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<h2><font size=3><b>From Facebook<br>
</font>Nzingha Shakur-Ali: "my blood is a million
stories..."</b></h2><font size=3>Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at
3:08pm<br>
sitting here thinking and wanted to share...<br><br>
my dad goes before the parole board december 2nd. thinking about my
family and the families of other political prisoners and freedom fighters
around the world. thinking about you especially, kamel. i am SO truly
blessed to come from the family i do. the hearn clan. the shakur
clan.<br><br>
it's a different way of life in many ways, being children of
revolutionaries. our parents fought, were imprisoned, were exiled, and
died fighting for basic human equality; and all the while growing us in
the discipline and knowledge, love and respect for not only our people,
but for all people. we think differently; we see the world differently.
<br><br>
i was thinking about the last time i saw mutulu. it's a harsh reminder to
me when i think about the fact that i've never known my dad in any other
context outside of prison, even back to my first memory. his every
entrance into my life since i can remember has always been the
same...coming from behind those steel bars, he stops so the officer can
take of the chains. i've never seen him for more than 4-5 hours at a
time. you only get so many hours of visitation. i've never seen him
standing in the sunlight, never seen him standing in grass; i've never
seen him in anything other than a prison uniform.<br><br>
we've never had a phone conversation that wasn't recorded, written
letters that weren't read before it reached his hands, or given hugs that
weren't closely watched. i've shared every intimate moment with him, with
someone else. he's never been able to see all of his children together at
once, and now that pac has passed away he'll never be able too.<br><br>
now mutulu is in florence, colorado. the #1 maximum security prison in
the united states. "also known as the ADMAX, Supermax, or The
Alcatraz of the Rockies, ADX houses the prisoners who are deemed the most
dangerous and in need of the tightest control. it is the highest level
security federal prison in the united states, and generally considered
the most secure prison in the world. individuals are kept for at least 23
hours each day in solitary confinement." that means he gets 1 hour,
by himself, outside his cell in a heavily guarded area. all of our visits
are behind glass and he often handcuffed.<br><br>
these things come to mind as his parole hearing draws near. they have and
continue to do everything the possibly can to keep him in prison. long
and short: after denying him his first parole hearing in 1996 with no
just cause (as stated by a court) the parole board ignored the
recommendation to give him due process and waited 6 years to convene. in
2002 the parole board finally convened, denied him parole and stated that
they would not allow him to come before the parole board for another 15
years. because his first parole hearing was legal set for 1996, a 15 year
hit would mean he was able to come before the parole board again in 2011,
but as the parole board refused to acknowledge the 6 year false delay
(again, as stated by the court), he will not be able to come before the
parole board until 2017. his upcoming parole hearing is a fight for due
process and his right to come before the parole board and fight for his
freedom in 2011.<br><br>
as "thanksgiving" draws near, i am humbled by those who, like
mutulu, saw their difficult path before them and even still chose to
stand and fight, rather than lay down and continue to be enslaved.
freedom fighters ALL OVER THE WORLD. many of them will not be able to sit
down and have dinner with their families, will not be able to tuck their
children in at night, and will not be able to hold the ones they love as
they fall asleep. <br><br>
yet they are fighting for our right to do so. <br><br>
this thanksgiving, i give thanks for the people who fought and are still
fighting for freedom and equality.<br>
i give honor to the indigenous people of this country who are still
fighting for their basic rights on their own land.<br>
i give remembrance to who i am and where i come from. a people who's
blood runs deep in the earth of this country.<br><br>
...and i pray, so very hard, that we continue to move forward as a GLOBAL
community, in love.<br><br>
my blood? is a million stories. FREE 'EM ALL.<br><br>
peace.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
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