© 2026 by Mumia Abu-Jamal I always look to the ancestors, the old ones who came before us, who lived in these bodies before we were born; those who not only look like us, who walk like us, who talk like us, who dream like us, who feel like us, who weep like us; those who came before, those who suffered that which is today almost incomprehensible. Those are the people I [...]
by Mumia Abu-Jamal A sideline about the late, great Nichelle Nichols, who played the original, the first, and the fantastic Lieutenant Uhura of the Starship Enterprise of the original Star Trek. I saw her being interviewed once, and she remarked that she wanted to leave the show; and try out what really moved her. Which is, her dancing. So she wanted to leave. And guess who communicated with her. And I [...]
© 7/2026 by Mumia Abu-Jamal https://www.prisonradio.org/commentary/message-to-galaxy-fellows/ The most important thing you can share -- the North Star you refer to -- is History. Real history teaches why today is the way it is, today. Malcolm X used to say, History, of all our studies, best rewards our research. When he learned about history, it transformed him. The history of Black people in America opened his head and expanded his mind. It remade [...]
© by Mumia Abu-Jamal 06/2026 There's a movie that I saw a few years ago, and it's funny, but it's not funny. And it's very, very funny in the sense of, it will make you laugh. It might make you have a belly-laugh. But when you sit back and think about what it's showing you, your laughter will stop. It's called "Idiocracy." And it's about the rule of really stupid rulers, and [...]
© by Mumia Abu-Jamal https://www.prisonradio.org/commentary/michael-parenti-presente/ Michael Parenti was a wonderful writer, for his work was peppered with wit, insight, and a deep well of learning. Years ago, I received one of his books, that I found particularly interesting, on the Roman Empire. His thinking was original, and ground-breaking. It made you think of Rome and its Empire in a brand-new way. I got a letter from Michael, and he remarked that he [...]
© by Mumia Abu-Jamal https://www.prisonradio.org/commentary/the-war-before-the-war/ As bombs explode and wreak havoc across the Middle East, one wonders, What will come of this? This question arises because of events that happened over 70 years ago. 1953, to be exact, when spies from the CIA and British intelligence hatched a plan to remove Iran's democratically elected leader, Mohammad Mosaddegh, removed from power because he supported the nationalization of his country's vast oil reserves. The [...]
© by Mumia Abu-Jamal https://www.prisonradio.org/commentary/normalizing-troops-in-u-s-streets/ People always criticize the Congress, at least the Republicans in Congress for being too supine, and too prostrative when it comes to the president. Well, I don't think it's fair to charge just one branch of the government. We live in a country where the Supreme Court, which is the highest judicial power in the US, essentially gave unlimited power and immunity to the president on the [...]
© 2026 by Mumia Abu-Jamal https://www.prisonradio.org/commentaries/ [In commercial journalism], you either serve the Emperor or you serve the Empire, but you serve power. And if you don't, you get tossed. Think about this -- Into the Buzzsaw, that was one of the best books I ever read about journalism, because it was real cases of real journalists all across the nation, who found out stuff and tried to report it, and collided [...]
© Dec. 26, 2025 by Mumia Abu-Jamal https://www.prisonradio.org/commentary/that-which-is-to-come/ It is foolish for us to predict what is to come. For life is full of variables, and none can see the whole. But sometimes, some things, are so clear that they impress themselves upon the mind, and leave a mark that cannot be undone. This seems to be such a time. The turning gears of this machine are not just the ruinous effects [...]
© 11/17/2025 by Mumia Abu-Jamal The US gets kudos all around the world for its heralded First Amendment rights, including the right to freedom of speech. Does the record suggest that? Let's examine it. Years ago, during the last month of the '60s, about four young brothers, including myself, went to the Spectrum, a huge arena in South Philly, to protest the appearance of Governor George Wallace, of Alabama, who was there [...]
© 10/10/25 by Mumia Abu Jamal https://www.prisonradio.org/commentary/assata-returns-to-the-ancestors/ Her name, Assata Shakur, has become an iconic symbol of Black revolutionary resistance to the white nation and American Empire. Shot, beaten and threatened with death, Assata lived up to the meaning of her name: “She who struggles.” Born Joanne Deborah Byron on July 16, 1947, in Queens, N.Y., she came of age during the tumultuous 1960s, when young Black people joined movements and organizations [...]
©08/2025 by Mumia Abu-Jamal (Spanish translation below) When we shine that bright light, we will symbolically, literally and figuratively, open the eyes of many. And there are guys walking around right now who have glaucoma, who have eye damage, who have lens damage, who have retinal damage due to diabetes, and all of that can be treated, can be cured, or at least held at bay for a pittance. You know, laser [...]
