Mumia Abu-Jamal papers (MS.2022.009)

Biographical/Historical Note

Mumia Abu-Jamal (né Wesley Cook) was born to William and Edith Cook on April 24, 1954 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Abu-Jamal's father passed away when Mumia was nine years of age and his mother died in 1990. Abu-Jamal has five brothers and sisters.

While attending Benjamin Franklin high school, a Kenyan teacher of African Cultures gave students African or Arabic names, assigning Abu-Jamal, "Mumia," the name of a Kenyan anti-colonial African nationalist who fought against the British before Kenyan independence. He would later take the last name Abu-Jamal (Arabic for Father of Jamal), after the birth of his first son.

In 1969, at age 15, Abu-Jamal co-founded the Philadelphia Black Panther Party and became the chapter's Minister of Information, launching his radio journalism career. During this time, he was illegally surveilled by the FBI as part of the Counter Intelligence Program designed to disrupt the activities of political organizations across the country. Abu-Jamal left the Black Panther Party in 1970, but remained fully rooted in radio journalism, most notably with National Public Radio. His journalism is most well-known for covering the MOVE organization in West Philadelphia's Powelton Village neighborhood, a movement he would later join. In 1981 he was elected president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists.

During this time, Abu-Jamal's first son, Jamal, was born in 1971. Abu-Jamal married Jamal's mother, Biba, in 1973, who had their first daughter, Lateefa, that same year. The two divorced and Abu-Jamal married Marilyn, known as "Peachie," in 1977. Their son, Mazi, was born in early 1978. By 1981, Abu-Jamal had divorced Peachie and married his third wife, Wadiya. The two remained married for over 40 years until Wadiya passed away unexpectedly in December 2022.

In 1982, Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia police officer and sentenced to death. He remained in solitary confinement on death row for nearly thirty years until 2011 when his sentence was commuted to life without parole and he was moved to general population. Abu-Jamal has always maintained his innocence and has gained international recognition as movements across the globe call for his release as well as an end to the death penalty. For more information about Abu-Jamal's criminal case, see the 2016 documentary, Justice on Trial.

While in prison, Abu-Jamal has maintained his journalism career, providing commentaries for National Public Radio's All Things Considered and Prison Radio. He has published 9 books and hundreds of news articles and gives speeches to classrooms and for events. Abu-Jamal earned his undergraduate degree at Goddard College in 1996 and is currently earning his PhD in the history of consciousness from University of California, Santa Cruz.