All Power to the People!


Santa Barbara, CA -- Over 200 people attended a special screening of "All Power to the People!" at the University of California sponsored by the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League and 100 Black College Men. Director Lee Lew-Lee introduced his film, which documents the rise of the Black Panther Party and its subsequent repression by the FBI, and led a discussion afterward. The event was clearly inspirational. The film received a three minute ovation; Lew-Lee received a standing ovation after the discussion; and many people committed themselves more deeply to the struggle to defend Amerika's political prisoners and expose the genocidal Amerikan injustice system.

"All Power to the People!" tells the story of the FBI's bloody COINTELPRO campaign against the Black Panther Party and other Black nationalist organizations. The film consists almost entirely of contemporary footage and interviews with former Black Panther Party members, such as Bobby Seale and Kathleen Cleaver. Much of the old footage used is extremely rare. Lew-Lee has done a great service preserving it in this film.

To all those present (and those reading this newspaper), the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League (RAIL) says: Get active and get organized! As Lee Lew-Lee made clear, important information like that contained in "All Power to the People!" is effectively banned from the Amerikan mass media. That means it's up to us to get this information out there.

Furthermore, we can't expect Judge Sabo or the Fraternal Order of Police to mobilize people to defend Mumia, nor can we depend on Gil Garcetti to defend Geronimo. We have to do it ourselves.

Beyond the struggle defend prisoners, there are the struggles of oppressed nations -- Black, Latino, First Nation and other oppressed communities -- for freedom from police brutality and for economic self-determination. And beyond Amerikan borders, there are the struggles of the vast majority of humanity, who demand freedom from an economic system which kills more than 10,000,000 children every year by denying them access to food and basic health care.

The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League plans to expand its work exposing the crimes of Amerikan imperialism and militarism, and encourages people to see where they can fit in. Maybe you can help out by collecting signatures on petitions, or by putting up flyers, or by writing articles for RAIL Notes -- whatever, every little bit counts! Contact your local RAIL branch for information about upcoming campaigns and events.

Note: Review: "All Power to the People!," MIM Notes 133.

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