PURE statement in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Published May 11, 2007 9:08 PM

Panthers United for Revolutionary Education is a group of revolutionary prisoners on Texas death row. They composed the following statement in solidarity with the April 24 rally for Mumia in Philadelphia. Go to www.workers.org/2007/us/mumia-0510/

Big ups to all attending the April 24 event for Brother Mumia!

Of all the gatherings that PURE has been encouraged to send greetings of solidarity to, this one ranks the highest. PURE has a true interest in being here today, an obligation, in fact.

Comrade Mumia is an ex-Black Panther and our organization, Panthers United for Revolutionary Education, is a product of the Panthers. Thus, it is safe to say that Mumia is our beginning.

Living as we do under the most austere conditions of prisons, in what is arguably the most racist and backward state of the union, Texas, we are indeed amongst the most oppressed and repressed. We are poor. But without you, the people, we would be powerless. And without our brother, Mumia, we would be voiceless. So our interest here is clear and direct.

Let us make clear, also, this oh-so-shocking truth: Our brother and comrade Mumia is in the hands of killers! Killers who prefer to do their dirty deeds in the dark and are therefore waiting with the patience of a snake for you to grow tired; tired of turning out; tired of holding vigil; tired of being inconvenienced by sacrificing so much and just plain ole tired of being tired.

Yes, it is this dayhis night, ratherhat they wait and relish. The night that we're worn down by attrition, the night that we blow out the candles to rest our weary minds and bodies.

But we have bad news for those laying in wait. We won't ever get that tired! Y'all hear me? I said, WE WON'T EVER GET THAT TIRED! And those that are waiting will die waiting.

We know we don't have much time and our statement should be short. But let us touch briefly on why we must not fall asleep and why Mumia's life is in such great danger.

It is often said that Mumia is the most recognized political prisoner in the United States. We have no interest in arguing semantics, but Mumia is a POW. This fact must be recognized for a full appreciation of what the brother is facing.

The U.S. government literally declared war on the Black Panther Party.

Of all the progressive nationalist organizations, civil-rights groups, and revolutionary formations of the 1960s and 1970s, the Panthers were declared the number-one threat to the country and were targeted for annihilation.

The assassinations, the frame-ups, the forced exiles, the infiltrations and agitation that had Panthers turning on Panthers are all recorded in history. To this day ex-Panthers are still doing prison time, living in exile and being rounded up. Why? What makes them different from other groups?

The difference is that most liberation organizations of those times were mere irritations to the state because they only demanded reforms within the constraints of the capitalist state. But the Panthers attacked the state itself, subscribing as they did to Marxism as a revolutionary tool and scientific guide for understanding revolutionary theory and for applying revolutionary action.

At the time, the government was fighting against communism everywheresia, Africa, the Soviet Union, in its own backyard of Central and South America, and in its own midst, the Panthers here at home.

Mumia left the Panthers because of agent provocateurs, but never ceased to challenge the politics of national oppression, the outgrowth of imperialism, as well as racism and sexism, the outgrowth of capitalism.

Mumia was then, and is now, a soldier for the people. He is our voice, our great inspiration.

Our esteemed chairman, Howard Guidry, explains Mumia best: "From the isolation block of Texas' most prided plantation and in spite of all of the artificial forces unleashed to erode and mentally break us, we wish you all to know that our beloved brotha Mumia's voice, image and determination have exemplified the very revolutionary torch that has been passed on from our predecessors." Thank you! Power to the People!

In solidarity,

Muenda, Prime Minister, PURE
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