International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal
September 22, 2007
We join the celebration of the people's victory in Texas supported by an international movement to save Kenneth Foster/Haramia KiNassor's life. May the movement continue until it frees Haramia altogether and abolishes the death penalty and the prison industrial complex. And congratulations to the tens of thousands of especially young Black people, who poured into the streets of Jena and around the country to stand up against injustice and racism, and the criminalization, brutalization, and railroading of young men of color into prison.
On the heels of these important challenges to the racist death machine in Texas, and to the intense racism and injustice we see across this country, perpetrated and supported by all aspects of the government, we await the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision on Mumia. As the decision could come down any day, we are making a tentative plan for the "DAY AFTER" should the decision be a negative one. In other words, if Mumia's death sentence is either affirmed or life in prison is imposed, we immediately take to the streets. Mumia should be released, based on his innocence and his so-called "trial". But we demand, at the very least, that he be granted a new and fair trial.
In an inter-city consultation, we have decided on three steps in our response:
1. An immediate press conference in Philadelphia upon announcement of the decision (that day, if possible, or at the latest the following morning),
2. Local Actions around the country "The Day After" and,
3. National Demonstration on the third Saturday after the decision, in Philadelphia.
Some of the planned local activities for the "day after" are:
In Philadelphia there will be a march from 13th and Locust, the scene of the original confrontation on December 9, 1981, to the Federal Building. It will be the following evening if that turns out to be a week day, or the following Saturday at noon.
In New York City, the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition and the Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal are calling for people to gather at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building on 125th Street from 5 to 8 PM, if it is on a weekday, and from 1 to 4 PM if it is a Saturday. We will let the community know what happened, mobilize for greater support for the street naming campaign, and organize people to join us in Philadelphia for the national demonstration scheduled for three weeks later.
The Partisan Defense Committee has called for a "day after"demonstration at the Federal Building in Lower Manhattan at 5 PM if on a weekday and from 1 to 4 PM if on a Saturday.
In San Francisco, the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal has called for a demonstration on the "day after" at 5 PM at the Federal Court House, 7th and Mission Street (NOT the Federal Building.). Call your local committee to find out what is being planned, or organize an activity. But everyone's voice of protest should be heard in some way if the decision is a bad one. We must free our Brother now!
As soon as we know what other local committees are planning for the "day after", we will send that information out. Please call the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition Hotline in NYC (212) 330-8029 to leave a message as to your plan for a local response with both your phone number and your e-mail address. You can also call Pam Africa at (215) 476-8812 or Suzanne Ross (917) 584-2135 if you want to speak with someone in person.
Free Mumia and All Political Prisoners! Abolish the Death Penalty and the Prison Industrial Complex! Stop Police and Government Terrorism!
(list in formation)
Pam Africa, International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (ICFFMAJ)
The MOVE Organization
Amiri and Amina Baraka, Poets/Activists
Albany Political Prisoners Support Committee
Ashanti Alston, National Jericho Movement
Elombe Brath, Patrice Lumumba Coalition/ Harlem Campaign to Name a
Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Comite de Soutien a Mumia Abu-Jamal de Marseille (France)
Comite Mumia de Saint-Denis (France)
Dhoruba Bin Wahad, National Jericho Movement
Tameka Cage, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Martha Conley, Pittsburgh Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Committee
Colia Clark, Grandmother, Mothers, Daughters, Sisters and Granddaughters on the Move to Free Mumia and More; Richard Wright Centennial, International Liason Committee; Socialist Party, Pennsylvania; Solidarity Committee, Capital District New York
Gwen Debrow, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Johanna Fernandez, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Frances Goldin, Mumia's literary agent
Lawrence Hamm, People's Organization for Progress (New Jersey)
Chairman Fred Hampton, Prisoners of Conscience Committee (P.O.C.C.)
