Mumia Abu-Jamal remains a sort of enigma in this country. He’s become such the symbol of a “cause” that I think a lot of people don’t even realize that there is actually a human being behind the slogans and protest posters and benefits and such. This CD needs to be listened to. It’s hard to believe that a man who has been so beaten down by the system and who has not even been able to touch another human being in more then a decade, remains such a warm, caring, and passionate person who is so outspoken for human rights and human decency that he is considered so dangerous by the state that they won’t allow him a fair re-trial or to speak with the media. Wether Mumia is actually guilty of the crime he was accused of or not, he deserves to be heard and he deserves to be tried by his peers in a fair and “constitutional” manner. FREE MUMIA NOW!

This CD is really thorough and fantastic, featuring about twenty essays in Mumia’s own voice about a range of subjects from MOVE to NAFTA to how it felt to attend his mother’s funeral in shackles. The tracks are broken up by a lot of people talking about Mumia, from Alice Walker to Ramona Africa to Manning Marable to Howard Zinn to even Martin Sheen. Probably the only thing I don’t like about this CD is the super annoying sound of prison doors slamming after every track. The booklet has a lot of information in it about the case, how to get involved, and a written transcript of all the tracks on the CD which is really great for people who have a short attention span, like me, who need to follow along on paper as I hear something if I really want to concentrate on it. I have a feeling this is what Alternative Tentacles had in mind for the other CD, but it didn’t quite work out right. This one is stellar! The title is also great, a play on the NPR show “All Things Considered” which was supposed to air a series of thirteen three minute segments of Mumia talking but were pressured not to and gave into the pressure not to. Definitely pick this up for some enlightenment.

Review: James Squeaky