MUMIA'S LIFE AND ALL OUR FUTURES
Mumia Abu-Jamal has come to mean something very special to a whole new generation of young activists. They are moved by his penetrating writing. They are touched deeply by his gentle manner. They are emboldened by the utter fearlessness of his dedication to the people in the very face of death. Can we be less dedicated now to saving his life?
The case of Mumia Abu-Jamal concentrates the criminalization of Black men, the suppression of dissent, the expanded death penalty, the gutting of defendants' rights, and a whole political atmosphere based on blame and punishment of the most oppressed. Only twice in the 20th century have there been court ordered executions of political dissidents in the United States. And the government has not dared to carry out the legal execution of a prominent Black revolutionary since the days of slavery.
The movement to save Mumia has been a formative experience for this new generation awakening to political life. That experience has been much more than just a cause to believe in. It has shown them the power of people working together-people of different races and nationalities, people coming from different social backgrounds and political outlooks, coming together against injustice and repression. For many, the battle that stayed Mumia's execution date in 1995 was their first real taste of the power of the people.
We have now reached a turning point in this movement. The decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to deny a new and fair trial means that a political decision has been made at the highest levels to try to push ahead with Mumia's execution. It means that all the new evidence brought forward in the various hearings since 1995 has been officially rejected. It means that the gross prejudice shown Mumia in the court system has been endorsed. It means that his case will now be in the federal courts with their new political agenda of speeded-up appeals and swift executions.
The government has thrown down a challenge. How we respond and whether we succeed is going to shape the political climate of this country for years to come. Power concedes nothing without demand. And justice will not come in Mumia's case simply by wishing for it. Only a mass movement characterized by a conscious attempt to build breadth and diversity, and by a spirit of selfless determination, can stop the wheels of state-sponsored murder. Our movement cannot be narrowly based. It must take in people from all walks of life and varying points of view-both those who are appalled by this injustice and those who see it as another step in a larger agenda. Mumia's name must become a household word, with the broad public straining to hear the latest news in the battle and moving to take Mumia's side.
Our victory in 1995 was won by bringing so many different forces into motion that it threatened a larger anti-Black youth, "law and order" political alignment that government leaders had worked so hard to create. That is, our movement to save Mumia opened so many eyes to this flagrant injustice, that it threatened larger political goals of the leaders of both major parties. They were forced to back off for a time.
It was and is possible to do this precisely because, as we say in Refuse & Resist!, it's all one attack. The politics of poverty, punishment and patriarchy is the same politics that wants to silence Mumia's voice forever. Refuse & Resist! calls on people everywhere to make their voices heard in the coming days and weeks. Determination comes in many forms, but its common essence is the refusal to stand by in silence where the ability to act exists. The time is now.