The Longest Walk 2 is a peaceful, educational and spiritual effort to engage with the public about restoring harmony with the environment by leading an effort to clean up the lands surrounding our highways. We are launching The Clean Up Mother Earth Campaign where our Longest Walk participants will work together to clean up our country's highways and roads by collecting debris found along the Longest Walk route. This monumental task will engage Walkers in a global effort at a grassroots level to promote harmony with our delicate environment.

We take up this task to walk in a manner befitting our nations. We shall walk for the Seventh Generation, for peace, for justice, for healing of Mother Earth, for the healing of our people.

We are Cleaning Up Mother Earth mile-by-mile, village-to-village, city-to-city, state-to-state and shore-to-shore from Alcatraz Island to Washington, D.C. Through the elements of the seasons, we shall walk through the rain, snow, over mountains, high winds, through the heat and cold, nothing shall deter us from completing our mission: All Life is Sacred, Protect Sacred Sites. Let those who doubt, hear our pledge. Let those who believe, join our ranks. As we walk the final miles, by our side will be elders, families, children, people of all races, from many walks of life, the old and the new America.

Local Itinerary

• *June 27: Bedford to Carlisle ----- Interstate 76
• *June 28: Carlisle to Harrisburg ----- Interstate 76
• *June 29-July 3:---Rest Days- Harrisburg
• *June 29: Benefit Concert; 1-3pm; Daily Grind Café;5103 Carlisle Pk, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050; 717-763-7000
• *July 4-5: Harrisburg to York ----- Interstate 83 South
• *July 6-7:York to Towson -----Interstate 83 South
• *July 8-10 Towson to Baltimore ----- Interstate 83 South
• *July 11 The Longest Walk 2 Arrives Washington D.C. ----- Highway 1 South

Please help to support the walkers in their sacrifice to bring action and awareness to us all.

*We will make sure the walkers are fed while they are in our area. Please donate money, food and if possible, your time by attending the benefit concert 6/29 and/or any day between 6/29-7/11.

Local Contact:
The Circle Legacy Organization: thecirclelegacy@aol.com     717-823-2079

Can the Media Continue to Ignore "The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal"?

by Hans Bennett

Abu-Jamal-News.com

Despite an important NY Times article written on the day of "The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal"'s release in May, the mainstream media has virtually ignored this powerful new book which argues in painstaking detail that Abu-Jamal is innocent and that the actual shooter of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner was a man named Kenneth Freeman. The one exception to this media blackout was an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Milan Simonich. Instead of ignoring it like the rest of the mainstream media, Simonich chose to dishonestly present the book, contending that O'Connor "is guilty of writing the sloppiest, most one-sided crime book of the year," by mixing "recycled conspiracy theories with his own sweeping pronouncements, most devoid of fact."

To learn more about "Framing" and the meticulous arguments made by O'Connor, you can watch my video-interview with him at Philadelphia City Hall on the day of the book's release (PARTS 1, 2, and 3) and read my text-interview with him a few weeks before that, which focused on how exactly the frame-up happened, Kenneth Freeman, the March 27 court ruling, and Frank Rizzo's legacy.

For irrefutable evidence of mainstream media bias against the world famous death-row journalist considered by many to be a political prisoner, just compare this coverage of "Framing" to last December's release of "Murdered By Mumia," written by Michael Smerconish and Maureen Faulkner. The attention was massive and almost uniformly absent of any serious questioning of the book's assertion that Abu-Jamal received a fair trial and that the evidence of his guilt is clear-cut. The Philadelphia Inquirer actually featured three days worth of excerpts from "Murdered," but would not even mention any of the criticism of the book from Abu-Jamal's supporters.

On December 4, two days before the book's release, Journalists for Mumia organized a press conference to present our side of the story, arguing that Abu-Jamal did not receive a fair trial, and that there is evidence of his innocence that the court needs to consider. Along with a presentation of the newly discovered crime scene photos, our event featured Pam Africa (of The International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal) and local journalists Linn Washington Jr, David Love, and David Lindorff who passionately argued for the legitimacy of the new photos as an important story deserving of media coverage, which they argued was just one more reason that Abu-Jamal needs a new trial. Despite my personal invitation to every Philadelphia media outlet I could find, not one single reporter from the local mainstream media covered our event. The only mainstream coverage came from British journalist Jon Hurdle of Reuters.

Hurdle's article was the very first mainstream report of the new crime scene photos, and his article was cited the following week on Philadelphia's NPR show "Radio Times," and in an uncharacteristic Philadelphia Weekly article, which challenged Smerconish and Faulkner's argument that the Abu-Jamal/Faulkner case is "open and shut". While not cited directly on the controversial Dec. 6 Today Show, by co-host Matt Lauer, Hurdle's article almost certainly helped persuade The Today Show to air the photos and therefore become the first television show to even acknowledge them (WATCH THE SHOW ONLINE).

By asking Faulkner and Smerconish challenging questions and accurately representing what Abu-Jamal supporters were saying about the photos, Lauer and The Today Show became the clear exception to the rule. As a result, right-wing media critics went crazy with outrage, and both Faulkner and Smerconish publicly vented their anger at Lauer, particularly for his last question to Faulkner: "Maureen, when you're ever, when you're alone, when you're alone with your thoughts at night, when you even see pictures of the protest like the one we have across the street, does it ever cross your mind that perhaps they're right? Do you ever allow yourself to consider the fact that perhaps he didn't do this?"

Following The Today Show, I frantically sent personal emails to all of the same mainstream media folks (both local and national) that I invited to our Dec.4 press conference, and said: "Hey, this story of the crime scene photos is getting even more credibility! Isn't this news now? Isn't it only fair to present the opinions of Abu-Jamal's supporters alongside those of Faulkner and Smerconish?" To top this off, I told the media about the slideshow presentation of the photos I would be giving on Dec. 8, for which I had contracted the use of the photos so that the media could film the event and therefore feature the photos on their news program. Guess what? Not one reporter showed up!