Noelle Hanrahan, Prison Radio
Leslie Jones, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal, (Ithaca, NY)
Phoebe Jones, Global Women's Strike/ Philadelphia, on behalf of international network
JR, Prisoners of Conscience Committee/POCC, Block Report Radio
Jeff Mackler, Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (California)
Esperanza Martell, Harlem Campaign to Name a Street in Honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal/Iglesia San Romero de las Americas
Monica Moorehead, Millions for Mumia of International Action Center
Suzanne Ross, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Sundiata Sadiq, Ossining NAACP In Exile, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC)
Comite Mumia de Saint-Denis, France
Johnnie Stevens, Ad Hoc Committee to stop police terror
Taina Asili, Activist/Poet
Mark Taylor, Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal
Kazi Toure, The National Jericho Movement
Harold C. Wilson, 122nd Exonerated Death Row Prisoner (Philadelphia)
Kema C. Washington, Father Paul Washington Committee (Philadelphia)
Julia Wright, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal (Paris, France)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Conversation with Mumia Abu Jamal on Uprising Radio
KPFK Los Angeles -- August 1, 2007
Listen to the audio at the Uprising Radio website.
In a follow-up to our story in May about the case of Mumia Abu Jamal being heard by the 3rd Circuit US Court of Appeals, we present an interview with the man himself. Abu Jamal has been in prison for over two decades for the murder of Daniel Faulkner, a white police officer in Philadelphia. He enjoys widespread support among grassroots groups in the US and internationally. He has written several books, including Live From Death Row, Death Blossoms, and We Want Freedom. Abu Jamal also regularly records radio commentaries through Prison Radio which you hear often on Uprising and other Pacifica programs. I recently had the opportunity to present him with a series of questions through radio producer Noelle Hanrahan who runs Prison Radio.org Mumia recorded his answers to my questions via telephone from prison. Here is a edited version of our "conversation."
-- Hans Bennett
Sonali Kolhatkar: I'd like to ask you to reflect briefly on one aspect of your achievements in prison, specifically, the radio commentaries. What impact has writing and recording the commentaries had on your life:
Mumia Abu-Jamal: It has allowed me to respond to the events in our lives and to become a voice of affirmation that is missing in the mass corporate press. It has affirmed me both politically and professionally as one who speaks truth to power.
Sonali: You recently recorded a lengthy commentary about rap for the recent US Social Forum. What is your opinion of hip-hop as a means of social expression for youth? Do you think seasoned activists appreciate enough the importance of hip-hop?
Mumia: Hip-hop is a powerful form of social expression for youth. But, one wonders, what's being expressed? While youth may be masters of the art form, they aren't masters of content. Thus, this form has been, in many ways, hi-jacked to serve corporate interests above communal interests. I don't think seasoned activists (I guess that's polite for geezers, like me) really appreciate Hip-hop's importance, which is interesting because Capitalism has latched onto it to sell everything from cars to swimming pools. It's the soundtrack for millions of young folks. Years ago, the Black Panther Party used some of its more talented members to form bands to try to put out the message. While they didn't threaten the careers of the Temptations or Aretha Franklin, they did touch folks in ways that newspapers didn't. Movement folks need to scoop up or even train younger folks to use their skills for movement purposes.
Sonali: Recently, you filed a commentary about women's tennis, based on Venus Williams' Wimbledon win. It stood out from your usual political commentaries on foreign and domestic policy. Are you a tennis fan? What motivated you to write it?
Mumia: I am a tennis fan, well, a women's tennis fan. This is my second piece on Venus Williams. What she did was truly remarkable, not just in a world of tennis but in the world of sports. I recently did a piece on Barry Bonds and, while I'm hardly a baseball fan, sports is a central issue in the lives and fantasies of millions. It shouldn't be ignored by political folks. Our social and political lives are usually deeply linked to the sports world.
Sonali: How is your role as journalist influenced by your status as an imprisoned person?
Mumia: This is one helluva beat! And, it's one that most media seriously ignores. Over two million folks in prison and media studiously ignores it. Why? Most folks know what they think they know about prisons from shows like Oz. Most prisoners look at those shows and almost die laughing.
Sonali: The corporate media has mostly been silent on your case, especially recently regarding the latest hearing. When they do cover it, they commonly refer to you as a "convicted cop killer". Yet, your support internationally continues to burgeon. Do you attribute this to the power of independent media?
