Controversial Benefit Causes Rage to Surface on Two Sides

The rock band Rage Against the Machine is known for its incendiary performances, but when the Los Angeles-based quartet staged a benefit concert for convicted murderer Mumia Abu-Jamal here Thursday, it was the band’s politics, not its furious playing, at the heart of a mushrooming controversy.

“What can a few cops and politicians do to 20,000 crazy [expletives] like yourselves?” lead singer Zack de la Rocha asked rhetorically near the end of Rage’s hourlong set at the Continental Airlines Arena.

The singer was referring to the numerous government and law-enforcement officials who had voiced opposition to the benefit, which also featured performances by the Beastie Boys, Bad Religion and Black Starr, plus an appearance by Public Enemy’s Chuck D.

This was the second benefit Rage organized for the legal defense of Abu-Jamal, an African American former radio journalist who was sentenced to death for the killing of a white police officer in Philadelphia in 1981. (The previous show was held in Washington, D.C., in 1995.) The incident was linked to a dispute over a traffic violation involving Abu-Jamal’s brother.

In October, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that there would not be a new trial. But some have questioned the fairness of Abu-Jamal’s conviction. A statement from the human rights group Amnesty International argues that the case “may have been contaminated by the deep-rooted racism that appears to taint the application of the death penalty in Pennsylvania.” Others have suggested that Abu-Jamal may have been set up or framed, pointing out that he was a critic of police violence against minorities in Philadelphia before his arrest.

But Carl A. Williams, the superintendent of New Jersey State Police, and New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman both sharply criticized the event. The latter called the event “appalling” and urged parents to encourage their children not to attend. Helen Strus, head of public relations for the arena, reported Thursday that 2,200 of the tickets purchased for this 16,000-capacity performance were returned, most of which were resold.

Rage’s performance included three new songs (which will probably appear on a new album that the band hopes to have out by April) but little pontificating. Only toward the end did the singer take a moment to thank the audience and other artists for coming out in support of Abu-Jamal, and for not being “intimidated” by his detractors.

In contrast, the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch took a somewhat more tentative stance, explaining that he and his bandmates opposed the death penalty in general. Fellow Beastie Mike D further distanced himself from Abu-Jamal’s more vehement supporters by expressing sympathy for the family of slain officer Daniel Faulkner--a remark that drew cheers as hearty as those offered for any statement of support for Abu-Jamal.

The members of Rage Against the Machine became acquainted with Abu-Jamal’s case a number of years ago, when De la Rocha was reading up on jailed Native American activist Leonard Peltier and came across a solidarity letter that Peltier had written on behalf of Abu-Jamal.

“The case against Mumia Abu-Jamal is an obvious travesty of justice that affects the rights of everyone in the country and the world,” De la Rocha said in an interview before Thursday’s concert.

“We feel it’s a necessary component of a democracy that artists remain critical, that we hold people accountable for abuses of power,” he added.

But as one of the state troopers patrolling the arena Thursday pointed out, most of the young fans in attendance had been drawn by the music more than the message. Indeed, more than one audience member used the pro-Abu-Jamal fliers distributed in the lobby as fodder for paper airplanes. “These kids don’t even know what they’re here for,” the trooper said.