Tuesday, May 4th – Letter Writing to Sundiata Acoli

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, May 4th, 2021
WHERE: your home (or wherever you happen to be)
COST: Free

At the moment, there are 13 Black Liberation elders being held in federal and state prisons in the U.S. All have been inside for decades, and several are severely ill and being denied adequate medical care. Though the United States government claims to not hold political prisoners, the treatment of these men betrays the truth. Repeatedly parole is denied based on affiliations and statements that the state deems unacceptable. Mail is messed with, humane medical treatment is withheld, as if the state is still seeking to break their bodies and crush their spirits. As if it wants them all to die behind bars. The state wishes to deny that there are political prisoners, while punishing elders for maintaining their convictions. Our solidarity is our strength in the face of this ongoing repression. One simple but important act of active solidarity is to write letters to our imprisoned elders; it shows both our political prisoners and their captors that we have not forgotten them, and can help build bridges between generations and across movement divides. In this spirit, please join NYC ABC and Page One Collective in writing to Sundiata Acoli.

A New York Black Panther, Sundiata Acoli endured two years of prison awaiting trial for the Panther 21 Conspiracy Case. He and his comrades were eventually acquitted on all the bogus charges. The case was historic and a classic example of police and government attempting to neutralize organizations by incarcerating their leadership. As a result of this political attack and because of the immense pressure and surveillance from the FBI and local police Sundiata, like many other Panther leaders went “underground.”  On May 2, 1973, Sundiata Acoli, Assata Shakur and Zayd Shakur were ambushed and attacked by state troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike. Assata was wounded and Zayd was killed. During the gun battle a state trooper was shot and killed in self defense. Sundiata was tried in an environment of mass hysteria and convicted, although there was no credible evidence that he killed the trooper or had been involved in the shooting. He was sentenced to thirty years. Sundiata was ordered to be released on parole by a state appeals court in New Jersey in September 2014 when the court ruled the parole board had “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” when it previously denied him parole. The State of New Jersey appealed the decision and won. More information: https://sundiataacolifc.org

Please take the time to write a letter to Sundiata (and share a photo of your completed envelopes with us online):
Sundiata Acoli* #39794-066
FCI Cumberland
Federal Correctional Institution
Post Office Box 1000
Cumberland, Maryland 21501
*Address envelope to Clark Squire