Mumia: I think indy media is obviously important but also, since the war, millions of folks have learned in ways that are undeniable that the corporate media doesn't tell the truth, even when it comes to the most important issues facing a nation, war and peace. Now if that's the case when it comes to war, what about everyday issues of social justice?
Sonali: Regarding the various books you've published over the years, what role has book writing played in your ability to express yourself to the outside world? Are you working on any new books?
Mumia: Books are flights of freedom and perhaps one of the last free media around. I'm writing about jailhouse lawyers, truly an unknown breed who have helped many folks find freedom or a touch of civil rights.
Sonali: You have faced the death penalty for many years and in the US there has been a love-hate relationship with this method of punishment. Despite some recent high profile executions, like that of Tookie Williams, there seems to be a waning of support of the death penalty, particularly with some states considering banning it. Are you optimistic that Americans may be starting to reject it?
Mumia: For many folks, there's a great deal of ambivalence on the death penalty and I think the events in Illinois a few years ago and other cases like the Duke rape case, causes folks to question the state. 8b. Because it's time; it's the right thing to do. Public support is always important. I thank you for your time and your interest and I thank those listeners who are my supporters for their loving support. On the move – long live John Africa.
Special Thanks to Julie Svendsen for transcribing this interview
and to Noelle Hanrahan for coordinating and recording this interview.
Hans Bennett is a journalist based in Philadelphia and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia. He attended the May 18th 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Hearing of Mumia's case. The hearing was attended by many high-profile supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal. In the moments after the hearing ended Hans Bennett interviewed Ward Churchill, Ramona Africa, and German Parliamentarian, Volker Ratzmann.
Listen to the audio at the Uprising Radio website.
In a follow-up to our story in May about the case of Mumia Abu Jamal being heard by the 3rd Circuit US Court of Appeals, we present an interview with the man himself. Abu Jamal has been in prison for over two decades for the murder of Daniel Faulkner, a white police officer in Philadelphia. He enjoys widespread support among grassroots groups in the US and internationally. He has written several books, including Live From Death Row, Death Blossoms, and We Want Freedom. Abu Jamal also regularly records radio commentaries through Prison Radio which you hear often on Uprising and other Pacifica programs. I recently had the opportunity to present him with a series of questions through radio producer Noelle Hanrahan who runs Prison Radio.org Mumia recorded his answers to my questions via telephone from prison. Here is a edited version of our "conversation."
-- Hans Bennett
Sonali Kolhatkar: I'd like to ask you to reflect briefly on one aspect of your achievements in prison, specifically, the radio commentaries. What impact has writing and recording the commentaries had on your life:
Mumia Abu-Jamal: It has allowed me to respond to the events in our lives and to become a voice of affirmation that is missing in the mass corporate press. It has affirmed me both politically and professionally as one who speaks truth to power.
Sonali: You recently recorded a lengthy commentary about rap for the recent US Social Forum. What is your opinion of hip-hop as a means of social expression for youth? Do you think seasoned activists appreciate enough the importance of hip-hop?
Mumia: Hip-hop is a powerful form of social expression for youth. But, one wonders, what's being expressed? While youth may be masters of the art form, they aren't masters of content. Thus, this form has been, in many ways, hi-jacked to serve corporate interests above communal interests. I don't think seasoned activists (I guess that's polite for geezers, like me) really appreciate Hip-hop's importance, which is interesting because Capitalism has latched onto it to sell everything from cars to swimming pools. It's the soundtrack for millions of young folks. Years ago, the Black Panther Party used some of its more talented members to form bands to try to put out the message. While they didn't threaten the careers of the Temptations or Aretha Franklin, they did touch folks in ways that newspapers didn't. Movement folks need to scoop up or even train younger folks to use their skills for movement purposes.
Sonali: Recently, you filed a commentary about women's tennis, based on Venus Williams' Wimbledon win. It stood out from your usual political commentaries on foreign and domestic policy. Are you a tennis fan? What motivated you to write it?
