> WW News Service Digest #46
>
> 1) Why Death-Row Prisoners Seized Hostage
> by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 2) Protest Planned after Diallo Verdict
> by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 3) "Day for Mumia" at Madison Sq. Garden
> by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 4) U Mich Students expose Anti-Native "Secret Society"
> by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 5) Wisc Students Arrested Exposing "Fair Labor" Sham
> by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 6) U Mich "Sweat-In"
> by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 7) Puerto Rico tells Clinton, Rossello: 'No deal'
> by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
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>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 23:37:00 -0500
>Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
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>Subject: [WW] Why Death-Row Prisoners Seized Hostage
>Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>-------------------------
>Via Workers World News Service
>Reprinted from the Mar. 2, 2000
>issue of Workers World newspaper
>-------------------------
>
>TEXAS: WHY DEATH-ROW PRISONERS SEIZED HOSTAGE
>
>By Workers World Houston bureau
>
>On Feb. 21, two death row prisoners took a Terrell
>facility guard hostage in Livingston, Texas, and held her
>hostage for over 24 hours.
>
>The inmates were Kamau (Ponchai) Wilkerson and Howard
>Guidry. Wilkerson has a March 14 execution date.
>
>The Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, who have had
>long-term contact with death-row prisoners, immediately
>responded to the hostage situation by sending a delegation
>of community leaders in the middle of the night to the
>prison. The delegation included Njeri Shakur of the
>Abolition Movement, Deloyd Parker of Shape Community Center
>and Kofi Tahara of the National Black United Front.
>
>The delegation wanted to assure the safety of Kamau
>Wilkerson and Howard Guidry. Leaders also recognized that
>only an intervention by the community could assure the
>safety of the guard, Jeannette Bledsoe.
>
>"Wilkerson and Guidry conducted themselves in the most
>honorable manner," stated Njeri Shakur of the Texas
>coalition. "They apologized for the incident and recognized
>that the guard was only a worker trying to support her
>family. She was treated well and with respect.
>
>"This is a whole lot more than the prisoners get every day
>on death row," said Shakur. "The deplorable prison
>conditions drive prisoners not only to frustration but even
>madness. That's why we make the following demands on the
>state of Texas and Gov. [George W.] Bush: Hands off Guidry
>and Wilkerson, end immediately the inhumane conditions of
>death-row prisoners, and lastly, declare a moratorium on
>Texas executions right now."
>
>Last January prisoners on death row in Texas held a 21-day
>hunger strike. The prisoners held the strike to draw
>attention to the deplorable conditions. They include
>extreme isolation--which was declared unconstitutional last
>year by the federal courts--constant hunger, and sensory
>and sleep deprivation.
>
>On Feb. 21, the prisoners expressed sorrow that "41
>percent of those on death row in Texas are African American
>yet they are only 12 percent of the population."
>
>MONICA MOOREHEAD: `DEMANDS ARE JUST'
>
>Monica Moorehead, a national organizer for Millions for
>Mumia, said, "We are in complete agreement with the demands
>made by the anti-death penalty movement in Texas. These
>demands coincide with the demands being made by the
>prisoners themselves. The state of Texas, Gov. Bush as well
>as the federal government must move now to alleviate the
>deplorable conditions prisoners face not only in Texas but
>in prisons throughout the country.
>
>"As long as poor people and African Americans, Latinos and
>other people of color face a judicial system that is
>inadequate at best and criminal at worst," Moorehead said,
>"these kinds of incidences will not only continue to occur
>but will increase. That is why there must be an immediate
>moratorium on executions in this country. Too many innocent
>or wrongfully convicted people are languishing on death row
>and in prisons today.
>
>"Furthermore," Moorehead continued, "it is becoming more
>clear everyday that prisons are only concentration camps
>for the poor and people of color. Racial profiling and
>police misconduct from New York City to Los Angeles to
>Houston are filling the prisons unjustly and grossly."
>
>Teresa Gutierrez of the International Action Center said,
>"Conditions in prisons and death row cells throughout the
>U.S. can no longer be defended by any policy maker or
>government official. It is a crime that a presidential
>candidate like George Bush can travel the country as an
>alleged national leader and a prospective president when
>the blood of so many Texas prisoners is on his hands.
>
>"Bush has presided over 119 executions. Some of those
>executed have been mentally challenged. Some have been
>women who were horribly abused. This is appalling. This is
>why we must call on the anti-death penalty movement and
>progressives everywhere to launch a `Hound George Bush'
>campaign. Bush should not appear in one single presidential
>campaign event anywhere in the country without hearing the
>voices for justice and against the death penalty."
