Mumia Abu-Jamal papers (MS.2022.009)

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Mumia Abu-Jamal, American political activist, journalist, and prisoner. Prior to his imprisonment, Abu-Jamal co-founded the Philadelphia Black Panther Party, served as president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and supported the MOVE organization as an activist and radio journalist. Since 1982, Abu-Jamal has maintained his innocence and fought his conviction for the 1981 murder of a Philadelphia police officer. Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death and is currently serving a life sentence without parole. Materials in the collection include personal and biographical information, artwork, prison life records, typed and handwritten writings, correspondence, print materials, 3-D objects, and legal materials, dating from 1900 – 2023 (bulk 1982 – 2023) and is arranged into 8 series.

Series 1, PERSONAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, 1983 – 2023, includes artwork by Abu-Jamal; educational course readings, handwritten notes, and papers by Abu-Jamal for his undergraduate and graduate work at various institutions. Note that some of the educational materials cannot be identified by school and thus are catalogued by record type. Series 1 also includes photos of Abu-Jamal and others and prison records such as commissary receipts, inmate grievance forms, and memos from Pennsylvania prisons. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 2, LEGAL MATERIALS – OPEN, 2015 – 2019, includes legal briefs, correspondence and inmate grievance forms related to two cases Abu-Jamal brought against the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC).

The first case, Mumia Abu-Jamal v. Kerestes, referred to in this finding aid as "Hepatitis C case," relates to when Abu-Jamal was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2012. In 2015 he was sent to the hospital in critical condition as a result of the disease but was refused treatment, being told his condition was not severe enough to merit treatment with the expensive drugs that were only administered in the most severe cases due to cost. As a result, in 2016, Abu-Jamal sued the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections for failure to provide that healthcare. In 2017, a U.S. District Judge ordered that Abu-Jamal had to be seen by a doctor within 14 days to determine if there was a medical reason why he should be denied treatment. This decision cleared the way for Abu-Jamal to receive antiviral medication as well as for all other United States prisoners to receive similar treatment for Hepatitis C.

The second case, McClenton v. Wetzel, referred to in this finding aid as "Timberland boots case," relates to an incident from February 2018 when one prisoner in Pennsylvania, wearing Timberland boots, was accused of stomping a guard who died days later. As punishment, the head of the Prison Guards Association called for banning and confiscating Timberland boots from all prisoners in the state. Approximately half the prison population owned these boots and had paid over $100 per pair. The Department of Corrections took the boots without compensation. In 2020, Abu-Jamal, along with prisoner Michael McClenton, sued the Department of Corrections, arguing the confiscation of property without compensation was a violation of their fourteenth amendment rights. A Judge found in favor of the DOC.

Series 3, WRITINGS BY MUMIA ABU-JAMAL, 1989 – 2020, includes typed and handwritten drafts of books, book reviews, course lectures, essays, notes, poems, sheet music, and speeches. Titles include "Another Mumia Rule," "Before Guantanamo, or Abu Ghraib, was the Black Panthers," "Ferguson Fallout," "From Civil Rights to Black Power," "If It's African, It's Tribal," "Ruminations on the Obama Presidency," "A Sad Love Song (Wadiya's Song)," "The Vision of Fanon," "Voting for Your Pain," and We Want Freedom: Life in the Black Panther Party. Topics include the Clinton, Bush, and Obama presidencies, policing and criminal justice in the United States, democracy and imperialism, terrorism, war, and social movements. Note that some folders have multiple titles listed because Abu-Jamal wrote multiple pieces on a single sheet of paper. This series is arranged alphabetically by type of written work then by title.

Series 4, WRITINGS BY OTHERS, 1988 – 2019, includes typed drafts, proofs, printouts, and related correspondence of books, theses, transcripts, and essays. Authors include Pierre Bourdieu, Robert Cook, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Selma James, Alton H. Maddox Jr., and Victor Wallis. This series is arranged alphabetically by author's last name then by title.

Series 5, CORRESPONDENCE, 1982 – 2021, contains correspondence from U.S.-based and international supporters as well as family members, friends, scholars, and coworkers. Correspondents include Edith Cook (Abu-Jamal's mother), Jamal Hart (Abu-Jamal's son), Wadiya Jamal (Abu-Jamal's wife), the Africa family, Johanna Fernández, Kathleen Cleaver, Frances Goldin (Abu-Jamal's publisher), Carole Seligman, Street Legal Cinema, Mark Lewis Taylor, and Howard Zinn. This series is arranged chronologically by year then alphabetically by sender.

Series 6, PRINT MATERIALS, 1900 – 2019, includes books, catalogues, flyers, manuals, newsletters, newspapers and newspaper articles, periodicals, postcards, press releases, and zines. Titles include Africa Renewal, Against the Current: A Socialist Journal, Earth First! The Journal of Ecological Resistance, Graterfriends: A Publication of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, Labour Affairs: Incorporating the Labour and Trade Union Review, The Movement, Prison Legal News, and Socialist Viewpoint. This series is arranged alphabetically by format then by title.

Series 7, OBJECTS, n.d., contains three-dimensional objects used by Abu-Jamal. Objects include colored pencils, pastel chalks, a clear plastic Sentry AM/FM radio etched with "Jamal AM8335" on top, and Abu-Jamal's iconic brown Mainstreet Pilot glasses in a black case. This series is arranged alphabetically.

Series 8, RESTRICTED LEGAL MATERIALS, 1982 – 2019, includes legal briefs, correspondence, research materials, and other legal files. This series is closed until Abu-Jamal's death after which this series will open in accordance with United States records law.