If these December events are not proof enough of the media's inexcusable bias, just compare this to the abhorrent treatment of "The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal". Faulkner, Smerconish, and other advocates of Abu-Jamal's execution constantly say to "read the transcripts" for clear evidence of a fair trial and Abu-Jamal's guilt. Now, here is a book that is based almost entirely on the court transcripts, but the author argues that these transcripts reveal a frame-up of a factually innocent man! This is not published by a leftist Abu-Jamal support group, but rather by an established publishing house. The most basic notions of journalistic fairness demand that "Framing" be given equal coverage, so that the public can hear both side of the debate and decide for themselves what they think of this case

This media blackout of "Framing" is even more scandalous following the May 2 NY Times article by Jon Hurdle, who also wrote the Dec.4 Reuters article. Being recognized in the NY Times should have been an impetus for more coverage by other media outlets, but instead, the mainstream media was uniformly silent until the dishonest May 18 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Milan Simonich. Immediately after reading the article that day, I submitted this "letter to the editor," but it was not published:

----------

Milan Simonich "is guilty of writing the sloppiest, most one-sided" book review "of the year." This dishonest review (5/18) gives further credibility to author J. Patrick O'Connor's allegation of mainstream media bias against death-row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal.

As detailed in an interview at Abu-Jamal-News.com, O'Connor does not "ignore the prosecution’s side of the story." He doesn’t interview either the prosecution or defense. Instead, he relies entirely on the court transcripts and a few mainstream news articles to argue that the actual shooter of PO Daniel Faulkner was a man named Kenneth Freeman (who was mysteriously found dead the day after the infamous May 13, 1985 police bombing of MOVE). This transcript-based approach is powerful, because Abu-Jamal's critics always say to "read the transcripts" for proof of a fair 1982 trial and Abu-Jamal’s guilt.

Simonich writes that O'Connor ignores/downplays Abu-Jamal’s alleged "hospital confession." Actually, this alleged confession is central to the book’s "frame-up" thesis, because he (like Amnesty International) sees it as an obvious fraud. The "witnesses" allegedly forgot about the confession for over 2 months! While a hospital security guard did testify at the 82 trial that she immediately reported it to her supervisor, the trial was the very first time she mentioned this report, and she actually disavowed the alleged written (and unsigned) report that the prosecution presented in court. Further, her supervisor was never called to testify!

Sounds fishy, huh? This is just one part of the obvious frame-up that O'Connor exposes.

----------

Then, a few days after writing the Post-Gazette, I wrote this letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer, which was also not published:

----------

I am disappointed that The Inquirer has yet to acknowledge the new book "The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal," by J. Patrick O'Connor. Just released by Chicago Review Press, it has been featured by The NY Times, and at my website, Abu-Jamal-News.com.

Advocates of Abu-Jamal's execution always say to 'read the transcripts' for proof of a fair 1982 trial and Abu-Jamal's guilt. However, O'Connor cites the trial transcripts to argue that police framed Abu-Jamal, and that the actual shooter of Officer Faulkner was a man named Kenneth Freeman, who was mysteriously found dead in a Northeast lot (reportedly naked, gagged, hand-cuffed, and with a drug needle in his arm) the day after the infamous May 13, 1985 police bombing of MOVE.

When Maureen Faulkner and Michael Smerconish released 'Murdered by Mumia' in December, The Inquirer featured three days of book excerpts, and more. In the interest of fairness and balance shouldn’t 'Framing' be featured in at least one substantive article?

I do applaud The Inquirer’s publication of the April 2 editorial by author Dave Lindorff titled “The Mumia Exception” that criticized the March 27 court decision denying Abu-Jamal a new guilt-phase trial. Please extend this same fairness to coverage of “Framing.”

----------

To recap, when "Murdered By Mumia" was released in December, the book received major coverage both locally and nationally. Almost uniformly, the coverage was uncritical and the book's critics were ignored. When "The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal" was released in May, it was virtually ignored. Can the bias be more obvious?

On Monday, J. Patrick O'Connor kicked off his East Coast book tour with an appearance on the Washington DC, Pacifica Radio show "Jazz and Justice" (LISTEN HERE) and a book-signing event at Baruch College in New York City. Tuesday night, he is appearing at The Brecht Forum alongside Pam and Ramona Africa. Wednesday, he comes to Philadelphia for an event organized by Journalists for Mumia. The San Francisco Bay Area is now preparing for a similar tour this Fall.

The question now before us is whether or not the mainstream media can continue their shameful behavior in reporting on the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. A century ago, the journalist and former slave, Frederick Douglass said that "power concedes nothing". Therefore, it is up to us to confront the mainstream media and demand that they stop ignoring this important new book. When we flexed our power last December, and wrote NBC's Today Show to ensure fairness, we were rewarded with a stunning victory. Please help today by urging the national media, as well as our local media outlets, to report on this important book.

--Hans Bennett is a Philadelphia multi-media journalist, and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia Abu-Jamal, whose website is Abu-Jamal-News.com. Be sure and check the website for coverage of J. Patrick O'Connor's presentation in Philadelphia on June 25.

Breaking Down the Far Right’s Attacks on Michelle Obama

Color of Law
By David A. Love
BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board
June 19, 2008

Are the spouses of the presidential candidates fair game? Republican presidential candidate John McCain - as well as McCain surrogates at Fox News and elsewhere - seems to think they are open for attack, particularly when they are Black.

The Far Right decided to wage warfare against Michelle Obama after she stated in a Feb. 18, 2008 speech in Wisconsin that “for the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.”

The next day, Cindy McCain, wife of John McCain, took time from her busy schedule of plagiarizing recipes to attack Michelle Obama’s statement. This, despite the rule that people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. “I am proud of my country. I don’t know about you? If you heard those words earlier, I am very proud of my country,” Mrs. McCain said while introducing her husband to a crowd in Wisconsin. Sen. McCain reiterated, “I just wanted to make the statement that I have and always will be proud of my country.”

Taking cues from their candidate, McCain’s shadow campaign staff at Fox News fell in line and proceeded with racist and sexist attacks against Michelle Obama.

The attacks have relied on three stereotypes about African Americans. The first is the image of the angry, uppity Black woman. Fox host Bill O’Reilly, in a discussion with a listener about Mrs. Obama as an angry and militant woman, suggested that Mrs. Obama should be lynched:

O’REILLY: I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that's how she really feels - that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever - then that's legit. We'll track it down.

