The Hurricane by Kevin Cooper.
Back in 2004 the state of California planned to torture and to murder me in cold blood, to execute me. Mr. Rupert “Hurricane” Carter, upon a request from my attorneys at the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, who were trying to stop the state from murdering me, came down to California from Canada, and asked then governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, not to execute me. Mr. Carter’s request to the governor was ignored, but his very presence gave me a feeling that my faith had not yet been sealed as this state wanted it to be. The Hurricane helped me in ways that I never thought I could be helped. He helped me in ways that I never knew existed. Just knowing that he cared enough about me to come down from Canada to fight for my life, even though he did not know me personally, gave me that little extra that I needed to endure and survive California’s sick ritual death that they put me through. I didn’t get executed, but like Mr. Carter, I did get a real education about me as a man and my culture as a whole.
Mr. Carter, who spent all those years in prison fighting for his life and freedom, he learned that for African Americans in this country, there has never been a time when we as a people did not have to fight and struggle for something. I learned that struggle is our middle name. We, who are poor African American and oppressed, do indeed fight this rotten ass system back. We fight back because it’s not only the right thing to do, but our self respect and our dignity will not allow us not to fight back. While it’s true that there are some of us who don’t or won’t fight back against our oppressor or oppressors, there are many more who do. The Hurricane was one who did, and did so with pride, dignity, and self respect.
We are blessed to have had Mr. Carter’s presence in this life and in this fight for our collective human rights. I am honored to have had Mr. Carter speak out for me in my time of need, and I will honor him by continuing on with the fight for real justice and human rights and the ending of this historic and horrific crime against humanity, the death penalty. May The Hurricane rest from true peace with the knowledge that, like so many revolutionaries before him, he will leave behind a rich legacy for others who will pick up the fight where he left off. Because after all, the struggle continues. In struggle and solidarity from death row of San Quentin Prison, this is Kevin Cooper.
These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio
