We are saddened to share the news that Samiya “Goldii” Davis Abdullah, daughter of Wadiya Jamal and Mumia Abu-Jamal, passed away earlier yesterday after a long fight with breast cancer. Born in 1978, she was just 36 years old. She had just finished a Master’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania and is survived by two young daughters. In one of the most moving and personal pieces that he has written Mumia describes her visit to him when he was in solitary confinement on death row at SCI Greene. The Visit is in his first book Live From Death (Harper Perennial) and was recreated in movie Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary. Known as “Goldii”, her stage name, Samiya was a rapper of lyrical grace and sharp, pointed consciousness, one who used her spoken word skills to highlight issues of racial inequality, criminal (in)justice, and always to promote Black liberation. From a daughter’s perspective, she was a dynamic spokesperson, speaking stirringly of the impact incarceration has on children and families. She was also a staunch advocate on behalf of her father’s innocence. The irregularities of his trial and sentencing were also subjects she rapped on. WATCH Goldii perform Trap Doors, from All Out for Mumia, an event held on the 30th anniversary of his incarceration at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia 12/9/2011. The rhyme eloquently and poetically explains how her father was shot and subsequently framed for murder. vimeo/33498781
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:51:26 +0000