As President Obama nears the end of his term, the tradition of the Presidential Pardon is close at hand. Normally seen as a privilege reserved for political allies of leaving heads of state, many community activists see
this as an opportunity for President Obama to renew the faith placed in him by many African-American activists who had hoped for a White House that would be friendlier to those who had sacrificed so much from
the 1960s to the present. Several petitions for clemency have been launched, the highest-profile of which have called for the release of American Indian Movement Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier and Black Panther Party Political Prisoner Dr. Mutulu Shakur. Along with Sundiata Acoli, Mumia Abu-Jamal and the MOVE Nine, these represent the best-known activists who had been targeted because of their advocacy for
Indigenous and Black Liberation in the United States. There are many others, including Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald, Ed Poindexter and Veronza Bowers, and it is hoped that by advocating for the release of Dr.
Shakur and Leonard Peltier, the atmosphere can be created that could bring many Pan-Afrikan Freedom Fighters and Prisoners of Conscience of the last century home to live out their days in the loving arms of their communities.
Academics in Support
On March 8, 2016, a petition was posted by Academics in Support of the Release of Dr. Mutulu Shakur, https://mutuluiswelcomehere.com/. This is their announcement of the petition:
The #MutuluIsWelcomeHere Campaign has launched a petition directed at academics for Dr. Mutulu Shakur’s freedom. We are asking professors and other educators to sign the petition and forward to their colleagues.
We’re urging President Obama to use his executive power to grant clemency to Mutulu Shakur given the context in which his crimes were committed, the time he’s already served, and ultimately in light of the positive good he can serve the community in light of his rehabilitation.
The #MutuluIsWelcomeHere Campaign
The text of the petition, which can be read at the website http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sign-on-to-help-free-dr-
mutulu-shakur, reads as follows:
Academics Sign-On to Help Free Dr. Mutulu Shakur!
We the undersigned academics are writing you in support of the petition for the parole of Dr. Mutulu Shakur. Many of us have worked with Dr. Shakur on projects toward the education and rehabilitation of his fellow inmates. We are also familiar with his work to promote peace within the penitentiary and on our urban streets. Others of us are familiar with his advocacy for a Truth and Reconciliation process to heal the continued hostility within the United States resulting from the turbulence of the Civil Rights, Black Power, and anti-war movements. We understand that Dr. Mutulu Shakur meets the criteria for parole. His risk assessments prove that he is not a danger to society. In fact, given his history of community service, inside and outside of prison, he is an asset and can make huge contributions upon his release. We believe his activity for conflict resolution and transformation of his fellow inmates, and his advocacy and work for reconciliation demonstrate that he is no threat to the community. We unequivocally support Dr. Shakur’s petition for parole. We anticipate his release and expect him to contribute to efforts to bring peace in the community and to participate in conversations towards understanding of our history and healing of our contemporary reality.
The Current Petition: Low Support So Far
A general petition has also been issued, one which had secured only about 7,000 of the 100,000 signatures sought as of late December 2016. “Attorney-At-War” Alton Maddox Jr. had written a commentary
(available on his website, http://universityofaltonmaddox.com) concerning the petition, which Black psychiatrist Dr. James McIntosh had decried as “a disgrace” because of the low level of support.
The general petition can be found at the websites https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-executive-clemency-for-dr-mutulu-shakur and http://mutulushakur.com/site/2016/10/executive-clemency/. Following is the announcement of the petition:
Petitioning President Barack Obama
Executive Clemency for Dr. Mutulu Shakur
Family and Friends of Dr. Mutulu Shakur
The week of October 10th, a petition for clemency for Dr. Mutulu Shakur was submitted to President Barack Obama. Please sign on here to show your support.
The acts of which Dr. Shakur stands convicted were committed in the context of a movement some forty to fifty years ago seeking equal treatment of black people who, it is widely recognized today, were suffering catastrophically from disenfranchisement, poverty and exclusion from many of the fundamental necessities that make life worth living. Black school children were being killed in church bombings. Black and other civil rights leaders were targeted for assassination. Law enforcement, through the COINTELPRO program, infiltrated a wide range of organizations and civil rights groups disrupting their activities and, as Congressional investigation later discovered, often causing violent reactions. In that era, black youth were paralyzed with fear that smothered their dreams, they doubted their life expectancy, and were forced to submit to abuse, runaway or challenge the threat.
Dr. Shakur has served over thirty years in custody, been unjustly denied parole eight times in a documented discriminatory manner, taken full responsibility for his actions, served as a force for good and alternative dispute mechanisms throughout his decades of incarceration, is an elder with multiple health complications, and has a loving family that needs him, even moreso after his former wife, Afeni Shakur, passed away in May. Upon release he will continue to inspire people to seek self-improvement through peaceful and constructive means, as he has done while incarcerated, as he did with his late son Tupac.
In his own words, “For many years I have been a staunch advocate for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation process to address issues of racial and economic disparities. I have been influenced by examples in South Africa, Latin America, Northern Ireland and here in the United States of efforts at restorative justice through the pursuit of truth and reconciliation …
“I cannot undo the violence and tragedy that took place more than thirty years ago. But for several decades while incarcerated I have dedicated myself to being a healer, spreading a message of reconciliation and justice, and playing a positive role in the lives of those I come into contact with, in and out of prison …
“This country is not the same country it was at the time of my conviction and I have lived long enough to understand the changes the country and I have undergone. I will always care about freedom and equality for black Americans, marginalized people and the lower classes in this country and abroad. The struggle was never about me, but for the will of the people.”
This petition will be delivered to:
President
Barack Obama