Lyrical References ADF's lyrics are pretty straight forward and easy to understand; but there are also a lot persons, happenings, cases and places mentioned. Here I'll put out some info about them so that you'll understand the songs even better! If you have some info concerning the lyrics please e-mail me and I'll add them to the site. Massive thanks to Saurav Dutt for the info on Stephen Lawrence and Quddus Ali. PKNB [Facts and Fictions] Pagal, ki na bole?[in Bengali] = Is there nothing that a madman won't say? Chagal ki na khai?[in Bengali] = Is there nothing that a goat won't eat? Rebel Warrior [Facts and Fictions] Was inspired by a poem "Bidrohi" written in India in the 1920's by the revolutionary Kazi Nazrul, imprisoned for British sedition. Journey [Facts and Fictions] Has lyrics spanning 3 generations, - their parents journey to Britain, ending with Deedar's arrival, confident in the struggle for survival. And the journey continues... "TH9" [Facts and Fictions] Was triggered by the events around the time of the election of Britain's first fascist councillor [BNP]. STEPHEN LAWRENCE In 1993, in a place called Eltham in the UK, at around 8:30 PM Stephen, an 18 year old black youth who was studying for his A-levels was at his best friend’s house, the friend too was 18 and was a colleague. His name was Duawyne Brookes. Stephen decided it was time to go home and so Duawyne proceeded to take him to the bus stop. The two had been at the house straight after college. At around 10:30 PM, the two were at a bus stop waiting for the bus, the bus stop was opposite a cinema-after waiting impatiently, Duawne went to the edge of the road to see if a bus was coming. At this point, a group of 5 or 6 white youths were huddled together on the opposite side of the road. As Duawne shouted out to Stephen to say no bus was coming, the white youths suddenly then shouted "WHAT? WHAT? WHAT YOU SAY NIGGER?"-they clearly thought they were being provoked or something(bullshit)- and so ran over to the two boys to get them, Duawne was felled but managed to run, Stephen got stabbed near his heart and near his lungs, very deep knife wounds, he was also hit over the head with an iron bar. Despite being beaten so bad, Stephen found the energy to run and run he did, but eventually with blood pouring out of him, he collapsed on the pavement and there he died a few minutes later. The white crew fled in a car. Although this was horrific in itself, the issues ADF are addressing our the coruppt nature of the invesitgation: namely: 1) At the actual scene of the crime, two polcie officers were called to the scene, one treated Duawne as a possible suspect and ordered a search, the other did not even attempt first aid to help Stephen. 2) The same officers were rude to the Stephens parents at the hospital where he was confirmed dead afterwards, and made trivial jokes about his death. 3) The first officers who went to visit the parents were insensitive and rude, and would not even confrim that the attack was racist. 4) The initial investigation was bullshit, as no door to door enquiries were made etc. 5) A helpful witness came to the parents house with a piece of paper with the name of all the white murderers on it, the parents took this to the police, but in their face, the inspector screwed the paper up and threw it away. 6) Every officer that replaced another was full of shit, and lied and lied and lied and made no progress in enquiries. 7) One of the suspect’s father was a known underworld criminal and had strong ties with the police, years back he had ensured the release of a fellow criminal because of his links. The belief is that the police were afraid of this criminal and so chose not to put his son under any pressure. 8) At inquests, the suspects all said nothing in court and as Zack De La Rocha would put it "pleaded the 5th" 9) A few years later, undercover footage at the home of one of the suspects houses, captured live footage of the gang enacting a crime in which they stabbed someone, they used racial expletvies throughout, and it was clear they were all sick and violent racists, in spite of this-the footage was more or less ignored. 10) The gang more or less have gotten away with murder and to this day the parents of Stephen Lawrence are fighting for justice. Quddus Ali I don't have so much info on him, so if you know anything, please mail me. He was stabbed in Brixton, in the Uk, by racist attackers, and is more or less the subject matter behind TH9. In fact, ADF have frequently quoted that it was hs death that spurned their formation, and their first ever gig was in support of him. Altab Ali Info needed on him, please mail me if you have some info. "Naxalite" [Rafi's Revenge] Is inspired by an uprising of landless peasants that took place in West Bengal at the of the sixties and triggered other insurrections. This is what it says in the cover. I'd like to know more about this, so if you know more, mail me. "Assassin" [Rafi's Revenge] Is based on the story of Udam Singh a.k.a Mohammed Singh Azad who in 1939 avenged the 1919 Amritsar Massacre by assassinating the Punjab's ex-governor general Colonel O'Dwyer. The Amritsar Massacre On Sunday 13.April 1919 about 10000 unarmed men, women and children were helding a peaceful protest meeting in Jallianwallah Bagh (Garden) in Amritsar. Then Dyer marched 50 soldiers into the Bagh and ordered them to open fire against the unarmed people. As it was Sunday, many neighbouring peasants had come to Amritsar to celebrate a Hindu festival, gathering in the Bagh, which was a place for holding cattle fair and other festivities. Dyer kept his troops firing for about 10 minutes, until they had shot 1650 rounds of ammunition into the terror-stricken crowd, which had no way of escaping the Bagh, since the soldiers spanned the only exit. About 400 civilians were killed and some 1200 wounded. They were left without medical attention by Dyer, who hastily removed his troops to the camp. "Free Satal Ram" [Rafi's Revenge] Go here for more info on him. Birmingham Six The IRA took the war beyond Irish soul by the middle of the 70's, beginning a series of attacks in England. The most severe of these attacks occured at a Birmingham pub on 24.November 1974, the 54th anniversary of the original Bloody Sunday. 