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#WABJ Mourns The Loss of Longtime #BlackPress Journalist James Wright
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| The Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ) is deeply saddened by the passing of longtime journalist James L. Wright Jr., a three-decade writer for Black newspapers such as The AFRO-American and The Washington Informer as well as mainstream newspapers such as The Washington Post until his death at the age of 62. Wright died of natural causes in his Seat Pleasant home, according to The Informer, the newspaper in which he was most associated. The proud Texan became a pillar in the Washington, D.C. community. Wright covered business, politics and pivotal moments that shaped our city. DC Mayor Muriel Bower said, “I knew him from my earliest days in government as a strong, fair, and honest writer who cared deeply about his city. Most of all, he loved Washingtonians and telling the stories of the least, the lost, and the left out. His connection to his readers was unparalleled.” Many of DC’s political leaders on social media remember the dignity Wright put into his work, and the impactful stories he told. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton wrote on Facebook, “James interviewed me many times over the years as he covered the District with uncommon depth, fairness, and genuine respect for his fellow DC residents.” Councilmember Janeese Lewis George wrote on X, “He was an extraordinary journalist who truly cared about centering DC history and local stories.” Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie wrote, “James L. Wright Jr.’s voice was a trusted mirror and a steady bridge across the city. His journalism meant a great deal to our city and its residents, informing daily life, building trust, and sharing the stories that uplifted the very best of our city.” Wright’s impactful work reached global audiences as he sat down with foreign leaders, including Moammar Gaddafi of Libya and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. His work expanded across the United States, and all over the world including Afghanistan, Ghana, South Africa, Libya, Zimbabwe, Italy, and the United Kingdom. At WABJ’s 2025 Special Honors & Scholarship Gala, WABJ President Phil Lewis shouted out Wright for his efforts in lending a helping hand with the gala. Phil Lewis said, “James Wright was a fierce advocate for journalists. He loved this city and his work. He will be deeply missed.” Wright joined Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, Eta Gamma Chapter at Prairie View A&M University in 1984. He became a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha, and served through the Mu Lambda Chapter. He formerly served as vice president of the Seat Pleasant City Council, and was the church historian at Asbury United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. ### Founded in 1975, the Washington Association of Black Journalists is an organization for African-American journalists, journalism professors, public relations professionals and student journalists in the Washington, D.C., metro area. WABJ provides members with ongoing professional education opportunities and advocates for greater diversification of the profession. |
#LeonardPeltier: National Day of Mourning Address, 2025
#PEOPLESORGANIZATIONFORPROGRESS WILL PARTICIPATE IN 100-MILE MARCH FOR #MUMIAABUJAMAL
PEOPLE’S ORGANIZATION FOR PROGRESS (POP)
PO BOX 22505
NEWARK, NJ 07101
973 801-0001
CONTACT: LAWRENCE HAMM
NOVEMBER 26, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
PEOPLE’S ORGANIZATION FOR PROGRESS WILL PARTICIPATE IN 100 MILE MARCH FOR MUMIA ABU-JAMAL
POP CHAIRMAN LAWRENCE HAMM WILL MARCH FOR MUMIA
The People’s Organization for Progress (POP) will participate in a 103-mile march to draw attention to the worsening medical condition of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. It will begin Friday, Nov. 28, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The “March For Mumia” will start at 9 a.m. at Uncle Bobbie’s Cafe & Books, 5445 Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia. The event is sponsored by the March For Mumia coalition.
“We are marching to demand freedom for Mumia Abu-Jamal and all political prisoners,” Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress, stated.
“We are also marching to demand an end to the abuse that Mumia and other political prisoners experience, and that they receive the proper medical attention and care they need,” Hamm said.
The participants will walk 103 miles over twelve days until they reach the SCI Mahanoy Corrections Facility in Frackville on December 9th, where Abu-Jamal is incarcerated. Hamm said he will attempt to march to entire route.
Mumia Abu-Jamal is a renowned journalist and author who has written more than a dozen books. He is a revolutionary, political activist and former member of the Black Panther Party.
Abu-Jamal, 71 years old, has been incarcerated for 44 years. In 1981, he was convicted for the murder of Daniel Faulkner, a Philadelphia police officer.
His death sentence was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment. He has always maintained his innocence. His case, the issue of his innocence, and his fight for freedom have garnered international support over the decades.
Many well-known political activists, celebrities, and human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, have demanded a new trial for Abu-Jamal. He has become a prominent personality in the fight to end racism, mass incarceration, inhumane treatment of prisoners, and the death penalty.
“We believe that Mumia is innocent and should be free. We demand freedom for all political prisoners. At a minimum Mumia should have a new trial,” Hamm said.
Over the years POP has held demonstrations rallies and programs to draw attention to Abu-Jamal’s struggle for freedom and his fight for medical care. More than a decade ago Hamm personally visited Abu-Jamal at the prison in Frackville.
