‘Revolutionary love, revolutionary memory and revolutionary analysis are at work in every page written by Mumia Abu-Jamal … His writings are a wake-up call. He is a voice from our prophetic tradition, speaking to us here, now, lovingly, urgently. Black man, old-school jazz man, freedom fighter, revolutionary—his presence, his voice, his words are the writing on the wall.’— Cornel West , from the foreword
From the first slave writings to contemporary hip hop, the canon of African American literature offers a powerful counter-narrative to dominant notions of American culture, history and politics. Resonant with voices of prophecy and resistance, the African American literary tradition runs deep with emancipatory currents that have had an indelible impact on the United States and the world. Mumia Abu-Jamal has been one of our most important contributors to this canon for decades, writing from the confines of the U.S. prison system to give voice to those most silenced by chronic racism, impoverishment and injustice.
Writing on the Wall is a selection of more than 100 previously unpublished essays that deliver Mumia Abu-Jamal’s essential perspectives on community, politics, power, and the possibilities of social change in the United States. From Rosa Parks to Edward Snowden, from the Trail of Tears to Ferguson, Missouri, Abu-Jamal addresses a sweeping range of contemporary and historical issues. Written mostly during his years of solitary confinement on Death Row, these essays are a testament to Abu-Jamal’s often prescient insight, and his revolutionary perspective brims with hope, encouragement and profound faith in the possibility of redemption.
‘Greatness meets us in this book, and not just in Mumia’s personal courage and character. It’s in the writing. This is art with political power, challenging institutional injustice in the U.S. while catalyzing our understanding, memory and solidarities for liberation and love. Writing on the Wall can set the nation aflame—yes, for creating new possible worlds.’— Mark Lewis Taylor , Professor of Theology and Culture, Princeton Theological Seminary
Mumia Abu-Jamal is an award-winning journalist and author of two best-selling books, Live From Death Row and Death Blossoms.
Johanna Fernández is a Fulbright Scholar and Professor of History at Baruch College in New York City.
Cornel West is a scholar, philosopher, activist and author of over a dozen books including his bestseller, Race Matters. He appears frequently in the media, and has appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, The Colbert Report, CNN and C-Span as well as Tavis Smiley.
Tabella dei contenuti
Contents
Foreword by Johanna Fernandez
Introduction by Mumia Abu-Jamal
WRITING ON THE WALL
1. SEPTEMBER 14 STATEMENT ON SOLIDARITY
2. ATTICA: 41 YEARS LATER
3. THE REAL JOHN CARTER
4. TRAYVON AND THE WAR AGAINST US
5. DEATH PENALTY DIES IN CONNECTICUT
6. MEMORIES FOR MAROON
7. SOULS ON ICE
8. FOR A REVOLUTIONARY BLACK HISTORY MONTH
9. THE OCCUPATION
10. EGYPT: A GOOD BEGINNING
11. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF LABOR
12. UNION BUSTING: RIO TINTO STYLE
13. A YEAR IN: MORE SAME THAN CHANGE
14. WARS TO COME
15. GHOSTS OF VIETNAM
16. LABOR DAY BLUES
17. THE OTHER INAUGURATION CELEBRATION
18. WITH JUDGES LIKE THESE
19. THE FORGOTTEN MARTIN LUTHER KING
20. IMPERIAL POWER AND COUNTERPOWER
21. FALSE FREEDOM
22. SOCIALISM, FOR SOME
23. TIME FOR TROY IS NOW
24. FROM DEREGULATION TO NATIONAL GUARANTOR: IN A BLINK!
25. BEATING BACK BATSON
26. ITEMS OFF THE TABLE
27. THE PERILS OF BLACK POLITICAL POWER
28. BUSINESS SENSE
29. SOFT DICTACTORSHIP AND THE MISRULE OF LAW
30. THE LATEST BATTLE IN THE WAR AGAINST THE POOR
31. 1967—YEAR OF FIRE, YEAR OF RAGE
32. DEAD SOLDIERS AND DEAD DREAMS
33. PRESIDENT OR PRIEST
34. WHEN WAR CRIMES AIN’T CRIMES
35. NO SAFE AGE
36. KATRINA: A YEAR LATER
37. BEFORE GUANTANAMO, OR ABU GHRAIB, WAS THE BLACK PANTHERS
38. “SILENCE OF THE LAMBS”
39. GM AND THE GLOBAL WAR AGAINST WORKERS
40. THE EMPIRE OF FEAR
41. ONGOING WAR AGAINST WORKERS: THE TWU STRIKE
42. THE FORGOTTEN ONES: KATRINA
43. OF PRESIDENTS AND PRINCES
44. WHAT KIDS ARE REALLY LEARNING IN SCHOOL
45. SONS OF MALCOLM
46. VENEZUELA AFTER THE REFERENDUM
47. OTHER MOTHERS, OTHER MOVEMENTS
48. KATRINA’S RAGE
49. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CALLS SYSTEM “BROKEN”