21 civilians died. Six Northern Irishmen, known as the Birmingham Six, were arrested attempting to board a ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland. They were quickly tried and given multiple life sentences. It is widely believed that these men were innocent. They signed confessions only after being beaten, and the evidence against them was inconclusive at best. Patrick Hill became the most visible of the six, going on a hunger strike to call attention to his case. The six were eventually freed 4.March 1991. Bridgewater Four Info needed. Kings Cross Two The stabbing to death of Richard Everitt in Somers Town was a tragedy, but so was the racist reaction it unleashed. The media claimed that he was "killed because he was white" (while of course the deaths of black people never make the front page, rarely any page) and that the local Bengali youth were violent racists. The cops targeted every Asian person in the area, even grilling those who came to them to report racist attacks, and of course the BNP came along to stir things up. Badrul Miah and Showkat Akbar were convicted of the murder, because they fitted the media version of events, not the facts. Even the cops had changed their line and decided that the killing was a mistake, and that the target had been another white boy who had stolen some jewellery and a mobile phone. But the Prosecution simply claimed that it was a racist murder, that Badrul and Showkat were Bengali and racist against whites, and would stab any white boy, and that was enough. Badrul was convicted od "joint enterprise" in the murder, meaning that he didn't do it, but that he might have had something or other to do with it, like being a Bengali in Somers Town at the time... Guildford Four Much like the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four; Gerald Conlon, Carole Richardson, Paul Hill and Patrick Amstrong, were jailed because of human error. The four served more then 14 years of a life sentence for the murder of five people in two pub bombings in Guildford, Surrey, in October 1974. Amstrong and Hill were also convicted of murdering two people in a pub bombing in Woolwich in November 1974. They were released in October 1989, when the Court of Appeals quashed the convictions on the grounds that they were unfounded. Their story was dramatized in the recent film "In The Name of The Father". Winston Silcott This is taken from a review [from 1998] of a booklet about Winston Silcott and his case called "A Chronology of Injustice: The Case for Winston Silcott's Conviction to be Overturned". This new booklet draws attention to Winston Silcott's continued imprisonment more than six years after he was cleared of the murder of PC Blakelock during the Broadwater Farm uprising in October 1995. The booklet gives a clear and concise outline of the victimisation of Winston by the police and his demonisation by a racist media. Even now, for those who have not met Winston and his family, it is hard to mention his name without thinking of the aggressive-looking photograph released by the police and published on the front page of The Sun on the second day of his trial for the Blacklock killing. Winston's continued imprisonment is formally for the killing of a local gangleader, Anthony Smith, at a party in Hackney in 1984. A Chronology of Injustice shows that the evidence from several independent witnesses, long available to the lawyers, makes clear that Winston acted in self-defence and that in any normal case he would have been released long ago. However, this is not a normal case and the pressure of a racist media who have turned Winston into a "hate figure" and the powerful lobbying of the police, who resent his acquittal on the Blakelock killing, have combined to keep Winston in prison. Winston Silcott remains a victim of double miscarriage of justice and the most well known political prisoner currently held in a British prison. Winston's conviction in the Smith case is currently being reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. A Chronology of Injustice has been submitted to the CCRC in the hope that, after giving the document their "unbiased attention", the Commission will refer Winston's case back to the Court of Appeal, which will order his release. It's a hope that the labour movement activists and anti-racists everywhere will share. Winston Silcott - Campaigning for Justice "Operation Eagle Lie" [Rafi's Revenge] "CPS" "Crown Prosecution Service." "CCTV" "Close Circuit TeleVision" "IC1, IC2 and IC3" Are British police codes/classification for white, African-caribbean and Asian people (though not necessarily in that order.) Real Great Britain [Community Music] "Blairful of Thatcher": "Well this is a fairly obvious one," explains ADF's DJ John Pandit, aka Pandit G. "It's a play on "Brimful Of Asha"... basically for all that's on the exterior, Tony Blair is just full of Margaret Thatcher. He's the same, it hasn't changed the revolution - this is DJ speak now - stuck at the same speed." "But the old ties survive": "It all relates to the old school network, still. They might wear Armani suits now, but the school ties remain. All that's happened is a change in presentation. What was implied but not delivered was a more democratic government. You can see it now with the London mayoral elections, which are a shambles. This block vote thing is stupid, they just move the goalposts whenever they want". "New Britannia Cool": "It's going back to this supposed ideological change - of which Britpop was the cultural manifestation. And it was totally out of context with history, cos the politicians were pushing for a cultural system of unity with all the Union Jacks, but at the same time it was all about them giving power to Scotland and Ireland." "Bottom third you never see": "The bottom third is the underclass - there's all these Internet moguls who are rich on paper with their share option plans, reinforcing the underclass. The manufacturing industry's gone