June, 1999

Mumia's voice to be heard at commencement

Olympia, Wash.—On June 11, the 1999 graduation ceremony at The Evergreen State College (TESC) will include a unique commencement address—a 13-minute audio-recorded speech taped on death row by Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal's presence at this event has provoked a nationwide debate due to the controversial nature of his case. A renowned journalist and author, Abu-Jamal was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia police officer in 1982 by what his supporters believe to have been a flagrant example of a flawed judicial system. Abu-Jamal's presence at this graduation ceremony indicates a conscious movement across the nation to recognize Mumia as a political prisoner.

Abu-Jamal was chosen to speak at TESC's graduation ceremony in January, after the school's administration mistakenly announced that the first choice for commencement speaker, Washington governor Gary Locke, would be unable to attend. The mistake was discovered, and the school found itself with two commencement speakers—a pro-death penalty politician and a man whose death warrant could be signed any day. Locke eventually bowed to pressure from the state police, declining to speak at commencement.

Many graduating students welcome the opportunity to hear Mumia speak as well as to make a strong statement of opposition to an unjust trial. "What does it mean, when he can sit there on death row for 17 years, while more and more evidence of corruption keeps coming up?" asked graduating Evergreen senior Megan Davis. "If this is what our justice system has come to, then something has got to change."

Evergreen promoters of Mumia Abu-Jamal as commencement speaker put forward several reasons for inviting him to speak. Students and faculty have worked to increase public awareness of his case as well as the broader prison crisis in the U.S. where two million people are imprisoned, most of whom are, disproportionately, people of color. First, Mumia speaking is an opportunity for TESC to set a precedent among colleges. "It is easier to see injustice in the past than in the present," explained TESC professor Peter Bohmer. "This is a chance for Evergreen to stand up for justice." Second, they view this event as a chance to combat the silence imposed upon the escalating prison population in this country. Abu-Jamal has come to represent, for millions, one person's ability to struggle and maintain strength in the face of injustice. Graduating senior Stephanie Guilloud states, "Selecting Mumia Abu-Jamal as the graduation speaker is an historic opportunity that will reverberate beyond the walls of this particular institution."

—Concerned Students, Faculty, and Staff

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