By Any Means Necessary
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Sundiata Acoli Hiram Rivera
“We must spread the campaign to free Sundiata all over the world.”- Assata Shakur Sundiata Acoli is one of the longest held Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War in the gulags of the United States empire. Raised in Vernon, Texas and a graduate of Prairie View A&M College, Sundiata Acoli’s case is a prime example of this country’s never-ending war against New Afrikan people. Raised in the Jim Crow South until graduating college, Sundiata had experienced the dehumanizing effects of segregation, economic and police violence, and racial bigotry that defined the country for generations, post-“emancipation.” In 1964, armed with a degree in Mathematics, Sundiata joined with hundreds of other young people to engage in voter registration work in Mississippi. These activists were hopeful that the voting process could bring freedom and justice for New Afrikan people. Unfortunately, those prospects would fade as repression by police and intelligence agencies, including targeted assassinations of key leaders, proved yet again the empire’s commitment to the subjugation and killing of its New Afrikan population. In 1968, Sundiata joined the Harlem Chapter of the Black Panther Party and continued his community work on issues of education, housing, employment, health care, and policing. He was arrested in 1969 as part of the Panther 21 and held in jail without bail for two years before all 21 of them were acquitted. After that, FBI COINTELPRO intimidation of potential employers left Sundiata with no work in the computer profession and forced him underground. In 1973, Sundiata and his comrades were stopped and assaulted on the New Jersey Turnpike. Zayd Shakur was killed, Assata Shakur was wounded and captured, one state trooper was killed and another was wounded, and Sundiata escaped but was captured days later. He was sentenced to life plus 30 years. Sundiata has been eligible for parole since 1992. The empire has waged a well organized resistance to his freedom ever since. He has served much of his time in solitary confinement in federal “supermax” penitentiaries, despite being held on state charges. In 2014, a panel of New Jersey judges ordered the parole board to “expeditiously set conditions” for his release. Two years later, the parole board denied his parole and mandated that he serve another 15 years. He is currently 82 years old. Sundiata Acoli deserves our unyielding commitment to his freedom campaign. Nothing short of liberation should be the goal. “Spread the campaign all over the world” until our comrade and all Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War are home. You can write to Sundiata Acoli at: Sundiata Acoli #39794-066 (Squire) FCI Cumberland Federal Correctional Institution P.O. BOX 1000 Cumberland, MD 21501