Who Is Sundiata Acoli? Belonged to the Liberation Struggle
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Who is Sundiata Acoli? belonged to the liberation struggle. In the Fall of 1968, Sundiata joined the Black Panther Party, where he served as Sundiata Acoli is a New Afrikan prisoner the Fianncial Officer. Within months of join- of war and former member of the Black ing the BPP, on April 2, 1969, Sundiata was Liberation Army and Black Panther Party. arrested to stand trial in the Panther 21 He is currently serving a life sentence with case. He, along with twenty other members 30 additional years to run consecutively. of the Panther Party were accused of plot- Sundiata Acoli grew up in the tiny rural ting to blow up several department stores town of Vernon, Texas during the ʻ30s and and the New York Botanical Gardens. He ʻ40s. As a child, he worked in the fields. In was held in jail without bail and on trial for 1956 he graduated from a Texas college two years before being acquitted, along with a degree in mathematics. He became with all other defendants, by a jury deliber- a computer programmer for NASA, in its ating less than two hours. earliest days in California. He then moved After the Panther 21 were released, the Sundiata Acoli to New York City, where he worked in the FBI and policeʼs murderous harassment everyone but his lawyer. Bright lights were computer field for the next 13 years. He and disruption continued: “Most of us kept turned on in his cell 24 hours per day; was propelled into political activism by the returned to the community and to the BPP his food was restricted. State troopers murder of three civil rights workers — but by then COINTELPRO had taken its paraded in front of his cell—harassing and Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner—in toll. The BPP was rife with dissension, both threatening him. Mississippi. In the summer of 1964, internal and external. The internal strife, Sundiataʼs trial was a farce wrapped in Sundiata read a newspaper article which division, intrigue, and paranoia had manufactured hysteria. At the end, the suggested that the murder of the three stu- become so ingrained that eventually most judge stated that Sundiata was an avowed dents might frighten off volunteers in the members drifted or were driven, away. revolutionary and sentenced him to life in campaign against Jim Crow in Mississippi. Some continued the struggle on other prison—and then to 30 more years to be Sundiata immediately called up to volun- fronts and some basically cooled out alto- served consecutively. No credible evidence teer, bought himself a plane ticket and left gether.” ever linked Sundiata to the killing of the for Mississippi. That fall, he returned to his Sundiata associated himself with those, state trooper. New York computer job—but his life now like Assata Shakur, who believed that Soon after Sundiataʼs arrival in the anti- organizing small, armed, underground quated Trenton State Prison, the warden “strike teams” was the best way to continue there created a new Management Control resistance. They formed the clandestine Unit (MCU) for Sundiata and 50 other organization known as the Black Liberation “politically oriented” prisoners. His isola-tion Army (BLA). cell was smaller than the SPCAʼs recom- In May 1973, while driving the New mended space for caging a German shep- Jersey Turnpike, he and his comrades herd. Sundiata developed tuberculosis. were ambushed by N.J. state troopers. After five years, Sundiata was transferred One companion, Zayd Shakur, was killed, to the federal penitentiary at Marion, a spe- another companion, Assata Shakur, was cial facility for punishing and isolating politi- wounded and captured. One state trooper cal prisoners. was killed and another wounded, and Sundiata and the other prisoners at Sundiata was captured days later. Marion were locked down for 22-23 hours Sundiata was denied medical care, per day. Sometimes they were shackled newspapers and kept in isolation from spread-eagled on their bunks. Drinking water at Marion came from a federal toxic waste dump. Prisoners developed skin rashes and tumors. On November 2, 1979, Sundiataʼs com- rade and co-defendant Assata Shakur was Free Sundiata Acoli liberated from the Womenʼs Prison in Clinton, New Jersey by a multinational underground unit. Assata made her way to Sundiata Acoli exile in Cuba. Write Sundiata Acoli: In the fall of 1992, Sundiata became eli- gible for parole. He was not permitted to Sundiata Acoli #39794-066 attend his own parole hearing and was only (C. Squire) allowed to participate via telephone from P.O. Box 1000 USP Leavenworth. Despite an excellent Otisville, NY 10963-1000 prison work, academic and disciplinary FCI Otisville record, despite numerous job offers in the computer profession, and despite thou- sands of letters on his behalf, Sundiata was denied parole. Instead, at the conclu- Local groups working with Sundiata: sion of a 20 minute telephone hearing, he was given a 20-year hit, the longest hit in Jericho Amnesty Coalition New Jersey history, which dictates that he must do at least 12 more years before PO Box 34186 coming up for parole again. Los Angeles, CA 90034 The Parole Boardʼs stated reason for the 20-year hit was Sundiataʼs membership Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) in the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army prior to his arrest, the PO Box 11223 receipt of hundreds of “Free Sundiata” form Whittier, CA 90603 letters that characterized him as a New email: [email protected] Afrikan Prisoner of War, and the feeling that the punitive aspects of his sentence had not been satisfied and that rehabilita- Black Panther tion was not sufficiently achieved. The real reason for the 20-year hit is to attempt to Political Prisoner force Sundiata to renounce his political beliefs and to proclaim to the world that he Serving A L i f e was wrong to struggle for the liberation of his people. S e n t e n c e On July 14th 2010, Sundiata was again denied parole and given a 10 year hit by a three member panel..