down and people are making fictitious money. Politicians have basically nurtured the idea of the underclass." "Just with dead royalty": "The death of Diana was the only time in the Nineties when everyone mobilised - when the whole country unified - and what made it all the more sickening was that it was about someone they didn't even like in the first place!" "Shoegazer nation": "The shoegazer thing was all about bands, and guitarists, just ignoring their audiences, just getting on with what they were doing. And there's a parallel with politicians ignoring the people who put them in power." "Time to reject the sixties charade": "It's a myth, it's just the effect of rose-tinted glasses, to think that there was some sort of time in the Sixties when there weren't black people in Britain. What rubbish- there have been black people here for over 300 years. It's perverse xenophobia in kid gloves,basically. You don't have the believe thes ideas if you don't want to - it's what you want it to be." "...in his millenium dome": "It's ridiculous. Look at how things were presented - when we were writting this song there was all the talk about provision for students, homelessness, things like that, and the Government were spending £900 million on a tribute to McDonald's being built on poisoned land above an old gasworks, which pretty much says it all." New Way New Life [Community Music] "Naya Zindagi Naya Jeevan"="New Way New Life" New Way New Life is a song celebrating the first ever television programme made for Asians living in England. Called "Naya Zindagi Naya Jeevan", the programme entertained, informed and shaped Asian immigrants' lives in in the mid to late 60's- especially ADF's parents' generation - and obviously resonated on the members of ADF. Committed to Life [Community Music] Features Assata Shakur, Tupac's aunt. She's now in political exile on Cuba. OPEN LETTER FROM ASSATA SHAKUR(source: www.daveyd.com) My name is Assata Shakur, and I am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of government persecution, I was left with no other choice than to flee from the political repression, racism and violence that dominate the US government's policy towards people of color. I am an ex-political prisoner, and I have been living in exile in Cuba since 1984. I have been a political activist most of my life, and although the U.S. government has done everything in its power to criminalize me, I am not a criminal, nor have I ever been one. In the 1960s, I participated in various struggles: the black liberation movement, the student rights movement, and the movement to end the war in Vietnam. I joined the Black Panther Party. By 1969 the Black Panther Party had become the number one organization targeted by the FBI's COINTELPRO program. Because the Black Panther Party demanded the total liberation of black people, J. Edgar Hoover called it "greatest threat to the internal security of the country" and vowed to destroy it and its leaders and activists. In 1978, my case was one of many cases bought before the United Nations Organization in a petition filed by the National Conference of Black Lawyers, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice, exposing the existence of political prisoners in the United States, their political persecution, and the cruel and inhuman treatment they receive in US prisons. According to the report: The FBI and the New York Police Department in particular, charged and accused Assata Shakur of participating in attacks on law enforcement personnel and widely circulated such charges and accusations among police agencies and units. The FBI and the NYPD further charged her as being a leader of the Black Liberation Army which the government and its respective agencies described as an organization engaged in the shooting of police officers. This description of the Black Liberation Army and the accusation of Assata Shakur's relationship to it was widely circulated by government agents among police agencies and units. As a result of these activities by the government, Ms. Shakur became a hunted person; posters in police precincts and banks described her as being involved in serious criminal activities; she was highlighted on the FBI's most wanted list; and to police at all levels she became a 'shoot-to-kill' target." I was falsely accused in six different "criminal cases" and in all six of these cases I was eventually acquitted or the charges were dismissed. The fact that I was acquitted or that the charges were dismissed, did not mean that I received justice in the courts, that was certainly not the case. It only meant that the "evidence" presented against me was so flimsy and false that my innocence became evident. This political persecution was part and parcel of the government's policy of eliminating political opponents by charging them with crimes and arresting them with no regard to the factual basis of such charges. On May 2, 1973 I, along with Zayd Malik Shakur and Sundiata Acoli were stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike, supposedly for a "faulty tail light." Sundiata Acoli got out of the car to determine why we were stopped. Zayd and I remained in the car. State trooper Harper then came to the car, opened the door and began to question us. Because we were black, and riding in a car with Vermont license plates, he claimed he became "suspicious." He then drew his gun, pointed it at us, and told us to put our hands up in the air, in front of us, where he could see them. I complied and in a split second, there was a sound that came from outside the car, there was a sudden movement, and I was shot once with my arms held up in the air, and then once again from the back. Zayd Malik Shakur was later killed, trooper Werner Foerster was killed, and even though trooper Harper admitted that he shot and killed Zayd Malik Shakur, under the New Jersey felony murder law, I was charged with killing both Zayd Malik Shakur, who was my closest friend and comrade, and charged in the death of trooper Forester. Never in my life have I felt such grief. Zayd had vowed to protect me, and to help me to get to a safe place, and