Freedom Suppressed on Chicago Subways

Cambridge, MA Dec 02, 2004 South End Press, a 27-year-old independent book publisher, has learned that any advertisements promoting Mumia Abu-Jamal have been banned on Chicago's public transit system. This action was discovered when the Press investigated a report that a Chicago police officer had torn down a paid advertisement on Chicago's Red Line for the award-winning journalist's new book WE WANT FREEDOM: A LIFE IN THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY.



When asked for comment, Viacom Outdoor Marketing--a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. that manages the advertisements on the Chicago transit system--informed South End Press "the CTA [Chicago Transit Authority] can no longer accept any more advertisements on this author [Mumia Abu-Jamal]."



This is not the first time Viacom has acted to prevent even the mention of Mumia Abu-Jamal. In 2002 Viacom-owned MTV censored a video by Public Enemy because the song included the line "Free Mumia." In addition to barring ads including Mumia Abu-Jamal, all South End Press advertising will be subject to approval before posting.



The caller who brought this issue to South End's attention stated that while riding the Chicago subway, he witnessed a police officer removing a We Want Freedom poster from the train's interior. When he asked the officer why, he was threatened with a citation. And this is not the first time police have acted to suppress information on the Black

Panthers.



WE WANT FREEDOM vividly recounts two occasions when the police limited the First Amendment rights of Black Panthers. In one instance, Mumia tells the story of when he was selling papers in downtown Oakland and crossed the street in the middle of the block. Before he knew it, two police officers pulled up and arrested him for jaywalking. "If we were not selling copies of The Black Panther," asks Abu-Jamal, "would this have happened?" His conclusion is grim: "I don't think so. They were beating us softly."



Further investigations into the ban on Mumia Abu-Jamal are underway.



Anyone who witnessed the removal of posters for WE WANT FREEDOM, which South End Press contracted with Viacom Outdoor Marketing to run on the Red and Blue lines from mid-September to mid-October, is encouraged to

contact the Press.



South End Press

Alexander Dwinell

Editor/Publisher

email: southend@southendpress.org

phone: 617.547.4002  www.southendpress.org

southend@southendpress.org





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