c () ;\ I, I 'I' I () N
The proposed legislation to
put 100,000 more oops on the
streets and to spend billions to
build more prisons will be a trag­
edy for the Black people of
America. The prisons will be
filled mostly by people of color
who never had a chance.
I am an employee of the U.S.
Government, a mailman, which
is as practical a profession as
any job.
The idea of diverting money
from housing and education to
prisons is barn of hate and hys­
teria. 70% of the people in pri­
sons are Black or brown.
I t is most important that all
concerned 'people stand up and
stop the trampling down and
locking up of poor people as an
institu?tionalized policy of the
American government. What
has become of America that we
have more people in jail propor­
tionately than any country in
the world and that most of those
people are Black or brown?
IT MAV NOT be official pol­
icy, but the results of the policy
are racist. In fact, this is a policy
of social genocide, and no honest
person can deny that.
Consider the fact that the
state and federal government
leaders tell us there's no signifi- ,
cant money. That is a sham­
the money's there to help well off
people who represent swing
votes in presidential elections.
When Hurricane Andrew
struck, Bush needed to win Flor­
ida to have a chance at re-elec­
tion. He rushed to the disaster
area and funneled $8.5 billion in
relief.
When summer floods devas­
tated the Midwest, $4.5 billion
was quickly made available for
distribution. President Clinton
needs to hold California and its
20% of the electoral votes
needed for re-election. So i t's no
surprise that he hustled to the
earthquake epicenter and su-
t.'W:llAA'I"'IItly
munityo n
part oft
posed to ing
tion.
R ci t ttitud are often
p valent among police office
I ding to wid pread abuse of
power in terms of police harass­
ment and police brutality.,
Train to function as a para­
military force, the Rambo men­
tality and Rambo style of
operating frequently make the
police appear like an occupying
army in our neighborhoods.
Then there is tb problem of
police misconduct and corrup­
tion. The drug traffic could not
survive without the complicity
even cooperation and involve­
ment of officers within the police
force.
Recent revelations about p0-
lice corruption in Los Angeles,
THE CO mu t
be involved in defining how the
police will function in our com­
munitie . Fi t and foremo t
this means that we must de­
mand an education for police of­
ficers which includ racial and
cultural sensitivity training.
Secondly, we must demand ci­
vilian review boards with en-
o forcement powers as a means of
eliminating police brutality and
police abuse.
Finally, we must work with
affiliates of the National Black
Police Association (NBPA) to
adopt community policing pro­
grams in our communities.
To achieve these goals we
must organize neighborhood
A NEW KIND of a cop with
and new attitude and approach
to the community can also work
with neighborhood block clubs
on a range of community con­
cerns. Relating to and working
with youth in the neighborhood
should obviously be a very high
priority.
- This is probably not what
most people have in mind when
they und tandably dam d
r----.rr�:7?'m��..,..,..'ft"I"W.i,_...,�' 4 "" • to , m9l'8tpb· �
ever, B in parti� ,
should be aware that more of the
same will simply bring more of '
the same.
We do not need to open our
community up to greater police
harassment, intimidation and
brutality in the name offighting
crime, violence and drugs. We
need community control of the
police and a new cop on the block
that will function in a manner
that we define as just and hu­
mane. Otherwise our communi­
ties' will begin to look like
concentration camps complete
with occupying armies.
'.' Dn) 'IOU EVe.5? "EAR iHE c)Okf: A8OU\ -fwE:. BLACK COM.MUtlrt)'
"H/« -nwGH, 'HE' POLICE WAS 1'RYING To Ct.eAM ... UP ,Me.
l)� .-mAFF\C? " -. '
c
pervised the doling out of federal
funds - $11.0 billion already,
with whatever it takes to finish
the repair job promised.
For years, Nixon, Reagan and
Bush .gutted federal programs
designed to ease the terrible
poverty of inner city residents.
Political party financiers be­
came rich looting banks and put­
ting millions· out of work
through corporate greed. The
rich got much richer while the
poor got suffering.
_ 'president Clinton cam­
paigned on a platform of hope.
He promised to spend $100 bil­
lion to "rebuild the infrastruc­
ture of America .and create jobs
for the poor." After he won the
election, his budget people an­
nounced there was no money
available for job boosting due to
fiscal. restraints on the deficit.
and community b oclt clube and
aseociatio If-help crim
prevention, detection and police
monitoring mechanisms.