it was clear that he had lost his life, trying to protect both me and Sundiata. Although he was also unarmed, and the gun that killed trooper Foerster was found under Zayd's leg, Sundiata Acoli, who was captured later, was also charged with both deaths. Neither Sundiata Acoli nor I ever received a fair trial We were both convicted in the news media way before our trials. No news media was ever permitted to interview us, although the New Jersey police and the FBI fed stories to the press on a daily basis. In 1977, I was convicted by an all- white jury and sentenced to life plus 33 years in prison. In 1979, fearing that I would be murdered in prison, and knowing that I would never receive any justice, I was liberated from prison, aided by committed comrades who understood the depths of the injustices in my case, and who were also extremely fearful for my life. The U.S. Senate's 1976 Church Commission report on intelligence operations inside the USA, revealed that "The FBI has attempted covertly to influence the public's perception of persons and organizations by disseminating derogatory information to the press, either anonymously or through "friendly" news contacts." This same policy is evidently still very much in effect today. On December 24, 1997, The New Jersey State called a press conference to announce that New Jersey State Police had written a letter to Pope John Paul II asking him to intervene on their behalf and to aid in having me extradited back to New Jersey prisons. The New Jersey State Police refused to make their letter public. Knowing that they had probably totally distort the facts, and attempted to get the Pope to do the devils work in the name of religion, I decided to write the Pope to inform him about the reality of' "justice" for black people in the State of New Jersey and in the United States. (See attached Letter to the Pope). In January of 1998, during the pope's visit to Cuba, I agreed to do an interview with NBC journalist Ralph Penza around my letter to the Pope, about my experiences in New Jersey court system, and about the changes I saw in the United States and it's treatment of Black people in the last 25 years. I agreed to do this interview because I saw this secret letter to the Pope as a vicious, vulgar, publicity maneuver on the part of the New Jersey State Police, and as a cynical attempt to manipulate Pope John Paul II. I have lived in Cuba for many years, and was completely out of touch with the sensationalist, dishonest, nature of the establishment media today. It is worse today than it was 30 years ago. After years of being victimized by the "establishment" media it was naive of me to hope that I might finally get the opportunity to tell "my side of the story." Instead of an interview with me, what took place was a "staged media event" in three parts, full of distortions, inaccuracies and outright lies. NBC purposely misrepresented the facts. Not only did NBC spend thousands of dollars promoting this "exclusive interview series" on NBC, they also spent a great deal of money advertising this "exclusive interview" on black radio stations and also placed notices in local newspapers. DISTORTIONS AND LIES IN THE NBC SERIES In an NBC interview Gov. Whitman was quoted as saying that "this has nothing to do with race, this had everything to do with crime." Either Gov. Whitman is completely unfamiliar with the facts in my case, or her sensitivity to racism and to the plight of black people and other people of color in the United States is at a sub-zero level. In 1973 the trial in Middlesex County had to be stopped because of the overwhelming racism expressed in the jury room. The court was finally forced to rule that the entire jury panel had been contaminated by racist comments like "If she's black, she's guilty." In an obvious effort to prevent us from being tried by "a jury of our peers the New Jersey courts ordered that a jury be selected from Morris County, New Jersey where only 2.2 percent of the population was black and 97.5 percent of potential jurors were white. In a study done in Morris County, one of the wealthiest counties in the country, 92 percent of the registered voters said that they were familiar with the case through the news media, and 72 percent believed we were guilty based on pretrial publicity. During the jury selection process in Morris County, white supremacists from the National Social White People's Party, wearing Swastikas, demonstrated carrying signs reading "SUPPORT WHITE POLICE." The trial was later moved back to Middlesex County where 70 percent thought I was guilty based on pretrial publicity I was tried by an all-white jury, where the presumption of innocence was not the criteria for jury selection. Potential jurors were merely asked if they could "put their prejudices aside, and "render a fair verdict." The basic reality in the United States is that being black is a crime and black people are always "suspects" and an accusation is usually a conviction. Most white people still think that being a "black militant" or a "black revolutionary" is tantamount to being guilty of some kind of crime. The current situation in New Jersey's prisons, underlines the racism that dominates the politics of the state of New Jersey, in particular and in the U.S. as a whole. Although the population of New Jersey is approximately 78 percent white, more than 75 percent of New Jersey's prison population is made up of blacks and Latinos. 