Mumia: I am a tennis fan, well, a women's tennis fan. This is my second piece on Venus Williams. What she did was truly remarkable, not just in a world of tennis but in the world of sports. I recently did a piece on Barry Bonds and, while I'm hardly a baseball fan, sports is a central issue in the lives and fantasies of millions. It shouldn't be ignored by political folks. Our social and political lives are usually deeply linked to the sports world.
Sonali: How is your role as journalist influenced by your status as an imprisoned person?
Mumia: This is one helluva beat! And, it's one that most media seriously ignores. Over two million folks in prison and media studiously ignores it. Why? Most folks know what they think they know about prisons from shows like Oz. Most prisoners look at those shows and almost die laughing.
Sonali: The corporate media has mostly been silent on your case, especially recently regarding the latest hearing. When they do cover it, they commonly refer to you as a "convicted cop killer". Yet, your support internationally continues to burgeon. Do you attribute this to the power of independent media?
Mumia: I think indy media is obviously important but also, since the war, millions of folks have learned in ways that are undeniable that the corporate media doesn't tell the truth, even when it comes to the most important issues facing a nation, war and peace. Now if that's the case when it comes to war, what about everyday issues of social justice?
Sonali: Regarding the various books you've published over the years, what role has book writing played in your ability to express yourself to the outside world? Are you working on any new books?
Mumia: Books are flights of freedom and perhaps one of the last free media around. I'm writing about jailhouse lawyers, truly an unknown breed who have helped many folks find freedom or a touch of civil rights.
Sonali: You have faced the death penalty for many years and in the US there has been a love-hate relationship with this method of punishment. Despite some recent high profile executions, like that of Tookie Williams, there seems to be a waning of support of the death penalty, particularly with some states considering banning it. Are you optimistic that Americans may be starting to reject it?
Mumia: For many folks, there's a great deal of ambivalence on the death penalty and I think the events in Illinois a few years ago and other cases like the Duke rape case, causes folks to question the state. 8b. Because it's time; it's the right thing to do. Public support is always important. I thank you for your time and your interest and I thank those listeners who are my supporters for their loving support. On the move – long live John Africa.
Special Thanks to Julie Svendsen for transcribing this interview
and to Noelle Hanrahan for coordinating and recording this interview.
Hans Bennett is a journalist based in Philadelphia and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia. He attended the May 18th 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Hearing of Mumia's case. The hearing was attended by many high-profile supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal. In the moments after the hearing ended Hans Bennett interviewed Ward Churchill, Ramona Africa, and German Parliamentarian, Volker Ratzmann.
Mumia Abu-Jamal Interview with Margaret Prescod
Listen to the full Pacifica program
View the PDF file of the transcribed interview, with numerous graphics at: http://againstthecrimeofsilence.de/News/Mumia-July-2007.pdf
Interview with Margaret Prescod for Her KPFK Program "Sojourner Truth"
July 2007
Margaret Prescod: On behalf of Pacifica Radio Network, Mumia Abu-Jamal, thank you so much for joining us.
Mumia Abu-Jamal: Thank you for the invitation, Margaret.
MP: Mumia, people argue over how you should be defined: as a taxi driver, as an investigative journalist, Black Panther, black militant, jailhouse lawyer – how do you see yourself?
MAJ: Well, in a way, all of those things and more. I mean, when people argue, sometimes people argue for simplicity, when life is rarely that simple. Life is complex. All of those things, many other things, an herbalist, a jailhouse lawyer, a writer, a poet – not a great one, but I try –, a father, a grandˇfather, a husband; you know, all of those things are correct.
MP: Can you say how you manage to get the information and the focus to do the weekly commentaries that are played on more than 100 radio stations around the country?
MAJ: I read, quite a bit, good, interesting books on political subjects, sometimes history books, I try to read several newspapers, and also try to keep my eye on what's happening here, around me, so you know sometimes a local story is better than, say, a commentary on the war [laughs]. So you don't loose your journalist's eye. This is just, I guess, another beat, so to speak.
MP: How do you structure your day? About how many hours a day you have outside, and how do you use that time?
MAJ: Death row is what is actually in many states comparable to what's called solitary confinement. By that I mean you're in a cell by yourself, solitary. And with the exception of two hours a day, when you're in a cage; some people call it yard, but I think the proper reference is, cage, you're either alone or with one other person.
