Report on 5/11 SF March for Mumia Abu-Jamal

On a very bright warm San Francisco summer (70 degrees) day, several hundred people of all ages and colors marched up San Francisco's main thoroughfare, Market Street, from the Embarcadero to the Civic Center for a rally in front of City Hall for political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. Representatives from all the political struggles, including labor, Palestine, Puerto Rico, Philippines, lesbian and gay, Latino and from all the socialist organizations were at this very important demonstration.

Our chants included, "Black, brown, yellow, red and white, same enemy, same fight, workers of the world unite, "Arabic, Jewish, Asian, Latino, black and white, same enemy, same fight, workers of the world unite," "We remember Hiroshima, we remember Vietnam, Democratic Party, we know which side you're on," "there is no justice in the capitalist courts; we need workers' revolution," "We'll tear down the prisons wall by wall, free Mumia Abu-Jamal," and much more.

This is the first Mumia march in memory that deliberately integrated the Palestinian struggle with Mumia's struggle for freedom.

The reference to the Democrats is crucial since the voting members of all the workingclass communities, including the black community of which Mumia is a part, are still very loyal to this racist, capitalist, pro-Israel, death penalty party, funded by the same corporations as the Republicans and promoting the same reactionary, anti-workingclass agenda. It was the chair of the national Democratic Party, Ed Rendell, who was the district attorney who framed Mumia Abu-Jamal. See: http://www.aspenlinx.com/mumia/newstuff/rendell2.htm

The necessity of appearing at all demonstrations for Mumia Abu-Jamal is greater now than ever. We have a fascist election-frauding, racist gang sitting in the White House, with a fascist Attorney General, not only promoting the death penalty and the prison-industrial complex in which 2 million people sit whose primary crime, for most of them, is being born poor and usually non-white. Pres. George War Bush and Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, with the very willing cooperation of the Democrats in Congress and in the state governments, want to remove all our civil liberties and our right to protest. The defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal is the defense of all our civil rights and civil liberties as well as being part of a growing movement to abolish the death penalty and abolish the prison-industrial complex. Showing up for a couple peace marches a year just will not do it. If you do not have a good reason such as studying for exams and writing term papers, or some urgent family matter, and you are within reasonable distance of these demonstrations for Mumia Abu-Jamal, it is imperative that you show up. It is not enough that you have done it before and that you support Mumia. Your warm body is needed. These marches are also good exercise.

We cannot afford to sit as the American economy is sinking very fast, and the ruling class knows it. As it sinks, the ruling class is trying to install a totally fascist government to repress any workingclass movement. Then, there will be no peace marches or anything else that resembles a movement. What we need is a labor movement and that will come as we build resistance to the fascist repression and its economic cutbacks.

An injury to one is an injury to all! Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!