Police officers must th m-
selves and conduct tbemeel
as helper/protectors in our com­
munity.
As the Police Chief of New
Ha ven, Connecticut recently
commented on 60 Minutes, the
police officer hould be seen in
the same light. .the family doc­
tor; a trusted friend to the neigh-.
borhood and the people who live
there. This means police oftioars
working beats on foot or on bicy­
cles taking time to get to know
people in tb . gbborhood on a
personal basis.
Ron Dan�18 8elVUa. Praidtnt of 1M
T nstitution. for Community Organ.iza.tion
and Deveiopment in Young«own, Ohio.
He maybe oontacted at (216) 746-6747.
We appreciate all signed
letters from our readers.
Send to Michigan
Citizen. P.O. Box 03560.
Highland Pk. MI 48203.
Carlo and 0 ueuiella
walk that walk
HOW QUICKLY MONEY
is created out of nowhere to help
the middle and upper classes.
The President should declare
a state of emergency in cities
and provide instant relief to the
really poor who will atill suffer
long after the hurricane, flood
and earthquake areas are re­
built. If you want to see a. real
emergency, go any night to hos­
pitals in the big cities and watch
gunshot victims flood the emer­
gency rooms. There are more
people murdered in a weekend
in the cities than died from the
hurricane, floods and earth­
quake combined. .
The War on Drugs has degen­
erated into nothing but a war on
poor Black men by well paid,
mostly white bureaucrats of the
Drug Enforcement Agents and
their paid informants.
Look how the Federal Budget
Director last week materialized
$40 billion out of nowhere to fi­
nance the Defense Department
when the military leaders com­
plained they had underesti-
See SPLIT, A7.
By Mumia Ahu-Jam.al
For year after year after year,
imprisoned MOVE men and
women heard one word when
they sought parole from prisons
I acrose the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.
"No."
Carlos Africa, a MOVE politi­
cal prisoner arrested on May 13,
1981 on weapons charges stem­
ming from the May 20, 1977 con­
frontation and demonstration,
was . repeatedly denied parole
unless he renounced his alle­
giance to the MOVE Organiza-·
tion by 'agreeing to a cruel
stipulation that he not contact,
fraternize nor live with MOVE
people, his family.
This Carlos would not do, and
he spent over a decade in prison
dungeo repeatedly denied pa­
role, year after year.
granted parole, and h walked
the path to "freedom, " a way from
prison and back to John Africa's
family - MOVE. During those
12 years in prison, Carlos saw
his brothers and sisters, and his
beloved wife, murdered in th
May 13th, 1985 m acre and
bombing of MOVE in Philadel­
phia.
Consuewe11a Afri , a MOVE
political prisoner and veteran of
the Aug. 8th, 197 M VE con­
frontation has b n in prison
sin her 1978 arr t. Like
I , sh too has h d he d r to
parole repeatedly shut in her
face, and has had the e un­
conscion ble tipulatron used
against her, as a barrier betw n
her and her own family.
Consuewe11a, imprisoned for
almost 16 years, was ligible for
parole roughly 8 y �, but
like her brother Carl , and her
other sisters befo h i (Alberta,
. IN DECEMBER, 1993, Car­
los Africa, unbroken, was finally
Sue and Ramona), sh too re­
fused to renounce her belief in
John Africa's teachings, saying
such a price, was too high to pay.
During her decade and a half
in prison, she saw her brothers
nd sisters, and her children,
murdered with impunity during
th May 13th, 1985 bombing and
incineration of 11 M VE people,
by the same government that
tole h r freedom and labeled
h r a "kill r" d pit her inno-
,,1 4, Con­
suewell w lked a way from on
prison only to enter the outer
prison II d ociety.
What was difficult for both
was th pain of leaving their
broth r nd si ters in state
bond ge.
Both onsuew 11a and Carl
held firm to their Ii fs and re­
to violat th m, and spent
(
From
Death
Row
many years in prison for their
principled refusals.
When th y came home there
was no fanfare, no big headlines,
and no public acknowledgment
of the long unjust prison terms
they survived, nor their princi­
pled wal to freedom.
They are .truly ex-political
prisoners of the highest caliber, -
who've prevailed over cruel and
daunting obstacles, and are in-
pirations to us all.
Long Live MOVE! Long Live
John Mrica!