From: "Marpessa Kupendua" Save Address - Block Sender To: Save Address Subject: [Y4M] !*Free Mumia News (7/16/00) More Updates/Report Backs Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 12:30:27 -0400 ReplyReply AllForwardDeletePreviousNextClose From: Job is a Right Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2000 4:13 PM FROM A JOB IS A RIGHT CAMPAIGN: PROTEST BUSH APPEARANCE IN MILWAUKEE THIS MONDAY, JULY 17! CONDEMN THE EXECUTION OF GARY GRAHAM (SHAKA SANKOFA)! DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE END TO THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE U.S.! Sisters and Brothers: Gov. George W. Bush is scheduled to speak at a campaign fundraiser this Monday evening, July 17, at the Midwest Express Center in downtown Milwaukee. We appeal to you to join with us in a protest to condemn the June 22 execution of Texas prisoner Gary Graham, also known by his chosen name of Shaka Sankofa, and to call for an immediate end to the death penalty in the U.S. We will gather at 5:30 pm at the corner of 4th St. and Wisconsin. The fundraising event is scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm. On June 22, Gary Graham, an African American prisoner also known by his chosen name of Shaka Sankofa, became the 135th person to be executed in Texas under the administration of Gov. George W. Bush. Graham's case received unprecedented attention in the national and world media, which widely presented it as an example of a system of capital punishment rife with inequities of class and race. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel alone ran two editorials questioning the justice of the verdict and sentence. Despite a groundswell of opposition, Gov. Bush refused to intervene in the execution, and so sent an innocent person to his death. Gov. Bush has presided over more executions than any other governor. He has refused to consider the call for a moratorium on the death penalty in Texas, maintaining that not even one innocent person may have been unjustly executed under his watch - this in a state where defense attorneys in capital cases have literally fallen asleep during trials. He has blocked the development of a system of public defenders in his state and has even mocked the appeal process of the first woman to be executed in Texas since the Civil War. Wisconsin is one of a minority of states that do not have the death penalty. It is important that Gov. Bush not be allowed to come to Milwaukee without progressive-minded people raising their voices in protest and condemnation. We urge you to join us on Monday. For more information, call A Job is a Right Campaign at (414) 374-1034. ======================================> From: Greg Butterfield Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2000 12:12 PM ------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the July 20, 2000 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- 20 ARRESTED AT GOVS' MEETING Fourteen death-penalty opponents chained themselves together and blocked the road leading to the Penn State Conference Center, site of the National Governors Association meeting in State College, Pa., July 9. The activists demanded to speak with the 38 state governors at the conference. According to Pennsylvania Abolitionists, which organized the action, they wanted to tell the governors to enact moratoriums on the death penalty in each state. One hundred supporters chanted "They say death row, we say hell no" while dozens of Pennsylvania State Troopers arrested the 14 activists and dragged them away. Later another protester was arrested. All 15 were charged with blocking a highway--a misdemeanor. "We came out here to demand a moratorium against the death penalty," said Jamie Graham. "This treatment is unconstitutional. We have a right to freedom of speech." (Centre Daily Times, July 10) Earlier that day over 150 people, including supporters of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, joined a multi-issue march through State College. The group Redirection 2000 organized the march. On July 10, five Penn State University students from Redirection 2000 were arrested. They refused police orders to stop protesting outside the "Taste of Pennsylvania" program put on for the governors by their host, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. Ridge has signed 205 death warrants since becoming governor, including two for Abu-Jamal. He's executed three people so far. --Greg Butterfield - END - SANKOFA EXECUTION HAUNTS BUSH: WWP CANDIDATE MOOREHEAD CONFRONTS GOV. DEATH By Greg Butterfield Eighteen days after the execution of Shaka Sankofa/Gary Graham, five Black activists disrupted Texas Gov. George W. Bush's speech at the NAACP national convention in Baltimore July 10. Workers World Party presidential