80 percent of the women in Jersey prisons are people of color. That may not seem like racism to Gov. Whitman, but it reeks of of racism to us. The NBC story implied that Governor Christie Whitman raised the reward for my capture based on my interview with NBC. The fact of the matter is that she has been campaigning since she was elected into office to double the reward for my capture. In 1994, she appointed Col. Carl Williams who immediately vowed to make my capture a priority. In 1995, Gov. Whitman sought to "match a $25,000 departmental appropriation sponsored by an "unidentified legislator." I watched a tape of Gov. Whitman's "testimony" in her interview with NBC. She gave a very dramatic, exaggerated version of what happened, but there is no evidence whatsoever to support her claim that Trooper Foerster had "four bullets in him at least, and then they got up and with his own gun, fired two bullets into his head." She claimed that she was writing Janet Reno for federal assistance in my capture, based on what she saw in the NBC interview. If this is the kind of "information" that is being passed on to Janet Reno and the Pope, it is clear that the facts have been totally distorted. Whitman also claimed that my return to prison should be a condition for "normalizing relations with Cuba". How did I get so important that my life can determine the foreign relations between two governments? Anybody who knows anything about New Jersey politics can be certain that her motives are purely political. She, like Torrecelli and several other opportunistic politicians in New Jersey came to power, as part- time lobbyists for the Batistia faction - soliciting votes from right wing Cubans. They want to use my case as a barrier for normalizing relations with Cuba, and as a pretext for maintaining the immoral blockade against the Cuban people. In what can only be called deliberate deception and slander NBC aired a photograph of a woman with a gun in her hand implying that the woman in the photograph was me. I was not, in fact, the woman in the photograph. The photograph was taken from a highly publicized case where I was accused of bank robbery. Not only did I voluntarily insist on participating in a lineup, during which witnesses selected another woman, but during the trial, several witnesses, including the manager of the bank, testified that the woman in that photograph was not me. I was acquitted of that bank robbery. NBC aired that photograph on at least 5 different occasions, representing the woman in the photograph as me. How is it possible, that the New Jersey State Police, who claim to have a detective working full time on my case, Governor of New Jersey Christine Whitman, who claimed she reviewed all the "evidence," or NBC, which has an extensive research department, did not know that the photograph was false? It was a vile, fraudulent attempt to make me look guilty. NBC deliberately misrepresented the truth. Even after many people had called in, and there was massive fax, and e-mail campaign protesting NBC's mutilation of the facts, Ralph Penza and NBC continued to broadcast that photograph, representing it as me. Not once have the New Jersey State Police, Governor Christine Whitman, or NBC come forth and stated that I was not the woman in the photograph, or that I had been acquitted of that charge. Another major lie and distortion was that we had left trooper Werner Foerster on the roadside to die. The truth is that there was a major cover-up as to what happened on May 2, 1973. Trooper Harper, the same man who shot me with my arms raised in the air, testified that he returned to the State Police Headquarters which was less than 200 yards away, "To seek aid." However, tape recordings and police reports made on May 2, 1973 prove that not only did Trooper Harper give several conflicting statements about what happened on the turnpike, but he never once mentioned the name of Werner Foerster, or the fact that the incident took place right in front of the Trooper Headquarters. In an effort to hide his tracks and cover his guilt he said nothing whatsoever about Foerster to his superiors or to his fellow officers. In a clear attempt to discredit me, Col. Carl Williams of the New Jersey State Police was allowed to give blow by blow distortions of my interview. In my interview I stated that on the night of May 2, 1973 I was shot with my arms in the air, then shot again in the back. Williams stated "that is absolutely false. Our records show that she reached in her pocketbook, pulled out a nine millimeter weapon and started firing." However, the claim that I reached into my pocketbook and pulled out a gun, while inside the car was even contested by trooper Harper. Although on three official reports, and when he testified before the grand jury he stated that he saw me take a gun out of my pocketbook, he finally admitted under cross-examination that he never saw me with my hands in a pocketbook, never saw me with a weapon inside the car, and that he did not see me shoot him. The truth is that I was examined by 3 medical specialists: (1) A Neurologist who testified that I was immediately paralyzed immediately after the being shot. (2) A Surgeon who testified that "It was absolutely anatomically necessary that both arms be in the air for Mrs. Chesimard to receive the wounds." The same surgeon also testified that the claim by Trooper Harper that I had been crouching in a firing position when I was shot was "totally anatomically impossible." (3) A Pathologist who testified that "There is no conceivable way that it [the bullet] could have traveled over to hit the clavicle if her arm was down." he said "It was impossible to have that trajectory" The prosecutors presented no medical testimony whatsoever to refute the above medical evidence. No evidence whatsoever was ever presented that I had a 9-millimeter weapon, in fact New Jersey State Police testified that the 9-millimeter weapon belonged to Zayd Malik Shakur based on a holster fitting the weapon that they was recovered from his body. There were no fingerprints, or any other evidence whatsoever that linked me to any guns or ammunition. The results of the Neutron Activation test to determine whether or not I had fired a weapon were negative. Although Col. Williams refers to us as the "criminal element" neither Zayd, or Sundiata Acoli or I were criminals, we were political activists. I was a college student until the police kicked down my door in an effort to force me to "cooperate" with them and Sundiata Acoli was a computer expert who had worked for NASA, before he joined the Black Panther Party and was targeted by COINTELPRO. In an obvious maneuver to provoke sympathy for the police, the NBC series juxtaposed my interview with the weeping widow of Werner Foerster. While I can sympathize