UNITED STATES Letter To Governor Cuomo Demanding Freedom For Jalil Muntaqim
We the undersigned offer our strongest support for the release of Jalil Muntaqim (aka Anthony Bottom) on parole. We also ask that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo commute his sentence to time served.
Jalil was arrested in 1971 when he was only 19 years-old and a member of the Black Panther Party. Forty-eight years later he is the only Black Panther prisoner who remains incarcerated in New York State prisons. It is time for this father, grandfather and great grandfather to come home.
Over the decades, Jalil has consistently demonstrated his commitment to sustaining family relationships, pursuing educational advancement and providing service to the community, inside and outside of prison. He has served as a teacher, mentor and role model for hundreds of other incarcerated people.
He stands as an example of the potential to reflect, change and grow despite the many challenges of the prison environment.
Jalil is scheduled for his twelfth parole hearing this coming September. One of his co-defendants, Albert « Nuh » Washington, died in prison in 2000. The other, Herman Bell, was released in April 2018 after serving almost forty-five years in prison. There is no justification for Jalil to be held in prison any longer. He should be released at his next parole hearing, when he will be sixty-eight years old.
We believe in the principles of restorative justice. While we understand the serious nature of the crimes for which Jalil has been convicted, 25 to life should not be a death sentence. Forty-eight years is long enough.
After all this time, Jalil Muntaqim belongs with his family and his community.
Initial Signers Of Letter To Governor Cuomo
For Jalil Muntaqim’s Release
(titles and organizations for id. purposes only)
UNITED STATES
Angela Davis, UC Santa Cruz emeritusMumia Abu-Jamal, imprisoned author
Cornel West, Harvard University Divinity School
Danny Glover, Actor and activist Mike Farrell, Actor
Ed Asner, Actor
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Native American historian, writer and feminist Michelle Alexander, former Law Professor at Stanford U and Ohio State U. now Visiting Prof. at Union Theological Seminary
Elena Cohen, President, National Lawyers Guild
Saladin Muhammad, Co-coordinator of the Southern Workers Assembly; Retired international Rep. of UE
James Lafferty, President Emeritus, Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild, L.A.
Howie Hawkins, 2018 Green Party for NY Governor
Walter Riley, attorney
Mark Lamont Hill, Professor, writer, activist
Robin D.G. Kelley, Professor, UCLA Boots Riley, musician filmmaker “Davey D” Cook, journalist
Barbara Ransby, Professor, UIC
Jared Ball, Morgan State University Rosa Clemente scholar activist, 2008 Green Party Vice-Presidential candidate Joy James, Professor, Williams College Ward Churchill, author and activist Natsu Taylor Saito, attorney and law professor
Keith Hunter, MD
Imani Perry, Princeton
Pam Africa, Chair, Uncomp. International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
MOVE Organization
Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid, President, Muslim Alliance in North America Razakhan Wali, Nation Time Judicial Research, Inc.
Rodger Scott, Past President, AFT Local 2121 and Current Delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council
Colia LaFayette Clark, National Coordinato, Judicial Violence Symposium
Taina Asili, musician/performer and activist
Downtown Boys, musicians
Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine
Ralph Poynter, Lynne Stewart Organization
Betty Davis, New Abolitionist Movement
Mya Shone, Editorial Board, The Organizer
Ralph Schoenman, Editorial Board, The Organizer
Malav Kanuga, Common Notions Books, Philadelphia, PA
Micki Dickoff, Filmmaker
John Potash, author and activist
Timothy Stinson, Socialist Organizer Evan Fales, Professor Emeritus, Univ. of Iowa
Amanda McCaw, History Teacher, Parkway NW HS for Peace and Social Justice, Philadelphia, PA
James C. McIntosh, M.D, CEMOTAP Julie Varughese, organizer, US Mechthild Nagel, PhD, Cortland, NY Victor Wallis, professor, Berklee College of Music
Colin « Papa Bear » Neiburger, Peace Day Asheville
Mary Ratcliff, editor, San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper
Alan Benjamin, Editorial Board, The Organizer Newspaper
Carol E Gay, President, NJ State Industrial Union Council
Lucien Baskin, Campaign to Bring Mumia Home
Nydia Leaf, New York, NY
Rachel H. Girshick, self employed designer, Hampton, Ct 06247
Julian Kunnie, Professor of Religious Studies & Classics, University of Arizona
Thomas Dublin, Professor Emeritus, SUNY Binghamton
Howard Winant, Distinguished Professor, UC Santa Barbara
Norman Conti, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit
Michael Carano, Tallmadge, Ohio City Council at-Large; Teamsters Local 348, retired
Jean Halley; Professor of Sociology, Graduate Center and the College of Staten Island of the City University of New York (CUNY)
Noah De Lissovoy, Professor, University of Texas at Austin
Kara Lynch, Artist and Associate Prof. of Video and Critical Studies, Hampshire College
Mike Gimbel, retired Executive Board member, Local 375, AFSCME
Chris Kaihatsu, ckaihatsu@gmail.com, RedMarx, Chicago
Thomas W. Cleary, Tampa FL
Barbara Weinstein, NYU
Heather Ann Thompson, University of Michigan
Linda Gordon, NYU
Joan W. Scott, Professor Emerita, School of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton U.
