Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?. Mumia Abu-Jamal
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PRAISE FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL
“Abu-Jamal’s writing tends to be forceful, outraged, and humorous, but he also engages in the bombastic approaches of another era. . . . The author offers powerful columns on diverse subjects ranging from the plight of black farmers to the crushing of dissent after 9/11. Some remain all too relevant—e.g., those decrying systemic police brutality as seen in flashpoints from Rodney King to Ferguson or the rise of racial disparities in drug sentencing. Abu-Jamal meditates on central figures in the black political narrative, ranging from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Trayvon Martin. . . . These topical essays [from 1982 to 2014] testify to the effects of incarceration on mind and spirit. While his prose has sharpened over time, Abu-Jamal remains enraged and pessimistic about an America that, in his view, remains wholly corrupt: ‘[Blacks] know from bitter experience that while Americans may say one thing, they mean something quite different.’”
—Kirkus Reviews for Writing on the Wall
“Hope and the seeds of revolution can come from the depths of isolation. Writing from his cell on death row, where he was held in solitary confinement for nearly 30 years, Abu-Jamal has long been a loud and clear voice for all who suffer injustice, racism, and poverty. Edited by [Johanna] Fernández, this selection of 100 previously unpublished essays includes a foreword by Cornel West.”
—Evan Karp, SF Weekly for Writing on the Wall
“The power of his voice is rooted in his defiance of those determined to silence him. Magically, Mumia’s words are clarified, purified by the toxic strata of resistance they must penetrate to reach us. Like the blues. Like jazz.”
—John Edgar Wideman
“Mumia refuses to allow his spirit to be broken by the forces of injustice; his language glows with an affirming flame.”
—Jonathon Kozol
“Mumia is a dramatic example of how the criminal justice system can be brought to bear on someone who is African American, articulate, and involved in change in society. The system is threatened by someone like Mumia. A voice as strong and as truthful as his—the repression against him is intensified.”
—Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking
“Brilliant in its specificity and imperative, Mumia Abu-Jamal’s work is about why multitudes of people don’t overcome. It rings so true because he has not overcome.”
—LA Weekly
“Expert and well-reasoned commentary on the justice system. . . . His writings are dangerous.”
—The Village Voice
“Uncompromising, disturbing . . . Abu-Jamal’s voice has the clarity and candor of a man whose impending death emboldens him to say what is on his mind without fear of consequence.”
—The Boston Globe
“Abu-Jamal, a gifted and controversial Philadelphia journalist, [has an] ever-lucid voice and humanistic point of view. [His essays are] eloquent and indelible.”
—Booklist (starred review) for All Things Censored
“Like the most powerful critics in our society—Herman Melville . . . to Eugene O’Neil—Mumia Abu-Jamal forces us to grapple with the most fundamental question facing this country: what does it profit a nation to conquer the whole world and lose its soul?”
—Cornel West
HAVE BLACK LIVES
EVER MATTERED?
Mumia Abu-Jamal
City Lights Books | Open Media Series
Copyright © 2017 Mumia Abu-Jamal
All Rights Reserved
Open Media Series editor: Greg Ruggiero
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file
ISBN: 9780872867383 (paperbound), 9780872867390 (ebook)
City Lights Books are published at the City Lights Bookstore
261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133
CONTENTS
Introduction: Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?
We Are Blind to Everything but Color
What Is the Fourth of July For?
Public Servants or Paid Predators?
Aiding and Abetting “Bombingham”: The FBI