New York Chapter of the National Writers Union  (UAW Local 1981)

On Behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal

Attention All Writers:

In celebrating Mumia's birthdate (April 24, 1954), the New York Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and the National Writers Union (NWU/New York Chapter) are organizing Writers for Mumia, an afternoon of readings and testimonials taking place Saturday, April 24, at St. Mary's Church, 512 West 126 Street, between Old Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, in Harlem.

Interested writers should immediately contact Louis Reyes Rivera via email at  (Louisreyesrivera@aol.com) or Susan E. Davis [sednyc@earthlink.net] in order to be included in the program, scheduled from 2 to 6 p.m. at St. Mary's Church.

The event immediately precedes a rally scheduled for Monday, April 26, in front of the Justice Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Initiated in 1999 as a project of the International Action Center, Writers for Mumia is a way for authors to show their support for the imprisoned journalist and honorary member of the NWU. It has since become an outpouring by writers weighing in against the death penalty and on behalf of Mumia's right to a new trial. In addition to cultural presentations, the April 24th program includes Pam Africa of the International Friends and Family of Mumia Abu-Jamal and Suzanne Ross of the New York Coalition to Free Mumia.

Quick Update:

Mumia Abu-Jamal now faces a most critical moment in his decades-long struggle to be granted a new trial based on solid, incontrovertible evidence of prosecutorial misconduct during the criminal court trial that led to his conviction on charges of killing a Philadelphia police officer.

This past January, the Supreme Court overturned the Third Circuit Court of Appeals' 2008 decision to set aside the death penalty based on improper instructions given to the jurors. Instead, the high court has instructed the circuit court to "reconsider" its earlier decision, particularly reinstitution of the death penalty. What the Supreme Court refused to weigh in on was the defense's arguments calling for a new trial and drawing attention to prosecutorial misconduct, including the deliberate exclusion of eligible Black jurors.

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