So, for 22 hours a day, that's a lot of time to think, to read, to write, and so, while it may astound a lot of people, I actually have probably more time [laughs] than the average reporter or the average commentator working on a radio station or for a general publication.
MP: So in terms of strucˇturing the 22 hours you're spending reading, writˇing, and thinking etc. and then the two hours you have some time for some exercise, perhaps…
MAJ: Yes, yeah. Well, exercise in a cage really means, sometimes jogging around, doing pushups and what have you. For me, I've become an aficionado of handball. That's like tennis without rackets. [Both laugh] And it's very vigorous, it's a good workout, and usually three days a week, I'm able to get a good game, and I got a very, very good set-up game early this morning.
MP: How has prison life changed in the last quarter of a century?
MAJ: In ways that were not conceivable certainly over 30 years ago. It was unthinkable then that several decades later, we would be looking at, let's say, roughly three million people, you know, that there are more people in the prison system in the state where you're at, in California, right now than in the whole country of France. It's crazy, I mean, it's un – you couldn't even conceive of those kinds of numbers.
So in the last quarter of a century, what we're really looking at is what many people have come to call the prison-industrial complex. There is a great deal of money, there's a great deal of business, there's a great deal of social power to be gained by the prison industry, in this sense, that many of the people who people the prisons, who populate the prisons, come from the urban core, the cities, and they're transported to the rural districts, where population has traditionally been very sparse.
But what a lot of people don't know is that everybody in prison is counted as part not just of the census, but of political districts, and if you want to talk about a cause of revolution being taxation without representation, or at least counting without representation – we're counted in congressional districts, but obviously, you know, our voices, our concerns, our livelihood – none of our interests are counted when it comes to those people whose numbers help get them elected, so to speak.
MP: When you are inside, Mumia, and your major supporters are outside, there's a real problem. How do you give direction to their support work?
MAJ: Usually in personal ways, and that is writing letters to people and just calling people up and talk to them, and usually also through supporters, who are able to communicate at a deeper, more intense level with younger supporters. We work people to people, you know, person to person, that's the only real effective way I think to really arm someone to do this very arduous task of being an anti-prison activist.
MP: What about how you see your case in influencing that of other prisoners?
MAJ: That's difficult to assess because it's difficult to communicate farther than people on your block. It's difficult also for people outside of prison to understand how truly isolated people are in some prison systems because of the differences in terms of construction with new prisons as opposed to old prisons.
In the old prisons, people were able to communicate and move around far better and easier than they are now. The new prisons have been built and constructed with an eye towards isolating people. So there might be a guy on the next block, but you may not see that person for six months, a year, I mean it's really quite that isolated, so it's difficult to communicate beyond what you can see on your own part of your own block.
MP: What are the older prisoners like in contrast to the younger prisoners? I mean, is there a difference that you have noted between those who have been inside for a long time, and the newer prisoners coming in? How do the younger prisoners compare with what you are like, for example?
MAJ: Well, when I came in, I was considerably older than many of the young people who are coming in now. I was 27, 28 years old, which sounds like a kid to me now, but when you consider that many of the guys coming in now are in their late teens or 20, 21, this means that there's a profound difference between then and now.
Many of the older guys tend to be – ah, I have to say many, not all – but many tend to be more settled, more sober, and I think more patient, more conscious – that I think is a safe assessment. Many of the younger guys, especially in more recent years, it isn't just that they're younger, but that they come from a situation that is far more dire, far more provocative than those of the ones who came maybe 20 years from now.
By that I mean, the situation in many communities, especially, let us say in Philadelphia, is far more dangerous, far more economically unstable, far more socially disastrous frankly, than it has been 20 years ago. You can see that when you meet young people who really, I think, are in a constant state of rage, in a constant state of an inability, an unwillingness to listen to older people.
MP: Now, turning to your situatˇion… I'd like you to tell us a little bit about this push for a new trial. Your legal team and your supporˇters are pressing for a new trial. Why a new trial, and why now?
