Lucasville 5 prisoner: ‘We are winning’

Bomani Shakur

Following is a message from political prisoner Bomani Shakur, one of the Lucasville Five, read at the 9th annual March to Stop Executions in Houston. Visit workers.org for more information on the Five.

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

As the year comes to a close, my hope is that all of you know that we are one step closer to victory. As the light continues to shine on those who oppose freedom and justice and show them for who they truly are, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that our only option is to stand up and speak truth to power.

Whereas before we were isolated by what seemed to be our own individual struggles, it has been made known that our every obstacle issues from the same source. The greed and corruption on Wall Street, the war in Iraq, the death penalty, sky-rocketing unemployment and poverty—it’s all an extension of free-market capitalism, an economic ideology that pits the haves against the have-nots.

Poor people all around the world are screaming out for justice and demanding that business as usual is no longer allowed. As we join them today with our own collective scream, let us make it known that we are united and excited about the future, that we have seen the light and are prepared to fight to the finish.

There’s an old saying: “The only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good people to stand by and do nothing.” Well, you are the good people, and the fact that you are standing there “doing something” is a sure sign that we are winning. Onward. ...

Your brother in solidarity,
Bomani Shakur