“Mumia Abu-Jamal is innocent! Free him now” was the chant as demonstrators protested Saturday in Oakland to demand freedom for death-row political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Richard Brown, Hank Jones, Ray Boudreaux and Francisco Torres of the San Francisco 8 beamed with the joyful power of solidarity as they spoke to the crowd demanding, “Free Mumia!” in Oakland Saturday. The government that arrested the SF 8 for killing an SFPD officer 37 years ago – in a case previously dismissed for being based on evidence obtained by torture – hasn’t changed much since 1968, when FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover issued a directive to “(p)revent the rise of a ‘messiah’ who could unify and electrify the militant black nationalist movement” and called the Black Panthers “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country.” The Black Power that the government fears so much must be exerted to free Mumia and to free ‘em all!

Over 300 organizations and individuals endorsed the united-front demonstrations over the past two weeks. Trade unions representing thousands of workers locally and abroad stand in solidarity against the injustice of the capitalist court system and the racist death penalty as protests were held simultaneously in London and Toronto. “The momentum for this has really been huge,” says Linda Thurston, PDC member and former secretary for Jamal.

Picketers assembled at the BART station plaza on the corner of 14th Street and Broadway, holding signs with slogans saying, “Mumia Abu-Jamal is innocent. Free Mumia now. Abolish the racist death penalty.” The demonstrators exchanged propaganda as they chanted, “Capitalist justice is a lie. We won’t let Mumia die.”

PDC spokesperson Karen Allen opened the series of speeches by announcing, “The fight for Mumia’s freedom is more urgent than ever.” As she stressed the immediacy and power of movement, she said, “These unions represent the kind of social power that needs to be mobilized in the urgent fight for Mumia’s freedom.”

Labor Black League organizing leader Odawa Uni expressed that mobilization of mass protest is the only system that can free political prisoners. “Black and working class immigrants must stand for full citizen rights,” she declared.

Spoken word poet Charles Dubois believes that a bigger movement is needed and suggested a union-centered mobilization to free Mumia. “We need more forces. Free Mumia Abu-Jamal,” he said.

Enthusiasm and support was shown for San Francisco 8 members Ray Boudreaux and Richard Brown as they emphasized solidarity in the fight against the violation of human rights. Two members of the SF 8 and former Black Panthers have been held in New York State prisons for over 30 years. “We have to put aside our differences and put ourselves together under one umbrella,” Brown pointed out. He announced that the most obvious issue to tackle under the umbrella is the violation of human rights.

On March 27, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals denied Jamal a new trial and his conviction for killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner still stands. The court ordered a new sentencing hearing that would either reinstate the death penalty or sentence him to life in prison regardless of the overwhelming evidence of his innocence.

Many PDC members believe that a new trial is not what is needed, but that mass protest is urgent to free Mumia directly by proclaiming his innocence. Calling for more international united-front protests, the PDC stated: “Mumia was framed up because of his lifelong struggle against racist oppression and police terror — first as a Black Panther Party spokesman, then as a MOVE supporter and an outspoken journalist renowned as the ‘voice of the voiceless.’

“The cops, prosecutors and courts — with the support of capitalist politicians, Democrats and Republicans — see in Mumia the spectre of Black revolt, a voice of defiant opposition to the oppression of Black people that is a cornerstone of American capitalism…. It is all the more urgent today to revitalize mass protest to free Mumia on the basis that he is innocent, the victim of a racist and political frame-up, and to link his fight to the struggle to abolish the racist death penalty.”

More international united-front protests will be held in Jamal’s defense around the world. The next one will be held Wednesday, April 23, in Sydney, Australia, outside of the U.S. Consulate. A protest will be held Thursday, April 24, in Mexico City and Saturday, April 26, in Chicago at the Federal Plaza.

Guelda Allen, a journalism student at City College of San Francisco, can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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