During a June 14, 2008 discussion about Michelle Obama, Fox News commentator Cal Thomas said:

THOMAS: Look at the image of angry black women on television. Politically you have Maxine Waters of California, liberal Democrat. She's always angry every time she gets on television. Cynthia McKinney, another angry black woman. And who are the black women you see on the local news at night in cities all over the country. They're usually angry about something. They've had a son who has been shot in a drive-by shooting. They are angry at Bush. So you don't really have a profile of non-angry black women.

The second component of the McCain-GOP-Fox race card strategy against Michelle Obama is the offensive image of the “baby mama.” On June 11, Fox News displayed the words “OUTRAGED LIBERALS: STOP PICKING ON OBAMA’S BABY MAMA” several times while on-air. I decided to consult Urban Dictionary for a definition of baby mama. The primary definition of the term is:

The mother of your child(ren), whom you did not marry and with whom you are not currently involved.

The secondary definition is more telling:

A term used to define an unmarried young woman (but can be a woman of any age) who has had a child. As mentioned before in another definition, most of the time it is used for when it was simply a sexual relationship, compared to ex-wife or girlfriend. Usually this has a negative connotation, a lot of baby mamas are seen as desperate, gold digging, emotionally starved, shady women who had a baby out of spite or to keep a man. Sometimes they may act like this because of missed child support payments, unfulfilled promises by the father, or convenient sex by the father. Either or both may exist in any situation.

So, to use this term against anyone, in this case a dignified woman from the south side of Chicago with a Princeton and Harvard Law pedigree, the people at Fox know what they are doing.

Finally, the third racist stereotype that McCain’s people are utilizing is that of the unpatriotic and un-American Black person. Unveiled characterizations of Barack Obama in the Neanderthal conservative media as a Muslim terrorist who refuses to wear a flag lapel pin or place his hand over his heart during the pledge of allegiance have been plentiful. And when Michelle and Barack Obama pounded each other’s fists during a campaign event in St. Paul, Minnesota, one Fox commentator described the harmless and popular hand gesture as a “terrorist fist jab.”

It is common to characterize African Americans as un-American and unpatriotic (translation: ungrateful). And what exactly is patriotism? Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) said that “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” In the case of John McCain, perhaps patriotism is endorsing the use of torture, although he was a torture victim, or voting against the G.I. bill, or voting against women’s reproductive rights, or hoping to continue an immoral war in Iraq that has claimed thousands of lives and will certainly claim many more.

And McCain and the GOP have surrounded themselves with “patriotic” Americans such as Rev. Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, who said that America was founded to destroy Islam, which he calls a false religion; Pastor John Hagee of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, who said in a late 1990s sermon that Adolph Hitler was sent by God to hunt the Jews and carry out the Holocaust; fundraiser Clayton Williams, who made a comparison between rape and weather, saying that “As long as it’s inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it”; and ex-Hillary Clinton supporter turned McCain democrat Paula Abeles. Abeles, who facilitated a conference call between McCain and disgruntled Clinton supporters, led an effort by White descendants of Thomas Jefferson to exclude the Black descendants of Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings from family gatherings. We won’t even get into Sen. Joe Lieberman.

And while McCain may not be able to control all of the statements and actions made by his surrogates or by independent organizations, this belies the point. McCain is the beneficiary of the attacks on Michelle Obama, and he can play good cop while the right-wing slime machine does the only thing it knows - sow the seeds of racial division. The conservative movement has employed this tactic, known as the Southern Strategy, for years, in order to win elections. (McCain knows what they are capable of doing. In the 2000 South Carolina primary, the Bush campaign spread rumors that rival McCain had fathered a Black child.) This time around, unencumbered by morality, ethics, scruples or good taste, it is literally all that they have left. They had the opportunity to rule, and they have turned the nation into a shambles. All out of ideas, and faced with major losses in the Senate, the House of Representatives, and possibly the presidency, they cannot run on the issues, the economy, or their energy policy, or domestic policy, or Iraq, or the environment.

Meanwhile, those who are members of political, cultural and ethnic minorities have every right to be angry at a nation which has for years locked them out of the mainstream, humiliated them, promulgated unjust laws against them, and treated them like anything but a child of God. Yet, these folks, shut out, have emerged as the greatest patriots of all - those who are angry because they see a nation that does not live up to its promise, and who decide to fight to make that promise a reality for all people.

Fannie Lou Hamer was one of those angry Black women that Fox News hates so much, as were Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisolm, Ella Baker, Rosa Parks, Audre Lorde, and many others. In their day, they would have received a far better reception from the conservative White men, had they known their place, stayed at home, baked some biscuits and shut the hell up. I do not know if they wore flag lapel pins, although I am inclined to believe many did not.

I do know, however, that these women could have taught John and Cindy McCain, Bill O’Reilly and Cal Thomas a great deal about patriotism.

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member, David A. Love, JD, is a lawyer and journalist based in Philadelphia, and a contributor to the Progressive Media Project, McClatchy-Tribune News Service, In These Times and Philadelphia Independent Media Center. He contributed to the book, States of Confinement: Policing, Detention, and Prisons (St. Martin's Press, 2000). Love is a former Amnesty International UK spokesperson, organized the first national police brutality conference as a staff member with the Center for Constitutional Rights, and served as a law clerk to two Black federal judges. His blog is davidalove.com. Click here to contact Mr. Love.

Under Earthlink's management, Philadelphia's wireless network faced both technical and customer service challenges. As a result, the much-touted initiative failed to achieve many of its digital inclusion goals-from helping local residents research information online to bolstering civic engagement. As the press reports, Earthlink is in negotiations to transfer the 135-square mile network to a local group of investors. Along with a change in ownership, an exciting opportunity may exist for Philadelphia's WiFi initiative to serve as a national model for community media. The promise of low-cost Internet access for all Philadelphians could finally be fulfilled, but only if local residents publicly demand it. The event will be held Wednesday, June 18 at 6:30 p.m., in 105 Tuttleman Learning Center. The building is located at 1809 N. 13th St. on the main campus of Temple University. Concetta Stewart, dean of Temple University's School of Communications and Theater, will provide opening remarks. Nijmie Dzurinko, co-founder of the Media Mobilizing Project, will moderate the panel discussion. While an exciting opportunity exists with new ownership of Philadelphia's WiFi network, local residents need to share their ideas for making digital inclusion a reality. This event will, ideally, be the start of an ongoing dialogue about the city's promise to provide affordable broadband connections to all residents, as well as skills training and computers The event is co-sponsored by: Wireless Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Student Union, Casino Free Philadelphia, Juntos, Philadelphia FIGHT/Critical Path Project, Geoclan, The Unified Taxi Workers Alliance, The Philadelphia Unemployment Project, Prometheus Radio Project, The Media and Democracy Coalition, Solutions for Progress, Scribe Video Center, Philadelphia Community Access Coalition, The People's Emergency Center, and UNITE-HERE Philadelphia Joint Board.

http://www.pennsylvaniajuneteenth.com/

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.

