A POWER SUN has developed a fantastic fundraiser trailer to assist Field Up Productions with the completion of their works.

Go to: http://vimeo.com/8919298 and check it out!

Please feel free to spread the word to the masses and support the making of this important film, no donation is too small and it absolutely cannot be made without support!

Contact Sis. Dawn McGhee at fieldup@gmail.com, thank you!

From: The Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign
TheSAFC@gmail.com
http://www.sundiataacoli.org
—————————

Greetings:

Please show your support for the release of Sundiata Acoli by sending a letter to the NJ Parole Board. We’ve made it easy providing a sample letter below. All you have to do is take a moment and send it in as specified below.

AND SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/parole-for-sundiata-acoli

Link to your websites and social networking pages!

Don’t underestimate how important your letters are. We can’t let this opportunity to support Sundiata slip by us. Here’s a few talking points to get you started:

Letters that are especially useful are
1)      Letters from New Jersey (but letters from EVERYWHERE are great)
2)      Letters offering housing or work to Sundiata (he has both taken care of, but it will be impressive to the parole board to know about all the offers are being made- coming from New York in particular and across the country)

PLEASE MAIL YOUR LETTERS TO SAFC ATTORNEY:
Atty. Florence Morgan
120-46 Queens Blvd., Kew Gardens, NY 11415.

It is important we keep a record of the number of letters that are sent and the diversity among supporters of his release. SAFC will make a copy and forward letters to the board.

Feel free to personalize your letters with a brief introduction about who you are/what you do.

Please note also police agencies consistently refer to Sundiata as a domestic terrorist. Letters should also refute this claim by stating he is no threat to public safety but rather a beloved member of the community who is sorely missed. Letters to the parole board MUST refrain from describing Sundiata as a political prisoner. It is also advised letters refrain from admonishing or criticizing the parole board about their review process.

Sundiata appreciates you! We do too!

If you have any questions, email us at TheSAFC@gmail.com.

Asante Sana! (Many Thanks)

___ Sample letter _________

Date: Oct. 10, 2009
Chairwoman Volette C. Ross
New Jersey State Parole Board
P.O. Box 862
Trenton NJ 08625

Chairwoman Ross:

I am writing this letter concerning Sundiata Acoli, NJ#54859/Fed#39794-066, who is eligible for parole February of 2010. I strongly encourage you to grant his parole request.

Sundiata’s age is a strong reason to grant parole. In January 2010, Sundiata will be 73 years old. He has been incarcerated for 36 years and has served his sentence. Elderly prisoners’ recidivism rates are extremely low and they are highly unlikely to commit a crime once released. In addition, elderly prisoners require more intensive medical care to remain healthy, which is an added cost to the prison system.

Sundiata’s prison record has been impeccable. Not only has he not had any violations or write-ups in decades, he is a talented painter, writer and educator. He has worked with high school and college classes across the country, providing information and insight, as well as providing support to other prisoners who want to further their education.

Sundiata himself has a very impressive educational and work background, having worked at NASA in the 1960s as a computer programmer. He left that job to travel to the South to register Blacks to vote during the Civil Rights movement.

Sundiata has expressed remorse for his involvement in the circumstance that has led to his incarceration. I believe with all of my heart that if he is released, he will be an asset to the community, one that is sorely needed.

Sundiata is a father and a grandfather, and his greatest desire is to get to watch his grandchildren grow up. Please help fulfill that desire.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Sincerely,

sundiata fundraiser

Field Up Productions is proud to present some behind-the-scenes footage of our film, A Power Sun, and an introduction of some of the dramatic cast!

Check it out at http://vimeo.com/6418901

Sundiata Acoli s/n Clark Edward Squire, was reared in a small town in Texas, worked as a Computer Systems Analyst for NASA with astronaut Neil Armstrong, and became known as one of the loyalist activists during the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. With a home front war brewing, a people allegiant to educating and liberating the oppressed was the goal. Former Black Panther Party (herein BPP) member and current prisoner, Sundiata Acoli shares his story via vocal narration and dramatic elements about his journey through the depths of hell and back in the Liberation Movement in America.

A POWER SUN tells of a courageous man, who served as the Party’s Lt. of Finance, and blatant cover-ups by a government who turned its back on justice; taking viewers on an expedition of realism, unveiling the untold experience that stunned Americans in the past…and many people around the world today, making this film – history in the present.