candidate Monica Moorehead led the death-penalty foes that challenged Bush. She was joined by Larry Holmes, a leader of WWP and Millions for Mumia/International Action Center; Imani Henry, a coordinator of the lesbian/gay/bi/trans solidarity group Rainbow Flags for Mumia; and Qausu Thwaites and Rachel Leiner, two Antioch College activists. "Remember Gary Graham," they chanted. "Bush executed an innocent man!" Some NAACP delegates stood and applauded them. Others shouted their agreement. Bush stood on the platform, nervously pursing his lips and waiting for security guards to remove the protesters. The activists held their ground for several minutes in front of the media cameras. They waved signs reading: "Gary Graham, lynched for the crime of being Black," and, "We remember Gary's last words: Abolish the racist death penalty." Finally the group was hustled out by security guards. Holmes continued to chant as he was carried out headfirst. None of the protesters were injured or arrested. Bush went ahead with his speech. It was a wake up call to the audience--and the world. Bush, the Republican presidential candidate, was courting Black voters at the civil-rights group's meeting. The protest was a reminder that Bush is a butcher who runs one of the country's most brutal and racist death rows, the protesters said. "Bush does not have the right to be running for any office in this country, much less president," socialist candidate Moorehead told Workers World. "He's guilty of mass murder. "Al Gore's another supporter of legal lynching," she added, "and he'd better get ready, because we're coming after him too." The International Action Center's Justice for Gary Graham Campaign organized the action on a day's notice, she said. After the protest, the NAACP released a statement calling Sankofa/Graham's execution a "gross miscarriage of justice." The group called for a national moratorium on executions. "The NAACP was forced to take a stand on this issue," Moorehead said. "Because of what we did, a lot of the delegates had to think long and hard about what Bush did and how he had the power to stop that execution. "There was a lot of sympathy for what we were doing from the delegates," she told WW. HOUNDING `GOV. DEATH' African Americans are 12 percent of Texas's population. But Black people account for 41 percent of death-row inmates there. Since 1995 Gov. Bush has presided over 138 executions. He claims that no innocent person has been executed. But Sankofa/Graham's supporters say Bush's decision to lethally inject the prisoner June 22 proves him a liar. "For a month before the execution, every major newspaper, magazine and television network reported to millions of people that the evidence pointing in favor of Gary Graham's innocence was the strongest in any death penalty case in recent memory," Holmes said. "But two weeks after the most publicized, scandalous execution in recent history, the media and politicians have stopped talking about Gary Graham, as if all the far- ranging and deeply troubling consequences of his execution were buried with him." Moorehead added: "Shaka's last words called on us to end the racist death penalty by any means necessary. "We heed that message. Everywhere that George Bush raises his head, we'll be there to get in his face. "We also believe that keeping Shaka's case in the public eye will help Mumia Abu-Jamal," the political activist on death row in Pennsylvania. "Like Shaka, all the evidence in Mumia's case points to his innocence in the 1981 killing of a police officer," Moorehead said. The protest succeeded in putting Sankofa/Graham's case back in the news. Within minutes major news Web sites carried the headline, "Bush speech marred by protesters." The next day newspapers worldwide carried the story. C-SPAN cable network showed the disruption live. ABC, CNN and NBC television networks also reported it. `SUMMER OF RESISTANCE' UNDERWAY Holmes said the Baltimore action was part of the "summer of resistance" by the movement to end the death penalty, abolish the prison-industrial complex and win a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Mass protests for those demands are scheduled at the Republican and Democratic conventions later this summer. "A key to the summer of resistance is to remember Gary Graham," said Holmes. "He has become the most prominent face of the women and men on death row." The cases of Sankofa/Graham and Abu-Jamal were prominent during three days of protests at the National Governors Association meeting in State College, Pa. On July 9, some 14 people chained themselves together and blocked a highway leading to the governors' meeting to protest the death penalty. They and another supporter were arrested. In Washington, Martha Barnett, the incoming president of the American