With 'Leaders' Like These...

[Internationalist photo, march in Philadelphia demanding freedom for Mumia]


With 'Leaders' Like These ••••

by Mumia Abu-Jamal (8/20/11)

It has taken a while to reach this conclusion, but upon reflection, it is inescapable.

Why, after over a ½ century of the vote and the election of more Black political leaders than at any time since Reconstruction, are the lives, fortunes, prospects and hopes of Black people so grim?

Education is a shambles, with a drop-out rate nearing 50% in most central cities; Black communities are being gentrified into oblivion; joblessness stalks families by the highest percentage since such figures were first recorded; and Black families face foreclosure (and its concomitant result--homelessness) at rates far exceeding any other demographic: a direct result of the mortgage scams that lined the pockets of Wall street.

In cities boasting Black mayors and Black police chiefs, police violence against Black so- called citizens continues unabated, and the prison-Industrial-complex traps generations in chains.

One is forced to conclude that Black America suffers from similar maladies as those faced by Continental African nations: neo-colonialism, where the political class gives the appearance of freedom and independence, whilst they are beholden to economic powers beyond their communities which decides policies and programs of exploitation of the People.

Sadly, more Black Politicians does not equal more black political power. For, In this surfeit of Black representation, black voices of discontent are muted, while rage bubbles in Black hearts and minds.

And rather than Black politicians speaking for those who voted for them, they too are muted, more loyal to party than people--more anxious to not rock the boat, when water rushes through the breached hull.

They speak to them, preaching patience, while home burns. And they mimic white politicians, echoing their words, while 'representing' communities that could not be more disparate.

If black politicians are to do the very same thing as their white colleagues, why have them at all?

What’s the difference?

Neo-colonialism at home and abroad.

(c) '11 maj

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Mumia Abu-Jamal is a political prisoner on death row in the United States. He was framed by the Philadelphia police and DA's Office who coerced false testimony from eyewitnesses and illegally hid evidence to procure a conviction. That evidence was then presented in a court where the presiding judge, Judge Sabo, said of Mumia, "Ill help you fry the nigger". After investigation, Amnesty International stated of the trial, “Mumia Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death for the murder of a police officer in 1982 after a trial that failed to meet international standards."

While many lies have been published in the corporate media, the facts of this case, like many other political frame-ups, are not beyond our abilities to see. We cannot depend on the courts to bring justice. As the historian Howard Zinn stated in April 2009:

“To me, the Mumia Abu-Jamal case is another instance in the history of American injustice. Our judicial system is stacked against people of color, radicals, and people who are not wealthy, and Mumia fits all three categories.

“It is shameful that he has been in prison, and on death row, for such a large part of his life. He has shown immense courage in refusing to be beaten down by this cruel system.

“I hope that justice will be done in his case, but that will only happen if large numbers of Americans speak out loudly on his behalf, and on behalf of the principle — so much ignored — of equal justice before the law.”

For these reasons Liberation News demands full freedom for Mumia and supports the Labor Action Committee for Mumia Abu-Jamal: http://www.laboractionmumia.org/

-Steven Argue,
member of SEIU ULTCW (Service Employees International Union, United Long Term Care Workers)

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