M1 of Dead Prez & POCC Interviews Mumia Abu-Jamal for the Block Report

Mumia Abu-Jamal's Radio Broadcasts

Higher Quality Audio files available info@prisonradio.org

Copyright 2008 Mumia Abu-Jamal/Prison Radio

1) 11:40 Radio essay MP3

Prisoners of Conscience Committee Minister of Culture M1, also known
for his work with the legendary rap group dead prez, interviewed
prolific journalist and political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal about two
weeks ago. A lot of people wonder what Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El
Shabazz) and Sam Cooke talked about when they were with Muhammad Ali the
night that he won his first professional title bout against Sonny
Liston, or what Huey P. Newton and Richard Pryor talked about when they
used to hang out at parties.

This was an unscripted conversation between one of the most
revolutionary voices in the media today, that being the “voice of the
voiceless” Mumia Abu Jamal, talking to one of rap music’s most
revolutionary voices, M1. What makes M1 and Mumia different from Malcolm
and Sam or Huey and Richard is that in their cases, Malcolm and Huey
were the organizers, while Sam was a talented singer and Richard was a
legendary comedian.

In this case, although M1 is a rapper and Mumia is a journalist, both
have long histories of organizing in the Black community. M1 is
currently with the Prisoners of Conscience Committee, and Mumia Abu
Jamal is a former member of the Black Panther Party. Check out what
these two veterans of our struggle talked about, when they finally met
for the first time, through some phone lines. – Minister of Information JR

M1: This is M1, the People’s Advocate, one-half of dead prez and the
Minister of Culture of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee signing in
for Block Report Radio, and I am proud and honored to be on the phone
today with Mumia Abu Jamal, the voice of our people and the voice inside
our struggle behind enemy lines. I got a few questions today, and I
can’t wait. I’m honored to be talking to you here today. How are you
feeling?

Mumia: Good, brother, the honor is also mine. I know of you, not
musically but politically, and this is good enough for me.

M1: Good, good. I want to jump right in. A partner of mine, Rosa
Clemente, and I often talk about the concept of media justice, and you
as the voice of our people’s resistance, what information do you feel is
the most pertinent in these days of distraction, i.e. Republican versus
Democrat? What is the most important thing that we need to know?

Mumia: The most important thing that we need to know right now is it
doesn’t matter who gets elected, honestly. I know people heard that
years ago when Ralph Nader was running, but I mean in the grand scheme
of things, because what we are talking about is differences of degree.
We’re talking about two imperial presidents, you know? One will be a
pretty brown face, a pretty brown young face even. One will be a less
pretty old white face. But essentially what they are talking about is
imperialism. So what people need to understand and really really need to
get is that they should demand through their actions ...

THIS CALL IS FROM THE STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION SCI GREENE, AND IS
SUBJECT TO MONITORING AND RECORDING.

Mumia: They should demand through their activities in the streets and
everywhere else what kind of system they want and what they oppose. If
they feel that everything is honkey-dory if you get a Black president,
then they’ll be just like the people in Philadelphia who believed that
everything was great when they got a Black mayor. It really doesn’t
matter what color someone is, it matters ... what their mind is like,
what they are thinking about – if they are in support of empire or
really in support of democracy.

If you think about this war that we are in the middle of, in order for
this war to happen, the government had to ignore not just millions of
people in the United States but millions of people, tens of millions of
people all around the world in some of the biggest demonstrations in the
history of the world. So we’re talking about an anti-democratic system.
And that can only be changed, not by that system, but by the people.

M1: Good, well, going forward I would like say that yesterday we
celebrated African Liberation Day, and that’s in the memory of Kwame
Ture, and also remembering Malcolm X and his birthday just passed, we
see the importance of great organizers who were able to galvanize the
best that our people could give to our struggle and to our movement. And
also we see the importance of organization. What is your vision of the
organization that will defeat imperialism worldwide?

Mumia: Well, it has to be a global organization. By that I mean the new
name of imperialism in the 21st century is really globalization. And
when you think about that, when you read about that, when you study
about that, globalization really means the globalization of capital. You
don’t hear people talking about the globalization of labor. But you know
that working people all over the world have more in common with each
other than they have with their own so-called leaders or the rulers, the
ruling class that is of those societies.

So people should globalize resistance. And that means talking across
cultures, learning other languages. It’s easier now in the age of the
internet than it was 30 years ago, but it is still necessary, you see?
Because we need to break through these illusions that the media puts in
people’s heads. I mean, there are millions of people who hate people
that they have never met.

If you mention the name of the president of Venezuela or the president
of Iran, people will base their hatred on stuff that they heard on the
news. And more likely than not, it was erroneous exaggerations or just
straight up lies. Why should people hate someone that they don’t know
based on misinformation? You could only do that if you know the role of
the media in a capitalist society, which is to support the rule of the
rulers, you see?

M1: Great, it’s so much to learn. I’m so happy to be soaking this up.

THIS CALL IS FROM THE STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION SCI GREENE AND IS
SUBJECT TO MONITORING AND RECORDING.

You could hear this interview in its entirety at Block Report Radio -
Home. Email POCC Minister of Information JR at
blockreportradio@gmail.com - Home, hiphopwarreport.com and
myspace.com/blockreportfilm.

The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia!

PLEASE CONTACT:
International Concerned Family & Friends of MAJ
P.O. Box 19709
Philadelphia, PA 19143
Phone - 215-476-8812/ Fax - 215-476-6180
E-mail - icffmaj@aol.com
AND OFFER YOUR SERVICES!

Send our brotha some LOVE and LIGHT at:
Mumia Abu-Jamal
AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370

WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM CAN *NOT* REST!!

Submitted by: Sis. Marpessa

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[Check out Mumia's latest: *WE WANT FREEDOM:
A Life in the Black Panther Party*, from South
End Press (http://www.southendpress.org); Ph.
#1-800-533-8478.]

"When a cause comes along and you know in your bones that it is
just, yet refuse to defend it--at that moment you begin to die.
And I have never seen so many corpses walking around talking about
justice." - Mumia Abu-Jamal

For additional information and to order Mumia's new book We Want Freedom,

visit: southendpress.org

Check out Mumia's NEW book:
"Faith of Our Fathers: An Examination of the Spiritual Life of African and African-American People" at www.africanworld.com