Upcoming Parole pushes for Herman Bell & 3 of the Move 9: convo with Orie Lumumba

  • December 29, 2015 1:04 pm

from The Final Straw

This week’s show features a conversation with Orie Lumumba. Orie is involved in the Move organization and the International Concerned Fmaily and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal. We speak about the upcoming push to parole Debbie Sims Africa, Janet Halloway Africa and Janine Phillips Africa, the three remaining women of the Move 9. The Move 9 were 9 members of the Move organization whose house was raided in Philadelphia in 1978 after escalating conflicts with the Philadelphia police department and then-Mayor Frank Rizzo. The 9 were convicted of the death of Officer James Ramp during the raid, which the supporters and members of the Move 9 argue the 9 had no part in, that the shot was actually fired by the police department mistakenly. This was one of the many instances that the Move organization was repressed in Philadelphia during the 1970’s and 1980’s. The Move organization is a religious, vegan Black Liberation organization focused around social justice issues and bases it’s philosophy on the teachings of John Africa.

In February at the Malcolm X & Bettie Shabazz Educational Center there will be a rally around this parole push in New York City. There is also an online petition to push for the parole of these 3 members of the Move 9. More info on the struggle can be found at http://onamove.org and more on the parole push can be found at http://move9parole.blogspot.com

Updates and Reports of Local Prisoners

  • October 21, 2015 11:16 pm

from It’s Going Down

Mumia Abu Jamal’s support folks held a press conference to further pressure the prison to provide appropriate HEP C treatment to Mumia. Hepatitis C has an incredibly high rate of infection in the U.S. prison system. Recently there have been significant improvements in treatment of the disease with 95% rate of fully eradicating the virus. Prison officials (otherwise known as horrendous pieces of shit) are denying not only Mumia the right to such medical care, but all prisoners. This is beyond bullshit. You can find out more about the call to action for Mumia as well as the full press release over here. You can also watch the stream of the press conference over here.

untitled

If you haven’t already checked out NYC ABC’s dope bi-monthly Political Prisoner & Prisoner of War Update newsletter, do it already. These updates are sent out to pp/pow’s across the U.S. and are, for many of them, the only means they have of regular news with comrades. This last update from 10/13/15 has some great writing from Russell Maroon Shoates. Check out the description and then hop on over and read the full essay at NYC ABC’s site:

Maroon recently penned a brief essay reflection on some of the latest literature he’s had an opportunity to read. He explores the current political realities in the Rojava region of Syria, celebrating the civil and political organizations that have led to an anti-state and anti-capitalist experiment valuing feminism, direct democracy, ecological stewardship, and ethnic, linguistic, and religious pluralism in the midst of ongoing military threat, as explored in the book A Small Key Can Open A Large Door, published by the Strangers In A Tangled Wilderness collective. He then touches on the dystopia of Octavia Butler’s Parable Of The Sower, assessing the extent to which the current crises of climate change, late capitalism, and “sci-fi biotech” have made the landscape of Butler’s novel far more factual than fictitious.

You can learn more about Maroon at his site and send him a letter to:

Russell Shoats #AF-3855

SCI-Graterford

P.O. Box 246 Route 29

Graterford, PA 19426 – 0246