In one of the most important events of 1995, the people forced the system to back off from its immediate plan to execute Mumia Abu-Jamal. This was a battle won against heavy odds, and it was no small victory!
But important as it was, this victory is only temporary. The powers-that-be still have Mumia in their hands. They still aim to murder this beautiful revolutionary brother. They are only trying to figure out how to do that without paying a major political price. We, for our part, have to figure out how to go back on the offensive, how to force the politics of what the enemy is planning back out into the open, and how to back them off once and for all on this outrage. We have to build a movement that can stop the execution and win the freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal--1996 must witness big new steps in this direction. To do this, we must sum up the lessons of the last round of struggle and try to apply them to the future.
There can be no doubt that the enemy seriously attempted to rush through their murder of Mumia last summer. Pennsylvania Governor Ridge signed the death warrant just a few days before he knew Mumia's attorneys were filing his appeal. They locked down Mumia, closing him off from all supporters and all media. They denied him access to law books and paralegals. Meanwhile, they paraded Maureen Falkner (the widow of the cop Mumia is accused of killing) in a serious, coordinated media campaign--and not on Rush Limbaugh or Ricki Lake, but on Dan Rather and Good Morning America and even at a White House crime bill ceremony. When the appeal hearing got underway, presiding Judge Sabo acted like Hannibal Lecter in black robes. The Philly cops tried to suppress the pro-Mumia movement. The machinery of death was running in high gear.
These arrogant dealers of death thought that they could execute Mumia without serious resistance and even without much notice. Instead, word of this began to spread through society and Mumia became known by millions. They thought that they could keep this struggle from taking root in the Black community. Instead, there were real mass mobilizations in Black communities across the country, uniting the Black masses with many other sections of the Black community--meetings, marches and cultural events went on weekly, even daily. They thought that they could keep this battle bottled up. Instead, the fight for Mumia "crossed over," to many white and Latino youth and to important artists and intellectuals of all nationalities. People did everything from street demonstrations to signed ads, poetry readings to civil disobedience. The internet buzzed and the hip-hop scene crackled. The battle also took on an international dimension, with mass protests and statements of protest from India to Africa, Europe to Latin America, all of which profoundly exposed and embarrassed the U.S. rulers. And at the center of all this was Mumia himself, identified as a revolutionary defender of the people, refusing to back down, even in the face of execution.
All this ran right in the face of how the rulers are maneuvering and manipulating things these days. The rulers are moving on many fronts to politically suppress Black people and try and isolate Black people from all possible allies. But instead of suppression and alienation, there was resistance and unity. And by early August, there was no telling how far and how powerfully this new phenomenon would spread. Tens of thousands of people worldwide were down to prevent Mumia's execution, no matter what--with the movement growing every day. And millions more were becoming aware of this battle, and figuring out where they stood.
It was only at this point, just 10 days before the scheduled execution, that the powers backed off. The struggle to stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and to win his freedom, threatened to disrupt not just the rulers' plans for Mumia but their broader repressive agenda. The "line-up" that was beginning to emerge around this struggle--in the context of the imminent threat of execution--was one that was very favorable to the side of the people and unfavorable to the power structure. No single factor was the key; it was the whole mix of forces coming into motion, exposing the politics behind thextremely important for the people to rally to the defense of such revolutionaries and to refuse to accept the `right' of the oppressor to carry out this persecution and `legalized' murder."
And, as people got to "know" Mumia for his bold political stance and his insistence on speaking truth to power, and as they heard the facts about the frame-up, they increasingly did see their interests bound up with defending him. For those who hunger for basic revolutionary change, especially proletarians, but those in other classes as well, there was every reason in the world to stand with Mumia. Many more people, not yet convinced of the possibility of or even the need for revolution, still saw how the persecution of Mumia fit in with the system's larger program of police state terror and repression against Black people and other minorities, and the suppression of revolutionary or dissenting ideas overall. Because they oppose this program, they put things on the line to stop the execution. Many people around the world who oppose the U.S. death penalty felt compelled to actively oppose the execution of Mumia. Still others, mainly disturbed by the outrageous injustice of Mumia's frame-up and drawn forward by the dynamism of the movement, also made clear their support for Mumia. The key here was twofold--broadly going to million.s, and going with the real deal of who Mumia is and what he represents.
The movement to stop the execution of Mumia was very diverse. We stressed earlier how the movement kextremely important for the people to rally to the defense of such revolutionaries and to refuse to accept the `right' of the oppressor to carry out this persecution and `legalized' murder."
