Memorial Services for Black Panther Party Veteran/Political Prisoner, Sept. 4

[XXPANTHAXX]

Bashir Hameed Joins the Ancestors: Memorial Services for Black Panther Party Veteran/Political Prisoner, Sept. 4

Note from Sis. Marpessa: In honor of Bashir Hameed's passing, I hope we
can each pledge to be in touch with at least one of our freedom
fighters, as this must certainly heighten their own concerns.

Please let a PP/POW know that we are thinking of them, they would dearly
appreciate receiving a card or letter, especially now.

Addresses and additional information are available at the following URL:
Jericho Movement | Home

Bro. Hameed may be gone physically, but his spirit will live on FOREVER,
we will never FORGET, we will forever HONOR him as a Hero of OUR STORY,
and redouble our efforts to free our people!.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Salaam Aliakum from Florence Hameed

Services for Bashir Hameed will be held on
Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 9:30 a.m.
Dar Ul Islam of Elizabeth
602-616 Salem Ave
Elizabeth, NJ 07208
908-469-4323

BASHIR HAMEED was born and raised in New Jersey. In 1968, Bashir Hameed
joined the Black Panther Party while residing in Oakland CA. Once he
returned to New Jersey, he became Deputy Chairman of the New Jersey
Chapter of BPP. Bro. Bashir Hameed was currently serving a sentence of
25 years to life.

For those who may not know:
FBI documents obtained during the 70's reveal that during this time
Bashir Hameed [born James D. York on 1940-12-01 – 30 August 2008] was a
member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army.

He became a COINTELPRO target. He was charged and convicted of the
murder and the attempted murder of two police officers in April 1981.
This conviction came as a direct result of his political activity.
Bashir Hameed and his co-defendant, Abdul Majid, aka Anthony LaBorde,
were tried three times.

There first trial ended in a hung jury divided along racial lines, The
second trial was declared a mistrial by the judge immediately after the
jury rendered a decision that acquitted Bashir on the murder charge. At
a third trial, they were eventually convicted for murder.

Family members ask that all sympathy & condolence cards be sent to the
Hameed Family at 511 Winton Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148

For More Information Please See:
MXGM: _http://mxgm.org/web/biographies/bashir-hameed.html_
(The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement - BASHIR HAMEED)
Wikipedia: _http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashir_Hameed_
(Bashir Hameed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

************************************************** ***********

LONG LIVE BROTHER BASHIR HAMID! LONG LIVE REVOLUTION!

It is with great sadness that we join the different organizations that
have paid tribute to Brother Bashir Hameed who made his transition this
past Saturday night, August 29th. Some of us first met Bashir in these
last months of his life and were moved by his spiritual strength,
intellectual clarity, and love for his family and people. We had hoped
that the video that Bashir so wanted to do would be approved by the
Department of Corrections before he passed, but that was not to happen.

Bashir's history as a militant activist in the Black Panther Party
parallels so many of the other histories of our political prisoners of
African descent. Born in New Jersey, after confronting the racism of
the colleges he attended and that of the US Army, he moved to the Bay
Area and
in his own words "fell in love with the Black Panther
Party".

Later, he was sent back to New Jersey to try to rebuild the BPP which
had already been decimated by the US government and local police. Within
two years, he was either in jail or facing imprisonment for up to 20
years, all for doing regular BPP work, distribution of the party
newspaper, the breakfast program, and political education. He ended up
spending four years in Trenton State Prison and upon release was
immediately again targeted. The Queens 2 case, which included Abdul
Majid and himself, involved the alleged killing of two policemen in
Queens.

Their first trial ended in a hung jury, the second was declared a
mistrial with 8 to 4 for "not guilty", and the last involved very
questionable witnesses and finally led to the conviction the state
wanted, and a sentence of 30-plus years to life, with the recommendation
that Bashir and
Abdul never be paroled.

We say to Bashir's family, to his wife, and to all those who loved and
admired him, that Bashir will not be forgotten. Just this past Sunday,
at the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement hip hop concert, hundreds of young
people learned about who Bashir is, were very moved by Brother Dhoruba's
tribute to him, and cheered with great respect as each hip hop artist
began his/her performance with an individual dedication to Bashir.

Would that Bashir had heard this in his lifetime, but he knew he would
be remembered, and showed that confidence in his last days.
Revolutionaries never die!

We extend our condolences to Bashir's devoted mother, Mrs. York, to his
son, his sister, his niece (who became a doctor with the encouragement
and prodding of her incarcerated uncle and who monitored his medical
care in the last years of his life when he faced several serious medical
conditions), and to his wife, Florence, who left her home in Texas
to spend these last months by her husband's side.

In loving revolutionary memory,

International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal