Black Panther’s Conviction Protested

With a bullhorn in hand, Obanion Gordon wanted to make sure his message was loud and clear: A corrupt legal system put former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal on death row, not the bullet that killed a police officer. “The state has always lynched black males, especially black males who have been passionate about the liberations of their people,” said Gordon, as he led 30 protesters over a bridge from Camden, N.J., into Philadelphia on Abu-Jamal’s 45th birthday. Gordon’s group was among more than 3,000 people who traveled from as far away as France to demand a new trial for Abu-Jamal, who was convicted in the 1981 death of police Officer Daniel Faulkner.