“Mumia has been an elder for some years and has been experiencing very serious health challenges. He is in danger of going blind if he does not have surgery and treatment for diabetic retinopathy. We are marching to demand the Department of Corrections provide it,” he said.
The People’s Organization For Progress is part of the March For Mumia coalition. Besides Hamm other POP members will be marching including community organizer and poet Zayid Muhammad, and activist Steven Bernhaut.
“We invite everyone to join us for the march whether you can march one day or twelve days, or whether you can march one mile or 100 miles. Even if you can’t march come out and cheer us on. We need your support,” he said.
“When I march for Mumia I will also be marching for an end to mass incarceration, the death penalty, and slave labor in our prisons. I will be marching for all those treated unfairly and inhumanely by the criminal justice system,” Hamm said.
For more information contact March For Mumia at (862) 240-6589, or MarchforMumia@gmail.com. Visit the website at MarchforMumia.org. To contact Lawrence Hamm call the People’s Organization For Progress at (973) 801-0001.
-END-
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Steven Bernhaut, 201-960-9204; marchformumia@gmail.com
Website: http://www.marchformumia.org
MARCHERS TO KICK OFF 103-MILE WALK FROM PHILADELPHIA TO FRACKVILLE, PA TO HIGHLIGHT PRISON ABUSES AND TO FREE MUMIA
“Many people say it is insane to resist the system, but actually, it’s insane not to.” — Mumia Abu- Jamal
Philadelphia, PA — Starting at 9 a.m., Friday, Nov. 28, activists, community leaders, and families of the incarcerated will gather next to Uncle Bobbie’s Bookstore at The Market Square Monument, 5447 Germantown Ave, Germantown, Philadelphia to embark on a March for Mumia, a 12-day mobilization demanding freedom for journalist and political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, and calling attention to the systemic crisis of elder abuse, medical neglect, and politically targeted incarceration.
After libations and a few speakers, marchers carrying signs will walk 7.1 miles up Germantown Ave. through Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill and eventually to Miles Park in LaFayette Hill, where participants will share food and solidarity.
For 11 more days, marchers will walk for 3-6 hours daily for 7-12 miles until they reach SCI Mahanoy in Frackville, PA on Dec. 9. Once there, participants will present a list of demands to the facility’s Superintendent, Bernadette Mason.
Abu-Jamal, 71 years old, suffers from chronic health conditions—including heart disease and vision loss—worsened by what his family and supporters describe as medical neglect by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (formerly known as Black Power activist H. Rap Brown), following complaints of elder abuse and medical neglect by his family and supporters, died Nov. 23 after 23 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Al-Amin’s and Mumia’s conditions reflect the broader crisis of this country’s aging prison population amid decades of medical neglect, as our brothers and sisters behind bars are routinely denied adequate care and proper food.
The March seeks to highlight these abuses and demands an end to the systemic neglect of elderly and sick incarcerated people across the U.S. and the immediate release of Mumia Abu-Jamal and other political prisoners.
Born in 1954, Abu-Jamal grew up in Philadelphia amid racial segregation and police violence. As a teenager, he joined the Black Panther Party and later became an award-winning journalist known for exposing systemic racism and police abuse. His reporting challenged Philadelphia’s power structure, earning him recognition—and hostility—from local authorities.
In 1981, Abu-Jamal was arrested and convicted of the shooting death of a Philadelphia police officer. His 1982 conviction was tainted by racial bias, coerced testimony, and judicial misconduct. Although a federal court overturned his death sentence in 2001, he remains imprisoned for life without parole. Despite decades of appeals and evidence of prosecutorial misconduct and constitutional violations, the state has blocked every attempt to grant him a fair trial.
Prominent voices including Amnesty International, the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Maya Angelou, Nelson Mandela, Toni Morrison, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), the International Transport Workers Union and the Congressional Black Caucus, among others, have long called for justice for Mumia and for his release.
March organizers and endorsers unite under a shared belief in the dignity of all human beings. It’s time to end a system that treats people as disposable.
Visit http://www.marchformumia.org for more details.
