Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2000 22:58:10 -0400 From: Mark Clement FROM MUMIA ABU-JAMAL OUTSIDE AGITATORS Column Written 8/8/2000 Mumia Abu-Jamal, M.A. All Rights Reserved "...people who pronounce themselves in favor of the method of legislative reform in place of and in contradistinction to the conquest of political power, a social revolution, do not really choose a more tranquil, calmer and slower road to the same goal, but a different goal. Instead of taking a stand for the establishment of a new society, they take a stand for surface modifications of the old society." -- Rosa Luxemburg Reform or Revolution (1908) As the nation's Republican and political leaders had their feasts and festivities of opulence and splendor in the shadows of poverty, depravation and want, Philadelphia hosted hundreds of demonstrators, from a variety of movements, who each and all came to register their strong disapproval with the status quo; and who opposed the repressive state of affairs. What is interesting is how these people were projected and represented in the corporate media. Almost without exception, the people were likened to that infamous Southern epithet, "outside agitator." Demonstrators were called "anarchists," and some ridiculous media outlets seemed to whisper that they were ... (gulp!) "terrorists!" Similar media hyperbole will no doubt be projected at those who protest at the Dem Wealth-fest in L.A. Why? Because the media, certainly now more than ever, is a tool of wealth, and as such, the instrument of those who rule: the wealthy. When people challenge the status quo, no matter how vicious, no matter how vile that status quo, they are opposed by those who benefit from that status. There are few Americans today who dare to criticize the late civil rights leader, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now lionized, at the time of his early ministry of protest, he was criticized by virtually every major news outlet in the nation. It took the rise of unapologetic, militant activists like the late Malcolm X, and the fiery young lions, like Stokeley Carmichael (later Kwame Ture), H. Rap Brown (now Imam Jamil al-amin), and the revolutionary black Panther Party, to make the Rev. Dr. King look appealing to the rulers, and their media. For his national campaign of protests, however, he was frequently condemned by the press, for being an "outside agitator." When the French bourgeoisie and workers were rebelling against the Crown, Philadelphia's own Benjamin Franklin (Ambassador) and Virginia's Thomas Jefferson were "powerful alien subverters" of the French Government. French historian Pierre Gaxotte wrote, in The French Revolution (1932), regarding Franklin's influence: His house at Passy at once became the headquarters of the agitators. He was the high priest of the philosophers, the Messiah of the malcontents, the patron of the framers of systems.... People wrote to him from all quarters, begging him for advice.... [pp. 55-56]. In France, Franklin was an "outside agitator," spreading dangerous and subversive ideas about the uselessness of kings in the land ruled by Louis XIV. A young French lawyer was inspired by him, and dedicated his first speech in court to the American. That lawyer was Robespierre, one of the most radical of the French revolutionaries. Today, who calls Franklin, Jefferson, or Thomas Paine (who was made a French citizen after the Revolution, and elected deputy for Pas-de-Calais) "outside agitator"? The great African-American scholar Oliver Cox wrote, in Caste, Class & Race (1948): "In political-class conflict the ruling class will always be intolerant. Speech is never free to be used as a threat to the reign of a political class." [p. 169] Isn't that precisely what was shown in Philadelphia, the so-called "cradle of Liberty," which threw over 400 men and women into their most vile dungeon, Holmesburg Prison; the second oldest prison in America? Didn't they show this when they hit young protestors with fines of up to $1,000,000 (called "bail")? For daring to exercise their alleged rights of free speech and protest, they were denied every other so-called right imaginable. For true revolutionaries, there is no outside; for boundaries of race, and of caste, and of language, gender, and nationality fade into the commonality of human, and indeed of life. To the state, which draws its very meaning from social conflict and separation, nothing could be more dangerous. We must all learn from this; and build from this, for a revolution isn't a dinner party. It is a struggle, to really transform and change things. Let us begin. ©MAJ 2000 =================================> From: Mark Clement Media Alert Raymond Forni, President of the French National Assembly, will visit Mumia Abu-Jamal on August 28th. Mr. Forni will hold a Press Conference at Pittsburgh International Airport at 4:00 pm, following his death row visit. August 25, 2000. Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Raymond Forni, President of the National Assembly (Speaker of the House) of France, is currently touring the United States and has planned to visit SCI Greene in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania on Monday, August 28. A lawyer by profession, Mr. Forni is deeply committed to the reform of the penitentiary system in his own country, which was harshly criticized recently. Wishing to share his experiences in that field, he has chosen to visit a State Correctional Institute. Once the rapporteur of the bill on the abolition of the death penalty in his country and still an active supporter of the universal abolition of the death penalty, Mr. Forni is also due to meet the death row inmate Mumia Abu Jamal on the occasion of his visit to SCI Greene. Before leaving Pennsylvania, Mr. Raymond Forni will give a Press Conference at Pittsburgh International Airport on Monday, August 28 at 4.00 pm (Conference Room, 4th floor, Parking on the commercial curb). www.cosimapp-mumia.org --30-- ==============================> From: Tonya McClary Questions raised again in Gary Graham case Martin Luther King III, SCLC suggest victim was killed in 'hit' by drug organization in 1981 08/25/2000 By Michelle Mittelstadt / The Dallas Morning News ARLINGTON, Va. - Martin Luther King III and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference are raising new questions about the prosecution of Gary Graham, who was executed in June by the state of Texas. Flanked by other SCLC leaders, Mr. King offered Thursday what he described as yet more information suggesting that "an innocent man ... has been