Act now for Mumia Abu-Jamal, Black U.S. political prisoner

On July 4, the apparatus of state power, like it does every year, arrogantly lauded itself for its alleged mandate to occupy the “lighthouse of democracy” around the world. Drunk on the brew of grand larceny, they will never voluntarily imbibe the sobering elixir of Frederick Douglass’ unforgettable Fourth of July speech in 1853 in which he soundly revokes U.S. claims to such authority.

Douglass’ “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” speech could have been minted today, at a time when U.S. imperialism’s wars pockmark the entire planet. When over 2.4 million prisoners, including about a million African Americans, languish and toil in slave-like conditions in U.S. prisons and jails.

Just look at the obscene cat-and-mouse game — a war by all levels of the state of Pennsylvania — to torment political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal and induce his demise, this time through outright medical abuse and neglect.

The assault on Abu-Jamal’s health has been going on for well over six months. The alleged recovery prescription is Swiss-cheesed with gaping holes, contradictions and medical inaction.

On June 29, Suzanne Ross, of the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC) and International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Mumia’s brother, Keith Cook, visited the ailing Mumia. Their observations can be found at info@freemumia.com.

Bottom line: Abu-Jamal’s health is not good. His skin condition offers great discomfort that hardly reflects healing.

We must pull out the stops again to protect Mumia’s health and ultimately bring him home! Heat up the grapevine. Call friends, family, activists, influential people and organizations, etc. The time to act is surely now!

Call the following numbers and demand that Mumia Abu-Jamal be granted treatment by specialists of his choosing who are outside the Department of Corrections; an appropriate diet; and daily visits by family, friends and attorneys: John Wetzel, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections: 717-728-4109; and Thomas Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania: 717-787-2500.