>
>Gutierrez continued, "What kind of country is this when in
>the face of so much evidence of grossly improper judicial
>processes and deplorable prison conditions policy makers
>refuse to immediately declare a moratorium on executions
>and a complete overhaul of the judicial system?
>
>"This shows we cannot count on them. The only thing that
>will change all this is a mass movement against the death
>penalty, racism and prison conditions. From this day
>forward let's let George Bush and all the presidential
>candidates know where we stand: declare a moratorium on all
>executions right now," Gutierrez said.
>
> - END -
>
>(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to
>copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
>changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
>Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message
>to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
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>
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 23:38:53 -0500
>Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
>Subject: [WW] Protest Planned after Diallo Verdict
>Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>-------------------------
>Via Workers World News Service
>Reprinted from the Mar. 2, 2000
>issue of Workers World newspaper
>-------------------------
>
>PROTEST PLANNED AFTER DIALLO VERDICT
>
>By Imani Henry
>Albany, N.Y.
>
>On Feb. 22, over 300 people rallied for justice for Amadou
>Diallo outside the court in Albany, N.Y., during the
>lawyers' summations in the trial of the four cops who
>killed him.
>
>Since Feb. 1, anti-police-brutality protesters have been
>outside the courthouse every day of the trial. The Capitol-
>region Justice for Diallo Committee in Albany is leading
>the protests.
>
>In a show of solidarity, the People's Justice 2000
>coalition--a diverse alliance from the Bronx and other New
>York boroughs--have organized buses to Albany to join the
>protests. They have given voice to the widespread outrage
>in the Bronx--where the killing occurred--at moving the
>trial out of the city to Albany.
>
>Playing a leading role in the rallies and in Justice 2000
>is the National Action Network, led by the Rev. Al
>Sharpton.
>
>The Feb. 22 protest was designated "Youth Day." It drew a
>multinational representation of young people.
>
>Some of the youth groups that mobilized included Committee
>Against Anti-Asian Violence, Organizing Asian Communities,
>and Youth Force, which organized a busload of young people
>from the Bronx.
>
>A contingent of lesbian, gay, bi, and trans young people
>were organized by Project Reach from lower Manhattan.
>
>Young person after young person took the microphone to
>share their outrage. Many pointed out that racism was the
>cause for the killing of Diallo, a 22-year-old African
>immigrant, but that the prosecuting attorneys are
>downplaying this racism.
>
>Others said that they are tired of the police terror and
>killings plaguing their communities. Some shared their own
>experiences of being targeted by police for being young
>people of color.
>
>The Rebel Poets, a group of revolutionary youth from
>Albany, excited the crowd with poems calling for the end of
>capitalist oppression.
>
>At noon, in what the Albany organizers call a first in the
>history of the city, protesters left the barricaded area
>for a spontaneous march through the downtown area of
>Albany.
>
>Without a march permit or prior negotiation with the
>police, protesters chanted against Gov. George Pataki and
>New York Mayor Giulani as they marched past various
>government buildings.
>
>"This march pushed the envelope here in Albany," said
>Vickie Smith, co-coordinator of the Capital-region Justice
>for Diallo Committee.
>
>"The police didn't know, and in some parts of the march we
>were able to take over the entire street. That was
>important for people of color in the neighborhood to see
>because right now we are waging our own fight for justice
>in the shooting of a young Black man by Albany police,"
>Smith said.
>
>THE VERDICT
>
>On Feb. 17, over 200 people turned out for a planning
>meeting organized by People's Justice 2000. People
>representing many struggles came together to plan a
>response to the verdict in the Albany trial.
>
>Out of the Feb. 17 meeting, organizers are calling for a
>rally in the Columbus Circle area of New York City on the
>day after the Albany verdict.
>
>Groups making up the People's Justice 2000 include: the
>Audre Lorde Project, Center for LGBTST POC; CAAAV;
>Organizing Asian Communities; Capitol-region Justice for
>Diallo Committee; Center for Constitutional Rights; Center
>for Social Action; Fellowship of Reconcilliation; Jews for
>Racial and Economic Justice; Malcolm X Grassroots Movement;
>National Action Network; National Congress for Puerto Rican
>Rights; National People's Campaign; National People's
>Democratic Uhuru Movement; October 22 Coalition; Parents
>Against Police Brutality; Positive Workforce; Project
>Reach; SLAM/USG Hunter; STRESS Magazine; and Youth Force.
