Remembering the Scottsboro Case (was Re: Breaking Butterflies & Poisoning Wells)

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Wed Feb 9 18:14:02 PST 2000


Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:


>Charles:
>
> >>>> Chuck0 <chuck at tao.ca> 02/08/00 11:37PM >>
> >My theory is that they dropped their involvement during the quiet years
> >when Mumia's appeals wound their way through the Pennsylvania court
> >system. Other progressive groups dropped their involvement too, because
> >the situation wasn't dire for Mumia. It was during this period that the
> >sectarian Left groups moved in.
> >
> >&&&&&&&&&
> >
> >CB: I recall "sectarian" Left groups as the only ones raising the Mumia
> >case in earlier years. I remember a small communist group bringing the
> >Mumia case to a National Lawyers' Guild Convention in about 1986 or 87 to
> >be part of a free all political prisoners campaign. I am not arguing for
> >sectarianism, but they were there before the more "non-sectarian" groups.>>
>
>The same went for the Scottsboro case. The Communists took up the case
>before others came around to it. Mark Naison writes in _Communists in
>Harlem during the Depression_ (Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1983):

Maybe one of you could explain why Mumia's cause has failed to find any significant black support.

Doug



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