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ABOUT THE AUTHOR CHARLENE MITCHELL was born in Cincinnati, Ohip in 1920 and grew up in Chicago. She has been a member of the Communist Party, U.S.A. since the age of 16, and a member of the Party's Central Committee since 1957. In 1966-67 she was a member of the Executive Committee of the Temporary Alliance of Local Organizations (TALO) in Los Angeles, formed to stop murders by police in the Black community. She was instrumental in founding the Community Alert Patrol which grew out of TALO. She was the Communist Party's candidate for President in 1968. In 1970 she was an initiator and coordinator of the Emergency Conference to Defend the Black Panther Party, and Coordinator of the Petition to the United Nations to End Genocide. Since 1968 she has been the National Secretary of the Communist Party's Black Liberation Commission and is also currently the Executive Secretary of the National United Committee to Free Angela Davis. ABOUT THIS PAMPHLET The 20th National Convention of the Communist Party, U.S.A. was held in New York, February 18-21, 1972. Presented here is Charlene Mitchell's report to the Convention, delivered on February 19. ISBN 0-87898-085-7 [[publishers logo]] Published by NEW OUTLOOK PUBLISHERS 32 Union Square East * Room 801 * New York, N.Y. 10003 May 1972 [[end page]] [[start page]] THE FIGHT TO FREE ANGELA DAVIS ITS IMPORTANCE FOR THE WORKING CLASS By CHARLENE MITCHELL WHY THE FRAMEUP! In the Spring of 1969, at the time of the 19th Convention of our Party, we were discussing the increased repression in our country, the heightened attack on the leadership of radical organizations, especially Black organizations. Our convention sent a delegation to the demonstration in front of the New York State courthouse on behalf of the incarcerated Panther 21. The Panthers have since been acquitted in a people's victory, although these young men and women were denied any semblance of due process in almost two years of captivity, not to speak of the trumped-up charges that were the pretext for taking years out of their lives. Little did we imagine that by the time of our 20th Convention our comrade, Angel Davis, would have spent more than 16 months in one jail cell after another on framed-up charges of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy, denied bail, and that it would be necessary to fight vigorously for even the most meager conveniences in detention. Angela Davis is the object of a vicious, diabolical conspiracy. A conspiracy on the part of State and Federal governments. A conspiracy which involves directly the executive and judicial 1
