ON THE MOVE

by Kaponda

Like a high-speed rail train, family and friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal moved quickly and precisely to claim their seats. A banner of "Congratulations," draped across the eaves of the balcony, expressed the attitudes of most of those sitting in the dim surroundings of Mission High School. The standing-room only crowd in the auditorium came to congratulate not only Professor Angela Davis, Geronimo Ji Jaga, Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter for their heroism in the face of adversity, but also to move the trial of Mumia Abu-Jamal from the political grasp of red tape to the people's court of humanity.

Armed to her teeth with the truth about the circumstances swirling about the controversial case of Mumia, I asked the minister of confrontation for the MOVE organization and disciple of John Africa, Pam Africa, what she expected to accomplish at this Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal? "People get on the move and stay on the move. This government is serious about killing each and every last one of us! People have to educate themselves and resist -- that is the key. You have to resist a government that is hell-bent on killing....If we are talking about freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal, then we have got to deal with these issues. How can you care for one and dam all the fuckin' rest?"

Donned in a black beret to which a solid piece of revolutionary material was fastened, Pam moved swiftly to tell the many young people in the auditorium, whom she cited as a primary reason why Mumia will prevail, and the other friends and family of Mumia Abu-Jamal that, "We are at War!"

Opened and declared armed hostile conflict has been used in the past to champion the liberty of many people and organizations. In 1934 two longshoremen were killed during a maritime strike. Their deaths provoked the entire city of San Francisco to anger; and, subsequently, the citizenry became sympathetic to the strikers and a general strike resulted. I spoke to Walter Johnson of the San Francisco Labor Council and asked him what role labor played in the mobilization to free Mumia?

"The San Francisco Labor Council is here to make sure everyone understands that we still support Mumia Abu-Jamal, and we are happy to say that we got a resolution passed by the California Labor Federation of the state of California which states that we support a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. I think justice has to prevail. If we are going to talk about the Declaration of Independence and Constitution and the right of an individual to have a fair trial, then we must be persistence and get the message across the country."

As a stream of light from a projector cast him in a panoramic view, Walter Johnson conveyed to the audience that he asked President Bill Clinton in a written letter, "what is more important, a human life or an inmate?" However, according to Walter Johnson, the president declined to respond.

Everyone who spoke alluded to the unusually large presence of adolescence and Leonard Weinglass, Mumia's chief legal counsel, used this demographic as a possible deciding factor in the eventual freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal. In fact, he stated that if this groundswell of support by our young people continue, then "I think Mumia will regain his liberty." I asked Leonard to talk to me about the status of Mumia's case?

"For the first time in 19 years," stated Mumia's attorney, "Mumia's case is before a federal judge in Philadelphia. We filed all our papers. We are waiting for the judge to contact us. We can go into court and argue Mumia's case for a new trial. It should happen before the end of the year."

"The court is the Federal District Court in Philadelphia, the lowest federal court. It is in the nature of an appeal. We have completed all of our case in the state courts. We have finished with our state appeals. Now we move over to the federal court and start anew."

I asked Weinglass about his thoughts concerning Mumia's eventual freedom?

It is going to be a long struggle. We are at the beginning point now which is a critical point in the federal courts. If this movement -- evidence of which you see tonight -- continues to build and develop, then I will become more optimistic. But the people have to be heard from. The public has to be heard from. People have to get engaged. If that happens, then I think the judge will be compelled to follow the law. If he follow the law, then Mumia will be a free man."

Leonard Weinglass told the young people and everyone else in attendance that Judge William Yohn, a judge appointed by then-President George Bush, will decide whether an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the mountain of facts in favor of Mumia, heretofore not included, will be admissible or whether the federal courts will review Mumia's case based on the Pennsylvania court record.

Much has been recorded about the case of the inmate on death row in the state of Pennsylvania, even Mumia himself has written books and has chronicled over 400 columns on his life. So when I talked with Michael Franti, who provided the spoken words of the evening, I did not expect him to offer very much when I asked him if he felt that justice would prevail in Mumia's case? However, as it turned out he may have offered the most compelling insight of the night.

"If I did not feel that justice would prevail, I would not be here. I feel that in the end the truth will come out and that Mumia will be set free!"

Franti told the young people and other friends and family of Mumia that he was told by Mumia not too long ago, that "the role of the artist today is to, "enrage, enlighten, and inspire."

Professor Angela Davis inspired the audience with words of resounding assurance. She spoke of the collective power of the people in the audience and how that power is underestimated. She also alluded to the recent Democratic and Republican debate in which the death penalty was not even an issue, although many people are being released from death row based on new DNA evidence and other factors.

Professor Davis brought the crowd to its feet when she stated that "there are more police in the United States than in any other police state in the world characterized as a fascist state or a dictatorship."

The keynote speaker and one of the real heroes of the evening, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter closed out the event with a series of anecdotes of his 20 years of wrongful imprisonment. He stated that he was convicted of triple murder and sentenced to a triple life sentence in 1966. According to Rubin Carter, "I am a survivor of solitary confinement and prison in the same way as someone who survived some of the most heinous crimes against humanity in the history of the world.

The legal defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal was bolstered by a $25,000 check donated to the Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal by Danny Glover on behalf of The Vanguard Public Foundation. Pam Africa received the check on behalf of the Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal amid a thunderous applause as traces of moisture trickled down her smooth, brown expression of conquest.