A POWER SUN shares diverse and independent voices that have never been heard, but written about in many books and periodicals. Acoli joins his comrades, family and friends in a chilling, yet true testament of his life from childhood to his current struggles as a prisoner.

A POWER SUN is an extraordinary dramatic documentary exploring the many aspects of the BPP Movement and the climate of the times in New York (herein NY), including the states’ longest and most expensive trial in its history and the Liberation Movement, with direct accounts, historical context and critical perspectives from former BPP NY Chapter members and others while learning the about the New Jersey Turnpike tragedy and life as a prisoner. The film’s plot is navigated by the conversation between a grandmother, Eartha ”Mama Earth” Kahn, played by Irma P. Hall (Meet the Browns, Soul Food) and grandson, Cinque Kahn, played by Omar Wiseman (Disney Channel), as “Mama Earth” teaches Cinque about the BPP NY Chapter using a unique game of chess on a recreational park set. As Cinque learns chess, a by-stander in the park, Sun, listens to the instructions and applies the lessons to his life. An exploration of Acoli’s life is revisited. The audience experiences the surreal life of Acoli while hearing thought provoking testimonies and learning about a select cadre of leaders in the Party, as well as, learning the art of chess.

A POWER SUN is produced and executed with the highest professional and ethical standards. The film’s director, writer and producer, Dawn McGhee says, “This film combines the true history of a dynamic movement, while re-creating the accounts of his story”. Through the narratives, A POWER SUN joins the past and the present within an innovative film structure guided by accuracy and strong conviction that will change the lives of all people from the four corners of this world.

Visit Field Up Productions at http://www.fieldup.com and DONATE to help make this important film a REALITY!!

Sundiata Acoli is a 72 year old prisoner at FCI Otisville, NY, who is sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, afflicted with common old age infirmities and has been imprisoned 36 years to date. He was arrested for the May 2nd, 1973 NJ Turnpike shooting incident in which he shot no one but merely managed to survive but in which his passenger, Zayd Shakur, and a New Jersey trooper, Werner Foerster, were killed. Another trooper, James Harper, was wounded as was Sundiata’s other passenger, Assata Shakur, who was at the time the object of a nationwide “woman hunt” and she was captured. Sundiata was also wounded, then captured 40 hrs later. Sundiata and both his passengers were members of the Black Panther Party at the time. For those reasons, and because Assata escaped prison long ago, the Parole board has twice denied Sundiata parole claiming he’s likely to commit another crime.

Sundiata has endured some of the harshest treatment a prisoner could experience. Still, he maintains a favorable prison record. He is a talented painter and has written numerous published articles about the prison industrial complex. He is a beloved father, grandfather, brother and elder to many with a rich history of making invaluable contributions to his community.

In the 60’s Sundiata left a promising career at NASA as a computer programmer to travel to the South to help register Blacks to vote. During his activism with the NY Chapter of the Black Panther Party, Sundiata contributed to various programs providing the city of Harlem with community control of schools, tenant control of slum housing, free breakfast for school children, free health care, legal clinics and political education classes. He also worked on community programs against drug dealers and police brutality. Numerous Panthers are still languishing in prison and have repeatedly been denied parole despite clear support for their release.

Sundiata comes up for parole hearing again in Feb. 2010 and people concerned about justice are urged to send letters, cards and signature petitions which express in effect: 36 years of imprisonment is enough. Sundiata Acoli NJ#54859/Fed#39794-066 has long ago fullfilled all requirements for parole and is too old, infirmed and is highly unlikely to commit another crime so I urge you to release Sundiata Acoli on parole.

As the attorneys will present your letters formally and keep record of the number of letters received, please do not mail them to the Parole Board directly. Instead mail your letters to:
Atty. Florence Morgan
120-46 Queens Blvd., Kew Gardens, NY 11415.

Letters should be addressed to:
Chairwoman Volette C. Ross
New Jersey State Parole Board
P.O. Box 862
Trenton NJ 08625

To join the Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign (SAFC) email list or request additional information, feel free to contact SAFC by email at TheSAFC@gmail.com.

Thank you.

PLEASE SUPPORT AND SPREAD THE WORD!

From Sundaita’s Freedom is your Freedom, 27 December 1997

Any movement that fails to support it’s political internees is a sham movement!
- Ojore N. Lutalo

Sundiata Acoli was born in 1937 in Vernon, Texas, a small town below the Panhandle, where he grew up, went to Booker T. Washington High School, did agricultural work, hunted, fished, played sports, and did all the other things kids do while growing up. Upon graduation he went to Prairie View A & M College at Prairie View, Texas. He graduated in 1956 with a B.S. in Mathematics. After unsuccessfully looking for work in New York City, he took a job as a mathematician/computer programmer for NASA at Edwards Air Force base in California. Three years later Sundiata returned to New York where he worked with computers for the next 13 years.

