The rally in Philadelphia included dozens of prominent speakers including Dick Gregory, Kathleen Cleaver, Leonard Weinglass (Mumia's attorney), Geronimo Pratt, and Robert Meripol (son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the last U.S. political prisoners to be officially executed). Zach De La Rocha and Tom Morello from the band Rage Against the Machine spoke in support of Mumia. Mumia's son Mazi, also spoke on behalf of his father's case. Following a very long rally, demonstrators took to the streets in a March which was way over a mile long.

Photos from the Philadelphia demonstration are posted on this site.

In addition to the U.S. demonstrations, there were actions in support in numerous international centers including:
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Barcelona, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
London, United Kingdom
Melbourne, Australia
Oslo, Norway
Stockholm, Sweden
Vienna, Austria
Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Niagra)
Germany (Stuttgart, Saarbrücken,  Karlsruhe)
Ireland (Dublin, Cork)

Rage against the machine, Beastie Boys, Bad Religion, and Black Star played a show benifiting Mumia defence fund.  Although a January 28 concert by Rage Against theMachine, the Beastie Boys and Bad Religion to benefit famed death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal went off without a hitch, the controversy ignited by the event continues.  At a press conference the night of the show, Tom Morello, Rage’s lead guitarist, said their decision to organize the concert came following the October 30 denial by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of Jamal’sfinal state appeal on his conviction and death sentence for the 1981 shooting death of a Philadelphia policeofficer.

The sold-out concert at New Jersey’s Continental Airlines arena was attended by 16,000 people and raised $375,000 for Jamal, who is expecting Pennsylvania Gov. Thomas Ridge to set an early execution date for him within weeks.

Opposition to the concert bordered on hysteria. A January 19, New York Post headline set the tone, screaming, "Concert Benefits a Cop-Killing Vermin."  Morning show shock-jocks Howard Stern and Chicago’s "Mancow in the Morning" — both of whose shows are syndicated on Detroit’s 97.1 FM — picked up the tempo, calling for Jamal’s immediate execution.  Mancow, whose show airs in the evening in Detroit, sarcastically offered a $7,000 fee to have Jamal "knifed in prison."

The general manager of WXRK-FM in New York, which initially promoted the concert, went on the air with a highly unusual apology, saying the station had made a "big-time mistake" and withdrew the station’s support.  New Jersey governor Christine Whitman called the event "despicable" and urged concertgoers to boycott the show. The venue offered to refund the $25 ticket
price to those who hadn’t realized where the money raised was going. According to officials at the state-owned arena close to New York City, 2,000 fans took advantage of the offer, although Rage lead singer,Zach de la Rocha, said the figure was closer to 600 and that all of the tickets were quickly resold.

On stage, Morello told the cheering audience, "Now we know for sure that everyone in the building tonight knows why they’re here."

The concert, hosted by Brit-pop band Chumbawambasingers Dunstan Bruce and Norbert Nobacon, openedwith a strong set from Bad Religion. Beastie Boy Adam Yauch told the crowd to "oppose the death penalty in general" during a 17-song set featuring Beastie hits "Time for Living," "Sabotage" and "Body Movin’."   The event was capped by Rage, which jammed through 13 songs including three new, untitled numbers and "Bulls on Parade," "A Bullet in Your Head" and "Freedom." The band was joined for an encore of "Killing in the Name Of…" by Public Enemy rapper Chuck D. who told the audience, "Music is more of a communicator than all the old rhetoric."

Morello said that several other groups had expressed interest in playing the event, including the Indigo Girls and Black Sabbath.

(writen by Peter Werbe who contributed this article for the Metro Times.)

A new analysis of the new legal & political situation has been written: Justice Denied: Analysis of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Decision on Mumia Abu-Jamal, by C. Clark Kissinger.

For an earlier analysis of the prognosis for Mumia's court challenge written before the decision, take a look at the previous article by C. Clark Kissinger. For background information on last year's lower court hearings, read the report from the June 26, 1997 hearing at which Pamela Jenkins testified about police corruption in the frame-up of Mumia Abu-Jamal.  There is also an informative report from Agency France-Presse.   We also have a report from the 2nd day (June 30) of that hearing.  You also might look at the report written by Equal Justice USA. Note that all of the compelling testimony presented in these hearings has now been declared null and void by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and cannot therefore be presented as part of the anticipated upcoming appeal in federal court!

Contact us by email at: TCCDMAJ@mumia.nl

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