Juneteenth, long a Texas celebration of the day that news of the
Emancipation Proclamation reached its shore is starting to catch on in
states where slaves received word of their freedom well before June 19,
1865.

Now some in Texas, where official word of President Abraham Lincoln's
freeing of the slaves took more than two years to arrive, want to see the
holiday they view as bigger than the Fourth of July expanded to a national
observance.

And it appears that Juneteenth celebrations are quietly gaining popularity
from coast to coast, popping up in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana,
Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, Colorado, Florida, California,
New York and Utah.

State Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, who got Juneteenth observed by the state
in 1979, says the way to go about achieving a national holiday designation
is to get Juneteenth celebrations recognized as state holidays elsewhere. So far, Texas, the last state to receive official word of the Emancipation
Proclamation, is the only state in the nation that recognizes Juneteenth.

"Any place where you have a politically conscious African population and
culturally conscious African population, [Juneteenth] is being
celebrated," said Kwame-Osagyefo Kalimara, a history professor at Morehouse
College in Atlanta, where Juneteenth celebrations have taken place for at
least seven years.

"If you go back 10 or 12 years ago, you wouldn't have anybody in Atlanta
talking about Juneteenth," he said. "You now have more people willing to
pick up the banner and spread the news, so to speak."

Currie Ballard, the historian in residence at Oklahoma's Langston
University, said slaves in Oklahoma received the word of Lincoln's
proclamation on Aug. 4, 1863.

For years, celebrations took place on that day.

But as the years went on, the celebrations slowed, and over time Oklahoma
citizens adopted the same date as neighboring Texas - June 19.

"Once the people who were one generation removed from slavery died, it was
not celebrated any more," Ms. Ballard said of the Aug. 4 celebration. "As of
late, people are getting more and more familiar with Juneteenth. The average
person of Oklahoma has no idea about August 4th."

A similar situation took place in Mississippi, where slaves learned of their
freedom on May 8, 1863, said Mr. Edwards. Eighth of May celebrations
commonly took place in Mississippi, but as the years went by, the
celebrations waned, he said.

Though other states had similar observances, Mr. Edwards said, "Nowhere has
it been celebrated like it is in Texas."

Juneteenth specifically refers to the news that Gen. Gordon Granger took to
Galveston Island along with a force of Union soldiers 21/2 years after
Lincoln declared American slaves free.

"Our ancestors took being free with so much pride that a lot of them would
not work on that day," Mr. Edwards said. "They kept it in our memories. They
kept it in our culture, and eventually black folks started celebrating it
more than the Fourth of July."

During a time when celebrations ceased in other states, Texas families made
sure that even if there wasn't an organized Juneteenth celebration, their
children and families were aware of the day that Gen. Granger landed at
Galveston, Mr. Edwards said.

Mr. Kalimara said it still isn't clear when slaves in Georgia received word
of their freedom. He said that as black people have started embracing their
history over the last 15 years, June 19, 1865, has become a date that blacks
everywhere can point to.

"Any time we have an opportunity to deal with the drudgery of being
enslaved, it offers an emotional release," Mr. Kalimara said of Juneteenth
celebrations. "It's growing just like Kwanzaa."

FRI. JUNE 13th PJC MOST HISTORIC MILE IN AMERICA TOUR:
Delaware & Chestnut

Walking Tour of Old City Phila. Enslavement Sites 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
CONGO SQUARE Music & Spoken Word Concert 12 – 4 PM – 7th & Walnut
           

SAT. JUNE 14TH ISLAMIC HERTIAGE FESTIVAL & PARADE:
12:00 to 8:00 pm

Parade kicks off at 11 am @ 5th & Market to Penn’s Landing (Festival)
Music, Boat Rides, Children Activities, Speakers, Bazzar Fun For Whole Family
Special Juneteenth Tribute: Info. Call 215-222-0520

SAT. JUNE 14TH TEMPLE OF THE BLACK MESSIAH:
Juneteenth Celebration

Church of the Advocate: 18th & Diamond Street 5:00 to 9:00 PM
Donation: $5:00 (children Free)
Information call 215-221-2991 or 215-668-6712

MON. JUNE 16th  JOESPH E. COLEMAN NW REGIONAL LIBRARY:                  
Celebrate Juneteenth with Carla Wiley: Monday, June 16th, 6 - 7 p.m.            A program of storytelling and fun for the whole family                                     Address: 68 West Chelten Avenue:
For more information, call.215-685-2155

MON. JUNE 16th  LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA:
1314 Locust Street

Exhibit of “Black Founders: The Free Black Community in the Early Republic Free to the Public 9:00 AM - 4:45 PM ; Information call (215) 546-8229

MON June 16th PHILADELPHIA’S NATIONAL LIBERTY MUSEUM:
321 Chestnut Street

“Democracy Since Juneteenth!”  10 am to 5 pm; Info call 215-923-2800
Create colorful quilt projects and festive crafts; games; self guided tour
Participate in the creative- Vote 3 Ways - for your Presidential Candidate

TUE. JUNE 17th  LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA:
1314 Locust Street

Exhibit of “Black Founders: The Free Black Community in the Early Republic Free to the Public 9:00 AM - 4:45 PM: Info: 215-546-3181

TUE. June 17th PHILADELPHIA’S NATIONAL LIBERTY MUSEUM:
321 Chestnut Street

“Democracy Since Juneteenth!”  10 am to 5 pm: Info call 215-923-2800
Create colorful quilt projects and festive crafts; games; self guided tour Participate in the creative- Vote 3 Ways - for your Presidential Candidate

WED. JUNE 18th  LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA:
1314 Locust Street