MAJ: Why now? Well, of course, it didn't begin now. We've been fightˇing for that for many years, in many places across the state, and many courtrooms. We've only been in the federal courts for the last, almost the last decade, but certainly since 2001, since the ruling came down. We're now, of course, in the Court of Appeals.
We're fighting for a new trial, and I am reminded when I think of our new trial of what a former attorney who was on the case used to say: We're fighting for, not just a new trial, but a true trial, because in front of the former judge, Albert F. Sabo, who was a life member of the Fraternal Order of Police, who was referred to by many people who've practiced in front of him as a "prosecutor in black robes," it cannot be said that that was a true, reasonable, fair, just trial by any standard.
MP: If you are granted a new trial, can we expect to hear anything new?
MAJ: I think we will hear a great deal that is new. I said, many years ago, that the jury didn't hear a great many things, and heard things that were, frankly, quite unfair, untrue, and not representative. I said that in 1982 to the jury. I think if we have a new trial, we can prove that.
MP: And if you're denied your right to a new trial?
MAJ: I am not a negative person. I don't think in negative terms. That's simply not my nature; I can honestly say that I'm not a person who is pollyannaish – but I think that we have made a good, strong case! And I think the results will be good.
MP: How do you keep yourself together, Mumia? I mean, it's been 25 years, you've been through all of this miscarriage of justice, the overwhelming racism in the first trial – and now here you are on the battle front again, struggling for a new trial. How do you keep yourself together?
MAJ: I guess I can best be described as a busy person. It's not a new thing, but it's a true thing; I've always been the kind of person who feels like there is not enough hours in the day, 24 hours certainly isn't not enough. I always have projects unfinished, requests that cannot be met, letters that have not been [laughs] written frankly that I thought were written, art that I want to draft or draw or paint, pieces that I want to write – so, there are many hours in the day, and I try to use them well, but I've always been busy, and I think that's helpful.
Also, I've been surrounded by extraordinary people. I've met extraordinary people. From my first day, many years ago, down in Philadelphia, in the county, all across the state. Extraordinary men, on death row. And I have also met people from many walks of life, who are remarkable, men and women, writers, activists, you name it. So that has been helpful – that has been very helpful.
MP: Are you hopeful?
MAJ: I'm always hopeful, believe that. [Both laugh.] You know, people can't escape their essential nature. Well I said I'm not pollyannaish, but I've always been hopeful, and that's just how I look at the world.
MP: Certainly that comes across. Anything else you would like to say to those who are listening around the country and online indeed around the world?
MAJ: I just wish people would understand that I am very, very appreciative and thankful for the many expresˇsions of love and support that I've seen from people for many years. Every day I get letters; unfortunately, I can't answer them all, but I try to read them all. I've had a problem in the last weeks because about seven times a week at least I get letters from friends in Germany, but I, I am not quite able to read German yet! [Both laugh.] So I can't say I've read it all!
But I wish I could tell those people, you know, one on one, thank you! Thank you for taking the time to write to me, thank you for your thoughts, thank you for the good wishes, and thank you for the love and support. That I apˇpreciate it, that I feel it, and I'm immensely grateful.
MP: Mumia Abu-Jamal, thank you so very much for joining us.
MAJ: Thank you, Margaret.
Transcript & design: Michael Schiffmann
http://www.againstthecrimeofsilence.de
http://www.abu-jamal-news.com
View the PDF file of the transcribed interview, with numerous graphics at: http://againstthecrimeofsilence.de/News/Mumia-July-2007.pdf
Interview with Margaret Prescod for Her KPFK Program "Sojourner Truth"
July 2007
Margaret Prescod: On behalf of Pacifica Radio Network, Mumia Abu-Jamal, thank you so much for joining us.
Mumia Abu-Jamal: Thank you for the invitation, Margaret.
MP: Mumia, people argue over how you should be defined: as a taxi driver, as an investigative journalist, Black Panther, black militant, jailhouse lawyer – how do you see yourself?
MAJ: Well, in a way, all of those things and more. I mean, when people argue, sometimes people argue for simplicity, when life is rarely that simple. Life is complex. All of those things, many other things, an herbalist, a jailhouse lawyer, a writer, a poet – not a great one, but I try –, a father, a grandˇfather, a husband; you know, all of those things are correct.