Steven Hahn Professor of History New York University
Temma Kaplan, Emerita, Rutgers U. Peter Kuznick, American University Greg Grandin, NYU
Akinyele Umoja, Georgia State University
Dan Berger, University of Washington Komozi Woodard, Sarah Lawrence Faviana Rodriguez, artist
Patrisse Cullors, activist
Jeanne Theoharis, Brooklyn College Elizabeth Hinton, Harvard Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Professor, Princeton U
Julilly Kohler-Hausmann, Cornell University
James Kilgore, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
Makailee Connors
Malkia Cyril, Center for Media Justice Nia Imara, astrophysicist, Harvard Dorsey Nunn – Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Walidah Imarisha – educator and writer Sophia Williams – Activist Organizer, Campaign to Bring Mumia Home Marion Phyllis Cunningham, Retired CUNY
Dr. John Ruhland, Former Research Investigator for the Bastyr University Research Institute
Jeff Lacher, Union Organizer, CWA Clifford D. Conner, Historian and author, New York City
Linda Ray, SEIU 1021 Delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council
Staajabu, Author, Spoken Word Artist, and Matriarch of Straight Out Scribes, Sacramento, CA
James E Vann, AIA Architect
Jeff Mackler, Former Vice President, American Federation of Teachers, Hayward, CA local 1423, AFL-CIO
Theresa El-Amin, Southern Anti-Racism Network
Jan D. Pierce, Retired Vice President, CWA District One
The Reverend Angela Ying, Bethany United Church of Christ
Michael Letwin, Former President, Association of Legal Aid
Attorneys/UAW 2325
Carole Seligman, co-editor, Socialist Viewpoint
Devin Branch, Teacher
Alejandra Juarez, MPP, UCCE, Former Editor of El Organizador
Bob Schwartz, Gay Liberation Network Esperanza Martell, Professor, Hunter College School of Social Work
Naomi Jaffe, Social Justice Center, Albany, NY
Susan Wirth, Photo Editor, USA
Bonnie Weinstein, Co-Editor and writer, Socialist Viewpoint
Hilton Smith, Member of Black Lives Matters Imperial Valley Chapter, CA Wesley Smith, Member of Black Lives Matters Imperial Valley Chapter, CA Millie Phillips, Member, Steering Committee, Labor Fightback Network
International signers
(organizations and titles for id. purposes only)
FRANCE
Mireille Fanon Mendes-France, President, Frantz Fanon Foundation Daniel Gluckstein, Coordinator, International Workers Committee Against War and Exploitation (IWC) Jean Pierre Barrois, International Workers Committee (IWC)
Jean Jacques Marie, Historian Hélène Rubinstein Carrera, Honorary Solicitor
Jean-Numa Ducange, Historian Victoria Melgar, Translator and interpreter
Samuel Légitimus, President of the James Baldwin Collective in Paris Zawadi Sagna, Educator
Cecile Guilloux, teacher
BRAZIL
Lino Peres, University professor, activist in Black Movement, and City Council member of the Workers Party, in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina
Attorneys/UAW 2325
Carole Seligman, co-editor, Socialist Viewpoint
Devin Branch, Teacher
Alejandra Juarez, MPP, UCCE, Former Editor of El Organizador
Bob Schwartz, Gay Liberation Network Esperanza Martell, Professor, Hunter College School of Social Work
Naomi Jaffe, Social Justice Center,
Albany, NY
Susan Wirth, Photo Editor, USA
Bonnie Weinstein, Co-Editor and writer, Socialist Viewpoint
Hilton Smith, Member of Black Lives Matters Imperial Valley Chapter, CA Wesley Smith, Member of Black Lives Matters Imperial Valley Chapter, CA Millie Phillips, Member, Steering Committee, Labor Fightback Network
Maria Joana da Silva, Workers Party, State of Paraná
André Machado, President of Workers Party in Curitiba, State of Paraná Anísio G. Homem, State Executive Committee of PT-PR [Workers Party in Paraná]
Maurino Silva, Executive Board member, National Federation of State Public Services Workers, SINTESPE Martvs das Chagas, General Secretary, National Secretariat to Combat Discrimination of the Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores, PT) Marcos Rezende, member of National Secretariat, Struggle Against Discrimination of the Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores, PT)
Luiz Carlos Paixão, Executive director, National Confederation of Education Workers CNTE-CUT
Antônio Battisti, President of the PT, São José-Santa Catarina
Angelo Vanhoni, State Executive Committee, PT-Paraná
Zeni Pereira, State Executive Committee, PT-Paraná
Pedro Carrano, journalist, Brasil de Fato, activist of Consulta Popular, Paraná
Valéria Villalba Soares, student, Rio Grande do Sul.
