Students participate in Mumia March

Eighty students attend the Millions for Mumia March in Philly

There were so many cars involved in getting to Philly that it looked like a funeral procession; except that they were actually traveling to prevent one.

This past weekend 80 Oberlin students equipped with stolen OSCA food, sleeping bags and backpacks jammed several seven-passenger vans and borrowed cars for an eight-hour trip to the much-publicized Millions for Mumia March in Philadelphia. It was April 23, one day before Mumia Abu-Jamal's birthday.

Mumia is a black journalist and political prisoner who has been on death row for about eighteen years, having been convicted to the Row in 1981 by the "Hanging Judge" Albert Sabo for the shooting death of a police officer. This conviction occurred after black jurors were systematically removed from the jury; and since the conviction, several witnesses have come forth to admit coercion by the police. Some have also since admitted that they were never even at the scene of the crime.

These facts about the trial, combined with several others, have led millions of people throughout the United States and the world to rally behind Mumia's innocence, leading him to become one the most well-known and fought-over prisoners on Death Row. He has been seen as a symbol for many things for many people, but at the same time many supporters have vigorously fought against him being boxed as a symbol instead of a person.

Some would scorn, arguing that most Row inmates don't have the courtesy to have a support so large and varied as to have disputes among the ranks; but then again no other prisoner in history has had a fund dedicated by the Fraternal Order of Police to ensure their execution.

The Oberlin group of supporters arrived in Philly early in the morning and set up camp in a borrowed two-story house, the property of a nearby Protestant church. People left their shoes outside and lined the floor like sardines, grabbing a handful of sleep before having to get up at 9 a.m. for the rally and march the next day.

Saturday, April 24, after jumping on a train without tickets and almost being kicked off for chanting, the group arrived at the downtown business district to thousands of people and voices. Signs all over displayed the statements "Rainbow Flags for Mumia," "Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier," and even "Stop the War in Yugoslovia." Revolution flags could be seen waving blocks away, as people flowed in and out and vendors sold food, buttons, T-shirts and, of course, newspapers.

The rally opened with a representative from Students for Mumia, and continued to include such speakers as Mumia's attorney Leonard Weinglass, Zach de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine, ex-Black Panther and ex-political prisoner Geronimo Pratt, poet Sonja Sanchez, MOVE members Pam and Ramona Africa, representatives from the French Parliament, representatives from the New African Liberation Front, and many more from several countries and political affiliations, all preparing the crowd for the march.

A popular saying with some of the speakers was "There will be fire in the sky," hinting that they felt that the execution of Mumia would have affects much similar, if not worse than, the aquittal of the guilty police officers in the Rodney King trial. Some speakers were peaceful, and many like de la Rocha were deep, while still others, like a representative from the NALF shouted to officials, "We gonna free Mumia even if it's over your motherfuckin' coffins!"

Even though not all at the protesters agreed with violent revolution, the line-up of speakers undoubtedly energized the supporters for the ensuing march through downtown. Chants were generally a little more conservative than some speakers, including, "No justice, no peace- No racist, police," and "Brick by brick, wall by wall - Free Mumia Abu Jamal." While the town folk had undoubtedly been informed about the event, diners in a nearby coffee shop looked on as if it was the first protest Philly had ever seen.

When the series of events was over at about 8 p.m., the group jumped back on the train to head back to the house, and after a little intermission were on the way back to Oberlin, where the college campus has lately been flooded with information care of the Oberlin Coalition to Free Mumia. This group formed in February, but has already saturated the campus with posters, banners, stickers, buttons, postcards, poetry readings, and a panel in the library.

The information outflow has been intense, but not as intense as the threat of life and death coming at you live and uncensored, unlike the journalistic efforts that Mumia has made from behind bars. The Coalition's next move is rapidly emerging from shadows of uncertainty, for though the march is over, Abu-Jamal is still, as he says, "in the valley of the shadow of death."

A sea ofsupport: Oberlin students were among the thousands who marched in Philadelphia last weekend in support of imprisoned journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal. (photo by Stephen Menyhart)