| WASHINGTON
- October 19 - Ajamu Baraka, a human rights activist who has
worked to abolish the death penalty for 15 years, will receive the
Abolitionist of the Year Award this weekend from the National Coalition
to Abolish the Death Penalty. Baraka directed AIUSA’s National
Program to Abolish the Death Penalty over the past 12 months, at a time
when intense international attention was focused on capital punishment
in the United States. Baraka is now the Director of AIUSA’s Southern
Regional Office in Atlanta.
"We are honoring Ajamu for his longtime service and remarkable
dedication to the abolition of the death penalty," said National Coalition
to Abolish the Death Penalty Executive Director Steven W. Hawkins.
"As Southern Regional Director of Amnesty International, Ajamu has
traveled extensively throughout the South, highlighting not just the
death penalty cases that receive tremendous media attention, but each
and every case, regardless of the level of publicity." Baraka said, “This
award is important to me, but also to Amnesty International because it
recognizes the outstanding work of Amnesty activists and supporters.
This honor will inspire me to continue speaking forcefully to stop
executions, one of the most egregious violations of human rights.”
Baraka, a native of Chicago, has served with AIUSA since 1987, first as a
Ralph Bunche Human Rights Fellow, then as a Board Member, and now
as Director of the Southern Regional Office in Atlanta. He has taught
political science at universities including Clark Atlanta University and
has been a guest lecturer at schools throughout the US. In 1998, UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan and the international community honored
Baraka at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, as one of 300 human rights
defenders from around the world convened to commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Baraka noted that tremendous progress has been made in the past two
years toward educating the public about the cycle of violence
perpetuated by the death penalty. He is optimistic about building on that
progress.
“We have an abolition unity plan among organizations at the national
level, growing doubt about the death penalty system, significant
momentum with the moratorium in Illinois, and a lot more scrutiny of the
system as a reward for our hard work,” Baraka said. “As the public
continues to examine the death penalty in a moral context, I believe that
support for abolition of the death penalty will grow.”
He emphasized that this award is for all of the people who have worked
to abolish the death penalty in the United States. During his acceptance
speech, Baraka will call on activists “to stay the course and victory will
follow.”
The award will be presented at a dinner Saturday at the Brownstone
Hotel, 1707 Hillsborough Street, in Raleigh. Ajamu Baraka can be reached
at 678/232-3790 for interviews.
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