<  ===========================================> From: C. Clark Kissinger Message to the Fighters for Justice SHAKA, MUMIA... AND US [Revolutionary Worker #1061, July 1, 2000] We took it hard when they killed Shaka Sankofa. We saw him fight with all he had, right up to the end. We heard his courageous last words telling us to "march on" and vowing that "they can kill a revolutionary, but they can't stop the revolution." We were raw in our mourning and in our anger. We were inspired by Shaka and full of contempt for the ones who murdered him. We felt the weight of the oppressive institutions and the armed power that this system can bring down against the people. And we are more determined than ever that ALL THIS MUST CHANGE! Mao Tsetung once wrote in a poem that "bitter sacrifice strengthens bold resolve." The imperialists have sacrificed Shaka Sankofa to their sewer-dwelling gods of Greed, Racism, and Fear and this is truly bitter. Now it falls to us to complete Mao's thought and "dare to make sun and moon shine in new skies." This blatant injustice must haunt the murdering Bush, the cold-blooded Gore and their whole class, this summer and fall - dogging their heels and exposing the bloody teeth behind their smirking grins. The spirit of Shaka must live, propelling us as we "march on." ***** Many of those fighting against the execution of Shaka Sankofa have been fighting for justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Some had first stepped into political life on account of Mumia. Mumia and Shaka -- over a thousand miles apart, but linked by a common opposition to the system, a shared dedication to the people and a life on death row. Two Black revolutionaries - one who was put behind bars for being a revolutionary; one who became a revolutionary behind bars - both locked down and sentenced to die. Mumia had written about Shaka and called on people to support him. As Shaka fought his last fight, and then as his execution was finally announced, our thoughts and feelings, our hopes and dreams, could not help but leap from one man to the other, and then back again. We looked at Shaka and saw that the forces that had been drawn to his cause were not enough to defeat the imperialists. All the undeniable right on the side of Shaka Sankofa could not stop the relentless machinery of injustice this time. The morality of his case meant nothing to those whose morals are reckoned in profit and power. The resistance in the streets, courageous as it was, could not raise the specter that could force his killers to back off this time. But Shaka's brave words, his concern for the masses, his analysis of the system, and his resistance helped to set the tone as millions of people were awakened to the cold realities behind the death penalty in this country - the racism, the class nature of the system, the complete lack of justice in the courts, and the callous enforcers who make life-and-death decisions as easy as pushing a button on the FAX machine. And in the wake of this execution we see fear within the power structure itself that the murderous reality and injustice behind their so-called freedom and democracy has been thrust into the light of day. Those who want justice for Mumia will learn from this and learn well. We will draw on our grief and outrage at what was done to Shaka Sankofa and then transform it into energy in our fight for justice for Mumia - and our fight to end the whole system of injustice. The enemy has demonstrated the utter heartlessness of their system to millions of people. And we must redouble our efforts to forge the strategy, movement and organization that can defeat that enemy. This means persevering to unite all who can be united to stop the execution - reaching out to the millions whose eyes have been opened by the murder of Shaka. It means reaching deep among the basic proletarian people who hate this system - respecting, not fearing, the ferocity of those who have nothing to lose. It means reaching wide among the youth - unleashing, not holding back their daring and determination to change the whole world. In the past several months there have been extremely important gains made by the movement for Mumia. But the execution of Shaka Sankofa makes clear that more -- much much more -- is needed to win. And in order to actually win, we must draw deeply on what has been accomplished and take it higher and further. We will have to pool our creativity, our efforts and daring still more. We need to persevere to make known the true story of Mumia so that where you stand on this case becomes a dividing line in society. The story of Mumia is the story of a Black revolutionary and journalist under police surveillance for years; of a police department and court system that stands out for its racism, corruption, and brutality, of a war against Black radicals by powerful forces in the Philadelphia power structure; of a trial so racist and biased that it defiles every standard of fairness and justice; and of a man who refuses to bow down or give in - and who, from his cell on death row, makes his voice heard against the living legacy of white supremacy in this United States of America. The more people understand this story, the more committed they will be to fight for justice. And millions must make it known through our actions that the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal is an intolerable and unacceptable injustice. This summer, it is crucial that we continue to let the movement to stop Mumia's execution be "heard" in new ways - and with new scope. Throughout the U.S. - and around the world - we need a situation where millions of people believe that this execution "should not happen" and there is a powerful and passionate movement of people for whom "this cannot happen." Some weeks back, we wrote something worth recalling in the wake of the murder of Shaka Sankofa: "We Maoists have a basic stand towards the enemy's viciousness: DARE TO STRUGGLE, DARE TO WIN... "We have defended Mumia, we have learned from Mumia, and we do not intend to let the executioner's hand stop that! As far as we're concerned, this execution CANNOT happen. We're going to continue to fight in this movement, uniting with others who have very different viewpoints to increase its broadness, diversity and determination. We are going to continue to help the people escalate the struggle and do what is needed. And we vow to make every outrage in this battle another nail in the coffin of the imperialists." C. Clark Kissinger gave a picture at the February Emergency National Conference to Save Mumia Abu-Jamal of some of what that means: "We must raise the specter of high schools and universities across the nation shut down by striking students. We must raise the specter of people of conscience chaining themselves to the White House fence. We must raise the specter of debate and controversy breaking out in every sector of society. We must raise the specter of millions marching in the streets. We must raise the specter of teachers, artists, and influential writers losing faith in the system itself-and communicating their infection to others. We must raise the specters of [the] Los Angeles [1992 rebellion] and [the battle of] Seattle. And we must make the United States a pariah in the international community, a country whose very name is synonymous with racism and legalized murder. [We must create a] situation, in short, where they would have to pay an unacceptable price in every arena of society." Brothers and sisters, we took it hard when they killed Shaka Sankofa. And now we must give it back in return, ten times harder. Stop the execution! New trial for Mumia! Youth & Students for Mumia www.mumia2000.org To subscribe or unsubscribe email: youth-4-mumia-owner@egroups.com