Exhibit of “Black Founders: The Free Black Community in the Early Republic Free to the Public 9:00 AM - 4:45 PM: Info: 215-546-3181

THUR. JUNE 19th AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUM in PHILADELPHIA:  

Juneteenth National Freedom Day & AAMP's 32nd Anniversary Celebration
Historical re- enactments of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman
8th & Arch Street; 12:00 to 3:00 PM

THUR. JUNE 19th LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA:
1314 Locust Street

Freedom’s Profit: Bishop Richard Allen AME Church & the Black Founding Fathers Reception 5:30 pm
Reading and Book Signing  6:00-7 pm; Info: 215-546-3181

THUR. June 19th PHILADELPHIA’S NATIONAL LIBERTY MUSEUM:
321 Chestnut Street

“Democracy Since Juneteenth!”  10 am to 5 pm
Create colorful quilt projects and festive crafts; games; self guided tour Participate in the creative- Vote 3 Ways - for your Presidential Candidate

FRI. JUNE 20th  LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA:
1314 Locust Street

Exhibit of “Black Founders: The Free Black Community in the Early Republic Free to the Public 9:00 AM - 4:45 PM

SAT. JUNE 21st GPTMC PHILADELPHIA QUEST FOR FREEDOM:

Belmont Mansion, 2000 Belmont Mansion Drive: 12 Noon
3rd Regiment of the USCT tell visitors stories of former slaves and freed men

SAT. JUNE 21st Laurel Hill Cemetery

Free at Last; Walking Tour, commemorating

'Juneteenth' and the Civil War
Call 215-228-8200 for Tickets and Reservations

Laurel Hill Cemetery: 3822 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia PA

SUN. JUNE  22nd  JUNETEENTH VOICES AND PRAISE

A Citywide Musical Tribute in Commemoration of Juneteenth 143rd Anniversary

Philadelphia Pastors, Music Ministries, Choir Directors will Dedicate Songs and Their Service to Juneteenth

JUNE 1st – June 30th PHILADELPHIA’S NATIONAL LIBERTY MUSEUM:321 Chestnut Street

“Democracy Since Juneteenth!”  10 am to 5 pm; Info call 215-923-2800
Create colorful quilt projects and festive crafts; games; self guided tour Participate in the creative- Vote 3 Ways - for your Presidential Candidate

JUNE 1st – June 30th PHILADELPHIA’S NATIONAL LIBERTY MUSEUM: 321 Chestnut Street

Exhibit of “Black Founders: The Free Black Community in the Early RepublicFree to the Public 9:00 AM - 4:45 PM: Info: 215-546-3181

Philadelphia joins Texas in celebrating Juneteenth

Juneteenth, long a Texas celebration of the day that news of the
Emancipation Proclamation reached its shore is starting to catch on in
states where slaves received word of their freedom well before June 19,
1865.

Now some in Texas, where official word of President Abraham Lincoln's
freeing of the slaves took more than two years to arrive, want to see the
holiday they view as bigger than the Fourth of July expanded to a national
observance.

And it appears that Juneteenth celebrations are quietly gaining popularity
from coast to coast, popping up in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana,
Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, Colorado, Florida, California,
New York and Utah.

State Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, who got Juneteenth observed by the state
in 1979, says the way to go about achieving a national holiday designation
is to get Juneteenth celebrations recognized as state holidays elsewhere. So far, Texas, the last state to receive official word of the Emancipation
Proclamation, is the only state in the nation that recognizes Juneteenth.

"Any place where you have a politically conscious African population and
culturally conscious African population, [Juneteenth] is being
celebrated," said Kwame-Osagyefo Kalimara, a history professor at Morehouse
College in Atlanta, where Juneteenth celebrations have taken place for at
least seven years.

"If you go back 10 or 12 years ago, you wouldn't have anybody in Atlanta
talking about Juneteenth," he said. "You now have more people willing to
pick up the banner and spread the news, so to speak."

Currie Ballard, the historian in residence at Oklahoma's Langston
University, said slaves in Oklahoma received the word of Lincoln's
proclamation on Aug. 4, 1863.

For years, celebrations took place on that day.

But as the years went on, the celebrations slowed, and over time Oklahoma
citizens adopted the same date as neighboring Texas - June 19.

"Once the people who were one generation removed from slavery died, it was
not celebrated any more," Ms. Ballard said of the Aug. 4 celebration. "As of
late, people are getting more and more familiar with Juneteenth. The average
person of Oklahoma has no idea about August 4th."

A similar situation took place in Mississippi, where slaves learned of their
freedom on May 8, 1863, said Mr. Edwards. Eighth of May celebrations
commonly took place in Mississippi, but as the years went by, the
celebrations waned, he said.

Though other states had similar observances, Mr. Edwards said, "Nowhere has
it been celebrated like it is in Texas."

Juneteenth specifically refers to the news that Gen. Gordon Granger took to
Galveston Island along with a force of Union soldiers 21/2 years after
Lincoln declared American slaves free.

"Our ancestors took being free with so much pride that a lot of them would
not work on that day," Mr. Edwards said. "They kept it in our memories. They
kept it in our culture, and eventually black folks started celebrating it
more than the Fourth of July."

During a time when celebrations ceased in other states, Texas families made
sure that even if there wasn't an organized Juneteenth celebration, their
children and families were aware of the day that Gen. Granger landed at
Galveston, Mr. Edwards said.

Mr. Kalimara said it still isn't clear when slaves in Georgia received word
of their freedom. He said that as black people have started embracing their
history over the last 15 years, June 19, 1865, has become a date that blacks
everywhere can point to.

"Any time we have an opportunity to deal with the drudgery of being
enslaved, it offers an emotional release," Mr. Kalimara said of Juneteenth
celebrations. "It's growing just like Kwanzaa."

Mr. Edwards said he is asking state legislators elsewhere to get Juneteenth
recognized in their states. He hopes with states' support, the holiday will
eventually be recognized nationwide, like Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
"It's catching on, and it's continuously growing," Mr. Edwards said. "I had
no idea 22 years ago when I sponsored this bill, which I struggled, fought
and prayed would get passed, that it would do what it is doing."

And Mr. Kalimara expects the holiday will continue to spread because unlike
Emancipation Day, a celebration marking the actual day Lincoln signed the
proclamation - Jan. 1, 1863 - Juneteenth was the day word made it to the
people most affected by the action.

