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The Lives That Matter

Lisa Strawn

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07/18/16
Tags:
- Black Lives Matter
- + 15 more
- Gender
- + 14 more
- Gender Inequality
- Kindness
- LGBTQ+
- love
- Marvin Gaye
- Oppression
- Police
- Police Brutality
- Police Terror
- racism
- respect
- Sexism
- Transgender
- Violence

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On December 2nd, the San Jose Courtroom was packed

On December 2nd, the San Jose Courtroom was packed: Shaka’s family, Prison Radio family, law students, activists, children and elders, college students, grandparents, expectant parents, and many more filled the seats.

We all stood up for his full humanity. The Judge acknowledged the depth of his community support and our presence. He has a home that is waiting for him and a community ready to receive him.

In court, we were under strict instruction to not wave or communicate. We were silent, but it was a powerful silence. You could hear a pin drop. You could feel the love, the warmth, and the tension. When Shaka stood to walk out of the courtroom, every single person stood with him. He turned to us, and bowed from his waist with his shackled hands together in recognition. This exchange of solidarity was rich and palpable. The judge looked up from her paperwork, surprised and amazed. In that awe-inspiring calm and silence, we could feel profound love.

This inspiration is what we will remember and draw on - Shaka and the rest of us - as we walk through these cold winter months toward the freedom of spring. We have already seen what a difference a full courtroom makes.

The next hearing date, hopefully a release date, is March 3rd. Please join us there. It has been a long journey, and we still have a final lap to go. We all breathed deep and rough at the announcement, but we stood resilient.

I am overjoyed that a good friend of ours on the i

I am overjoyed that a good friend of ours on the inside, Sergio Hyland, also known as Uptown Serg and the Hood Abolitionist, is finally freed after spending many years unjustly behind bars. Ever since coming to Prison Radio as an intern, I found myself often inspired by his words of wisdom and radical observations.

I’ve listened to and transcribed many of his commentaries over the years—commentaries about the meaning of abolition, about why the show Cops is a sham propaganda program—up until the day that he announced he was free. I found out while I was walking to class. I was delighted, knowing that he would soon return to his loved ones, his friends and his family.

I keep up with Sergio on his Instagram account where he updates us on all sorts of things, whether it’s his story posts about his cat or his political videos that bear the same incisive and sharp voice that he had as a correspondent. He’s also an Editor of The Movement magazine and an Executive Assistant of the Abolitionist Law Center, two radical powerhouses in Pennsylvania. Without a doubt, Sergio is thriving on the outside.

When I asked him recently about Prison Radio, he and Robert Saleem Holbrook, Executive Director of the Abolitionist Law Center, came together to talk about how important our work has been for them.

@uptownserg and @saleemholbrook

A Message From Our Family

A Message From Our Family

This winter, we need to raise $125,000. All that m

This winter, we need to raise $125,000. All that money goes towards keeping the phone lines open, putting gas in my car to visit Mumia, demanding cardiac diet and exercise throughout PA prisons, helping with legal fees to bring Marvin "Shaka" Walker home, to commission beautiful art such as the Women Huron Valley postcards, mailings, and so many other expenses.

Please donate at the link in our bio and share our cause and programming with your friends and family.

Shaka's Quest for Freedom: Dec 2nd 9am Dept 39 Hea

Shaka's Quest for Freedom: Dec 2nd 9am Dept 39 Hearing Santa Clara County Court House

I am going to ask you to open up your heart. And o

I am going to ask you to open up your heart. And open your mind to the power we can create by joining forces, by raising money together.

Frankly, winning this battle - abolition. Keeping Mumia alive. And bringing our loved ones home - is going to take a whole WHOLE heck of a lot more than what we have in the bank. We have like 2K. Yeah. A rocky moment. We are careful with every dollar, but we are also unafraid of spending what we need when we need it.

I told Mumia I was buying Power Ball tickets, he laughed. The truth is I buy lottery tickets every time I go to the prison. I hand one to Jamal Jr or to Mike Africa Jr. because we need to make this work easier. And as any working class person knows, cash makes life easier.

On October 26, 2022, Judge Lucretia Clemons of the

On October 26, 2022, Judge Lucretia Clemons of the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court adopted procedural arguments put forward by the Philadelphia District Attorney (DA) to deny Mumia Abu-Jamal relief. Judge Clemons noted in her preliminary denial that even if the jury knew that key prosecution witnesses were paid and promised favors to falsely testify against Mumia, they would still have imposed Mumia's death sentence; thus making the revelations moot or “not material.”

After viewing the following 6min video, Healing the Wounds of Racism by Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Lucretia Clemons, we are asking you to send your response – what you want Judge Lucretia Clemons to hear. We are specifically asking you to not contact Judge Clemons directly.
Send your letter, audio, posts here:
Email: lovenotphear@gmail.com Instagram: @lovenotphear 

US Mail: Love Not Phear,
PO Box 19559 Philadelphia, PA 19124

This is one poignant quote from the message.
“When you are in a position to stop something wrong, you do it."
“I think one of the most important things to focus on is truth and reconciliation. A familiar cry in the street during the social justice protests is ‘No justice, no peace.’ And while I know that many people want peace, they really want quiet. Quiet is not the same as peace. Peace requires justice, and justice requires truth.” - Judge Clemons, from Healing the Wounds of Racism
Judge Clemons is a member of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s racial justice and healing commission. This video was her statement for the commission. “The purpose of the commission,” Philadelphia Bishop McIntyre said, “is to look at the sin of racism in the light of the Gospel of our Catholic faith, and then see where we’ve succeeded in addressing it and moved forward, and where we haven’t, and where we need to move forward.”

On December 16, 2022 in Rm 802 9am, Judge Clemons of the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court will either modify, reverse, or make her preliminary denial final of Mumia Abu-Jamal's Post Conviction Relief Application (PCRA).

Massive walls and razor wire try to disappear inca

Massive walls and razor wire try to disappear incarcerated people. Prison Radio’s work resists that. We maintain and strengthen connections between people living inside prison and their communities outside. Together with your help, we keep the voices of incarcerated people in public discourse.

Separation tries to dehumanize us. When we stand together, it cannot.

At Prison Radio, everything we do amplifies our shared humanity. Everything you do to support our work preserves this precious point of connection.

Your support is more important than ever.

More people from more places are calling us and sharing their stories: Mumia Abu-Jamal is our lead correspondent, and he is joined by Kenjuan Congo Jr., Eddie Treadwell, Krystal Clark, and many others. These commentaries analyze current events, document unjust conditions, explore family relationships, declare solidarity, elevate the value of community, and call us to action. Our correspondents demand decent health care, ponder the power of art, explore ideas about accountability, decry the assault on abortion rights, discuss gender, racism, spirituality, and mental health. Through all of these missives, a call for freedom is a constant thread.

Listen to our commentaries to hear dispatches from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Indiana, and California, all recorded within the last few weeks.

Any time you shake your head about underfunded social services, healthcare, public schools, and transportation, remember the resources diverted to this massive prison apparatus. Our correspondents give us a glimpse over the giant concrete prison walls into the human beings living on the other side.

And we cannot do this work without you.

This winter, we need to raise $125,000. All that money goes towards keeping the phone lines open, putting gas in my car to visit Mumia, to pay our legal fees to bring him home, to continue the efforts bring Marvin "Shaka" Walker home, to commission beautiful art such as the Women Huron Valley postcards, and so many other expenses.

Mumia's latest commentary on last week's election.

Mumia's latest commentary on last week's election.

to keep voices like Mumia's on the air, please consider donating by the link in our bio.

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