Video and Photo-essay: At The Liberty Bell for Mumia on July 4

--"Fourth of You Lie" protest exposes hypocrisy of Independence Day

by Hans Bennett

On the 4th of July, over 50 supporters of death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal gathered in Philadelphia to protest outside the Constitution Center, which is directly across the street from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. This event also marked the release of the third issue of the Journalists for Mumia newspaper, Abu-Jamal-News (VIEW PDF).

The edited feature video (VIEW HERE) from the day spotlights excerpts from Pam Africa's speech, performances by Rebel Diaz and Taina Asili, and exclusive interviews with Sundiata Sadiq, Theresa Shoatz, Ted Passon, and others. In addition you can also watch Pam Africa's full, unedited speech (VIEW HERE) and the performances by Taina Asili & Rebel Diaz (VIEW HERE).

Also, be sure to watch previous the videos from May 10, April 19, March 31, and an interview with J. Patrick O'Connor, author of The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal (VIEW PARTS: 1, 2, 3)

The July 4 event featured a fiery speech from Pam Africa (coordinator of the International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal) who spoke about the significance of the "Fourth of You Lie" holiday in relation to Mumia's case, as well as the continued genocide of Native Americans, US wars of aggression, denial of parole to the MOVE 9, and more.

Sundiata Sadiq is the former President of the Ossining NAACP, and is the author of Critical Moment for Mumia Abu-Jamal While Black Leadership Is Silent, which was a featured cover story in the new issue of Abu-Jamal-News.

Theresa Shoatz is the daughter of political prisoner Russell "Maroon" Shoatz, who is housed at SCI-Greene along with Mumia. He is in urgent need of medical treatment, which has been denied by the prison authorities. Theresa has issued an action alert asking for support from the public.

Taina Asili (www.tainapoet.com) is a longtime supporter of Mumia, the MOVE 9, and all political prisoners.

As reported by Davey D, Alexander Billet, and The SF Bay View, members of Rebel Diaz (www.rebeldiaz.com) have recently been arrested and harassed by the NYPD. During their performance, Rebel Diaz asked "How is Mumia on death row, and Dick Cheney is free?".

--Photos, Video, and text by Hans Bennett (insubordination.blogspot.com), who is an independent multi-media journalist and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia, whose website is Abu-Jamal-News.com