"It's one thing to say you're free on a document," he said, "but the date of
delivery happens to be even more significant.
"African-Americans are saying, 'I want a holiday that we will celebrate and
we will define, whether the power structure defines it or not.' It's an act
of self-determination."

Ronald Brown asks us to join in the PJC efforts described below. Last year was a success the growth will be huge.

One hundred and forty-four years ago, the trumpet was sounded, calling for descendants, freedom fighters, from the many nations in Africa, to joined rank, at Camp William Penn, to reunite their families, to address the issue of slavery in America's communities. PJC is sounding up the trumpet, calling for modern day freedom fighters to join rank, in this nation murder capital, Philadelphia. Freedom Fighters are being called on to lead our families, our culture, in the atoning of our ways in the world; to lead our families, our culture, and our communities, in addressing the modern day slavery elements within, healing the scares of slavery; removing the skeletons in our closets; exorcising the sickness and diseases within; making atonement; cleansing our home, our temple.

In the year 2008, PJC has decided to embark on a Freedom Mission to save lives, free souls. As part of PJC 12th annual Philadelphia Juneteenth National Freedom Celebration,

PJC has discovered from our research, some sad but true facts, the youth, young adults, who are committing the violence and murders, in our communities are also the sons, nephews, grandsons and cousins of the old heads and former gang members. In our recognition of this true reality, PJC has taken pages from the African and African-American historical and cultural archives, in incorporating a Cease Fire Call.

In our interview with the young criminals who are committing the violent criminal acts. We have discovered that the young criminal is angry at, at least one parent, angry at adults. They talk about the pain growing up, seeing their parent addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling. They talk about the times when there was no food on the table: the times when their parent would have these no good persons coming in and out of their house, revolving door. They talk about not being able to emotionally handle the pain of a parent or love one suffering or dying from a disease, or illness. They talk about their posse with similar problems as them, being more of a brother, then their own brother. They talk about seeing, knowing, or hearing about, their relative gangster lifestyle, life of crime. They talk about their boss drug dealer, partner in crime, being more of a father, then their own father. They talk about the pain of never seeing or knowing their father. They see adults, as living a lie, living contradictory lives, not having the quality time for them. They see adults as older people, who talk down to them, and who do not allow them to speak or express themselves.

The Cease Fire Call are designed to allow the youth to have their say, to express why they are committing the violence in their community. If you know of any youth or young adult who is living the life of the criminal, please bring them to a event.

The Cease Fire Call format will start off with an introduction, session one will follow..

Why is PJC interested in having reunions, as part of our Juneteenth National Freedom Celebration? If you trace the re-union concept, you will learn that before Juneteenth, enslaved Africans, enslaved African-Americans, could not host family reunions, it was against the law to do so. Jim Crow laws were enacted to forbid people of African and Caribbean descent from congregating in public. Family reunion celebrations originated in America, when United States Colored Troops (USCT) and Union Soldiers freed the last remaining enslaved Africans in America, in Galveston Texas, on June 19, 1865. On this historic date, Africans danced, rejoiced, and celebrated in the streets, after learning of their Freedom. Africans called this spontaneous celebration, Juneteenth. Thus reunions, barbecuing, parading, entertaining, oratories, recitals, pageants, fun, and good times, subsequently became a part of annual Juneteenth celebrations and family reunion celebrations.

Many of these events and  discussions would center on what was going on in the neighborhood, or what was going on in their personal life.

The Juneteenth Cease Call is being held, to decrease/cease the violence in our streets, and in respect of, African-American oldest holiday, America's true Independence Day, Juneteenth; the day when all Americans were finally free.

major portions of this article from email to me from
Ron Brown PJC

Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:19:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: Prometheus Radio Project <info@prometheusradio.org>
Subject: Police critics arrested, home seized in police raid.

Police critics arrested, home seized in police raid.

June 13th, 2008. Philadelphia Police descended upon the home of homeowners
who have been questioning police tactics in Mayor Nutters new "stop and
frisk" program. 4 residents were arrested in their home at 17th street and
Ridge Avenue, and the police are in the process of  sealing the building.
The homeowners are being held at the police station, no charges have yet
been filed.

Homeowners had been circulating petitions calling upon Mayor Nutter  and
Police Commissioner  Ramsey to attend community meetings on the use of
excessive force, surveilance cameras, and the new "stop and frisk"
policy. The mayor and police chief have declined to attend these community
forums,  but instead have seized the home and possessions of those who
question "Stop and Frisk," and are currently holding them in jail. While
many civil liberties advocates and residents of affected neighborhoods
have questioned the new police tactics, few imagined that simple criticism
of a city policy could result in the seizure of one's home and subject
residents to arrest.

More details coming soon.
contact:
Danielle Redden 267-243-5231 dredden@critpath.org
Jade Walker 215-939-2386   kaleliberation@yahoo.com

Prometheus Radio Project
"Freeing the Airwaves from Corporate Control!"

prometheusradio.org

(215)727-9620

P.O. Box 42158 Philadelphia, PA 19101

Porter has been coordinating vigils at this corner since before the US attacked Iraq, in the fall of 2002. When I spoke with her, she had just finished answering a series of questions about her motives to a team of philosophy students. After we finished another team was approaching.

"Students ask me, why do you do this? I say, we have no access to the media for this message," she said. "This is our media; this is our access. It is so important that we are out here. We'll never stop coming out here."

"I don't think that public opinion would have turned against the war as it has if it weren't for the hundreds of vigils like this one that gather regularly across the country," she added. "And they are there... we are here."

The counterprotests are a new addition. According to veteran Jerry Gates, they started earlier this year after he played taps on his trumpet during one of the protests within earshot of a pro-war Navy veteran. "He didn't like that peace people were paying taps!" said Gates.

Since then tensions have run high between the two groups. The situation escalated several weeks ago, resulting in pushing and the arrest of two anti-war protesters.

Veterans for Peace Chapter 31 has been attending every week to help depolarize the situation. "People were saying that they were not a legitimate voice," said one V4P member. "We wanted to show that the vigil represents something much broader."

Many attendees said they have been coming regularly since hearing of the pro-war presence.