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Asante Sana, #HRapBrown #ImamJamilAlAmin
 JAMIL AL-AMIN aka “H. RAP BROWN”October 4, 1943 – November 23, 2025 |
| Dear Friends of SNCC, The family of Jamil Al-Amin aka H. Rap Brown announced his passing on Sunday, October 23, 2025 at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. Jamil Al-Amin served as the fifth Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Before becoming SNCC Chairman, Jamil was an active member of the Howard University SNCC chapter the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG). He also worked in the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project, and organizing in Greene County, Alabama in 1965-1966. Jamil Al-Amin is the author of two books, Die Nigger Die (1969) and Revolution by the Book (1993). The SNCC family offers its condolences and love to Jamil’s wife Karima Al Amin and son Kairi. While chairman of SNCC, Jamil asserted that “violence was as American as cherry pie.” His statement referred to the thousands of Black and Brown men, women and children who were and are brutalized and killed in America without any accountability. The violent deaths of Medgar Evers, Sandra Bland, Emmitt Till, Aura Rooser, Jimmie Lee Jackson, Michelle Cusseaux, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mya Hall, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Janisha Fonville, Tamir Rice, Natasha McKenna, George Floyd and Freddie Gray are an undeniable part of America’s history. In 2025, thousands of Brown men, women and children are being swept off the streets by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and disappeared without due process. Unlike white Americans, Black and Brown people are presumed guilty and are subjected to being stopped, frisked, detained, jailed, and/or shot. After serving as SNCC Chairman, Jamil was arrested for robbery and jailed in Attica Prison from 1971 to 1976. While in prison he joined the Muslim faith and changed his name from Hubert Gerold “Rap” Brown to Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin. Since 2000, Jamil had been serving a life sentence for the accused murder of two Deputy Sheriffs in Fulton County, Georgia. Jamil’s son, Kairi, has been working for more than a decade to secure his father’s release from prison. He has continually stated that there was evidence to prove Jamil innocent of the murders. It is the hope of SNCC veterans, who over the past 65 years have engaged in the struggle to make America a less violent society for Black and Brown people, that all Americans will continue the very hard work of fighting against all forms of inequality and injustice. We must ensure that America becomes a place where all people feel safe and are not subjected to violence by federal, state or local governments, and non-state actors because of the color of their skin. |
#CBSNewsChicago: #Ebony #Ebonymag #Ebonymagazine celebrates 80th anniversary
#TodayinBlackHistory #BlackHistory #NewarkHistory #BlackPressHistory #NewspaperHistory #apartheid #SouthAfrica #SouthAfricaHistory #antiapartheid #antiapartheidhistory #NewJerseyHistory #PeoplesOrganizationforProgress #AfroAmericanNewspaper #NewJerseyAFRO Today Is….
….the 40th anniversary of the event that spurred my first published article ever, done for the 4,000-circulation weekly. It was about a massive anti-apartheid march in Newark, N.J.
I was folded into The New Jersey Afro-American by Deborah P. Smith-Gregory, the article’s key and lead author.
Deborah worked for local Afro legends Harry B. Webber and editor-in-chief Bob Queen. She would succeed him in 1987, becoming the paper’s first woman editor.
From here:
Robert C. Queen (1912-1996) was born in Newark and served most of his life as a reporter and newspaper editor. Queen’s career started in 1938 when he was a reporter for the New Jersey Guardian. Later he was a writer and city editor for The New Jersey Herald. In the 1950s, he was managing editor of The Philadelphia Independent. Subsequently, he worked for the Philadelphia offices of The Pittsburgh Courier. In 1963, he returned to Philadelphia to become managing editor of the Philadelphia edition of The Afro-American. His final stop required him to return to Newark as editor of The New Jersey Afro-American. For the better part of a half century, Bob Queen covered Newark’s political and entertainment scenes, telling stories of interest to African-Americans that tended to be overlooked, misunderstood or forgotten by mainstream journalists. Former city councilman Calvin West recently recalled how, when he and Irvine Turner, Newark’s first black councilman, were in office, Queen made it a point to report the African-American viewpoint. The son of a lawyer, Bob Queen had little formal training in journalism, yet he was one of his era’s best reporters. A contemporary reporter described him as a mover and shaker in the Newark community and beyond. During his lengthy career, Queen interviewed Roy White, one of the famous Scottsboro Boys. He also wrote of nightlife in Trenton, where he played piano in his youth at local watering holes. Like other leaders, Queen gave of his time and talents to many organizations, including the Philadelphia Citizens’ Committee, Sigma Delta Chi Journalistic Society, and the Philadelphia Child Development Program. His honors included an award for journalism from Temple University, the W.E.B. Dubois Award from the Newark Branch of the NAACP and the New Jersey Association of Black Journalists’ award. Queen also received an honorary doctorate from Essex County College, was inducted into the Black Press Hall of Fame and was cited by the Garden State Association of Black Journalists. He was well thought of by contemporaries such as Sally Carroll of the Newark NAACP. As his wife, Edna, commented, ‘Once you knew him, you had a friend for life.’ Old-schooled and gentlemanly, Queen was indeed a friend to his many colleagues and associates.
#BreakingPoints: #FoxNews TRICKED By #AI #WelfareQueen #Slop #AISlop
March For #MumiaAbuJamal #MarchforMumia
#WCBSNews #WCBSTV: Push on to rename #NewYorkCity #NYC street in honor of #JackKirby, one of the godfathers of #MCU #Marvel #MarvelComics #comicbooks comic books
DECEMBER 28TH UPDATE:
Drums in the Global Village 