The 1960s were a time of intense ferment and change, particularly among Black people. The civil rights movement and later the movement for Black liberation and power instilled a sense of new possibilities and transformation, as Black people en masse challenged the power structure.

Sundiata was an integral part of that process. He first became politically active in the summer of 1964, doing voter registration work in Mississippi with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was not a member of SNCC or any other organization. He was simply a computer programmer in New York City who read about the murder of three civil rights workers. The article implied that the murders would deter volunteers from going south to register voters and it listed the Conference of Federated Organizations (COFO) in New York City as the coordinator of the volunteer project. Sundiata called COFO and volunteered. They said yes, if he paid his own fare to Mississippi. Sundiata bought an airline ticket and flew down. In the fall, he returned to his mathematician/computer career but felt that: “i couldn’t be proud of survival under the system in America, because too many of my brothers and sisters hadn’t survived … i was aware of the subtle pressures working to force upon me the acceptance of white values, to give up more and more of being Black … i loved being Black — the Black mentality, mores, habits and associations. i looked around for an organization that was dedicated to alleviating the suffering of Black people.”

In 1968, Sundiata joined the Black Panther Party (BPP) chapter in Harlem. The BPP was one of the most important political organizations of the 1960s. It particularly captured the imagination and energy of young Black people and mushroomed into chapters in many cities. The BPP supported community programs such as community control of schools, tenant control of slum housing, free breakfast programs for school children, free health care, day care, and legal clinics, political education classes for the community, and publication of a weekly national newspaper. Perhaps most notably, the BPP also fought against rampant police brutality in the Black community and was committed to armed self-defense.

The Black Panther Party’s enormous popularity was matched by an enormous hatred of the BPP by the United States government, which launched a major political/military offensive to destroy it as well as other Black organizations. The ultimate goal was to destroy the Black Liberation Movement. To this end, the FBI along with local police departments, unleashed what was later revealed to be the Counter Intelligence Program, otherwise known as COINTELPRO. Panther headquarters around the country were militarily assaulted by local and federal police forces. False rumors and divisions were propagated that caused internal squabbling in the Black movement. COINTELPRO also left scores of Black revolutionaries dead and many others imprisoned. For example, in 1969 alone, 28 Panthers, including Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, were murdered and 749 others were arrested and/or imprisoned.

Sundiata was one of those arrested. As he has written: “On April 2, 1969, i was arrested to stand trial in the Panther 21 case. Twenty-one of us were accused of conspiring to carry out a ridiculous plot to blow up a number of New York department stores and the New York Botanical Gardens. Although the legal process took two years and the trial lasted eight months — the longest criminal prosecution in New York history — the jurors took only 56 minutes to acquit all the defendants of every charge. Police agents appearing at the Panther 21 trial had also attended some group political education classes held at my apartment. Although an ad hoc organization of my fellow workers named ‘Computer People for Peace’ had raised and posted bail for me during the Panther 21 trial, and although several other defendants had been released on bail, the judge refused to let me out on bail. i had to do the entire two years on trial in jail until released on acquittal. i endured 2 years of political internment.”

After Sundiata was released, he was constantly followed and harassed by the F.B.I. and local police forces. He finally decided that he could not be effective in the pursuit of Black liberation under these conditions, and so he went underground. On May 2, 1973, Sundiata, Assata Shakur, and Zayd Malik Shakur were ambushed by state troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike. The incident that ensued resulted in the murder of Zayd as well as the serious wounding of Assata. Trooper Werner Foerster was also killed by bullets of a state trooper’s gun. Sundiata managed somehow to elude arrest on that day. However, police launched a two-day massive search of the surrounding area: “When i was arrested, police immediately cut my pants off me so that i only wore shorts. Whooping and hollering, a gang of New Jersey state troopers dragged me through the woods, through water puddles, and hit me over the head with the barrel of their shot gun. They only cooled out somewhat when they noticed that all the commotion had caused a crowd to gather at the edge of the road, observing their actions.”

Sundiata was tried in an environment of mass hysteria and convicted, although there was no credible evidence he had killed the trooper or even been involved in the shooting. At sentencing the judge stated that Sundiata was an avowed revolutionary and sentenced him to life and to 30 more years, to be served consecutively!