MP: Can you say how you manage to get the information and the focus to do the weekly commentaries that are played on more than 100 radio stations around the country?
MAJ: I read, quite a bit, good, interesting books on political subjects, sometimes history books, I try to read several newspapers, and also try to keep my eye on what's happening here, around me, so you know sometimes a local story is better than, say, a commentary on the war [laughs]. So you don't loose your journalist's eye. This is just, I guess, another beat, so to speak.
MP: How do you structure your day? About how many hours a day you have outside, and how do you use that time?
MAJ: Death row is what is actually in many states comparable to what's called solitary confinement. By that I mean you're in a cell by yourself, solitary. And with the exception of two hours a day, when you're in a cage; some people call it yard, but I think the proper reference is, cage, you're either alone or with one other person.
So, for 22 hours a day, that's a lot of time to think, to read, to write, and so, while it may astound a lot of people, I actually have probably more time [laughs] than the average reporter or the average commentator working on a radio station or for a general publication.
MP: So in terms of strucˇturing the 22 hours you're spending reading, writˇing, and thinking etc. and then the two hours you have some time for some exercise, perhaps…
MAJ: Yes, yeah. Well, exercise in a cage really means, sometimes jogging around, doing pushups and what have you. For me, I've become an aficionado of handball. That's like tennis without rackets. [Both laugh] And it's very vigorous, it's a good workout, and usually three days a week, I'm able to get a good game, and I got a very, very good set-up game early this morning.
MP: How has prison life changed in the last quarter of a century?
MAJ: In ways that were not conceivable certainly over 30 years ago. It was unthinkable then that several decades later, we would be looking at, let's say, roughly three million people, you know, that there are more people in the prison system in the state where you're at, in California, right now than in the whole country of France. It's crazy, I mean, it's un – you couldn't even conceive of those kinds of numbers.
So in the last quarter of a century, what we're really looking at is what many people have come to call the prison-industrial complex. There is a great deal of money, there's a great deal of business, there's a great deal of social power to be gained by the prison industry, in this sense, that many of the people who people the prisons, who populate the prisons, come from the urban core, the cities, and they're transported to the rural districts, where population has traditionally been very sparse.
But what a lot of people don't know is that everybody in prison is counted as part not just of the census, but of political districts, and if you want to talk about a cause of revolution being taxation without representation, or at least counting without representation – we're counted in congressional districts, but obviously, you know, our voices, our concerns, our livelihood – none of our interests are counted when it comes to those people whose numbers help get them elected, so to speak.
MP: When you are inside, Mumia, and your major supporters are outside, there's a real problem. How do you give direction to their support work?
MAJ: Usually in personal ways, and that is writing letters to people and just calling people up and talk to them, and usually also through supporters, who are able to communicate at a deeper, more intense level with younger supporters. We work people to people, you know, person to person, that's the only real effective way I think to really arm someone to do this very arduous task of being an anti-prison activist.
MP: What about how you see your case in influencing that of other prisoners?
MAJ: That's difficult to assess because it's difficult to communicate farther than people on your block. It's difficult also for people outside of prison to understand how truly isolated people are in some prison systems because of the differences in terms of construction with new prisons as opposed to old prisons.
In the old prisons, people were able to communicate and move around far better and easier than they are now. The new prisons have been built and constructed with an eye towards isolating people. So there might be a guy on the next block, but you may not see that person for six months, a year, I mean it's really quite that isolated, so it's difficult to communicate beyond what you can see on your own part of your own block.
MP: What are the older prisoners like in contrast to the younger prisoners? I mean, is there a difference that you have noted between those who have been inside for a long time, and the newer prisoners coming in? How do the younger prisoners compare with what you are like, for example?
MAJ: Well, when I came in, I was considerably older than many of the young people who are coming in now. I was 27, 28 years old, which sounds like a kid to me now, but when you consider that many of the guys coming in now are in their late teens or 20, 21, this means that there's a profound difference between then and now.
