SAN FRANCISCO BLACK HISTORY
From Harriet Tubman to Mumia Abu-Jamal
By
Workers World
San Francisco bureau
On Feb. 13, some 150 people gathered in the San Francisco
Western Addition for an unforgettable and powerful Black
History Month event that focused on the struggle to free Black
political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.
From hip hop youth artists to veterans of the Black Panther
Party, everyone confirmed Fredrick Douglass' strong words:
"Without struggle there is no progress."
Joyce Miller, master of ceremonies for the evening, opened
the event by emphasizing the history of struggle for African
Americans: "We have struggled since the day we set foot on this
country. As slaves we made money for the slave masters and
spurred the economic growth of America."
The highlight of the evening was several youths who played
abolitionist heroes. Dressed in 19th-century costume, African
American children ages 11 to 14 personified Sojourner Truth,
Harriet Tubman and Fredrick Douglass.
Twelve-year-old Rick Brumfield spoke as Fredrick Douglass:
"I taught myself how to read and write because I knew education
was powerful. My master knew too, and he sent me to a
slave-breaker to break my spirit. But do you know I beat him up
instead and he never touched me again. That was the turning
point. I was nothing before, but now I was a man."
The crowd stood and cheered in response to the children's
performances.
A Ryme Theory kept the house jumping with
social-consciousness hip hop. Maisha Quint, a dynamic youth
activist, high-school student and organizer for the event,
choreographed and performed a chilling dance to blues singer
Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit"-- a graphic song about
lynching.
Dorsey Nunn, a prison activist and organizer for Critical
Resistance, reminded the audience that slavery in America
continues through the prison system. "For every one African
American enrolled into the University of California system, 57
go to the penitentiary. With 1.8 million people behind bars, we
cannot afford to forget the lessons of Harriet Tubman and the
abolitionists."
Bill Jennings, a veteran of the Black Panther Party and
editor of "It's About Time," spoke on the legacy of the BPP. He
cited such BPP freedom fighters as Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale,
Bobby Hutton, George Jackson, Geronimo ji Jaga, Assata Shakur,
the Angola 2 (Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace) and Mumia Abu-
Jamal. Jennings emphasized the urgent need to continue the
BPP's struggle for worldwide revolution.
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Keynote speaker Larry Holmes focused on the most critical
issue of the evening--the struggle for Mumia Abu-Jamal's
freedom. Holmes, a national organizer for the April 24
"Millions for Mumia" march and a leader of Workers World Party,
pointed out that Mumia represents not one man but all the
struggles for liberation.
"Mumia's case is a barometer of the health and dedication of
the movement. If we cannot stop them from killing Mumia, how
are we going to win the struggles for housing, education, and
jobs?" Holmes asked.
"Mumia represents the war against police brutality which
threatens to silence anyone who speaks out against racism and
oppression. At the time of his frame-up in 1981, Mumia had
become the most eloquent voice in the people's war against the
Philadelphia police.
"Mumia represents the need for jobs not jails. There are no
real jobs for poor people and people of color. But there is
employment behind bars where prisoners work for slave wages and
make a profit for the prison-industrial complex.
"Mumia is the face of the death penalty. The death penalty
is more and more being used for covert political means. People
who dare to speak out for their freedom are being sentenced to
death or put away for life.
"Mumia's case is not legal; it is political. We need an
earthquake and an avalanche of activism to open up and shake
apart the foundations of the bourgeoisie. We all got to stand
up and say, `We are Mumia.'"
Holmes ended his talk by encouraging everyone to attend the
Feb. 20 mobilization meeting for the West Coast "Millions for
Mumia" march. The meeting will take place at 12 noon in the
Women's Building at 3543 18th St. in San Francisco. For more
information, readers can call the National People's Campaign at
(415) 821-6545.
Other speakers at the event included Ida Robinson and Henry
Clark. Robinson, a former political prisoner, spoke of her
crucial work in bringing children to visit their parents who
are incarcerated in prisons.
Henry Clark, a nationally recognized environmentalist of the
West County Toxic Coalition in Richmond, spoke of the African
American community's victory over Chevron and other
polluters.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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