Pedro Jacobs, retired professor, retired trade unionist, CPERS Rio Grande do Sul
Clóvis Ricardo Montenegro de Lima, doctor, researcher with the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Samory Sundjata, systems analysts, activist, Rio de Janeiro
Alan Livan, actor and director of the Maria Fuzarca de Teatro compnay, São Paulo
Ualid Rabah, director of Institutional Relations of the Arab-Palestine Federation of Brazil (FEPAL)
INDIA
Nambiath Vasudevan, Coordinator, International Workers Committee Against War and Exploitation (IWC) Deepti Gopinath, General Secretary, Indian Airports Employees Union, Mumbai
AZANIA / SOUTH AFRICA
Ashraf Jooma, Editor Black Republic International Socialist
Ben Mosala, Former Chairperson of the Black Management Forum North West Province
Ghogha Molomo, Environmental Activist
Mr. Joseph Mkanzi, Finnes Media Sabelo Shanangu (Prophetic Ink) Poet, Lyricist, Educator
Samuel Nhlanhla Mtshali, Abahlali BaseMjondolo Movement SA
Baba Aye, Contributing Editor, Review of African Political Economy (RoAPE)
IRELAND
Ciaran Campbell, Mandate Trade Union
GERMANY
H.W. Schuster, President of the Workers‘ Commission SPD-Düsseldorf shop steward
Franz Kurz, Social Welfare Advising Service for Probation and Offenders’ Assistance
Michael Schiffman, Linguistics Professor, University of Heidelberg Norbert Müller, Member of the Board of the Association for Labor Affairs in the SPD in Frankfurt, member of the board of senior trade union ver.di in Frankfurt Claudius Naumann, Freie Universität Berlin, ver.di shop steward
Andreas Gressmann, Translator
Ernest Neweling, Trade unionist Annette Groth, Former Member of Parliament for Die Linke (2009 2017), Stuttgart
Peter Saalmüller (ver.di, SPD)
Klaus Schüller, member of the national Executive Board of the Workers’ Commission SPD, member of EVG (the trade union of railway workers)
Werner Löffelsend, Düsseldorf
Ulrich Breitbach, member of IG Metall (the trade union of metalworkers) Kamal Ketar, Student in Uni Mainz Luíz Fernando Moser
Jan Schulze-Husmann, Member of Ver.di, Bonn
Dieter Pauly, Former Vice President Office of IT an Statistics North-RhineWestfalia, Düsseldorf
Dr. Sidonie Kellerer, member GEW (trade Union of Teachers and Scientists) Dorothea Fischer-Hornung, Senior Lecturer American Studies/Spring Academy, Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA), Former President of MESEA, Society for MultiEthnic Studies: Europe and the Americas
Monika Regelin, TV Journalist, Mannheim
Annette Schiffmann, PR Manager & Chair of Half the Sky/Die Hälfte des Himmels, Heidelberg
PHILIPPINES
Rene Magtubo, National Chair, Partido Manggagawa (Labor PartyPhilippines),
TANZANIA
Charlotte O’Neal, Educator, revolutionary artist
GREAT BRITAIN
Mike Arnott, Secretary, Dundee Trades Union Council, Dundee (Scotland) Jane Doolan, Unison NEC, secretary Islington Unison, Pers.cap.
Mike Calvert, Deputy Secretary Islington Unison, Pers.cap.
John Sweeney, Labour Party Pers.cap. Raymond Mennie, Unite the Union Dundee Scotland, Pers.cap.
Lindsey German, National Convenor, Stop the war coalition, Pers.cap.
Stefan Cholewka, secretary Greater Manchester Association of Trade Union Councils, Pers.cap.
Margaret K. Taylor, Rochdale Trade Union Council, Pers.cap.
Mouna Hamitouche, Labour Councilor Islington, London
Ann Green, British Pensioner Magazine Michael Allen, London
Cari Mitchell, political activist
Tony Greenstein, Executive, Brighton & Hove Trades Union Council
Charlie Charalambous, former President, Torbay & District Trades Union Council
Dr. Nat Queen, School of Mathematics, University of Birmingham
Dario Figueira, Computer Vision Scientist, London
NETHERLANDS
Christina M. Schiavoni, food sovereignty researcher/author on Venezuela, International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague
PERU
Henry Torres Gallarday, Member Editorial Board, El Organizador Emilio Barreto Vizcarra, Member Editorial Board, El Organizador Luis Olivencia Baldassari, Member Editorial Board, El Organizador
THAILAND
Wittawat Prayookwong, activist, Bangkok
AUSTRIA
Heinz Leitner, retired official of the Federal Ministry of Labour in Austria, as well as former representative of this organization in the Austrian Board of Paroles, Vienna
CANADA
Stephen Aberle, Vancouver, BC Canada Paul Nkunzimana, Professor, Ottawa.