Since his incarceration, Sundiata has been subjected to all the worst that U.S. prisons have to offer — and that is saying a lot. During his pre-trial detention he was denied all medical care, was kept in isolation the entire time, was permitted *no* visits from family, friends, or anyone except his attorney; and was not permitted to receive or read any newspapers. A light was kept on in his cell 24 hours per day, he was fed very sparse meals, and state troopers were allowed to come into the jail and threaten him.

After sentencing he was transferred to Trenton State Prison (TSP), New Jersey, which was built before the Civil War in 1835, and had been condemned for years as uninhabitable. Shortly after his arrival the warden visited San Quentin Prison in California to study its maximum security wing called MCU (Management Control Unit) or “O” Wing. He returned to Trenton and copied the exact setup, including the name MCU, and instituted it at Trenton State Prison. Overnight they rounded up 250 prisoners and put them in this instantly erected MCU. Sundiata was the first prisoner they rounded up. Within a month they had released the prisoners back into population except for about 50, including Sundiata. These 50 were accused of being “politically oriented.”

After many stays in the “doghouse,” contracting tuberculosis, and constant battling with prison officials, Sundiata, a state prisoner, was transferred to the United States Penitentiary at Marion, which is a federal prison. Marion, considered to be the worst prison in the U.S., has been condemned by Amnesty International for violating the United Nations’ Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Marion is located over a thousand miles from Sundiata’s home, and is supposedly reserved for prisoners who commit violent acts while in prison. (Sundiata had no such charges pending while at Trenton.)

Most prisoners at Marion are locked down for 22-23 hours per day, subjected to many degrading practices such as anal finger probes and being shackled spread eagle to their bed blocks. Drinking water at Marion Penitentiary is drawn from a federally- designated emergency toxic waste dump clean-up site, and many prisoners suffer unexplained skin rashes and benign tumors.

At Marion Sundiata was immediately put on controlled visit status (restricted to non-contact visits where prisoners spoke over the telephone while sitting in a small booth) as punishment for being the co-defendant of Assata Shakur, who had just escaped (in 1979) from the Clinton, New Jersey Women’s Prison. Sundiata remained on control visit status during his entire eight years at Marion, and was usually the only prisoner classified as such.

Sundiata writes: “i was permitted visits with immediate family and attorneys *only*, with no friends or associates allowed. Because of the great distance and costs, these visits were possible only every one to three years. Prison officials constantly berated my children and threatened to cut off their visiting privilege for playing (i.e., not sitting still in the visiting booth). They once declared a baby blanket a non-permitted item, and took it out from under my daughter’s infant sister who was sleeping on the floor, causing the child and mother to cry. Only 24 total hours of visiting were permitted each month. Once my mother travelled 2000 miles to visit me, unaware that i had already used 16 visiting hours that month. Prison officials rudely cut off her visit after only 8 hours, causing my mother to cry. In another instance, legal aide Anne Else traveled 550 miles to visit me. The FBI and Marion staff eavesdropped on our meeting until they were inadvertently discovered in the act by another prisoner, Leonard Peltier. The FBI then interrupted my visit and called Anne Else to the front office, where they attempted to interrogate, terrorize and intimidate her into not filing a lawsuit against them.”

After eight years, in large part due to demonstrations at Marion and substantial national pressure to end the lockdown, Sundiata was transferred to Leavenworth. There he completed a computer course, paralegal studies, and a real estate course, all with honors. In the fall of 1992, Sundiata was awarded the return of all his good time and became immediately eligible for parole.

Sundiata was not permitted to attend his own parole hearing. He was forced to participate via telephone. Despite an excellent prison work and academic record; despite the fact that Sundiata has never committed or even been charged with violence during his entire time in prison; despite a very positive report from the prison psychiatrist; despite numerous job offers in the computer profession; despite thousands of letters on his behalf; nonetheless, Sundiata was denied parole. Not only was parole denied but Sundiata was given a 20 year hit. This means that he must do more than 12 years before coming up for parole again. This was the longest hit in New Jersey history and was rendered at the conclusion of a 20 minute hearing via telephone!