Many of the older guys tend to be – ah, I have to say many, not all – but many tend to be more settled, more sober, and I think more patient, more conscious – that I think is a safe assessment. Many of the younger guys, especially in more recent years, it isn't just that they're younger, but that they come from a situation that is far more dire, far more provocative than those of the ones who came maybe 20 years from now.
By that I mean, the situation in many communities, especially, let us say in Philadelphia, is far more dangerous, far more economically unstable, far more socially disastrous frankly, than it has been 20 years ago. You can see that when you meet young people who really, I think, are in a constant state of rage, in a constant state of an inability, an unwillingness to listen to older people.
MP: Now, turning to your situatˇion… I'd like you to tell us a little bit about this push for a new trial. Your legal team and your supporˇters are pressing for a new trial. Why a new trial, and why now?
MAJ: Why now? Well, of course, it didn't begin now. We've been fightˇing for that for many years, in many places across the state, and many courtrooms. We've only been in the federal courts for the last, almost the last decade, but certainly since 2001, since the ruling came down. We're now, of course, in the Court of Appeals.
We're fighting for a new trial, and I am reminded when I think of our new trial of what a former attorney who was on the case used to say: We're fighting for, not just a new trial, but a true trial, because in front of the former judge, Albert F. Sabo, who was a life member of the Fraternal Order of Police, who was referred to by many people who've practiced in front of him as a "prosecutor in black robes," it cannot be said that that was a true, reasonable, fair, just trial by any standard.
MP: If you are granted a new trial, can we expect to hear anything new?
MAJ: I think we will hear a great deal that is new. I said, many years ago, that the jury didn't hear a great many things, and heard things that were, frankly, quite unfair, untrue, and not representative. I said that in 1982 to the jury. I think if we have a new trial, we can prove that.
MP: And if you're denied your right to a new trial?
MAJ: I am not a negative person. I don't think in negative terms. That's simply not my nature; I can honestly say that I'm not a person who is pollyannaish – but I think that we have made a good, strong case! And I think the results will be good.
MP: How do you keep yourself together, Mumia? I mean, it's been 25 years, you've been through all of this miscarriage of justice, the overwhelming racism in the first trial – and now here you are on the battle front again, struggling for a new trial. How do you keep yourself together?
MAJ: I guess I can best be described as a busy person. It's not a new thing, but it's a true thing; I've always been the kind of person who feels like there is not enough hours in the day, 24 hours certainly isn't not enough. I always have projects unfinished, requests that cannot be met, letters that have not been [laughs] written frankly that I thought were written, art that I want to draft or draw or paint, pieces that I want to write – so, there are many hours in the day, and I try to use them well, but I've always been busy, and I think that's helpful.
Also, I've been surrounded by extraordinary people. I've met extraordinary people. From my first day, many years ago, down in Philadelphia, in the county, all across the state. Extraordinary men, on death row. And I have also met people from many walks of life, who are remarkable, men and women, writers, activists, you name it. So that has been helpful – that has been very helpful.
MP: Are you hopeful?
MAJ: I'm always hopeful, believe that. [Both laugh.] You know, people can't escape their essential nature. Well I said I'm not pollyannaish, but I've always been hopeful, and that's just how I look at the world.
MP: Certainly that comes across. Anything else you would like to say to those who are listening around the country and online indeed around the world?
MAJ: I just wish people would understand that I am very, very appreciative and thankful for the many expresˇsions of love and support that I've seen from people for many years. Every day I get letters; unfortunately, I can't answer them all, but I try to read them all. I've had a problem in the last weeks because about seven times a week at least I get letters from friends in Germany, but I, I am not quite able to read German yet! [Both laugh.] So I can't say I've read it all!
But I wish I could tell those people, you know, one on one, thank you! Thank you for taking the time to write to me, thank you for your thoughts, thank you for the good wishes, and thank you for the love and support. That I apˇpreciate it, that I feel it, and I'm immensely grateful.
MP: Mumia Abu-Jamal, thank you so very much for joining us.
MAJ: Thank you, Margaret.
Transcript & design: Michael Schiffmann
http://www.againstthecrimeofsilence.de
http://www.abu-jamal-news.com
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