POLITICAL PRISONER UPDATE: SUNDIATA ACOLI

I am going to do my best to make friday the day to remember political prisoners...at least, here at Scission.  Of course, every day should be a day to remember them and work for their release.  Political prisoners are our brothers and sisters  left behind by a movement that either too often has or wants to forget them. Fortunately, there are there wonderful souls who have always fought for them and who have devoted their time, energy, their lives to them, as well.


 You may not agree with everything they say, think, or have done, but they are of us all who have struggled for justice.  Speaking as a person who once was locked up in prison himself, I chastise myself and all of us for not doing enough to help and support these men and women.  Those of us who have been locked away and then released realize that a part of us remains back in prison with those who are still there.  Those who have never faced prison should know that it could have been you.  Today I will introduce you to Sundiata Acoli who has been in prison for nearly forty years.  Some of you may know that last year Sundiata was again denied parole and then the Board decided, what the hell, and added on another ten years.


The biography and update you find below are from Sundiati Acoli.org


Read them.  Do something to help. 

Sundiata Acoli

Sundiata Acoli (born in 1939, as Clark Edward Squire), a New Afrikan political prisoner of war, mathematician, and computer analyst, was born January 14, 1937, in Decatur, Texas, and raised in Vernon, Texas. He graduated from Prairie View A & M College of Texas in 1956 with a B.S. in mathematics and for the next 13 years worked for various computer-oriented firms, mostly in the New York area.


During the summer of 1964 he did voter registration work in Mississippi. In 1968 he joined the Harlem Black Panther Party and did community work around issues of schools, housing, jobs, child care, drugs, and police brutality.


In 1969 he and 13 others were arrested in the Panther 21 conspiracy case. He was held in jail without bail and on trial for two years before being acquitted, along with all other defendants, by a jury deliberating less than two hours.


Upon release, FBI intimidation of potential employers shut off all employment possibilities in the computer profession and stepped-up COINTELPRO harassment, surveillance, and provocations soon drove him underground.


In May 1973, while driving the New Jersey Turnpike, he and his comrades were ambushed by N.J. state troopers. One companion, Zayd Shakur, was killed, another companion, Assata Shakur, was wounded and captured. One state trooper was killed and another wounded, and Sundiata was captured days later.


After a highly sensationalized and prejudicial trial he was convicted of the death of the state trooper and was sentenced to Trenton State Prison (TSP) for life plus 30 years consecutive.


Upon entering TSP he was subsequently confined to a new and specially created Management Control Unit (MCU) solely because of his political background. He remained in MCU almost five years, … let out of the cell only ten minutes a day for showers and two hours twice a week for recreation.


In September 1979, the International Jurist interviewed Sundiata and subsequently declared him a political prisoner. A few days later prison officials secretly transferred him during the middle of the night to the federal prison system and put him en route to the infamous federal concentration camp at Marion, Illinois, although he had no federal charges or sentences. Marion is one of the highest security prisons in the U.S., also one of the harshest, and there Sundiata was locked down 23 hours a day …. In July 1987 he was transferred to the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas.


In the fall of 1992, Sundiata became eligible for parole. He was not permitted to attend his own parole hearing and was only allowed to participate via telephone from USP Leavenworth. Despite an excellent prison work, academic and disciplinary record, despite numerous job offers in the computer profession, and despite thousands of letters on his behalf, Sundiata was denied parole. Instead, at the conclusion of a 20 minute telephone hearing, he was given a 20-year hit, the longest hit in New Jersey history, which dictates that he must do at least 12 more years before coming up for parole again.


The Parole Board’s stated reason for the 20-year hit was Sundiata’s membership in the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army prior to his arrest, the receipt of hundreds of “Free Sundiata” form letters that characterized him as a New Afrikan Prisoner of War, and the feeling that the punitive aspects of his sentence had not been satisfied and that rehabilitation was not sufficiently achieved. The real reason for the 20-year hit is to attempt to force Sundiata to renounce his political beliefs and to proclaim to the world that he was wrong to struggle for the liberation of his people.


Write Sundiata Acoli:Sundiata Acoli #39794-066 (Squire)
P.O. Box 1000
FCI Otisville
Otisville, NY 10963-1000

---------------------------------------------------------

10/2011 SUNDIATA ACOLI FREEDOM CAMPAIGN UPDATE

PLEASE SUPPORT!

From: Sis. Fayemi

Many of you know, after serving over 38 years in prison, former Black Panther member Sundiata Acoli was denied parole for the third time on March 4, 2010. But he was also given a ten year hit by the New Jersey State Parole Board.  Last December, an administrative appeal was denied by the NJ Parole Board and a letter affirming the denial of Sundiata’s parole was received.

Considering Sundiata’s age and his right to freedom, Sundiata’s legal team is focused on pursuing his appellate remedies through the courts, seeking to appeal his repeated denial of parole. His legal team has expanded over the years and currently in the process of raising the 10 thousand dollars needed to file the appeal.

The good news is, the Appellate Court is ready to set a briefing deadline in spite of the State’s improper delays and callous disregard for Sundiata’s rights. Keep in mind, Sundiata will be 74 years old in January.

People who are interested in the parole and release efforts should contact SAFC @ thesafc@gmail.com to inquire about ways to assist us with this urgent fundraising need. We believe the film, A Power Sun, is important and should be supported. Monies raised on Sundiata’s behalf should go towards his appeal. We still believe that he can and will receive his freedom with the right support.

The SAFC is a 501c3 organization. All contributions go directly towards Sundiata’s legal fees. Volunteers of SAFC are not paid and do not request or receive any of the contributed funds.

If you would like to write Sundiata please send your letters to:

Sundiata Acoli (#39794-066)
(Squire)
P.O. Box 1000
FCI Otisville
Otisville, NY 10963-1000

Funds supporting his legal defense can be sent to:

FLORENCE MORGAN
120-46 QUEENS BLVD.
KEW GARDENS, NEW YORK 11415

(Florence Morgan has served as one of Sundiata’s legal advisors for over 10 years and is the Chairperson of the New York City Chapter of the National Conference of Black Lawyers)

Checks and money orders should be made out to The Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign

To all those who continute to show love and support to Sundiata and all political prisoners, here’s my favorite poem I share with you…

Like You

(a poem by Roque Dalton, a Salvadorian poet and guerilla fighter for freedom in the 60s and 70s. He was killed for revolution.)

Like you I

love love, life, the sweet smell

of things, the sky blue

landscape of January days.

And my blood boils up

and I laugh through eyes

that have known the buds of tears

I believe the world is beautiful

and that poetry, like bread, is for everyone.

And that my veins don’t end in me

but in the unanimous blood

of those who struggle for life,

love,

little things,

landscape and bread,

the poetry of everyone

Love & Respect.