Nzingha Shakur-Ali: "my blood is a million stories..."

From:    "Political Prisoner News" <ppnews@freedomarchives.org>
Date:    Sun, November 29, 2009

From Facebook

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 3:08pm
sitting here thinking and wanted to share...

my dad goes before the parole board december 2nd. thinking about my
family and the families of other political prisoners and freedom
fighters around the world. thinking about you especially, kamel. i am
SO truly blessed to come from the family i do. the hearn clan. the shakur
clan.

it's a different way of life in many ways, being children of
revolutionaries. our parents fought, were imprisoned, were exiled,
and died fighting for basic human equality; and all the while growing
us in the discipline and knowledge, love and respect for not only our
people, but for all people. we think differently; we see the world
differently.

i was thinking about the last time i saw mutulu. it's a harsh
reminder to me when i think about the fact that i've never known my
dad in any other context outside of prison, even back to my first
memory. his every entrance into my life since i can remember has
always been the same...coming from behind those steel bars, he stops
so the officer can take of the chains. i've never seen him for more
than 4-5 hours at a time. you only get so many hours of visitation.
i've never seen him standing in the sunlight, never seen him standing
in grass; i've never seen him in anything other than a prison uniform.

we've never had a phone conversation that wasn't recorded, written
letters that weren't read before it reached his hands, or given hugs
that weren't closely watched. i've shared every intimate moment with
him, with someone else. he's never been able to see all of his
children together at once, and now that pac has passed away he'll
never be able too.

now mutulu is in florence, colorado. the #1 maximum security prison
in the united states. "also known as the ADMAX, Supermax, or The
Alcatraz of the Rockies, ADX houses the prisoners who are deemed the
most dangerous and in need of the tightest control. it is the highest
level security federal prison in the united states, and generally
considered the most secure prison in the world. individuals are kept
for at least 23 hours each day in solitary confinement." that means
he gets 1 hour, by himself, outside his cell in a heavily guarded
area. all of our visits are behind glass and he often handcuffed.

these things come to mind as his parole hearing draws near. they have
and continue to do everything the possibly can to keep him in prison.
long and short: after denying him his first parole hearing in 1996
with no just cause (as stated by a court) the parole board ignored
the recommendation to give him due process and waited 6 years to
convene. in 2002 the parole board finally convened, denied him parole
and stated that they would not allow him to come before the parole
board for another 15 years. because his first parole hearing was
legal set for 1996, a 15 year hit would mean he was able to come
before the parole board again in 2011, but as the parole board
refused to acknowledge the 6 year false delay (again, as stated by
the court), he will not be able to come before the parole board until
2017. his upcoming parole hearing is a fight for due process and his
right to come before the parole board and fight for his freedom in 2011.

as "thanksgiving" draws near, i am humbled by those who, like mutulu,
saw their difficult path before them and even still chose to stand
and fight, rather than lay down and continue to be enslaved. freedom
fighters ALL OVER THE WORLD. many of them will not be able to sit
down and have dinner with their families, will not be able to tuck
their children in at night, and will not be able to hold the ones
they love as they fall asleep.

yet they are fighting for our right to do so.

this thanksgiving, i give thanks for the people who fought and are
still fighting for freedom and equality.
i give honor to the indigenous people of this country who are still
fighting for their basic rights on their own land.
i give remembrance to who i am and where i come from. a people who's
blood runs deep in the earth of this country.

...and i pray, so very hard, that we continue to move forward as a
GLOBAL community, in love.

my blood? is a million stories. FREE 'EM ALL.

peace.


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