Originally published in the Summer 2019 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 59, printed August 23. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Summer 2019 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For the full web catalog, see our Full Issues page.

Back in the Sixties, H. Rap Brown was known as the fiery chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who famously declared that “Violence is as American as cherry pie.” 

Today his name is Imam Jamil Al-Amin, a respected Muslim leader and 75-year-old prisoner in the federal penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona, whom many supporters believe was framed on a 2000 murder charge because of his uncompromising resistance to this country’s systemic racism. 

Since his incarceration, he has been forbidden to speak to journalists or to academics wishing to interview him about his leading role in the Black Liberation Movement. 

Al-Amin was in court this past May in an unsuccessful attempt to win a new trial. Meanwhile, his health has been deteriorating as he battles Myeloma, an incurable blood plasma disease, as well as arthritis, Hepatitis B and high blood pressure. Supporters fear he is being set up for “death by medical neglect,” a charge that has been raised in other political cases, including that of the celebrated prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. 

For more information, visit: http://imamjamilactionnetwork.weebly.com. 

To send a message of support, write: Jamil al-Amin, #99974-555, USP Tucson, U.S. Penitentiary, P.O. Box 24550, Tucson, AZ 85734.