>
> - END -
>
>(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to
>copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
>changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
>Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message
>to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
>
>
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 23:40:58 -0500
>Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
>Subject: [WW] "Day for Mumia" at Madison Sq. Garden
>Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>-------------------------
>Via Workers World News Service
>Reprinted from the Mar. 2, 2000
>issue of Workers World newspaper
>-------------------------
>
>GROWING DEMAND FOR MORATORUIM ON EXECUTIONS: "A
>DAY FOR MUMIA" SET AT MADISON SQ. GARDEN MAY 7
>
>By Greg Butterfield
>New York
>
>Supporters of death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal
>have announced plans for a mass rally at New York's Madison
>Square Garden May 7. The program, "A Day for Mumia," will
>be held in the Garden's 6,000-seat theatre.
>
>In undertaking this bold initiative, said Monica Moorehead
>of Millions for Mumia and the International Action Center,
>the movement will come into direct confrontation with the
>state apparatus in New York--including the Police
>Benevolent Association and arch-racist Mayor Rudolph
>Giuliani.
>
>The call for the event at the Garden came two days after
>President Bill Clinton publicly rejected growing demands
>for a national moratorium on executions.
>
>Moorehead announced plans for the May 7 event to an
>audience of 600 Free Mumia organizers at the Feb. 19
>Emergency National Conference to Save Mumia at the
>Cathedral of St. John the Divine here in New York. She told
>the enthusiastic crowd: "Hundreds of grassroots organizers
>will be needed to make May 7 a success.
>
>"The most powerful factor that can win a new trial, the
>one capable of making the government step back from this
>`fast track' execution, is the organized force of millions
>of outraged people from every community.
>
>"This is the urgent task of our movement," Moorehead said.
>
>"Right now, millions of potential supporters barely know
>of Mumia and the facts of the case that cry out for a new
>trial. We must quickly employ additional tactics to
>increase awareness. Mumia's name must become a household
>word in working-class communities.
>
>"No one event will win a new trial for Mumia," she said.
>"But May 7 could be a major breakthrough--holding this
>event in the most famous venue in the world, a territory of
>the rich and powerful.
>
>"Madison Square Garden has been the site of mass rallies
>for other political prisoners in the past century--Angela
>Davis, the Scottsboro Brothers and the Rosenbergs. Why not
>Mumia, too?"
>
>She reported that many celebrities and national figures
>support the May 7 rally or have agreed to speak or perform.
>They include Ossie Davis, the Indigo Girls, David Dinkins,
>Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, Rage Against the Machine,
>Susan Sarandon, Alice Walker, Johnnie Cochran, Pam Africa,
>Leslie Feinberg, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Rep. John Conyers
>and Ramsey Clark.
>
>Saying "militant protest is the backbone of this
>movement," Moorehead explained that the May 7 platform will
>launch mass demonstrations at next summer's Republican and
>Democratic conventions.
>
>The crowd cheered when Moorehead challenged them to get
>ready for a struggle to defend the Madison Square Garden
>rally.
>
>"We know that once news of this event hits the mainstream
>media, the Fraternal Order of Police, the PBA and Guiliani
>will go ballistic and try to pressure MSG to cancel the
>event. But we're not going to let them.
>
>"We will welcome this controversy!" she cried. "It will
>enlarge and inflame the debate around this case, and that's
>just what Mumia needs.
>
>"Will we rock the Garden for Mumia?" Moorehead shouted.
>
>"Yes!" the crowd roared back.
>
>AMNESTY BACKS NEW TRIAL
>
>In mid-February other events that helped Abu-Jamal's case
>already had cops and government officials fuming.
>
>On Feb. 16, cable TV's Arts & Entertainment network aired
>a documentary called "Death Row Radical: Mumia Abu-Jamal."
>While Abu-Jamal's supporters felt the program had a pro-cop
>bias, it did present information on courtroom violations of
>his civil rights.
>
>The next day, Amnesty International made headlines when it
>released a new report, "A Life in the Balance--the Case of
>Mumia Abu-Jamal." In it, the liberal human-rights group
>calls for a new trial.
>
>The report highlights "inadequate legal representation,
>legal proceedings that fail to reach minimum international
>standards for fair trials, and possible bias of the appeal
>courts."
>
>"This is not about an issue affecting the life of just one
>man," the group said. "This is about justice--which affects
>us all. And justice, in this case, can only be served by a
>new trial."
>
>Sam Jordan, director of Amnesty International USA's
>Program to Abolish the Death Penalty, spoke at the Feb. 19
>conference. He called this the "most dynamic period of
>debate on capital punishment in the last 20 years."
>
>Jordan cited Illinois Gov. George Ryan's recent decision--
>made under mass pressure--to impose a moratorium on
>executions in that state.
