Naming A Harlem Street In Honor Of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Published on Nov 18, 2006
Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal,
At the Rue Mumia inauguration ceremony in St. Denis this past April, Mayor Didier Paillard declared: “Mumia's struggle is a symbol for justice, the abolition of the death penalty, human rights, and resistance against a system which has the arrogance to reign over the world in the name of those same human rights that it tramples with complete impunity on its own soil.”
In response to the street-naming, resolutions condemning St. Denis were introduced in the US Congress, the Pennsylvania State Senate, and the Philadelphia City Council.
In September, a delegation visited from France to defend Rue Mumia. They attempted to meet with Philadelphia Mayor John Street, but after several hours of being ignored, they left his office to speak at the town meeting nearby organized by Mumia's local supporters.
At the town meeting, the visitors proclaimed: “As long as the city of St. Denis exists, we will have Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal.”
Mumia's supporters later presented their own resolution defending Rue Mumia at the City Council.
Supporters in New York City have started an online petition calling for a street in Harlem to be named after Abu-Jamal. http://www.gopetition.com/online/9723.html "