Tour Stop at Baylor U in Waco, TX!

Read this article in the Baylor University newspaper, The Lariat, about the recent tour stop on that campus featuring Alan Bean and Mark Osler!

Bay Area tour stop a great success!

The Bay Area tour stop of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty national speaking tour, "Lynching Then, Lynching Now," was a great success! We were honored to have Lawrence Hayes join us from New York. We kicked off his trip to the Bay Area by having Jack Bryson and Lawrence on the KPFA Flashpoints show (you can listen here: http://kpfa.org/archive/id/59610 - the last 20 minutes of the show). They also stopped by a meeting of All of Us Or None, discussing the "gang injunctions" and met up with great activists, including Sister Beatrice.

On Wednesday, March 24th, Lawrence spoke at two classes at Merritt College, where the Black Panthers started, and was able to have an engaging discussion with the students and with chair of African-American studies, Dr. Siri Brown. That evening, our main tour stop event, drew 50 people at Laney College, another community college in Oakland. The speakers were: Lawrence Hayes, Barbara Becnel, Kevin Cooper (calling in live, from death row), Jack Bryson and Jabari Shaw of the Laney College Black Student Union, moderated by Michelle Simon of the CEDP. The speakers used the theme of the tour to analyze and discuss the history of racism and of fighting racism, and racism today/struggles against racism, the death penalty and the criminal (in)justice system.

Lawrence Hayes spoke about the history of lynching in this country, and the audience heard his peronal and powerful story.
Barbara Becnel spoke about what it is to be "on the front line" of this struggle, how coming to the event and learning about these issues is the first step to being on the front line. Jack Bryson picked up on this theme and talked about how CEDP joined with him in his fight for justice for Oscar Grant so how could he not be on the front line against the death penalty and for freedom for Kevin Cooper. Kevin called in from San Quentin, and made connections between his struggle, the fight against education cuts, and many other issues. The audience got to ask great questions to Kevin. One audience member, after the event came to a close, asked us to deliver a message to Kevin: she said to tell him "he is beautiful, innocent and must be freed." Jabari Shaw gave a passionate speech about racism, fighting racism and bringing our social justice movements togethers. We were also fortunate to have a recorded message from Mumia Abu Jamal. If you are interested in having a copy of the recorded message to play at a tour stop event, contact Crystal at crystal@nodeathpenalty.org.

The CEDP worked with the Kevin Cooper Defense Committee, the Laney International Socialist Organization, the Laney Black Student Union, and the Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia Abu Jamal. We met a lot of great activists, community members, and students. We hope to build on the success of the tour and continue our fights for justice for Kevin Cooper and the other issues we are working on today.

Report from Champaign-Urbana Tour Stop.

A multi-racial standing-room only crowd of 70 people packed a classroom in Gregory Hall at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Feb. 24 to hear from Marvin Reeves and Mark Clements, two victims of Chicago police frame-ups who were both released last summer after nearly 50 combined years behind bars for crimes they did not commit. Marvin spoke of being snatched away from his several children in the middle of the night more than 21 years ago based on testimony from a jailhouse snitch, while Mark spoke of his severe beating and subsequent confession at the hands of Chicago police, which at age 16 led to a life without parole sentence. “Speaking here to you all is like therapy,” Marvin said. “When I see all of you here, I know there are a lot of people out there who care. When you’re in prison, you forget that.”

Brian Dolinar, an organizer from Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice, and Marlene Martin, with the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, rounded out the panel. Brian spoke of the Champaign police’s murder of unarmed 15-year-old Kiwane Carrington, the struggle to win justice for Kiwane’s family, and the campaign to get charges dropped against Kiwane’s friend, Jeshaun Manning, who was at the scene. As Brian said, “There’s the lynching of Kiwane Carrington. But now there’s the legal lynching of Jeshaun Manning that we’re fighting to stop too.”

Marlene spoke of the racism at the root of all of these cases of injustice. “We may no longer hang people from trees. But now, those who do the lynching have traded in white robes for black ones”, she said.

During the discussion, many people asked about what they could do to fight for justice. Activists circulated petitions to drop the charges against Jeshaun Manning, and many people stayed well after the meeting was over to talk to the panelists and network with each other. The Champaign-Urbana tour stop was sponsored by Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice, the International Socialist Organization and the Prairie Greens.

Contributed by Julien Ball at University of Illinois.

Howard Zinn and Sandra Reed

Sandra Reed is the mother of Texas death row prisoner Rodney Reed, a case the CEDP in Austin and nationally has worked on for years. Sandra recently spoke at the Lynching Then, Lynching Now Tour stop in Austin, Texas about how racism played a part in the wrongful conviction of her son.

Sandra Reed sits on the CEDP's national board and has attended our annual convention in Chicago for many years, always as a featured speaker. The way she conveys her family's story with such power and emotion never fails to affect people profoundly.

This year Sandra had the pleasure of sharing the stage with renowned left historian Howard Zinn on the Saturday night of the CEDP convention. Before the big evening event, Sandra and a few other speakers went to dinner with Howard. Sandra sat next to Howard and they spoke of her son's case, and the justice system in general.

When she asked him to sign her copy of the New Abolitionist, he obliged, but told her he'd like to send her a book he wrote that he thought she would enjoy. Being a pretty modest person, Sandra couldn't believe he would do that for her, but she gave him her address right there at dinner.

Just one week after she returned from Chicago, Sandra received a package from Howard. In it was a slim volume he wrote called Uncommon Sense - a collection of writings and speeches over the decades that reveal his philosophy about history, politics, law, culture, activism and the fight for a better world.

The book Sandra received was inscribed:

For Sandra Reed, and Rodney too
People of Courage –-
Howard Zinn, Nov. 2009

Sandra was so surprised and touched by this thoughtful act! She reciprocated with a Christmas card in December, and was so happy that she had because just a few months later, she heard of Howard's death. Her son Rodney wrote from prison to tell her of Howard's passing.

Though the news brought her to tears, Sandra said that she was so grateful to have met Howard when she did, to share in dinner, to share the speakers platform and to share her story and have him remember her and her son's fight.

As far as Rodney's case goes, racism played a huge role in his conviction. You can read a little about his case here:

http://nodeathpenalty.org/content/factsheets.php?category=cedp&factsheet_id=10

Also check out auschron.com and search Rodney Reed for extensive coverage of this case over the years.