"It brought me back, knowing that this was going on," said a protester named Annette.

"Before we'd have about 10 people each week," said longtime attendee John Beitzel. "Now we have upwards of 50!"

There is no exchange between the two sides. The groups have agreed to stay on separate corners of the intersection. Each week they trade corners, and the police keep a steady presence.

Porter said the agreement came after several multi-hour meetings with the local organizer [editor's correction]. So far no alternative space for dialogue has been created. "We tried. Some of them are willing to talk, but most just are totally closed off," Porter said.

Almost everyone I spoke with felt the counterprotesters' [editor's correction] goal was to harass them if not shut them down.

According to a statement issued by Chris Hill, National Director of the Gathering of Eagles, the purpose of next week's demonstration is to "show the anti-American forces that we will not be silenced and we are not going away."

"Leave the kids at home for this one folks,"  he continues. "And remember, like they told me at Ft. Benning, GA all those years ago, 'If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn’t prepare well enough.'"

However, V4P31's flyer says they expect no trouble and urges supporters to come out on Saturday.
 

The first part of the Senate Report on Iraqi WMD Intelligence was put out on 9 Jul 2004. Democrats on the Intelligence Committee pointed out at the time that:

This phase of the Senate report (PDF) was finally issued on 5 Jun 2008. How did our local paper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, cover it? A search of Philly.com for the report showed a single hit from an AP piece on the day it was issued. A decent round-up, it concentrates on the second part (PDF) of the Phase 2 report, the part that focuses on the meeting in Rome between various characters. The author doesn't appear to be aware of, or ignores, the first part that concentrates on where the speeches of members of the Bush Administration contradicted or went beyond the available intelligence on the threat posed by Iraq, starting in late 2002. It's not clear whether the AP piece was published in the Inquirer, The Daily News or simply on the web. The paper copy of the Inquirer for Thursday doesn't have any sign of the report. The paper copy for Friday has a New York Times piece "Bush overstated threat, Senate committee says" on page A6. The NY Times title was: "Bush Overstated Iraq Evidence, Senators Report." The only other sign in the Inquirer that the report was ever published is a Tony Auth cartoon on Sunday the 8th.

One reason that the Inquirer may have for underplaying the report is an issue that crops up several times in the Republican response to the report. This issue was articulated in President Bush's nonresponsive answer to a series of charges of incompetence made by Senator Kerry (D-MA) in the 30 Sep 2004 debate between them:

On 14 Nov 2005, Kerry responded to that assertion:

The very worst that Members of Congress can be accused of is trusting the intelligence we were selectively given by this Administration, and taking the President at his word. But unlike this Administration, there is absolutely no suggestion that we intentionally went beyond what we were told were the facts. That is the greatest offense by the Administration. Just look at their most compelling justification for war: Saddam’s nuclear program and his connections with Al Qaeda.

The facts speak for themselves. The White House has admitted that the President told Congress and the American public in the State of the Union Address that Saddam was attempting to acquire fuel for nuclear weapons despite the fact that the CIA specifically told the Administration three times, in writing and verbally, not to use this intelligence. Obviously, Democrats didn’t get that memo. In fact, similar statements were removed from a prior speech by the President, and Colin Powell refused to use it in his presentation to the UN. This is not relying on faulty intelligence, as Democrats did; it is knowingly, and admittedly, misleading the American public on a key justification for going to war. [emphases added]

The fact of the matter was, and this was known at the time, the Democrats didn't (and still don't) have an independent intelligence service, they had to rely upon the statements given to them by the government and those statements had to be approved by the Chief Executive, President Bush.Once this single fact is taken into account, most of the Republican objections to the report fall apart. 

One other objection might be that this is all terribly overblown.  The blogger Glenn Greenwald reports that columnist David Broder is just oh-so-terribly bored and unfazed by the whole controversy as Broder states:

Greenwald explains this reaction on Broder's part by pointing out that Broder is complicit in Bush's crimes as he was supportive of them at the time.  Naturally, calling too much attention to the criminality of the Bush Administration calls into question Broder's own dereliction of duty in not raising objections to the war before it began.  

And was the propaganda campaign waged by the Bush Administration in late 2002 and early 2003, a criminal matter? As a matter of fact, it was.

PRAWN, the Philadelphia Regional Anti-War Network has long been interested in protesting the Inquirer for it's shoddy and conservatively-biased coverage of the news. Members have felt that they need a specific complaint to focus their protest around. I'd say this constitutes a very good focus.

Update: FireDogLake has a post that links to two WaPo pieces. The first is Fred Hiatt, a reliable right-wing water carrier, who notes the many times that the Senate report notes that Bush Administration talking points were generally substantiated by the intel. Very true, the report does indeed note that there is a high degree of correlation between reality and the talking points, but there are enough discrepancies and Scott McClellan describes the White House sales job well enough, nah, we don't have to scrape off the "Bush lied, soldiers died" bumperstickers.
The second is a report by Walter Pincus (Whose report is published, predictably, on page A15) that details the evidence that the Senate did not review. Both are worth reading, if only to add depth to the initial reading of the Senate report.

Philly's Keystone Kop Follies

Police Brutality and Cover-Up

By LINN WASHINGTON, Jr.

The savage beating of three suspects by Philadelphia police recently that captured news headlines internationally exposed big problems within the scandal plagued department involving core functions of cops.

The beating incident forced Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey to institute new procedures for retraining all police officers on permissible use of force.

Ramsey, in an unprecedented move for a Philadelphia Police Commissioner, quickly disciplined officers involved in that 5/5/08 beating, including firing four officers who Ramsey determined engaged in impermissible brutality.

However, internal Police Department documents about this beating incident expose problems far more pervasive than excessive use of force against unarmed persons – brutality that routinely occurs outside the glare of television news cameras.

Police documents in this beating case and several others show that police fail to follow supposedly standard operating procedures.

Equally egregious – documents detail how police fail at a core function for cops: being observant.

Police contend the three men shown in the beating video participated in a shooting prior to their frenzied arrest.

Yet, police failed to perform the standard tests to determine if any of the trio had fired a gun following the trio’s arrest.

Such tests are routinely performed on shooting suspects.

Further, police never attempted to question the trio despite police officials telling the public that a fourth person involved in this shooting escaped capture.

