(Reviewed by JD Jung)
#CommissionsEarned
“The unity of the people is the greatest weapon against the silence, fear, and oppression imposed by the system.”
“…organizing makes a difference, protest has impact; for without the pressure of protest, there would be no counterforce against bigotry in American society.”
Mumia Abu-Jamal wrote these words in 1999 and 2012, respectively. He studied the history and current state of social justice in the United States in his collection of essays, Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?. These were written from 1998 through 2016 while serving a life term.
He challenges the history that we are taught and not taught. In fact, I was not aware of some historic events such as “The Christiana Resistance” which took place on September 11, 1851. I didn’t just take Abu Jamal’s word on these events; I subsequently researched them.
We are reminded of instances where police shot unarmed teens as well as the killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and others killed without due process. He also goes into the history of slave patrols and their similarity to the police.
He gives examples of how the criminal justice system is tainted throughout the country (including the FBI) and how laws are not administered equally. Jurors can often be manipulated, and appellate courts corrupted. And how was justice not served for the murder of Trayvon Martin?
There is so much in this book, that I can’t even scratch the surface here. However, I do want to note the essay, “Words vs. Deeds” written in 2015. Here he asks which is worse: racist words or racist actions? The example given is when a chapter of Fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon was suspended, and some members expelled after they were filmed singing a racist song. Abu-Jamal felt a better way to handle the situation was for the university to mandate that these offenders attend a history class of the roots of social injustice.
Though Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? was published in 2017, it is very timely. At only 144 pages, I can’t say that it is a quick read. It will initiate one to further research the history provided and really think about social injustice and our vision for the future
