In December 1981, independent journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal was shot and then beaten into unconsciousness by Philadelphia police.  He awoke to find himself shackled into a hospital bed, accused of killing a cop.  Convicted and sentenced to death in a trial that Amnesty International denounced as failing to meet the lowest acceptable standards of judicial fairness, Mumia has spent decades in prison defending his innocence and speaking out against injustice, racism, and violence in America.

In Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? Mumia focuses on the generations of people of colour who have fallen to police bullets and violence, and offers advice on how to fight back.  Written with unwavering commitment to a radical Black perspective, this collection of short essays chronicles the racist violence tearing our country apart and explains what must be done to turn things around.