Official police arrest reports on that pre-beating shooting incident stated “four” men exited a Mercury Grand Marquis and confronted a group standing on a street corner.

“One of these males…began shooting a handgun,” the arrest reports for each of the trio stated. “Three of the males from the Gold Marquis got back into the vehicle and the fourth, possibly the shooter fled…eluding capture.”

Curiously, police who observed the car “pull up to the corner” and recorded this vehicle’s license plate number before the shooting failed to provide the public with any physical description of the fourth person, that gunman who escaped, armed and presumed dangerous.

Police had the corner under surveillance due to a fatal shooting on that same corner the previous night. Police claim rumors circulating about retaliation for that fatal shooting prompted their surveillance.

Even more curious than the failure to perform standard gunfire tests and conduct investigative questioning is the changing stories of the surveillance officer who declared in the arrest reports that he observed the entire shooting, participated in chasing after the allegedly fleeing Mercury and was at the scene of the trio’s arrest.

This surveillance officer, after nine days of maintaining that four men were in the Mercury, suddenly changed his story on the eve of a court proceeding for the trio to claim that only three men – not four – conducted the shooting he observed.

The changing stories, failure to follow standard operating procedures and serious irregularities in official documents related to the trio’s arrest leads Philadelphia attorney Scott Perrine to one conclusion: authorities are framing his client and the two other beating victims.

“They are asking us to believe that a highly trained narcotics officer skilled in surveillance operations was at the scene, watched the car pull up, saw three people instead of four…and by the way, this officer forgot to tell us about this for nine days,” said Perrine, a former Philadelphia prosecutor.

Perrine represents Pete Hopkins, one of the beating victims.

Police now claim the shooter is Hopkins – not the fleeing fourth person listed in arrest reports.

Changing stories are seemingly standard procedure for Philadelphia police.

During the last televised, national headline grabbing beating by Philadelphia police, officials initially said the victim in that July 2000 beating had shot a policeman while attempting to escape capture.

Authorities backed off that claim when evidence provided the slightly injured policeman was shot accidentally by his partner.

Additionally, authorities ignored eyewitnesses who said the car-jacking suspect was being beaten by police prior to commandeering a police car used to escape the first beating that ended with that second beating caught by a news helicopter.

Changing stories and stonewalling were the official responses to the 8/78 televised beating of an unarmed suspect surrendering following a shootout where a Philadelphia policeman was fatally shot.

Curious events and/or coincidences continue in the wake of the 5/5/08 beating.

Nearly one month after the beating, police announced they had recovered the gun used in that pre-beating shooting.

Police said they found the weapon – under a blanket – in a field near the arrest/beating site.

For days after that shooting/beating police said they found no weapon despite hundreds of officer searching for this weapon.

The police reports make no mention of the trio tossing anything from their vehicle while it was being chased by police much less any one of the trio exiting the vehicle to enter a field.

“The police initially said they found the gun in a sewer and were testing it for DNA. Now they say they found it in a field…under a blanket,” said a disbelieving Karen Miller, an anti-police-brutality activist in Philadelphia who lives in the same community as the trio beaten by police and now facing attempted murder charges.

Also, initial police reports make no mention of shell casings at the shooting scene. Days later, police announced recovery of shell casings – a belated discovery that attorney Perrine contends is suspicious.

Police have twice detained the father of Pete Hopkins, also named Pete, on suspicion of intoxication without ever giving him the standard sobriety tests to determine drunkenness.  

Mr. Hopkins and his wife have publicly criticized police and prosecutors in addition to participating in protests opposing their son’s arrest.

Activist Miller says the detentions of the elder Hopkins is pure police harassment.

Family and supporters of the now incarcerated trio say the beating arose from a case of mistaken identity and authorities filed charges against them to evade responsibility for the beating.

One of the trio, Dwayne Dyches, physically resembled a man police sought for the murder of a policeman days before the trio’s beating.

The trio admits being in the area of that 5/5 street corner shooting but say they were visiting with the mother of the man fatally shot the night before their beating.

The Philadelphia Daily News interviewed this mother and relatives of that fatally shot man who confirmed the trio was visiting with them.

The Daily News also interviewed one of the men shot during that 5/5 street corner shooting who said that while he fled the shooting scene – wounded – police tackled him, stomped and shot him with a taser before he convinced them that he was a shooting victim.

This victim told the Daily News he did not see the shooter.

A police report about this shooting victim states “5 B/M’s” were in the Mercury.

Philadelphia police and prosecutors deny any improprieties in the proceedings against the trio.

Philadelphia’s District Attorney Lynne Abraham indicates she might file disciplinary charges against defense lawyer Perrine for his wildly false accusations.

Perrine claims prosecutors failed to lodge assault against police, resisting arrest and attempted escape charges against the trio as asserted in initial police arrest reports because of prosecutor’s covert attempts to block the beating video being used in criminal court proceeding against the trio.

“This entire incident…has been so far beyond what anyone would expect or tolerate from law enforcement it cannot be described,” Perrine said. “These guys are getting beaten and stomped on all over again and no one is realizing it.”

Recently Perrine blasted prosecutors for intentionally delaying court proceedings seeking to get his client released from custody – a charge denied by prosecutors.

Pennsylvania’s Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers states it is not reasonable to delay proceedings “if done for the purpose of frustrating an opposing party’s attempt to obtain rightful redress.”

Those Rules also states that prosecutors have “specific obligations to see that the defendant is accorded procedural justice…”

Perrine’s criticism came when prosecutors sought to postpone proceeding on his Writ of Habeas Corpus for Hopkins contending that failure to provide Hopkins with his preliminary hearing weeks violates Hopkins’ constitutional rights.

Delays by prosecutors and judges resulted in Hopkins not receiving his preliminary hearing within the mandated ten-day period following his arrest.

Philadelphia activists are currently gearing-up for a campaign to get local and federal action against the District Attorney Lynne Abraham for her alleged failure to aggressively address police brutality.

Philadelphia, in 1979, became the first American city in history to have its top City Hall officials, including its mayor, sued by the federal government for aiding police brutality.

Nearly two decades later, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued separate reports in 1998 blasting brutality and corruption among Philadelphia police.

Linn Washington Jr. is a columnist for The Philadelphia Tribune who has covered police brutality in that city for thirty-years.