Readers Write
any excuse
one
SIN!!
I:
I
THE E WORD writ-
ten from a man who truly be­
lieves that the stronge t
responsibility ofus fathe are to
love and respect the mother of
our children and make no ex­
cuses to not being there, but be
truly a trong dedicated father
as well as a husband.
Matthew 19:14, Jesus said,
"Let the little children come to
me, and do not hinder them, for
the kingdom of heaven belongs
to . such as these.
Lawrence O. Little
teve leave
By Mulllia Abu-Jamal
Steph n Luth r Evans, tal­
ented jailhouse lawy r, I ft this
life on March 1st, 19 4.
St.eve, a longtime, h avy
smok r, died of emp hys m , a
form of lung cancer.
Stev did 15 hard y in
Pennsylvania prisons, thl las
six of them in the h rsh " hol "at
Hun ingdon, wh he nt 24
hours a day in a hellish II, do­
ing his and oth rs' 1 gal work,
smoking "free" nd sto ught
tobacco nd d ming of fr -
dom beyond bars.
'He is r m rub r w nnly
a legendary jailhou lawyer,
who helped m n from cr s th
state wi h th ir
their f om, and
lives.
to read any book in English (and
took home, the author adds,
most of the books published in
English, on la w, polities, history
and religion, many of them
swiped from other prisoners!).
Steve called him a "libroklep­
tomaniac," and warned us not to
let Warren "borrow" any books!
TEVE NEVER TURNED
down a case, and helped many,
many men. There is an old say­
ing: "J ilhouse lawyers can help
everybody ex p thems 1 s,"
and Stev ,not for lack of trying,
personi fled the axiom.
H fil (at 1 t count) s ven .
habe corpus petitions, but
could never get into court be­
cause the Commonwealth al­
w ys argued that he had failed
. to exh ust state remedies, even
t ho ' his p it.ions sat un­
heard, unanswered, for years,
supporting his claim for federal
relief, citing "inordinate delay."
He did every day of his 15
years, includingthe lastsixorso
in the "hole," for refusing to take
cellmate, literally smoking
himself to death.
As much as he loved helping
younger folk with their cases, he
bitterly hated the system, and
one of his dreams was to some­
day visit Ayacucho, the Peru­
vian home province of the
Maoist Sendero Luminoso,
known as Shining P tho
STEVE, WITH I rela-
tively light skin (lightened con­
siderably by his refusal to go to
"yard" in a cage) and curly hair,
could be mistaken for an His­
panic, except he couldn't speak a
lick of Spanish! .
"A w, that don't mean nothin',
Mu. I could take an imm rsion
cour e, and in six months I'd
speak it like a native!"
He always said if ndero
could integrate th spiritu 1 into
their ideology, they would un­
stoppable. He want' to provide
a pi ritual dimension.
He studied many chools of
religious thought but felt closest
to Mahayana Buddhism, and
was impressed by th life of Ti­
betan Saint, Mila p.
E P
From Death
Row
ed i of divid
ck down over uch impor-
iger tad-urn will ot a
After all the major inv tments by the city of Detroit rebuild­
ing the uto plants, refurbishing th Fox and. re-doing Cobo
Hall, it hould be pparent to all that big bucks behind large
corporate projects will not save thi city, offer many job or have
much impact in reversing the deterioration.
. The politicians are talking now of pouring hundred of
millions into a new baseball stadium. The idea i silly. We urge
community groups to rise up in their own elf-interest and
demand that the same amount of money being talked about for
the tadium be raised for the neighborhoods.
Economic development projects of, by and for the people will
have a far longer impact out there in the neighborhoods and
make th city a lot more livable in the long run.
DO in 19 1, his 15-year s n­
tence over, and al 0 e ed to
be ble to put his dr InS into
practice. But a silent, longsitting
federal detainer insured his "re­
lease" into the federal prison
system inst d.
He could've m de invaluable
contributions to "s iety" if he
were r fe d, as a sharp nd
imaginati p ralegal who had
the trust .of hundr ds, if not
thousands, of people in pri ons
Instead, his d ms di unre 1-
ized, like the dr amer i If, in a
cage, choking for bath nd life.
ne of his brigh ligh w
th return of hi childhood
theart, Julia, 0 hi life.
fter 30 y rs, h came b
into his life, bringing 10 , light,
and warmth 0 a m n who
mos ly kn w bi t rn
Even though imprison , she.
brought him w hat
colo hi dr am
S vw inhis5.
Thank you, Congressperson ollins
Congressperson Barbara Rose Collin took a large step for
humanity when she said she would not vote for the crime
package before Congress. \
She demonstrated more bravery than most other members
of the Congressional Black Caucus in taking her stand. She
recognized the reality of who gets locked up in the criminal
. justice system.
This country has proportionately more people in jail than
any other country on the face of the earth, even South Africa.
Though Blacks comprise only 12 percent of the U.S. population,
they make up 40 percent of the jail population. The statistics
for who's on death row are more glaringly racist.
To be in jail in America means you are most likely a person
of color and poo:. , . . .
. 'The commUnIty 0 Congreesperson CoUms a thank YOlL
It's too Dad she only has one vote .•
Readers Write
,
01 not true
to Islam'
To the Editor:
I have written -to educate people about Islam, Al-Islam, not
the blasphemous promulgation of Islam by Louis Farrakhan
and his followers.
I am disturbed that the media and the people of this country
recognizes them and addresses them as Muslims because they
are notl A Muslim is a follower of Islam - the submission to
the will of Allah.
In order to be a Muslim, there are five things that we must
structure our lives around. They are the five pillars of Islam:
• Kalima Shahada - The declaration offaith. I bear witness
'that their is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and that
Mohammad is his messenger (the prophet Mohammad 570
AD).
• Salat - Prayer, it's obligatory to every Muslim to establish
the five daily prayers.
• Zakat - Poor due, charity. It is obligatory of every Muslim
to give freely of themselves and their possessions to others.
• Saum - Fasting. It is obligatory for every Muslim to fast
(abstain from food, drink and marital relations from sunrise to
unset) during the month of Rhamadan.
• Hajj - Pilgrimage. It is obligatory for every Muslim
physically and/or financially able to make the pilgrimage to
. Mecca.
THESE FIVE THINGS as well as the responsibility of
every Muslim (man and woman) to enjoin what is right and
forbid what is wrong, is the foundation of the Islamic faith, The
Nation. of Islam does not promulgate true Islam. They are, in
my opinion, Black terrorist bent on defiling the Muslim name
and destroying the Black youths of this country with the a�p-
tance of racial bigotry. '
Being a Muslim does not require you to be Black because
your Blackness is not a guarantee from Allah that you will be
allowed into paradise.
There are over one-billion Muslims around the world. They
are Muslims that are of an African; Arab, Indian, Asian, Jamai­
can, Russian, American, Chinese, Australian, Latin American,
Turkish and Italian heritage, and every other culture and race
on this earth.
There is no racial pride in Islam because we are all of one
race, we are Muslim, and we are the race of the believers and
any and everyone is welcome: '
"0 MANKIND! We created you from a single soul, male and
female, and made you into nations and tribes 0 that you may
come to know one another. Truly, the most honored of you in
Allah's sight is the greatest of you in piety. Allah i all-knowing,
all-aware." (Quran, 4,9: 13).
D wha nd Jihad for Allah
Asada Abd-Llah