Solidarity with the Five in San Francisco
Dec 11, 2006
 Braving a torrential downpour, 125 people packed into a hall in San Francisco Saturday night to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the sentencing of five Cuban heroes, and to raise funds for the continuing efforts of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five in working for their freedom. Many of those in attendance were hearing about the case of the Cuban Five for the first time. Others who weren't able to attend the event itself heard about the Five during the three interviews Committee members conducted in advance of the event, on KPFA (Pacifica radio) and KPOO (African-American community radio).
 The evening featured a sumptuous Cuban dinner accompanied by Cuban music, as well as a showing of the award-winning documentary Fidel. Estela Bravo's film, spanning 40 years of the Cuban Revolution and the life and work of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, was frequently interrupted by bursts of applause from the audience in response to the key events in the history of the Cuban revolution shown on screen.
One of the highlights of the event was the reading of selections from the powerful speeches delivered five years ago by the Five as they were sentenced. The speeches, known as allocutions, were read by well-known local activists - Dorsey Nunn, the Program Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and co-founder of the prisoner advocacy group All of Us or None, Marina Drummer, Coordinator of the National Coalition to Free the Angola 3, and Michael Parenti, world-renowned author and lecturer, as well as two activists from the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five - Chris Banks and Joyce Umamato. Drummer also brought news of a recent decision in the case of Angola 3 member Herman Wallace, with a judge recommending that his murder conviction be overturned. Herman Wallace has spent 34 years in solitary confinement in the notorious Angola prison.
The allocutions, which are must-reads for all supporters of the Five, are all online at this website - Antonio Guerrero, Gerardo Hernández, Ramon Labañino, Fernando González, and René González. Each powerful speech deserves to be read in its entirety. Each testifies to the truly heroic character of its author.
Other speakers at the meeting included Rosa Peñate, who chaired the meeting and gave a short summary of the history of the case, National Committee and A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) photographer and activist Bill Hackwell, recently returned from a trip to Cuba, and Gloria La Riva, coordinator of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five.
The event raised more than $2,000 to continue the work of the Committee.
Links to items mentioned in this article:
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Rosa Peñate, National Committee to Free the Cuban Five activist |
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Chris Banks, National Committee to Free the Cuban Five activist |
Marina Drummer, Coordinator of the National Coalition to Free the Angola 3 |
Dorsey Nunn, Program Director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children and co-founder of the prisoner advocacy group All of Us or None |
Auther and lecturer Michael Parenti |
Photographer Bill Hackwell, National Committee to Free the Cuban Five and A.N.S.W.E.R. activist |
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Gloria La Riva, Coordinator of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five |
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