Herman Wallace, the former Black Panther and former political prisoner in the abominable Angola prison in Louisiana, has returned to his ancestors. Wallace, one of three men called the Angola 3, was freed just days ago after 41 years in the hole, one of the longest terms ever spent in solitary on Earth. He gained his freedom after a federal judge in Louisiana ruled his murder conviction was unconstitutional and unjust, and granted a habeas corpus petition ordering immediate release. Still, suffering from terminal liver cancer, over 70 years old, his spirit was as strong as ever. Herman may have no longer been a Panther, but he remained a revolutionary.
He and his fellow ex-Panthers, Robert Hillary King and Albert Woodfox, comprised the Angola 3, and fought for their freedom from the corrupt courts and prisons of Louisiana for decades. King was released in 2001, Albert Woodfox is still encaged, sentenced to life in the hole. These men were sentenced to life in solitary for what officials have termed “Black Pantherism.” The three men made Black Panther Party history when they organized a branch of the organization while prisoners at Angola. That gives us some sense of the soul and strength of the men.
In a recent broadcast on public TV called Herman’s House, a supporter living in the house gets a call from Herman, and she can barely hold back her tears, as the courts had recently denied him relief. Herman consoles his supporter, explaining, in a rich southern accent, “That’s the struggle, girl”, explaining, “That’s what happens in the struggle, people lose and get up, struggle some more.” For 41 years, Herman Wallace endured government torture, but he never broke, he never renounced the revolutionary path. He remained a soldier for the people and an opponent to the system. Herman Wallace truly died free. From in prison nation this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
