Free
Johnny Union!
In 1992 a heroic 16-year-old
African defeated a white lynch mob;
ten years later the African community continues to demand his freedom.
by Sateesh Rogers
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. —
As a part of a logical continuation of the U.S. government’s war
against the African community, Johnny Union, now almost 26-years-old,
spends every day and every night surrounded by the chilly walls of a prison
cell in brutal solitary confinement.
In 1992, Johnny was a young man living inside the most heinous and murderous
system the world has ever known. It was and is a system that has had Africa
and all of her people under attack for the past 500 years. This system,
known as imperialism or white power, has resulted in the murder of millions
of Native Americans, millions of Africans and millions of people around
the globe from Panama to the Philippines, Viet Nam to Iraq.
This system, which has made
the entire white world wealthy at the expense of everyone else, enforces
its empire not simply by killing, because that is not enough. It tortures
and terrorizes those who it feeds off. It was white power that scalped
the Native Americans and sold the top of their heads to buyers across
the U.S. It was white power that chopped off the hands of millions of
Africans in the "Belgian" Congo to force them to provide rubber
for the car industry. It was white power that hung Africans from one end
of the U.S. to the other, selling our body parts as souvenirs to a bloodthirsty
white population.
So, when members of a white
lynch mob tried to lynch a group of young Africans, as young as 13-years-old
on August 14, 1992 they thought they were in for an easy "picnic,"
an easy pick-a-nigger.
After splashing recklessly
over curbs and barricades with their ragged car, barely missing the children,
the white lynch mob left to get more vigilantes. This time rounding up
additional white thugs between the ages of 25 and 30, armed with baseball
bats, lead pipes and steel chains, they were prepared to go to work on
these children. The self-proclaimed "nigger knockers" had every
intention to murder these young Africans who were absolutely defenseless.
Meanwhile, the white girlfriend
of one of the African youth, whose house they were visiting in this neighborhood,
called the police on the white mob, hoping to avoid what she apparently
knew was the inevitable mission of the "nigger knockers."
A bloody free-for-all ensued
as the youths fought back with everything they had; throwing punches,
elbows, baby carriages and even barbecue grills. One of the heroic Africans,
fighting for the survival of himself and his friends, stabbed Ryan Fraser,
one of the mob ringleaders.
Fraser, who was thought to
be the vandal who sprayed "Niggers Go Home" on a nearby house,
would never have the opportunity to lead any more lynch mobs to try and
kill African children. Nor would he be able to commit any more dastardly
acts of white power, because the children whom he sought to murder rose
up and sent him to his grave.
Becoming frightened, the once
bold white mob ran away with their tails between their legs — grown
men, upwards of 30 years of age, defeated by a courageous group of youthful
Africans who were committed to survival by any means necessary.
Johnny told the other Africans
to leave as he waited for the police to arrive. Johnny Union was arrested
and charged with first-degree murder, and sentenced as an adult at the
age of 16. Though he was not adult enough to have a beer, and not adult
enough to have a cigarette, and not even adult enough to go to a club,
he would be sentenced as an adult, to an adult facility, by an all white
jury. Not one member of the white lynch mob was ever arrested, charged
or tried.
The reality is that the stabbing
of Ryan Fraser was completely justified and it was absolutely and without
question the correct thing to do out of self-defense. Had this mob succeeded,
this article would be observing the upcoming anniversary of the death
of these young men, instead of saluting their courageous act of resistance
to imperialist white power.
We must get our freedom fighter
Johnny Union out of the concentration camp, because he did exactly what
any African should do facing such terrorism.
Our brother, who defeated one
white lynch mob only to be sentenced to a quarter century by another,
needs the power of the people to fight and win this current battle. This
is a brawl that the people are going to have to jump into in order save
our brother and deal a thousand blows to imperialist white power. The
state is trying to break our brother; we have to break the state.
During slavery, white slave
masters would attempt to break the mind and the will of Africans that
they captured, hoping to extinguish the fire of resistance that continually
threatened white power and white wealth. In the same way, the United States
and the prison system, operated by the heirs of the slave masters, attempt
to do exactly the same thing — prevent the rise of organized resistance
that would overturn imperialist white power. They attempt to break the
people’s will so that they will believe this oppression will last
forever.
However, Johnny has not broken.
In fact, he fights harder and harder for his freedom and survival each
passing day, just as he did eleven years ago. The carefully crafted letters
laying out legal strategy that he writes to his family, including his
brother Leo who says that he owes his life to Johnny, demonstrate his
ferocious will and his calculated determination.
Despite being allowed only three showers per week, he fights on.
Despite being forced to eat
slop for food, he fights on. Despite not having been allowed to see one
person from his family since he was locked up almost 11 years ago, he
fights on. Despite spending the last 33,580 hours out of a total of 35,040
hours in solitary confinement, he fights on.
He is able to fight and will
not stop because the spirit of historical African resistance runs through
his veins. This spirit of resistance runs through us all. That is why
we must come to his defense and fight for his freedom.
Let this battle serve the International
African Revolution as another step on the path towards national liberation
and self-determination for African people. Our land, our birthright, our
wealth, our home, our future is Africa in the hands of the African workers
and poor peasants.
Defeat Imperialist White Power!
We Stand in Unity With Johnny Union.
Join the African People’s Socialist Party!
Our Freedom is Ours to Make!
We are calling on all freedom
loving people to write to Johnny Union expressing your solidarity:
Johnny Union
DC#140695
Florida State Prison m/u
7819 N.W. 228 St.
Raiford, FL 32026-1120
People who are interested in
supporting the campaign to free Johnny Union should contact the INPDUM
at:
1245 18th Ave. So.
St. Petersburg, FL 33705
email: inpdum_international@hotmail.com
or
call: 727-502-0575
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