Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook) is a former leader in the Black Panther Party and supporter of Philadelphia’s MOVE organization. He has been incarcerated in Pennsylvania since 1982 when he was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia police officer after a trial that his supporters have described as unfair and racially biased. ¹

During Abu-Jamal’s murder trial, the prosecutor questioned him about his support for the statement of Chinese Communist Party’s Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, that “political power grows from the barrel of a gun.” Abu-Jamal argued that it has been true throughout history and in America, and justified the need for militant organizations such as the Black Panther Party to secure civil liberties for underrepresented persons. ²

Background

Mumia Abu-Jamal is a former member of the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panther Party, a communist Black militant organization, which he joined at the age of 15 in 1969. Because of his affiliation with the party, he became a target of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s controversial COINTELPRO operation and left the party in 1970. ³ Following his disaffiliation from the party, Abu-Jamal continued to support other Black nationalist and Marxist groups while working as a journalist in Philadelphia. ⁴

In 1982, Abu-Jamal was convicted for the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner and was sentenced to death. By 1999, his lawyers had filed multiple appeals at the state and federal levels, including 29 claims of constitutional violations during his trial. The claims focus on an alleged racial bias by the judge and in jury selection, insufficient forensic testing and mishandling of evidence, and a rushed trial that prevented Abu-Jamal from mounting an adequate defense. Abu-Jamal’s supporters have argued that the trial was unfair, leading to activists forming organizations campaigning for his release and appeals to international courts to intervene due to alleged human rights violations. ^{5 6 7}

In 2001, a judge overturned the death sentence. In 2011, prosecutors dropped their pursuit to have the sentence reinstated, effectively commuting Abu-Jamal’s sentence to life imprisonment. ⁸

Black Panther Party of Philadelphia

Mumia Abu-Jamal was a founding member of the Philadelphia chapter of the Black Panther Party and served as Lieutenant of Information. He helped organize rallies and protests and oversaw the creation and distribution of their newspaper for their chapter. Within a year, the Philadelphia chapter sold 10,000 copies each week. ⁹

Abu-Jamal says he devoted his life to the party to promote its armed, militant support of Black nationalism and the Marxist agenda espoused by Black Panther Party leaders Reggie Schell and Huey Newton. ¹⁰ Abu-Jamal states he left the party in 1970 after several police raids and the FBI’s COINTELPRO operation caused the remaining leadership to divide the organization. ¹¹

MOVE

Following his split with the Black Panther Party, Mumia Abu-Jamal continued to engage in radical-left political activism as a supporter of Philadelphia’s MOVE organization, although not as an official member. ¹² MOVE is a radical-left organization that advocates for abolition of private ownership of property, control of labor systems, and the establishment of governing organizations under the guise of empowering Black Americans. ¹³

MOVE became infamous for two standoffs with Philadelphia police. In 1978, Philadelphia police came to evict MOVE members from a home after a myriad of complaints. The operation led to a shootout in which Officer James J. Ramp was killed. Nine members were convicted of offenses related to the killing. MOVE members disputed the allegations, claiming Ramp was facing the home but was shot from behind. In 1985, MOVE members engaged in another standoff with Philadelphia police that ended with a police helicopter dropping two bombs on the home, killing six adults and five children dead and burning down 65 surrounding homes. MOVE filed a civil suit against the city and police department and was awarded $1.5 million in damages. ¹⁴

Radio Career

Mumia Abu-Jamal was a radio reporter for WDAS and president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Association of Black Journalists at the time of his arrest in 1981. He previously worked at WUHY from 1979 to 1981. In 1975, he was hired by the radio station WHAT, and became a featured reporter for WCAU-FM in 1978. He spent eight years total as a radio broadcaster following his departure from the Black Panther Party until his arrest. ¹⁵

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2. Burroughs, Todd Steven. “READY TO PARTY: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party.” Towson University. 2004. https://owd.tcnj.edu/~kpearson/Mumia/part5.htm
3. “Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party.” READY TO PARTY. Accessed August 28, 2022. https://owd.tcnj.edu/~kpearson/Mumia/about.htm.
4. Johnson, Terry E, and Michael A. Hobbs. “The Suspect – One Who Raised His Voice.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 10, 1981.
5. Movement for Black Lives. “This Black August, We Are Calling for the Freedom of These 5 Political Prisoners, and You Can Help.” Medium. August 11, 2022. https://m4bl.medium.com/this-black-august-we-are-calling-for-the-freedom-of-these-5-political-prisoners-and-you-can-help-db937e77bcff.
6. “Who Is Mumia Abu-Jamal? – Free Mumia.” Free Mumia RSS. Accessed August 28, 2022. http://box2108.temp.domains/~freemumi/who-is-mumia-abu-jamal/.
7. “Mumia Abu-Jamal Talks to Laura Smith about Life in Solitary, How He Has Remained Politically Active, and Why the Panthers Are Still Relevant Today.” The Guardian. October 25, 2007. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/25/usa.laurasmith.
8. “Mumia Abu-Jamal.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed September 14, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mumia-Abu-Jamal.
9. Burroughs, Todd Steven. “READY TO PARTY: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party.” Towson University. 2004. https://owd.tcnj.edu/~kpearson/Mumia/founding2.htm.
10. Burroughs, Todd Steven. “READY TO PARTY: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party.” Towson University. 2004. https://owd.tcnj.edu/~kpearson/Mumia/part1.htm.
11. Burroughs, Todd Steven. “READY TO PARTY: Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Black Panther Party.” Towson University. 2004. https://owd.tcnj.edu/~kpearson/Mumia/parrt4.htm
12. Johnson, Terry E, and Michael A. Hobbs. “The Suspect – One Who Raised His Voice.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 10, 1981.
13. Tomek, Beverly C. “Move.” Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. June 13, 2022. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/move/.
14. Tomek, Beverly C. “Move.” Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. June 13, 2022. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/move/.
15. Johnson, Terry E, and Michael A. Hobbs. “The Suspect – One Who Raised His Voice.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 10, 1981.