Join the International Action Center at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions

Dear Friends,

We stand at a critical crossroads in the fight to save the life of Mumia  Abu-Jamal and bring an end to the racist, anti-poor death penalty. In the  next five weeks, there will be two mass demonstrations for which we need  to mobilize in full force: at the Republican National Convention in  Philadelphia on August 1, and the Democratic National Convention in Los  Angeles on Sunday, August 13. The International Action Center/Millions  for Mumia is playing a key role in organizing for these crucial  activities.

We urgently need your participation and financial support to make the August  actions as successful as possible! Please take a few moments to read this  letter.

On the West Coast, the focus will be on the Los Angeles march and rally,  which will take place on Sunday, August 13, the day before the Democratic  convention opens. It will be the first of many activities that are scheduled  for that week. August 13th will be the main protest supporting a new  trial for Mumia and opposing the racist and anti-poor death penalty.  While the Republican Bush has executed more than 135 people during his  reign as governor of Texas, the Democrat Gore is also a staunch proponent  of the death penalty. And presiding over the LA convention will be Ed   Rendell, the Democratic Party's national chairman, who was the District  Attorney in Philadelphia when Mumia was railroaded onto death row in  1982.

As you probably know, the IAC/Millions for Mumia has been going all-out  in recent months on these issues. On May 7, we held A Day for Mumia at  Madison Square Garden in New York attended by more than 6,000 people; the  sold-out event has helped to bring Mumia's case into broader public view.  IAC organizer Gloria La Riva spoke about Mumia to over a million Cubans   at the May 1st march in Havana, and a campaign has been launched by Cuba  to defend Mumia and fight against his execution. There was also a  national TV roundtable in Cuba about the cases of Mumia and Shaka  Sankofa, in which IAC organizers Gloria Rubac, Gloria La Riva and Monica  Moorehead, as well as Pam  Africa, Leonard Weinglass and others, participated.

On April 15, we held a march against the Prison-Industrial Complex and  for Mumia in Washington, D.C., as part of actions against the  International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which the police broke up,  arresting 678 people.

Between June 16-22, the IAC organized several protests against the execution  of Shaka Sankofa (Gary Graham) and our New York and San Francisco offices  became mobilizing centers against this atrocity. Over 500,000 people visited  the IAC website within a matter of days. IAC press releases were used by  many activists around the country. The IAC sent activists to Houston and  Huntsville, Texas, with thousands of signs and flyers in support of the   activists there and to protest against this terrible execution.

In New York the IAC organized 1,000 people to protest at the New York  Republican Headquarters. In Palo Alto and Los Angeles, IAC activists infiltrated $1,000-per-person Bush fundraisers, raising signs and voices  demanding that the execution be stopped, while hundreds more protested  outside. These actions received worldwide media coverage, including CNN,   ABC, CBS, the New York and L.A Times. More than 50 IAC activists were  arrested participating in civil disobedience actions against the  execution. Now is the time to intensify the campaign against the death  penalty and to demand a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. In recent weeks,  there has been more   attention and opposition to the death penalty than has been seen in many  decades.  The Illinois moratorium, the Columbia University study showing   that 68% of all death sentences were reversed between 1973-95, and the  fierce though tragically unsuccessful struggle to save Shaka Sankofa,  have contributed to a major shift in public opinion on the death penalty.

In Mumia's case, a federal judge, Stephen Yohn, is currently reviewing Mumia  Abu-Jamal's case. Now could be the turning point.Thousands must go to  Philadelphia and Los Angeles to support Mumia Abu-Jamaland demand an end   to the death penalty.

Madison Square Garden, Washington and the struggle to save the life of Shaka  Sankofa have seriously depleted the IAC/Millions for Mumia resources.  Now, we need to print hundreds of thousands of flyers and posters, send  out mass mailings, pay phone bills, and still keep paying our rent. We  have organizers -- young and not-so-young -- who are willing to go to Los Angeles   and Philadelphia to build the mobilization there. But all this costs  money, money we don't presently have.

Many of you have contributed in the past. Now we make an urgent appeal TO  YOU to send as generous a donation as possible! We can MAKE THE  DIFFERENCE with your support.

Thanks and we hope to see you in Philadelphia or Los Angeles,

Pam Africa  Martin Espada  Geronimo ji Jaga   Ramsey Clark  Bishop Thomas Gumbleton  Gloria La Riva  Monica Moorehead   John Parker  Luis Talamantez  Rev. Lucius Walker Jr.  Preston Wood