Statement of Silvia Baraldini

Read at the Celebration of Sacco & Vanzetti

October 21, 1995

Dear Friends and Comrades, I am honored to be a participant in this commemoration of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two men who gave their lives in the defense of their beliefs and for a cause they would not betray. We are living in times of increased cynicism annd virulent racism, accompanied by a loss of direction and vision. Celebrating the example of Sacco and Vanzetti is essential to reclaiming our radical roots. It is essential if we are to propose to the youth of our communities a different set of heroes and heroines -- heroes and heroines whose lives can teach all of us the real meaning of struggle.

Sacco and Vanzetti were not exceptional. They belonged to the world-wide working class movement that exploded at the end of World War I. At the time of their arrest the men and women of Torino and other industrial centers in Italy arose in open rebellion against the monarchy and fought to gain control over their lives. There, as well as here, this brilliant movement was crushed by brutal repression. The memory of Sacco and Vanzetti lives on and is revered because it embodies the sacrifice that men and women have endured to win justice and liberty.

Today we have the opportunity to stop another unjust execution. Mumia Abu Jamal sits on death row, not because of what may have happened on December 9, 1981 in Philadelphia, but because in this country there is a systematic policy to eliminate, isolate and crush any strong voice fighting for Black self-determination. I am still enough a child of the '60s to still believe thatvracism is the problem of white people and therefore it is incumbent on those of us who are committed to justice and liberty to oppose it everywhere. I want us to stop Mumia's execution because he did not receive a fair trial and, most importantly, because we must stop the arrogance of power exercised in our name that this execution would represent.

As for myself, after spending seven years in various forms of isolation and confinement, I have been returned to the general population at Danbury Federal Penitentiary. It has made an enormous difference in my life, allowing me to refocus, finish my studies, and reconnect with old friends. As someone who was subjected to a regime of psychological torture, I have come away from the experience committed to the struggle for human rights and for sweeping reforms of the prison system. How can a system based on exploitation and totalitarian control of the mind possibly prepare human beings for reintegration into society?

I close by urging each one of you to stop the execution of Mumia Abu Jamal and to fight for the release of all political prisoners and prisoners of war.