>
>`PACK THE COURTROOM'
>
>Civil-rights lawyer Leonard Weinglass told the conference:
>"Some time in April or May, there will be a court hearing
>with Mumia present" for the first time since 1997. He urged
>supporters to "pack the courtroom, pack the hallways and
>surround the courthouse.
>
>"The next 90 days are the most critical time in the 18
>years Mumia has spent behind bars," Weinglass explained.
>Procedural decisions made by federal Judge William Yohn Jr.
>may determine whether Abu-Jamal receives a new trial.
>
>"Something terrible happened on our way to federal court--
>the 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act,"
>he said. The EDPA severely limits federal judges' ability
>to make independent reviews of death-penalty cases.
>
>"Judge Yohn is bound by this law," said Weinglass. "Will
>he join the few who will say Congress has no right to
>obstruct this right?"
>
>If Yohn refuses to make an independent review and Abu-
>Jamal is not allowed to present new evidence in his
>defense, he could face execution by the end of this year,
>Weinglass warned.
>
>His call to action was echoed by other speakers. They
>included Ossie Davis, Ramona Africa of MOVE, Clark
>Kissinger of Refuse & Resist!, Safiya Bukhari of the New
>York Free Mumia Coalition and Jeff Mackler of the San
>Francisco Mobilization to Free Mumia.
>
>The conference also featured organizing workshops on the
>death-penalty moratorium movement, police brutality,
>outreach to the lesbian/gay/bi/trans community, and
>organizing in Philadelphia.
>
>A lively youth workshop attended by 150 people chose April
>5 and May 1 as national days of student and youth actions.
>
>An evening program of music, poetry, acting and film gave
>historical context to Abu-Jamal's 1981 frame-up at the
>hands of Philadelphia police.
>
>Students and others came from 15 states and several
>countries. Nicole Borvo, a senator and member of the French
>Communist Party, attended, as did young people from Japan,
>Germany and Norway.
>
>Benoit Bechet came from French Guiana in South America.
>"We in Guiana have been fighting for Mumia," he told WW.
>"Even the National Assembly has voted 100 percent for
>Mumia.
>
>"A victory in this fight can be very influential
>throughout the world," Bechet said.
>
>ROCK THE GARDEN
>
>Many organizations have already endorsed the May 7 "Day
>for Mumia" at Madison Square Garden.
>
>They include International Concerned Family & Friends of
>Mumia Abu-Jamal, Bruderhof, Campaign to End the Death
>Penalty, Jericho Amnesty Movement, Mobilization to Free
>Mumia, National People's Campaign, New York Free Mumia
>Coalition, Rainbow Flags for Mumia, and Refuse & Resist!
>
>Pat Hilliard, a New Jersey tenant leader, passed out
>colorful May 7 organizers' packets at the conference. She
>told Workers World that activists grabbed up 300 in the
>first two hours.
>
>Activists at the conference were already gearing up to
>perform civil disobedience at the U.S. Supreme Court in
>Washington Feb. 28. Hundreds are expected to risk arrest on
>behalf of Abu-Jamal.
>
>May 13 will be the 15th anniversary of the police bombing
>of a MOVE house in Philadelphia. MOVE plans a day of
>community outreach and solidarity there, and California
>organizers plan a Western regional mass protest for Abu-
>Jamal in San Francisco.
>
>Those who want more information on the May 7 event at
>Madison Square Garden and other activities can visit the
>web site at www.mumia2000.org
>or send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Readers can also call
>the May 7 Day
>for Mumia Mobilization
>office in New York at
>(212) 633-6646 or
>San Francisco at
>(415) 821-6545.
>
>MUMIA'S MESSAGE TO EMERGENCY CONFERENCE: WE'RE
>ONA MOVE"
>
>An obvious, apparent truth screams at us: We're ona move!
>Every conflict, every confrontation,
>every clash leaves us stronger.
>We are growing!
>Every attack, every assault,
>every angry outburst rebounds to our favor.
>We are growing!
>We are broadening and deepening
>our movement, reaching a widening class
>and range of people.
>A movement, like life itself, moves.
>It doesn't stand still.
>We are trading punches; taking some shots for sure, but
>also giving them back.
>We are growing!
>And we shall win!
>Ona Move!
>Long live John Africa!
>--Mumia
>c 2000 Mumia Abu-Jamal
>
>
> - END -
>
>(Copyleft Workers World Service. Everyone is permitted to
>copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
>changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
>Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message
>to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
>
>
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 00:24:33 -0500
>Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
>Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
>Subject: [WW] U Mich Students expose Anti-Native "Secret Society"
>Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>-------------------------
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