In April of 1994 Sundiata was transferred to U.S.P. Allenwood in Pennsylvania which is the maximum security prison complex for the East Coast. Their stated reasons for the 20 year hit were their concern for Sundiata’s membership in the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army prior to his arrest, concern that they had received hundreds of “Free Sundiata” form letters that characterized him as a New Afrikan P.O.W. who had contributed to the theory and practice of the New Afrikan Independence Movement, that the punitive aspects of his sentence had not been satisfied, rehabilitation had not been sufficiently achieved, he had not changed appreciably during his incarceration and was in need of extensive counseling/therapy with a professional psychologist to address his antisocial behavior such that he would live a peaceful and law abiding existence within the existing governmental structure of the U.S.

The real reason for the 20 year hit is to try to make Sundiata renounce his political beliefs and to continue the 20 year cover-up of what really happened on the Turnpike that night. This is why the Parole Board would not permit Sundiata to return to New Jersey to appear before them in person.

Assata Shakur was one of the key targets of COINTELPRO. She was called the “soul of the Black Liberation Army” by the government. After spending 6 years in prison, Assata Shakur escaped in 1979. In her autobiography, written from her new home in Cuba, Assata describes Sundiata’s character:

There is something about Sundiata that exudes calm. From every part of his being you can sense the presence of revolutionary spirit and fervor. And his love for Black people is so intense that you can almost touch it and hold it in your hand.

Sundiata is a true hero. He has been an unceasing fighter for the liberation of Black people and for this he has been made to spend the last 22 years of his life in prison. And if we do not do something about it, the U.S. government will be only too pleased to watch Sundiata die in his cell. Join us in our campaign to ensure Sundiata’s freedom.

By Assata Shakur, 15 January 2000

Happy Birthday Sundiata!
Happy Birthday Sundiata!
Happy Birthday Sundiata!

I want so much for Sundiata Acoli to have a Happy Birthday. I want so much for Sundiata to know how much he is loved and respected. I want him to know how much he is appreciated by revolutionaries all over the world. I want Sundiata to know how much he is cherished by African people, not only in the Americas, but all over the Diaspora. I want him to know how much we admire his strength, his courage, his kindness and compassion. Sundiata loves freedom and we must struggle for the life and freedom of Sundiata. Sundiata has struggled for the life and the freedom of Sundiata.

We wish Sundiata a happy birthday, but we know full well that Sundiata is still in prison. Happy Birthday in prison, means trying to be happy as possible in an unhappy reality. Sundiata has suffered more than 26 years of injustice, and that is 26 years to many. Sundiata has spent more than 26 birthdays in prison and that is 26 birthdays too many. We all know what Sundiata wants for his birthday—Sundiata wants freedom. We all know what Sundiata needs for for his birthday—Sundiata needs freedom. We all know what Sundiata deserves for his birthday—Sundiata deserves freedom! We can not give Sundiata the gift he deserves today, but we can give him the next best thing. We can give him a solemn promise, we can give him a sacred pledge. We can promise that we will work our fingers to the bone, that we will fight tooth and nail, that we will move heaven and earth, to see that this the last birthday he will spend in prison. We must get off the defensive and get on the offensive. We must spread the campaign to free Sundiata into the schools, into the churches, into offices, into factories, into every neighborhood where freedom loves live. We must spread the campaign to free Sundiata all over the world. We must spread the campaign to free Sundiata into every aspect of our lives.

This is a brand new century and we need a brand new spirit and a brand new style. I make a special appeal to young people. I am not only asking you to work hard to free all political prisoners, I am asking you to party hard to free all Political Prisoners. I am asking you to raise your voices wherever you go and to chant, to rap, to sing for the liberation of Sundiata Acoli and all Political Prisoners. I am asking you to bring the spirit of freedom to discos, to nightclubs, to house parties, wherever young people gather. While you are partying and having fun, I ask you to think of political prisoners, and when you’re getting down to the music I ask you to chant his or her name. I want you to chant Free Sundiata, I want you to chant Free Mumia, Free Leonard Peltier and so on. I want you to chant the names of every political prisoner still behind the walls.

We must make the liberation of political prisoners a number one priority. We must make our voices heard. We must let this government know that we’re tired of oppression, we’re tired of repression and we want our freedom fighters free. We must create the conditions that will insure that next year Sundiata will be able to spend his birthday with his friends and his loved ones, and to be present at his birthday party.

FREE SUNDIATA ACOLI!
FREE MUMIA ABU JAMAL!
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!

Assata Shakur
Havana, Cuba
January 15, 2000

The Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign is presently circulating a CALL To Release Sundiata. To obtain copies of the Call and to find out what else you can do for the freedom of Sundiata Acoli, contact the Sundiata Freedom Campaign today