Thomas C Brown, Professor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver Ms Susan Stout, Unifor retiree, Airline Division, Mumia campaign Vancouver Ken Collier, PhD (Econ), Mission, British Columbia
B. Ross Ashley, former Executive Council member and shop steward, Local 204 SEIU; executive committee member, Toronto-St. Paul’s NDP constituency association; provincial and federal steering committee member, NDP Socialist Caucus, Toronto, ON Lorraine Dubois, Gatineau
ZIMBABWE
Mafa Kwanisai Mafa, Zimbabwe Movement of Pan African Socialists Kudakwashe Shambare, Zimbabwe Movement of Pan African Socialists Simbarashe Gwenzi, Zimbabwe Movement of Pan African Socialists Caleb Kuranga, Zimbabwe Movement of Pan African Socialists
Samson Chuma, Zimbabwe Movement of Pan African Socialists
Runesu Gumbo, Zimbabwe Movement of Pan African Socialists
Takesure Pambuka, Zimbabwe Movement of Pan African Socialists Tafirenyika Shoko, Zimbabwe Movement of Pan African Socialists Rodney Maseko, Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union
Ronald Mutizwa, Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union
Moreblessing Matsiwo, Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union
Nyasha Mangezi, Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union
AFGHANISTAN
Nasir Loyand, Foreign Relations, Left Radical of Afghanistan (LRA)
GREECE
Andreas Guhl, editor “Ergatika Nea“ (workers news)
Sotiria Lioni, unemployed
Giorgos Ikonomou, syndicalist, member of the board of teachers union region Argolida
Dimitra Mpirpanagou. unemployed
Isaia Karachaliou, Nafplio Dimitris Vasileiou, member, LAE Argolidas
Dimitios Balaskas, farmer, Nafplio
HAITI
Berthony Dupont, Editor, Haiti Liberté Haiti Liberté Newspaper
HONG KONG
Apo Leong, labor activist
URUGUAY
Agustín Cano Menoni, Universidad de la República de Uruguay
PORTUGAL
José Manuel Oliveira, Teacher
Maria De Lurdes Alexandre Ferreira, Lisbon
António Pedro Dores, Professor Instituto Universitário de Lisboa
Marko Mitic, Anthropologist, Lisbon
Maria João Berhan Da Costa, Arquitect, Lisbon
Gil Garcia, Teacher, Leader of the MAS (Movimento Alternativa Socialista) Party
Raquel Jacinto Nunes, between professions
Adriano Zilhão, economist
José Júlio Santana Henriques, retired union organizer
Jorge Torres, SITE union organiser and member of the European Workers Committee, SAICA group
Rui Rodrigues, mathematics professor, Lisbon New University, Science and Technology Faculty
Maria José Isidro, Translator
Francisco d’Oliveira Raposo, Revolutionary Socialism, Municipal Workers Union, Lisbon
MEXICO
Beatriz Stolowicz, Professor/Researcher, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico City Delia Valdivia Contreras, poet and author, Baja California
Alfonso Cortez, Tecate en Pie de Lucha Collective, Baja California
Luis Carlos Haro, CORCI México, Baja California
Alejandra Rivera Arvizu, OPT Tijuana, Baja California
Juan Carlos Vargas, OPT Mexicali, Baja California
Jesús Casillas, OPT Mexicali, Baja California
Liliana Plumeda, OPT Mexicali, Baja California
David Martínez, historian, Baja California
Manuel Ángeles, announcer, Baja California
Javier Wong, Comunidad Baja California Resiste
Irma Moran Ojeda, Comunidad Baja California Resiste
Marco Antonio Morales, Comunidad Baja California Resiste
Catalina Miranda Navarro, professor at SETE, Baja California
Fredy Rodríguez, Nueva Central de
Trabajadores, Chiapas
Sergio Eduardo Pineda López, Nueva Central de Trabajadores, Chiapas
Misael Palma López, former leader of sección 7 CNTESNTE, Chiapas
Gloria Miroslava Callejas Sánchez, journalist, Mexico City
Grecia Chavira Salazar, computer engineer, Mexico City
Eleazar López Reyes, labor activist, Mexico City
Eduardo Félix, historian and journalist, Sonora
SWITZERLAND
Michel Zimmermann, local council in Versoix (Geneva), Member of the Central Board Socialist Party / Geneva
ARGENTINA
Ricardo Sonny Martinez, journalist, free-press advocate, Bariloche