And, as people got to "know" Mumia for his bold political stance and his insistence on speaking truth to power, and as they heard the facts about the frame-up, they increasingly did see their interests bound up with defending him. For those who hunger for basic revolutionary change, especially proletarians, but those in other classes as well, there was every reason in the world to stand with Mumia. Many more people, not yet convinced of the possibility of or even the need for revolution, still saw how the persecution of Mumia fit in with the system's larger program of police state terror and repression against Black people and other minorities, and the suppression of revolutionary or dissenting ideas overall. Because they oppose this program, they put things on the line to stop the execution. Many people around the world who oppose the U.S. death penalty felt compelled to actively oppose the execution of Mumia. Still others, mainly disturbed by the outrageous injustice of Mumia's frame-up and drawn forward by the dynamism of the movement, also made clear their support for Mumia. The key here was twofold--broadly going to million.s, and going with the real deal of who Mumia is and what he represents.
The movement to stop the execution of Mumia was very diverse. We stressed earlier how the movement knitted together many strands and threads from society and even at that we could only give the briefest sketch of an amazingly wide-ranging thing--there hadn't been diversity (and unity) like this in years! Mumia himself recently remarked in an interview with the RW that the unity forged in this struggle "shows a kind of two-sided potential... It shows that people can be reached across and beyond barriers of race, and in some cases, class, academia and so forth. But it also shows the danger the system attaches to such broad-based kinds of appeal and alliance."
This diverse array of people used diverse forms of struggle--from letters to the editor, forums and cultural events to mass demonstrations and defiant disruptions of business as usual. These many different forms harmonized like a growing symphony where the broadest and most diverse sections of people "sung out" for Mumia.
Finally, the people won through determination. Last summer we talked about the need to put things on the line and to break with business as usual. We said that when people show determination in their actions, when they break with business as usual, "it sends an important message to friend and foe alike."
"It tells our foe: `You bit off a tough piece of meat when you signed Mumia's death warrant, and we will make you either spit it out or choke on it.' To our friends, and all our potential friends, our determination works like a high-powered magnet, drawing their discontent and suppressed aspirations together like a force of iron." Last summer, over 400 people were arrested in defiant pro-Mumia demonstrations. This kind of determination--along with the determination of growing sections of the basic people to make good on what was written on the walls of Philadelphia--helped to gel the whole "people mix."
So how do we apply these lessons? For one thing, we have to recognize and take on the enemy's counterattack. They were stung, and they want to win back what they lost and carry through with their foul agenda. On one level, they have refused Mumia's appeal for a new trial and put his case off into their bizarre "judicial process." They will use this to orchestrate when and how they attack, trying to time things for their advantage. They may bottle things up while they try to suppress the movement, or they may suddenly rush the railroad forward again--or they may do both. As we noted last summer, the legal arena is very important to this battle, and the people have to find the ways to support the legal team in its struggle for a new trial.
At the same time, the movement cannot wait on the timing that lies in the hands of the enemy--the movement has to take the initiative. Linked to this, and crucially important, the movement has to be constantly vigilant in fighting all government legal harassment, threats, suppression and possible setups against Mumia. The government harasses and denies Mumia the most elementary rights at every turn, and this goes with their whole history of "extra-legal" plotting against political prisoners and revolutionary activists.
They have also attacked the pro-Mumia movement. They launched a Big Lie media campaign to both distort Mumia's case and to ridicule--and, if you read between the lines, threaten--prominent people who rose to Mumia's defense. Going with this have been police attacks on and threats against activists and supporters, particularly in Philadelphia.
As Mao Tsetung once said, "to be attacked by the enemy is a good thing"--it means that you are hurting him. Such attacks are not "side effects" or distractions; they are integral parts of the struggle. We have to answer tit for tat, using each attack to further expose the enemy and mobilize still more people in this struggle for justice. In short, neither fearing such attacks nor pulling back, but boldly taking them on and making them backfire against the attacker.
At the same time, the movement needs positive plans to further develop some key sectors of society as strongholds around this battle, which can serve to influence all of society and spread the struggle.
One important stronghold must be the proletariat. As we said last summer, "the proletariat can look at Mumia and see not only someone up against the ultimate form of the same thing they deal with every day, but also someone who points the finger at the real enemy, who stands up brave and defiant against the most severe threats and torture, and who does not hesitate to promote the need for revolution." Support for Mumia began to take root in important sections of the proletariat last summer, and this was one major factor in forcing the government to issue a stay of execution. The youth saw in Mumia a living example of living in a different way, against and beyond the dog-eat-dog values of this society, and this had an important effect. This all has to be built on in the months ahead, through developing different forms of struggle and support among the proletariat for Mumia, and using our party's press as a key vehicle in that. There should be areas where the enemy is made to understand well that the people are determined to support Mumia.
