PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Staughton Lynd & Mumia Abu-Jamal on John Brown's Legacy
by Jessica McPherson Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 11:21 PM

In a recent talk at Carnegie Mellon University, Staughton Lynd, Mumia Abu Jamal, and Johanna Fernandez address the legacy of John Brown and its relevance to the struggle for justice and racial equality today.

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At a recent event hosted by the AB Political Speakers bureau of Carnegie Mellon University, Staugton Lynd, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Johanna Fernandez all considered the legacy of John Brown's anti-slavery work. The event was well-attended by a racially diverse, multi-generational crowd of college and high school students, local activists, and other Pittsburgh community members.

Johanna Fernandez, a professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University, described John Brown's life and his anti-slavery work, as well as the historical context in which it occured, and related the discussion to today. audio length = 11:15

Staughton Lynd is a lifelong activist who directed the Mississippi Freedom Schools Project for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1964; organized against the Vietnam war; acted as a legal advocate for workers, and has written extensively on community organizing, labor issues, and pacifism. He lives and works in Youngstown, Ohio, where he was very involved in the struggle to keep the mills open in the '80s. Lynd compared the SNCC Mississippi Freedom Summer project and John Brown's Harper's Ferry Raid as interracial movements struggling for justice. He emphasized the importance of races working together in this struggle, and also explored the leadership styles of both movements, concluding that both suffered from the dominant leadership of charismatic individuals, rather than setting their directions in truly democratic ways. audio length = 29:30

Mumia Abu-Jamal is a former Black Panther currently on death Row at SCI-Greene prison in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Evidence suggests he is falsely imprisoned for his political beliefs. He continues to write and offer radio commentary on social justice issues. Abu-Jamal's comments, pre-recorded for the event, questioned the dominant perception of John Brown's acts as terroristic violence, developing the idea that violent acts perpetrated the state or dominant economic interests are condoned by society and labelled in terms that do not even classify them as violence, but violent acts perpetrated by those seeking justice from the oppression of those agents are condemned with the use of strong terms such as terrorism. Audio length = 17:15

Vincent Harding, another civil righs veteran, was not scheduled to speak but fortuitously happened to be in town for the event; he offered some comments and led question-and-answer with the audience. Audio length = 9:00

Johanna Fernandez
by Jessica McPherson Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 11:21 PM

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Staughton Lynd
by Jessica McPherson Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 11:21 PM

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Staughton Lynd
by Jessica McPherson Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 11:21 PM

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Mumia abu Jamal
by Jessica McPherson Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 11:21 PM

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Mumia abu Jamal
by Jessica McPherson Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 11:21 PM

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Vincent Harding
by Jessica McPherson Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 11:21 PM

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Vincent Harding
by Jessica McPherson Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006 at 11:21 PM

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