with her grief, I believe that her appearance was deliberately included to appeal to people's emotions, to blur the facts, to make me look like a villain, and to create the kind of lynch mob mentality that has historically been associated with white women portrayed as victims of black people. In essence the supposed interview with me became a forum for the New State Police, Foerster's widow, and the obviously hostile commentary of Ralph Penza. The two initial programs together lasted 3.5 minutes - me - 59 seconds, the widow 50 seconds, the state police 38 seconds, and Penza - 68 seconds. Not once in the interview was I ever asked about Zayd, Sundiata or their families. As the interview went on, it was painfully evident that Ralph Penza would never see me as a human being. Although I tried to talk about racism and about the victims of government and police repression, it was clear that he was totally uninterested. I have stated publicly on various occasions that I was ashamed of participating in my trial in New Jersey trial because it was so racist, but I did testify. Even though I was extremely limited by the judge, as to what I could testfy about, I testified as clearly as I could about what happened that night. After being almost fatally wounded I managed to climb in the back seat of the car to get away from the shooting. Sundiata drove the car five miles down the road carried me into a grassy area because he was afraid that the police would see the car parked on the side of the road and just start shooting into it again. Yes, it was five miles down the highway where I was captured, dragged out of the car, stomped and then left on the ground. Although I drifted in and out of consciousness I remember clearly that both while I was lying on the ground, and while I was in the ambulance, I kept hearing the State troopers ask "is she dead yet?" Because of my condition I have no independent recollection of how long I was on the ground, or how long it was before the ambulance was allowed to leave for the hospital, but in the trial transcript trooper Harper stated that it was while he was being questioned, some time after 2:00 am that a detective told him that I had just been brought into the hospital. I was the only live "suspect" in custody, and prior to that time Harper, had never told anyone that a woman had shot him. As I watched Governor Whitman's interview the one thing that struck me was her "outrage" at my joy about being a grandmother, and my "quite nice life" as she put it here in Cuba. While I love the Cuban people and the solidarity they have shown me, the pain of being torn away from everybody I love has been intense. I have never had the opportunity to see or to hold my grandchild. If Gov. Whitman thinks that my life has been so nice, that 50 years of dealing with racism, poverty, persecution, brutality, prison, underground, exile and blatant lies has been so nice, then I'd be more than happy to let her walk in my shoes for a while so she can get a taste of how it feels. I am a proud black woman, and I'm not about to get on the television and cry for Ralph Penza or any other journalist, but the way I have suffered in my lifetime, and the way my people have suffered, only god can bear witness to. Col. Williams of the New Jersey State Police stated "we would do everything we could go get her off the island of Cuba and if that includes kidnaping, we would do it." I guess the theory is that if they could kidnap millions of Africans from Africa 400 years ago, they should be able to kidnap one African woman today. It is nothing but an attempt to bring about the re- incarnation of the Fugitive Slave Act. All I represent is just another slave that they want to bring back to the plantation. Well, I might be a slave, but I will go to my grave a rebellious slave. I am and I feel like a maroon woman. I will never voluntarily accept the condition of slavery, whether it's de-facto or ipso- facto, official, or unofficial. In another recent interview, Williams talked about asking the federal government to add to the $50,000 reward for my capture. He also talked about seeking "outside money, or something like that, a benefactor, whatever." Now who is he looking to "contribute" to that "cause"? The Ku Klux Klan, the Neo Nazi Parties, the white militia organizations? But the plot gets even thicker. He says that the money might lure bounty hunters. "There are individuals out there, I guess they call themselves 'soldiers of fortune' who might be interested in doing something, in turning her over to us" Well, in the old days they used to call them slave- catchers, trackers, or patter-rollers, now they are called mercenaries. Neither the governor nor the state police say one word about "justice." They have no moral authority to do so. The level of their moral and ethical bankruptcy is evident in their eagerness to not only break the law and hire hoodlums, all in the name of "law and order." But you know what gets to me, what makes me truly indignant? With the schools in Paterson, N.J. falling down, with areas of Newark looking like a disaster area, with the crack epidemic, with the wide-spread poverty and unemployment in New Jersey, these depraved, decadent, would-be slave-masters want federal funds to help put this "nigger wench" back in her place. They call me the "most wanted woman" in Amerika. I find that ironic. I've never felt very "wanted" before. When it came to jobs, I was never the "most wanted," when it came to "economic opportunities I was never the "most wanted, when it came to decent housing." It seems like the only time Black people are on the "most wanted" list is when they want to put us in prison. But at this moment, I am not so concerned about myself. Everybody has to die sometime, and all I want is to go with dignity. I am more concerned about the growing poverty, the growing despair that is rife in Amerika. I am more concerned about our younger generations, who represent our future. I am more concerned that one-third of young black are either in prison or under the jurisdiction of the "criminal in-justice system." I am more concerned about the