killed." File photo Gary Graham was executed for a 1981 murder in Houston. Mr. Graham, who was convicted in the 1981 murder of Bobby Lambert in a Houston supermarket parking lot, has long been a cause célèbre for death-penalty opponents and civil-rights activists. He was convicted on the basis of a single eyewitness account, absent any physical evidence tying him to the crime scene. Acknowledging guilt in a flurry of crimes committed after the murder, Mr. Graham denied killing Mr. Lambert. Mr. King and SCLC board member Dick Gregory said a key bit of information was missing at trial: That the Drug Enforcement Administration was trying to win Mr. Lambert's cooperation in a major drug investigation in Oklahoma at the time of his death. Echoing the view of a former DEA agent quoted in a June 19 Chicago Tribune article, they suggested Mr. Lambert was the victim of a "hit" ordered by a drug organization. "All we're asking for is the truth to come out," Mr. Gregory said at a news conference in suburban Washington, where the civil-rights organization was holding its national conference. The SCLC offered no court documents or records of its own, basing its case entirely on the Tribune article. Prosecutors discounted the information, saying the suggestion was not new that Mr. Lambert, a suspected drug trafficker, had a drug connection or that he might have been on a hit list. The initial police report on the Lambert killing contained the information, said Harris County assistant district attorney Roe Wilson. "The offense report stated that he had been charged in Oklahoma City for a narcotics offense and that DEA was aware of who he was and had some dealings with him," she said. Nothing was ever confirmed, she said, despite Houston police inquiries to DEA. "There was never any link that anyone could come up with," she said. "That's just pure speculation." District Attorney Johnny Holmes said that, in any case, it's irrelevant. "I suppose the inference they're trying to make is it obviously wasn't Gary Graham because he [Mr. Lambert] had a hit out on him," Mr. Holmes said. "The evidence was sufficient for the jury to convict, and they did, and that's the end of it." DEA officials offered no immediate comment. But Houston lawyer Jack Zimmerman, who represented Mr. Graham during appeals, said the Lambert information raises more questions. "Who knows what the jury would have done if they had known someone had a motive to kill ... [Mr. Lambert]?" he asked. Mr. Zimmerman said the appellate defense team was aware of the Lambert information but didn't raise the issue because they believed their best argument was the testimony of two eyewitnesses who said Mr. Graham was not the shooter. Mr. King, the SCLC's president, and Mr. Gregory said they would bring the Lambert information to the attention of Attorney General Janet Reno and would travel Tuesday to Austin in search of answers from Gov. George W. Bush and state Attorney General John Cornyn. "Both of these two gentlemen said they have no doubt that the right man died," Mr. Gregory said. "We want to ask the two of them what did they base that on." The SCLC is pressing for a moratorium on executions, using the Graham case to highlight concerns about the death penalty. "We believe injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," Mr. King said, his mother, Coretta Scott King, at his side. The Lambert information changes nothing, said gubernatorial spokesman Michael Jones and an aide to Mr. Cornyn. "We maintain our position that Gary Graham had super-due process, that an average of 20 courts and judges reviewed his case," said Heather Browne, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cornyn. "We still maintain the position that the court process worked and that there was ample time for review on all of the appeals brought by Mr. Graham and his attorneys. And that's not going to change." Staff writer Bruce Nichols in Houston contributed to this report. © 2000 The Dallas Morning News ==============================> Is there a local 'free mumia' group in the Atlanta, Ga. area? We would like to invite them to "http://www.Nattilove.com" CAMP REGGAE over labor day weekend. They may call me at 865-463-0400 (Knoxville area) or email me at Stuzaqt2@aol.com. Thank you and God Bless all your efforts. Nancy W. ===============================> From: Grassroots Media Network 3rd Grassroots Documentary Film & Video Festival The Grassroots Media Network invites you to submit your video and/or film projects for the 3rd Grassroots Documentary Film and Video Festival to be held in Austin, TX. March 9, 10, and 11, 2001. The Grassroots Documentary Film & Video Festival is sponsored by the Grassroots Media Network. The festival is a great place to present your work to the general public, worldwide media groups and independent media producers. *PURPOSE* The purpose of the Grassroots Documentary Film and Video Festival is to showcase progressive film and video works that focus on issues that are not recognized by mainstream media or that tackle issues in ways not done in mainstream media, with the main focus being on people of color, gays, lesbians, transgendered people, women, the environment, labor issues, poverty, housing issues and homelessness, health, civil disobedience, mass movements and other issues that effect our communities. *CRITERIA* The work must focus on issues not dealt with by, and relate to communities that are ignored by mainstream media. We are looking for works that use film & video as tools for communication to inform about a current or on-going struggle, to raise questions about what's being done, or to call for actions to help a cause. The emphasis is on content. *SUBMISSION* Please submit a 1/2" VHS copy of your work for our panel to review. To be considered for the Festival, a 1/2" VHS copy of the film/video work must be completed and postmarked by January 12th 2001. There is a $10 registration fee for each submission. All money received from registration will be used to cover cost involved with organizing the Festival. VHS copies cannot be returned. Please include a short description of you work and full name and address. Mail the video to: Grassroots Documentary Film & Video Festival C/O Thuyet Truong 1602 Chatham Austin, TX 78723 ===================================> 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 www.mumia.org To communicate directly w/Mumia please write to him at: Mumia Abu-Jamal AM 8335 SCI-Greene 175 Progress Drive Waynesburg, PA 15370 Stop the execution! New trial for Mumia! Youth & Students for Mumia http://www.mumia2000.org