Advocating & Remembering

Tonight I received the heartbreaking news that Dr. Johanna Fernández has passed away after a courageous battle with lung cancer.

Years ago, I was introduced to Dr. Fernández through her unwavering advocacy for Mumia Abu-Jamal. As I followed her work, I came to appreciate not only her brilliance as a historian, but her commitment to truth, justice, and the humanity of people behind prison walls.

Her passing is a profound loss. It also serves as a reminder. The fight for justice is never about one person. It is carried forward by ordinary people who refuse to look away when others are forgotten. Every signature on a petition... Every letter to an elected official... Every phone call... Every courtroom appearance... Every article... Every conversation......is part of a much larger movement. 

Too often people ask, "Does signing a petition really matter?" My answer is yes. Not because one signature changes everything overnight, but because every signature tells someone who has been silenced: "You are not forgotten."

People's lives are depending on this work. Mothers are waiting. Children are waiting. Families are waiting. Wrongfully convicted people are waiting. People serving excessive sentences are waiting. People hoping someone—anyone—will care enough to stand beside them are waiting.

Dr. Fernández dedicated her life to ensuring that those voices would not be erased. The greatest way we can honor that legacy is not simply to mourn her passing, but to continue the work she believed was worth her life.

If you have not yet signed Byron's petition, I invite you to do so today. Share it. Talk about it. Help us reach someone who may become the next voice for justice.

History is not changed by spectators. It is changed by people who decide that another person's freedom matters.

Rest in Power, Dr. Johanna Fernández. Thank you for showing us that scholarship and advocacy can walk hand in hand, and that the fight for justice must continue.

— Rev. Jamesina E. Greene
A Mother's Cry