50. INHERITING AN IMPERIAL NIGHTMARE
51. THE NEO-LIBERAL WAR AGAINST THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
52. THE DEATH OF PENSIONS?
53. WHITEWASHING WAR CRIMES
54. LYNNE STEWART SPEAKS
55. WHY IT AIN’T ABOUT DEMOCRACY—HAITI
56. VOTING FOR YESTERYEAR: ALABAMA DREAMIN’
57. LECTURES ON HUMAN RIGHTS
58. WHAT KIND OF “DEMOCRACY” IS THIS?
59. VIETNAM RISES AGAIN
60. HOW BUSH MAY LOSE, OR WIN
61. “TRUE AMERICAN VALUES”
62. ANOTHER STOLEN DEMOCRACY?
63. AMERICA: INDEPENDENT?
64. ANOTHER REAGAN – ANOTHER AMERICA
65. WHO “WE” ARE
66. IN THE SHADOW OF BROWN
67. “FLAWED INTELLIGENCE?”
68. STATE OF DISUNION… AGAIN
69. DEMOCRACY, DICTATORSHIPS & EMPIRE
70. “FOR YOUR OWN GOOD?”
71. THE OTHER WAR
72. WHY BEING ANTI-WAR MEANS BEING ANTI-IMPERIALIST
73. 40 YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS
74. SOLDIERS OF MISFORTUNE
75. UNCOUNTED DEAD
76. ANALYSIS OF EMPIRE
77. “LOTTISM-WITHOUT LOTT”
78. STILL FIGHTING DOWN ON THE FARM
79. WHO’S ‘WILDING’ WHO?
80. GOV. RYAN’S SONG
81. THE CUBAN 5 & ‘HOMELAND SECURITYDRUG WAR
82. ANOTHER SEPTEMBER 11TH – OTHER MEMORIES
83. WAR ON THE WATERFRONT
84. WHEN NEWS ISN’T NEWS
85. IMPERIAL PIQUE IN DURBAN
86. WHOSE PEACE?
87. THE REAL MEANING OF GENOA
88. THE BIPARTISAN BETRAYAL
89. WHOSE PARTY? WHOSE INTERESTS?
90. MANY TRAILS OF TEARS
91. THE REAL “CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS”
92. MORE THAN POLICE BRUTALITY
93. WHAT DIALLO REALLY MEANS
94. THE DEATH MACHINE
95. THE DAMNING OF DISSENT
96. TEXAS: THE DEATH STATE
97. LIFE AND FREEDOM SHAKA SANKOFA (GARY GRAHAM)
98. MUMIA SALUTES IMF PROTESTERS
99. STATEMENT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
100. ON EDWARD SNOWDEN
Circa l’autore
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL is an award-winning journalist and author of two best-selling books,
Live From Death Row and
Death Blossoms, which address prison life from a critical and spiritual perspective. In 1981 he was elected president of the Association of Black Journalists (Philadelphia chapter). That same year he was arrested for allegedly killing a white police officer in Philadelphia. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1982, in a process that has been described as an epic miscarriage of justice. After spending more than 28 years on death row, in 2011 his death sentence was vacated when the Supreme Court allowed to stand the decisions of four federal judges who had earlier declared his death sentence unconstitutional. He is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. In spite of his three-decade-long imprisonment, most of which was spent in solitary confinement on Death Row, Abu-Jamal has relentlessly fought for his freedom and for his profession. From prison he has written seven books and thousands of radio commentaries. He holds a BA from Goddard College and an MA from California State University, Dominguez Hills. His books have sold more than 100, 000 copies and have been translated into seven languages.
JOHANNA FERNÁNDEZ is a former Fulbright Scholar to Jordan and Assistant Professor of History at Baruch College of the City University of New York where she teaches 20th Century US history and African American History. She is author of the forthcoming
When the World Was Their Stage: A History of the Young Lords Party, 1968–1976 (Princeton University Press). Fernandez is the writer and producer of the film,
Justice on Trial: the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal and she is featured in the critically acclaimed documentary about Mumia Abu-Jamal,
Long Distance Revolutionary. Her writings have been published internationally, from
Al Jazeera to the
Huffington Post. She gives interviews often and has appeared in a diverse range of print, radio, online and televised media including
Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman, the Fox News shows
Hannity and
Megyn Kelley, Al Jazeera and
The New York Times. She is a coordinator of the Campaign to Bring Mumia Home.
CORNEL WEST is a scholar, philosopher, activist and author of over a dozen books including his bestseller,
Race Matters. He appears frequently in the media, and has appeared on the
Bill Maher Show,
Colbert Report, CNN and C-Span as well as on Tavis Smiley’s PBS TV Show.
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