Bar Association, announced July 10 that winning a national moratorium on executions would be a top priority for the 400,000-member lawyers' group. "I am putting together a call to action on the implementation of a moratorium on the death penalty," she told a news conference, adding that she would organize a national conference on the death penalty in Atlanta in October. (Reuters, June 10) GARZA WINS EXECUTION DELAY On July 7 President Bill Clinton officially delayed the scheduled Aug. 5 execution of Juan Raul Garza. Garza would have been the first federal death-row prisoner executed in 37 years. An outcry by Latino and Black groups forced Clinton, a supporter of legal lynching, to delay the execution. Leaders of the National Council of La Raza expressed outrage when they learned of the disproportionate number of Black and Latino people on federal death row. Seventeen of the 21 federal death-row inmates--over 80 percent--are people of color. Garza, a migrant farm worker from Texas, wants to raise the issue of racism in the application of the death penalty. He plans to ask Clinton for clemency based on the blatant discrimination in sentencing. But Garza's lawyers discovered there were no guidelines for a federal death-row prisoner to appeal for clemency-- even though it's a Constitutionally guaranteed right. Garza's reprieve is expected to last at least 90 days, until clemency guidelines can be put in place. The Democratic presidential candidate, Al Gore, says he supports Clinton's decision to delay the execution. But Gore again said he did not support a moratorium on executions. `WORKING-CLASS DEBATE' "We need to expose that Bush, Al Gore and Pat Buchanan are pro-death penalty," Monica Moorehead explained, "and that Ralph Nader, who is supposed to be a progressive alternative, has been silent about Shaka Sankofa's execution and the death penalty in general. "Our militant socialist election campaign is aimed at putting the issue of the death penalty and the struggle against racist repression back into the presidential debate," she told WW. "Having disruptions and demonstrations is the best way to debate this issue," Moorehead said. "This takes it out of the realm of traditional capitalist politics and into the streets, the real arena of working-class struggle. "That's why my running mate, Gloria La Riva, and I are devoting our efforts to organizing for the biggest possible turnout at the Republican and Democratic convention protests." She said, "Workers World Party's election campaign is the only one whose candidates have taken an active leadership role in fighting the racist death penalty. "We want to show that the only way to win real justice and equality is to organize and fight for it. "You have to be bold and active in the struggle, not just stand on the sidelines," Moorehead concluded. - END - (Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@workers.org. For subscription info send message to: info@workers.org. Web: http://www.workers.org) =======================================> From: iacenter@actionsf.org August 13 March for Mumia in Los Angeles For Immediate Release, July 14, 2000 Los Angeles Activists Denounce Threats By Mayor Richard "Bull" Riordan To Use Violence Against Protesters at Democratic National Convention San Francisco Bay Area Organizers Sending Buses to L.A. Protest A coalition of organizations and activists working to build the August 13 march and rally that calls for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal and an end to the death penalty today condemned the threats made by Mayor Richard Riordan to use violence and repression against demonstrators outside the Democratic National Convention. "Mayor Riordan's shameful threat in today's Los Angeles Times to use the LAPD against people expressing their First Amendment right to free speech and assembly is an attack on the rights of the people who will protest the Democrat convention. This is especially appalling considering the latest revelations of the LAPD's record of brutality, racism and corruption," said John Parker, a leading activist in the International Action Center/Millions for Mumia, which is playing a key role in the Aug. 13 demonstration. "Even more astonishing are the mayor's comments that 'we cannot tolerate non-violent civil disobedience.' Comparing the demonstrators to Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mayor Riordan states: 'Then, like Gandhi and King, they must be prepared to pay stiff fines and face arrest and jail.' Apparently the mayor approves of the punishments handed out to those who have historically resisted colonialism, racism and other injustices! "Mayor Riordan, who now threatens protesters with rubber bullets and pepper spray, aspires to play the role of the infamous Alabama Sheriff Eugene 