rise of the prison-industrial complex that is turning our people into slaves again. I am more concerned about the repression, the police brutality, violence, the rising wave of racism that makes up the political landscape of the U.S. today. Our young people deserve a future, and I consider it the mandate of my ancestors to be part of the struggle to insure that they have one. They have the right to live free from political repression. The U.S. is becoming more and more of a police state and that fact compels us to fight against political repression. I urge you all, every single person who reads this statement, to fight to free all political prisoners. As the concentration camps in the U.S. turn into death camps, I urge you to fight to abolish the death penalty. I make a special, urgent appeal to you to fight to save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the only political prisoner who is currently on death row. It has been a long time since I have lived inside the United States. But during my lifetime I have seen every prominent black leader, politician or activist come under attack by the establishment media. When African -Americans appear on news programs they are usually talking about sports, entertainment or they are in handcuffs. When we have a protest they ridicule it, minimized it, or cut the numbers of the people who attended in half. The news is big business and it is owned operated by affluent white men. Unfortunately, they shape the way that many people see the world, and even the way people see themselves. Too often black journalists, and other journalists of color mimic their white counterparts. They often gear their reports to reflect the foreign policies and the domestic policies of the same people who are oppressing their people. In the establishment media, the bombing and of murder of thousands of innocent women and children in Libya or Iraq or Panama is seen as "patriotic," while those who fight for freedom, no matter where they are, are seen as "radicals," "extremists," or "terrorists." Like most poor and oppressed people in the United States, I do not have a voice. Black people, poor people in the U.S. have no real freedom of speech, no real freedom of expression and very little freedom of the press. The black press and the progressive media has historically played an essential role in the struggle for social justice. We need to continue and to expand that tradition. We need to create media outlets that help to educate our people and our children, and not annihilate their minds. I am only one woman. I own no TV stations, or Radio Stations or Newspapers. But I feel that people need to be educated as to what is going on, and to understand the connection between the news media and the instruments of repression in Amerika. All I have is my voice, my spirit and the will to tell the truth. But I sincerely ask, those of you in the Black media, those of you in the progressive media, those of you who believe in truth freedom, To publish this statement and to let people know what is happening. We have no voice, so you must be the voice of the voiceless. Free all Political Prisoners, I send you Love and Revolutionary Greetings From Cuba, One of the Largest, Most Resistant and Most Courageous Palenques (Maroon Camps) That has ever existed on the Face of this Planet. Assata Shakur Havana, Cuba Excerpt from Interview with Assata Shakur La Habana Cuba, Fourteenth Youth Festival August 3, 1997, Chris Zim for BLU Q: Where do you think the Movement-the struggle for justice-is heading, and how do you think it could or should go forward? Assata: Well, from my perspective, in the 1960s and 70s we talked at people; we were very narrow; we were sectarian. We relied on rallies, on passing out leaflets, on trying to organize people. This was necessary, but I think, looking back, that now we need to humanize the Movement. We need to be much broader; we need to have a more creative vision that includes other people and other people's needs. We need to include children; we need to make space to help them be part of the social change. At Party meetings the kids were always in the back playing games at the table, and we'd shush them up. We had no time for them! We need to get to know each other as human beings; to care about whether people are having problems at home, in their families, and so on. If we are going to change the world, we need to change ourselves and the way we relate to each other. People are so alienated. They are afraid to say good morning to each other, to say hi, to look at each other in the elevator. It's hell. There's really no community at all. Yet everybody is talking about community. How do you organize community if there is no community there? Social and revolutionary change is not about the faceless masses. It's about community-about learning from each other and listening to each other, because all of us, no matter how experienced we think we are, have a lot to learn. Our primary task is to build community in our homes, in our work places, and in our immediate neighborhoods. That's the only way we will ever achieve true revolution in our society. We've been socialized to believe that unless we see what we do on the 6:00 news, it's not worth it. Forget it. There's been a basic news blackout of worthwhile progressive/alternative stories since 1970! A dog with three ears will make the news, but a gathering of 10,000 for a political rally won't: that's not regarded as a legitimate story. So don't worry about the news. Just keep your sense of opposition alive. Keep talking, and keep organizing. Also, focus on local happenings. I know it's a cliché, but "think globally, act locally" is an important piece of advice. We have to act locally if we're going to be effective. Of course, there's always the problem of splintering, and we need to organize nationally whenever we can. I won't romanticize the sixties, but it does seem that today's rampant individualism is making it harder than ever to organize. Everything is so separate, so contradictory. There's so little discipline. Society teaches us a dog-eat-dog, me-first mentality. And