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<h3><b>CONRAD W. WORRILL: Reparations, political prisoners and the
Million More
Movement</b></h3><font size=3>
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http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/commentary.cfm?ArticleID=2067<br>
</a>by Conrad W. Worrill<br>
August 29, 2005<br><br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=2>One of the critical demands
of the Reparations Movement, as we prepare for the 10th Anniversary of
the Million Man March, is the release of African in America political
prisoners. The issue of African in America political prisoners often gets
swept aside in our demands in the Reparations Movement. This should not
be. There are many sisters and brothers who have sacrificed much for the
liberation of African people in America and are locked up unjustly in
America’s prisons and are political prisoners.<br><br>
The seventh issue of the Millions More Movement agenda presented by the
Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan states: “We demand freedom for all
political prisoners held in U. S. prisons and detention facilities,
foreign and domestic. We demand an end to police brutality, mob attacks,
racial profiling, the herding of our young men and women into prisons and
the biological and chemical warfare perpetrated against our people.” As
Minister Farrakhan prepares to meet with our celebrated political
prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal, let his visit with our brothers lift up, and
intensify our work to free all our political prisoners.<br><br>
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When we discuss political prisoners, we are talking about “those persons
harassed, arrested, framed, and imprisoned because of their relatively
peaceful political activity against the destructive conditions that their
people live under.”<br><br>
The goal of our political prisoners has been “to transfer power from the
corrupt and racist business people, government officials, psuedo
intellectuals, policemen, judges, and jailers and keep them down to a
captive nation of people to be free.” We should all be aware that Marcus
Garvey, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Sister
Callie House, and Huey P. Newton spent time in jail because they fought
for our freedom, just as Brother Mumia Abu Jamal remains a political
prisoner for his uncompromising political journalism.<br><br>
The origin of the campaign that has resulted in the more than one hundred
women and men who are locked up in America’s prisons as political
prisoners, many of them African in Americans, is related to the “secret
war” that was waged against the Black Liberation Movement by the
FBI.<br><br>
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in the 1960s and 70s led this
campaign. This illegal and top-secret onslaught was called the
“Counterintelligence (COINTELPRO) program that targeted Black activists
and organizations.” Its goal was to disrupt, dismantle, discredit, and
neutralize Black groups and leaders, thus seriously crippling our
movement. They were successful.<br><br>
That is why it is important for African people in America to join the
Reparations Movement and help rebuild the Black Liberation Movement. One
of our critical demands of the Reparations Movement must be the freedom
of our political prisoners and prisoners of war.<br><br>
The Jericho Movement explains, “The issue of whether or not political
prisoners and prisoners of war exist inside the borders of the United
States of America is one that the government of the United States has
successfully been able to refute. They have been able to deny the
existence of political prisoners and prisoners of war because we have not
taken the battle to them and forced them to address this issue.”<br><br>
We can begin publicly addressing the issue of our political prisoners, in
a massive way, on August 17th at the Millions For Reparations Mass Rally
and ignite, educate, and inspire our people to expand the Reparations
Movement to include, as a key component, our political
prisoners.<br><br>
In this context, the Jericho Movement further explains that there “are
brothers and sisters, men and women who, as a consequence of their
political work/or organizational affiliations were given criminal
charges, arrested or captured, tried in courts and sent to prison. While
trying them as criminals, the government maintained files on them
referencing their political activities, designed to insure they remain in
prison.” We must expose this tactic by the United States Government in
our demands that our political prisoners be freed.<br><br>
The Reparations Movement must be more energetic in demanding and calling
for the release of our political prisoners and prisoners of war that
include Jalil Bottom, Charles Sims Africa, Debbi Sims Africa, Herman
Bell, Kojo Sababu, Lorenzo Stone Bey, Mark Cook, Mumia Abu Jamal, Mutulu
Shakur, Ojore Lutalo, Phil Africa, Richard Mafundi Lake, Robert Seth
Hayes, Sekou Kambui, Sundiata Acoli, and Jamil Abdullah†
Al-Amin.<br><br>
It is only fitting that we remind ourselves that the Honorable Marcus
Garvey, was one of our first political prisoners targeted by the United
States Government, indicted on the trumped up charges of mail fraud and
convicted. The masses of our people in the mid 1920s demanded Garvey’s
release from prison. In 1927, more than 100.000 African people
demonstrated and protested that he be released. Garvey was released in
1927 and deported from the United States as a condition of his
release.<br><br>
Let’s free our political prisoners by joining the Millions More Movement
and help intensify our demands for their release. Spread the word and
prepare to attend and participate in the 10th Anniversary of the Million
Man March on the weekend of October 15-17, 2005.<br><br>
<b><i>Conrad Worrill is national chairman of the National Black United
Front.<br><br>
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