On a Move

Everyone has an opinion about Mumia Abu-Jamal. Have an informed opinion. Read his story. Mumia Abu-Jamal is one of the most controversial icons of our time. He has become the face of the death penalty, and of America's failure to address fundamental issues of race, justice, and dissent. Yet despite years of widespread demonstrations calling for his freedom, few people really know who Mumia was before he became a death row "celebrity." Most people know Mumia through his books Live from Death Row (1995), Death Blossoms (1996), and All Things Censored (2000), which cemented his reputation as a "voice of the voiceless." In On A Move: The Story of Mumia Abu-Jamal, award-winning author Terry Bisson brings to life the man behind that voice. Now, for the first time, you can meet Mumia as student, radical, lover, father, and reporter. Covering a childhood in Philadelphia's projects, a turbulent youth in the Black Panther Party, a promising career in radio journalism, and a fateful sidewalk altercation that changed everything, Bisson's colorful sketches tell the story of one of the stormiest periods in American history, and of a young rebel who came of age in its crucible. A long-time friend of his subject, Bisson makes no attempt at an exhaustive account. On A Move will tell you how Mumia became the figurehead he is today, and why almost every progressive organization in the world has called for his freedom or at least a new trial. However, it does not dwell on the contradictory details of his conviction. Instead, in a readable style aimed at a broad audience, Bisson fleshes out the complexities and warmth of a man constantly dehumanized and reduced to two dimensions, both by those who want to see him dead, and by his supporters' tendency to make him a poster-perfect "cause." Mumia's story raises fundamental questions about our commitment to freedom of speech, while the political climate of his trial casts serious doubt on whether a reporter famous for exposing police abuse could find justice in an openly hostile court. But whatever one's views on freedom of speech, racial discrimination, capital punishment, or even Mumia's guilt or innocence, this book will give you a vital understanding of a man and a movement that have already left their mark on history.