CLEVELAND
Labor joins youth in rally for Mumia
By Martha Grevatt
Cleveland
Labor unionists joined students and anti-war activists in a
militant picket line and rally in downtown Cleveland on April
29. Called by the Labor Action Committee for Justice for Mumia
Abu-Jamal, the demonstration drew a multinational crowd.
Protesters expressed their solidarity with students at Kent
State University and Antioch College, who have come under fire
from the police and media for inviting Abu-Jamal to speak on
their campuses. They chanted, "Kent State, Antioch, the people
will hear Mumia talk."
Justin Hons of Kent State Anti-Racist Action spoke of plans
to include a taped message from Abu-Jamal in an upcoming
commemoration of the murders on May 4, 1970, when the
government shot down students at Kent and at Jackson State in
Mississippi who were protesting the war in Southeast Asia.
Virginia Robinson, secretary of the Cleveland Federation of
Labor, and Farm Labor Organizing Committee President and Ohio
AFL-CIO Vice President Baldemar Velasquez stressed the need for
labor to get more involved in demanding a new trial for
Mumia.
Martha Grevatt, national secretary of Pride At Work, the
lesbian/gay/bi/trans caucus of the AFL-CIO, voiced that
organization's support for Abu-Jamal and condemned conservative
gays who have "exploited the Matthew Shepard tragedy to bolster
a pro-death-penalty position." Nationally known actor and
activist Vinie Burrows called on everyone to "pack Madison
Square Garden on May 7."
Other speakers represented the Jericho Movement, Women Speak
Out for Peace and Justice, May 7 Mobilization, Northeast Ohio
Coalition for Justice for Mumia, and the sponsoring Labor
Action Committee. The picket line was widely publicized on
television and in the print media.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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