even if we reject that attitude in our politics, if we're honest with ourselves we have to admit that every one of us acts like this at one time or another on a personal level, even if subconsciously. So the first part of being an activist, in my experience, is changing the person in the mirror. You cannot be dogmatic and talk all the time, also as a group. You cannot always be trying to spread your message to other people. You need to listen, you need to learn, you need to appreciate others-also their differences. Oppressed people are wounded people. They're disrespected every day. They may be angry, but you have to listen to them. Some times they're misunderstood because they take out their anger and their indignities on each other, in their families; this happens a lot in our black communities. We need to be healed, also on a spiritual level. In the US this was not a possibility for me, but in Cuba it is. If you're black or poor, the US is a war zone. Cuba is the first place I've been able to live in peace. Q: Is there something that could hold us together? So many people are fighting the same injustices, but they often work against each other. Assata: Work for unity. But avoid uniformity. Look instead for ways to connect. And don't look for unity to shine down like a light from above. Unity is born from within. Not everybody in the world is going to have the same vision. There will always be divisive issues; we won't all be liberated in the same way. But even if we disagree with each other, we need to respect each other's viewpoints. After all, we're all trying to work for a better future. Q: Do you have a message for young people in the US? Assata: Yes. Become more conscious of your identity in the sense of assuming leadership and responsibility. Know your strengths and weaknesses. I'm not saying we need the macho, talking-head type of leadership I saw in the Movement in the 1960s. That had too much to do with the ego and its contradictions. People would say one thing on the podium and then go home and do the opposite. They'd be for freedom in public, but at home they'd be the oppressor-the bourgeoisie. But you have to have confidence. As the '90s started, I was depressed. Seemed it was just going to be the end of one more bloody, oppressive century. But there is hope. And doesn't the next century belong to you? Assata Shakur began her political activities in the 1960s while she was going to school in Manhattan and organizing ac-tivities to oppose the Vietnam War. She joined the Panthers and was targeted by COINTELPRO around the time when NYC’s "Panther 21" were accused of conspiring to blow up downtown department stores. Assata’s house was searched and she was continually harassed. The FBI offered immunity if she would co-operate with them, but she decided to go underground. This resulted in a nationwide manhunt led by the NYC police, the FBI, and the Daily News. There was a reward for her capture, dead or alive. She was wanted for several bank robberies, for which she was eventually tried and acquitted more than once. In May 1973, during a shootout on the New Jersey Turnpike, Assata was shot with her hands in the air and left to die. When the cops realized that she wasn’t dying she was taken to a Jersey hospital. She was chained to the bed, tortured, and denied access to lawyers for many days. After being tried by an all-white jury she was sentenced to life, 30 months, and 30 days. With the help of other anti-imperialist activists she escaped from prison and now lives in exile in Cuba. She firmly believes, as do Mumia and many others, that the US does not have a justice system, but a criminal system. Officer XX [Community Music] Based on the police enquiry of the Stephen Lawrence case. See above on "TH9" to know more about him. "Combat 18" Combat 18 is a neo-nazi paramilitary organisation. [Also read somewhere that 18, or 1 and 8 stands for the letters A and H = Adolf Hitler] Allegations have been made that the British Intelligence services use them as a front for certain activities eg. gun-running in Northern Ireland. Macpherson Macpherson was the presiding judge at the Official public enquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The resulting report of this enquiry also bears his name. A4 A4 is a particular size of paper, it is referred to because, when Mrs Lawrence was seen by the police and presented a page of A4 to them with a list of possible suspects, the paper was crumpled up in front of her while she was being interviewed! BNP BNP = British National Party. Born out of the National Front both far right political parties, that seek election. The term Officer XX was used during the Stephen Lawrence enquiry, to refer to an undercover police officer that intially could not be named in person. Eventually the man's name was revealed. *The info on "Officer XX" was taken from the official ADF-site* Colour Line [Community Music] Featuring Ambalavaner Sivanandan. A. Sivanandan came to Britain from Ceylon in the wake of the race riots of 1958 - and walked straight into the riots of Notting Hill. Since then he has written and lectured extensively on Black and Third World issues. He is the founding editor of the journal 'Race & Class' and director of the Institute of Race Relations in London. 'When Memory Dies', his first novel (1997), was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize and won the Sagittarius Prize. Memory War [Community Music] Collective Mode [Community Music] Taa Deem [Community Music] Remix of a song by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, which has also been released before on "Star Rise", a tribute to Nusrat. ADF describes Nusrat as one of the best singers the world has ever known. He was the greatest exponent of qawalli music-Sufi/Islamic devotional music from Pakistan and Northern India and he was loved and respected by Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs and then by people all over the world. He was always pushing beyond the boundaries of the music and collaborated with musicians globally from widely different cultural and musical backgrounds. Crash [Community Music]