This paper is a discussion of black activist, author, and self-described political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal, author of Live from Death Row. Abu-Jamal, who is awaiting execution for a crime he insists he did not commit, has written scathingly about racism in America and the particular racism of the death penalty. Abu-Jamal's writings convey the deep-rooted rage of many blacks in America who believe that justice is not color-blind but instead discriminates against black men, especially when their victims are white. Abu-Jamal is a powerful writer, though his writings are targeted to an almost exclusively black audience and his interest seems focused principally on inspiring his audience to political action. His fury, and the perspective that he represents, is almost diametrically opposed to the moderate, mainstream voices of civil rights activism most closely associated with the late Martin Luther King Jr. His writings are worth studying for the understanding they give of the ways that civil rights has failed many blacks in America and the suggestion that racism continues to be a powerful social issue.
Mumia Abu-Jamal was born on April 24, 1954, in Philadelphia. He began his career of political activism young: at age 14 he was arrested and beaten for protesting a George Wallace presidential rally in his home town. He credits the policeman who joined his attackers with reinforcing his commitment to activism: "I have been thankful to that faceless cop ever since, for he kicked me straight into the Black Panther Party" (Abu-Jamal 150-151).
He helped found the party's Philadelphia chapter, and his work with the Black Panthers launched his career as a journalist. For 11 years, from 1970 to 1981, he was an increasingly prominent broadcast journalist on National Public Radio, reporting daily on events and issues of concern to the black community. His increasing criticism of the Philadelphia Police Department's handling of the M...