Monday, July 22, 2013

Justice for Trayvon Martin, Free Mumia and All Political Prisoners--Black August Event in Detroit, Aug. 3

For Immediate Release

Media Advisory

Event: Black August Commemoration in Detroit on Saturday, August 3, 5:00-8:00pm
Topic: Justice for Trayvon Martin, Free Mumia and All Political Prisoners
Film: Long Distance Revolutionary--A Journey With Mumia Abu-Jamal
Location: 5920 Second Ave. at Antoinette near WSU Campus in Midtown
Sponsor: Workers World Party Detroit Branch
Contact: 313-671-3715
URL: http://workersworlddetroit.org/

Justice for Trayvon Martin, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and All Political Prisoners in the United States

Millions across the U.S. have expressed their outrage at the not-guilty verdict for George Zimmerman in the brutal, racist murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. There have been demonstrations in Detroit and other cities across the state and the country demanding justice for this victim of racist violence so prevalent even today in a supposed post-racial society.

Both racist violence and the mass incarceration of African Americans and other oppressed peoples in the U.S. require the attention of all conscious political forces. There are over 2.5 million people jailed and imprisoned inside the country with millions more under law-enforcement and judicial supervision. Many of these people are African Americans and Latina/os.

Please join us on Saturday, August 3, at 5:00 p.m. for the Detroit premier of "Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey With Mumia Abu-Jamal." This is the latest documentary on the life of a modern-day revolutionary now serving a life sentence for a crime he did not commit in the state of Pennsylvania.

Mumia was a leading member of the Black Panther Party in Philadelphia, a prominent independent journalist and a supporter of the revolutionary MOVE organization. Mumia was framed in the shooting death of a Philadelphia cop in 1981 and has remained incarcerated since this time. He spent decades on death row but was released to general population as the direct result of an international movement of millions throughout the U.S. and the world.

In addition to screening this excellent film, we will provide updates on the cases of Leonard Peltier, a Native American political prisoner, Cece McDonald, a Black transgender woman locked up for defending herself against racist thugs, Marissa Alexander, who is serving 20 years in Florida for only firing a shot in the air to repel an attack from an abusive man, the hunger strike carried out by prisoners in California as well as other cases of injustice in the U.S.

Black August is an annual commemoration which honors the legacy of resistance by African people in the U.S. against slavery, racism and national oppression. Black August events have been held inside the country for three decades.

This event is free and open to the public. A dinner of African American cuisine will be served.

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