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Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the May 25, 2000
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------MUMIA & MEDIA
Prominent Black paper features Garden rally
By Greg Butterfield
New York
When Millions for Mumia/International Action Center initiated the May 7 Day for Mumia at Madison Square Garden, organizers hoped it would send a strong message.
A major public event for a Black political prisoner in such a prestigious venue, they argued, would force the police to react. That, in turn, would make the big-business media sit up and take notice, in spite of their censorship of Abu-Jamal's case.
It would also send a message to millions of working people, students and labor unionists that the movement to win a new trial for the death-row journalist was growing and had broad support.
When A Day for Mumia sold out three days in advance and 6,000 people packed the Theater at Madison Square Garden May 7, that message was delivered.
It was an important victory when the Amsterdam News--the Harlem-based African American weekly known and respected throughout the United States--carried the headline "Thousands cheer Mumia" on its front page May 11 with a color photo of Abu-Jamal.
Reporter Herb Boyd wrote, "Weeks before the event, there was a proliferation of posters plastered around the nation and the city on garbage dumpsters, lamp posts and on the walls of abandoned buildings asking folks to 'Pack the Theater' and 'Stand up for Mumia,' and it must have been effective because there was hardly a vacant seat in the theater, and supporters alternately sat and stood for the endangered journalist."
Boyd's article was featured on the Web site of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, which represents hundreds of African-American-owned newspapers. The article will be reprinted and seen by millions.
"It was a busy week in New York," said Larry Holmes of Millions for Mumia/IAC. "There was the death of Cardinal O'Connor and Mayor Giuliani's personal and political woes, both of which were national stories that affected the African American community.
"But the Amsterdam News, the country's most prominent Black newspaper, chose to feature Mumia. This shows that we are breaking through."
Another Black community paper, the Daily Challenge, ran a full page of stories and photos about the rally in its May 9 edition.
Capitalist media cover May 7
The capitalist media boycott of Abu-Jamal's case was further broken by the Madison Square Garden rally.
The first cracks in the ice could be seen when the media were forced to cover the political prisoner's taped commencement speech at Antioch College in Ohio.
Then police groups launched into an attack on the New York event. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association--chief defender of such criminals as the cops who killed Amadou Diallo--even threatened a boycott of Madison Square Garden.
For the cops it was a big mistake. Momentum was with the May 7 rally--and just 50 off-duty cops showed up for a counter-protest.
Their threats brought out the media, though--and most could not ignore the size, diversity and broad support the pro-Mumia rally garnered, even as they persisted in calling Abu-Jamal a "cop killer."
Wire-service stories from the Associated Press and Reuters ran in the Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Boston Globe and other major dailies.
Local television stations covered the event. So did the CBS affiliate from Philadelphia. Stories appeared in the New York Times, New York Post, Daily News and Newsday. ABC World News/Tonight was said to be preparing a feature.
The rally was also covered by French TV, a Japanese magazine and other international media.
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