Dec. 9 rally for Mumia outside Mahanoy prison
This statement was issued by the March for Mumia on Dec. 8:
A rally on Dec. 9 will mark the end of the 103-mile walk from Philadelphia to Frackville, Pennsylvania, to highlight prison abuses and to free Mumia Abu-Jamal. In the words of Mumia, “Many people say it is insane to resist the system, but actually, it’s insane not to.”
Register for Dec. 9 actions: MarchforMumia.org/participate
Starting at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, community leaders, activists and families of the incarcerated will gather in front of State Correctional Institution Mahanoy, 301 Morea Road in Frackville, to welcome dozens of green and yellow vested walkers bearing signs and banners, many of whom have marched up to 103 miles since Nov. 28.
Several speakers — including 12-day walkers Baba Zayid Muhammad and Lawrence Hamm, as well as Noelle Hanrahan from Prison Radio, Jacky Hortaut from France representing Libérons Mumia and Schuylkill County resident Rubina Tareen — will address the assembled crowd.
A core group of eight activists walked the entire route from Philadelphia to SCI Mahanoy, with dozens more joining in for a day or two or more. The response of people on the streets and in passing vehicles was quite positive, with a number of people sharing their contact information for future collaborations.
Participants in the March for Mumia gather outside the Schuylkill County Courthouse in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Dec. 7, 2025. WW Photo: Joe Piette
The March for Mumia is a 12-day mobilization demanding freedom for journalist and political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal and calling attention to the systemic crisis of elder abuse, medical neglect and politically targeted incarceration. On Dec. 9 participants will present a list of demands to the facility’s Superintendent, Bernadette Mason.
Mumia, 71 years old, suffers from chronic health conditions — including heart disease and vision loss — worsened by what his family and supporters describe as medical neglect by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.
Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (formerly known as Black Power activist H. Rap Brown), died on Nov. 23 following complaints by his family and supporters charging elder abuse and medical neglect during his 23 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Al-Amin’s and Mumia’s conditions reflect the broader crisis of this country’s aging prison population amid decades of medical neglect, as our brothers and sisters behind bars are routinely denied adequate care and proper food.
The march seeks to highlight these abuses and demands an end to the systemic neglect of elderly and sick incarcerated people across the U.S. and the immediate release of Mumia and other political prisoners.
Born in 1954, Mumia grew up in Philadelphia amid racial segregation and police violence. He joined the Black Panther Party as a teenager and later became an award-winning journalist known for exposing systemic racism and police abuse. His reporting challenged Philadelphia’s power structure, earning him recognition —and hostility — from local authorities.
March organizers and endorsers unite under a shared belief in the dignity of all human beings. It’s time to end a system that treats people as disposable.
Visit MarchForMumia.org for more details.