We would also like to point to two other areas of focus for the movement. We have to further build off the pro-Mumia sentiment within the Black community. His case had been kept away from people, but once it began to rise to the surface last summer it drew a great deal of support from all across the Black community. Churches, unions, legal (and other professional) organizations and people, social clubs, student and women's groups, all stepped out. The Black press and media played a critical role, as well, and many, many Black intellectuals and artists lent their voices to this struggle.
Last October's Million Man March was a major social phenomenon, and at the outset the case of Mumia was put out as one of its main focuses. But when the march actually happened, the battle around imprisoned Black revolutionaries, and Mumia in particular, was not given enough emphasis. Here was a chance to make clear to a huge audience that if the imperialists dared to move on Mumia, they should be made to pay a high price. But with an exception or two, the main organizers and speakers did not speak to this. This hardly means that more radical people should give up on building the struggle to free Mumia among the formations that have grown out of the march, or the main organizers of it. It is up to the more revolutionary and uncompromising groups and people to build on the anti-system aspect of these other forces and help them to move in a better direction--a direction of standing firm on this battle, and working to bring to bear the strength of what was brought forward at the march to stop the execution of Mumia. And as the Million Man March showed, this will demand both unity and struggle all the way through. We can in no way give up on that battle.
Of course, the Million Man March by no means exhausts the potential of where the struggle around Mumia must reach in the Black community. The advances of last summer have to be consolidated, built on and greatly expanded. This is a key task of the movement.
Another key force is the students, in college and high school. When the campuses catch fire on an issue it becomes a giant wake-up call to the rest of society. It puts the rulers on the defensive and makes it harder for them to carry out their crimes in the dead of night. And the last year has witnessed new potential on the campuses. In New York, college and high school students massively protested the budget cuts. At Rutgers, in New Jersey, students stopped a basketball game to call out the president's racism and continued the struggle for months at no small personal sacrifice. And in California, students have surprised the rulers with their resistance to the attacks on affirmative action--resistance that has included white as well as minority students.
At the same time, the recent campus tour by MOVE members showed great potential for the struggle around Mumia to develop and grow among students, as did the recent militant November 6 demonstration in Philadelphia and other important actions. The February 7 Day of Student Unrest called for by Refuse and Resist! should be seized as an important opportunity on this front and should serve as an important springboard. And other initiatives should be supported as well. Further, the battle around Mumia should be brought to all fronts of campus struggle, especially the growing battle to defend and extend affirmative action.
Finally, we want to suggest some possible focuses for the movement.
First, the movement needs to be able to swing into action, no holds barred, whenever the enemy escalates their attacks against Mumia, be it another lockdown or major unfavorable ruling. Strengthening the emergency response network by spreading it and testing it in practice could be a crucial step.
Second, we need to work together to creatively figure out major new ways to push this struggle back onto center stage. The publication of Mumia's book, Live From Death Row, for instance, really commanded the public eye. Perhaps a blockbuster benefit concert or similar cultural event could do the same.
The struggle last year to stop the execution of Mumia brought forward many well-known artists, actors, writers, political activists and other celebrities. There were readings of Mumia's book, benefits and theater events in which many high profile figures lent their voice and prestige to the struggle. A major ad in the New York Times, demanding a new trial for Mumia, was signed by over 100 very prominent people--including movie actors and directors, recording artists, scientists, professors, lawyers, TV film critics and computer innovators. All this helped to create public opinion for Mumia throughout society. Now, this needs to be built on--such influential people need to step out even more and find the ways to help spotlight this case and build support for Mumia in a big way.
Finally, while many diverse actions should go on, and the many diverse groups should pursue independent activity, there are times when all the strength that we have should be mustered to make a powerful statement that cannot be ignored. Such "punctuation points" can light up the sky with this battle. International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal has called for such a punctuation point this July, on the anniversary of Mumia's sentencing. It is important that these days be as powerful as possible, reflecting our movement in its "three dimensions": a movement that is broad, diverse and very, very determined. Putting this yearly event on a whole new level could really bring a lot of strength to bear against the enemy in the arena of public opinion--right at a time, moreover, in this election year when they are celebrating and calling attention to their "democratic traditions." It is not too soon at all to begin organizing for that.
To sum up: Last summer the people, through their struggle and against all odds, stopped the execution of a brave revolutionary, Mumia Abu-Jamal. Excellent! The challenge now is to build on what was accomplished and learned, and move forward to fully stop the execution of Mumia and win his freedom.
This article is posted in English and Spanish on
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