A message from Leslie Feinberg

Support the Antioch Students

Graduating students at Antioch made a courageous stand when they chose a political prisoner on death row and a lesbian transgender author and activist who is his supporter to be the twin keynote speakers at their commencement ceremony on April 29.

In inviting Mumia Abu-Jamal to speak on audiotape from his death row cell, the students showed their solidarity with a world-renown U.S. political prisoner whose case is truly a defining struggle of our epoch.

And these students showed great courage in asking a leader in the movement against sexual and gender oppression to share the podium on April 29 with Mumia. I am proud to share the podium with Mumia Abu-Jamal at commencement on April 29. And I will use my allotted time to make the struggle to free Mumia even more widely known and understood.

As one of the founding members of Rainbow Flags for Mumia-a coalition across the U.S. of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people who are an integral part of the fight to save Mumia's life—I help to organize ever-wider support for Mumia at every university lecture, movement rally and event at which I speak.

Just recently new evidence of police misconduct and suppression of evidence that Mumia was not guilty of shooting a Philadelphia police officer was revealed. And a federal judge has sitting on his desk a stack of constitutional violations that occured in Mumia's original trial.

Yet the moment the Antioch student's decision was picked up nationally by the media from an Associated Press article in late March the students began receiving a flood of hate-filled and threatening e-mail and phone calls by police and their right-wing supporters. T

he Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police has a history of waging campaigns to harass and intimidate Mumia's supporters. And the FOP openly campaigns for Mumia's execution, sometimes using Klan-type language.

The sentence of death for Mumia is meant to silence the African American revolutionary journalist known as the "voice of the voiceless." But because public support for Mumia has widened and deepened, the state has not been able to carry out the execution.

Now the Philadelphia police are trying to terrorize and silence that support. But the FOP fear tactics will not succeed. The progressive movement is bringing Mumia's case to millions more people in the United States and around the world.

On May 7, just a week after Mumia speaks at the Antioch commencement, thousands of people from around the country will pack the Theater at Madison Square Garden in support of Mumia. This outpouring will be another event that brings more attention and support to Mumia's case. The battle by Antioch students to withstand this right-wing siege will only galvanize their strength.

And I will stand with them, and all progressive people, in demanding "Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!" Please send e-mail messages of support to the Antioch students at this address:talatner@aol.com

Millions for Mumia
39 West 14th Street, #206
New York, NY 10011 212 633-6646