'Bull' Connor who unleashed gas, dogs, water cannon and other violence on Dr. King and all those who marched against racism in the 1960s. "We will not be intimidated by the threats of Mayor Richard 'Bull' Riordan," said Parker. "We will march and rally by the thousands on Sunday, August 13, demanding a new trial and stay of execution for Mumia Abu-Jamal and an end to the racist, anti-poor death penalty." In the San Francisco Bay Area, a wide range of community activists are organizing buses to take people to the August 13 protest. At least 5 buses will be filled. Support for the August 13 National March and Rally for Mumia is growing quickly. "With the passing of Proposition 21 in California and the targeting of youth of color by the state, youth feel a greater need to protest at the Democratic National Convention," said Rachel Aoanan, a youth organizer for Millions for Mumia/International Action Center. We have dubbed this 'the Summer of Resistance,' and we will fill the streets of Los Angeles to tell the Democrats that we consider them equally responsible for increased repression from Los Angeles to San Francisco. "Mumia Abu-Jamal is a hero to youth activists, and we are committed to working with hundreds of thousands in the U.S. to win him a new trial, which we know will free him," said Aoanan. "Buses are coming from as far away as Seattle, and committees are mobilizing in more than 50 cities throughout California and the western U.S. to be in LA on Aug. 13 and the following days. We call upon the city officials to stop threatening violence against the demonstrations taking place that day and week," Wood continued. "It is the mayor, the police chief and other officials who are responsible for deliberately attempting to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. But they will not deter us or the thousands of others who are coming to LA. The city should immediately issue the requested permits for the Mumia march, the D2K activities, the protest against the Iraq sanctions, and the other protests scheduled for Aug. 13-17." Prominent endorsers of the August 13 National March include former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit, Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr. of Pastors for Peace, Abu-Jamal's attorney Leonard Weinglass, former political prisoner Geronimo ji Jaga (Pratt), poet Martin Espada, and many others. For more information, or to schedule an interview, call 415-821-6545 or 213-487-2368. ================================> From: Sent: Friday, July 14, 2000 6:12 PM Mumia Movement Grows In Chicago March and Rally July 8th Was a Success Congratulations to everyone in the CCFMAJ who marched on the South Side, July 8th. We marched with the African American Committee to Free Mumia Abu Jamal and Aaron Patterson. We helped make it a success by turning out a dozen people. We marched 2 miles and we were visible to thousands of people. It was successful for several reasons. There was dedication and commitment in the planning of the march and rally. About 3,000 leaflets were passed out in the south side and a 700 address mailing was sent by the CCFMAJ. WVON radio gave 2 hours one evening to the African American Committee. The Defender printed a lead article in its Wednesday issue, July 5th, announcing the rally. I attended two meetings of the African American Committee and helped to leaflet a south side cultural festival with 800 flyers. I collected 50 names for the mailing list that I shared with the African American Committee. I can't criticize too much the turn out of 125 marchers. We did all we could do. I don't think the church congregations and named religious endorsers came through. The Nation of Islam brought 10 people to the rally but didn't march. The best endorsers are the groups that are going to bring people. I think there is complacency and sometimes apathy in the Black community. But the movement for Mumia is definitely growing. Different groups in the city are working together. New people and youth are joining in. A dozen young people marched with their parents. They led us in singing and performed several dances in the rally at the park. In the rally under a large tree we all mingled and exchanged our papers. I talked with a gentleman that said he got the CCFMAJ mailing. He had signed the new mailing list from a week earlier. He remembered me. I was shocked for a second. "Glad to see you," I said. I invited him to the next CCFMAJ meeting on Wednesday. Fraternally Yours, Dave Vance ===============================================> International Concerned Family & Friends of MAJ P.O. Box 19709, Philadelphia, PA 19143 Phone - 215-476-8812/ Fax - 215-476-6160/ E-mail - icffmaj@aol.com Stop the execution! New trial for Mumia! Youth & Students for Mumia http://www.mumia2000.org