A memorable day with Mumia Abu-Jamal
By
Monica Moorehead
SCI-Greene Prison in Waynesburg, Pa.
Published Jun 8, 2005 7:44 PM
Visiting someone in prison can be one of life’s most
heartbreaking experiences.
Monica Moorehead and Mumia Abu-Jamal at SCI-Greene prison, March 1996.
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As you approach the prison, you can’t
help but be affected by the impenetrable thick brick walls topped with coils of
barbed wire—or by the steady stream of women and children,
disproportionately people of color, who have traveled from far distances to
visit their loved ones, who are spending years locked up in steel cages,
sometimes for 23-and-a-half hours daily.
This is the situation that
death-row political prisoner and revolutionary journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal has
faced for almost 23 years now.
Larry Holmes and I took a seven-hour car
trip to visit with Mumia on June 5 at the remote SCI-Greene prison unit near the
West Virginia border.
After going through the standard security
checkpoints to get to the visiting area, we came face to face with a handcuffed,
smiling Mumia.
Separated by a plexiglass barrier, Larry and I
instinctively press our hands up against the glass to meet Mumia’s hands,
even with the knowledge that human contact is almost forbidden under these
unimaginable circumstances.
Yet somehow the omnipresent physical barriers
take a back seat during a face-to-face meeting with Mumia. Since he is allowed
only one visit per week, excluding his lawyers, we decided to make every minute
count. As it turned out, the six hours that we spent with him went by so
quickly.
He said that he is in relatively good health and that the
swelling in his feet had gone down. This has been an ongoing problem due to
prison conditions.
When we asked him about the May 27 Pennsylvania Court
of Common Pleas dismissal of his request for a new Post Conviction Relief Act
hearing, Mumia stated that this came to no surprise given the biased nature of
the courts.
Mumia can no longer receive important news sources like
C-Span because of new regulations.
The bulk of our political discussion
focused on the problems and prospects facing the anti-war movement in light of
the deepening Iraqi resistance and the outcome of the 2004 U.S. presidential
elections, the development of the Black-led Million Workers March Movement, the
upcoming Millions More March this October, and the growing impact of immigrant
workers’ rights on the overall labor movement.
We also discussed the
upcoming 50th anniversary of the Montgomery bus boycott, which helped launch the
modern civil rights struggle, and how to best impart the important lessons this
event can have on today’s struggle against war, racism and cutbacks. Mumia
shared with us his fond memories of his last visit with the actor Ossie Davis,
who remained a committed activist until his recent death.
When we were
forced to say good-bye and leave him behind, Mumia flashed his stunning smile
and with his cuffed hands in fists, told us to tell everyone to keep up the good
fight. Larry and I left the prison sad but also so grateful for time that we
spent with this remarkable revolutionary leader and comrade in the
struggle.
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and all political
prisoners!
Moorehead and Holmes are members of Workers World
Party’s secretariat, an elected body of WWP’s national
committee.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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