The Coalition to Liberate Kenyatta was formed in 1988 when Safiya Bandele issued a call to friends and community activists in Brooklyn to attend a meeting to discuss the kase of ibn Kenyatta. At Kenyatta's insistence, the Coalition's purpose has always included the 'empowerment' of each person in the group - one's own life, work and relationships.

The Coalition seeks unconditional release for ibn Kenyatta due to:

• His permanent disability as a result of the prison's 'failure to treat' his medical condition
• The 'extraordinary circumstances' of his case including these facts
  1. He is a first time offender
  2. He was unarmed at the time of the incident
  3. He has been incarcerated (26) years and has served past his minimum of 15 years
  4. He has substantial community support.

The Coalition is multicultural, multiracial, and interdenominational. It includes a cross-section of professionals, academics, health care workers, clergy, lawyers, and law enforcement personnel who have agreed to be responsible for Kenyatta's successful reintegration into the community. The supporters believe that structured community support based on accountability and responsibility can, in fact, provide the same social services as parole.

The Coalition's work has included fund-raisers for legal expenses; letter-writing campaigns to the New York State Governor and State Attorney General and to the media; participation in forums and conferences on criminal justice issues, and assistance in securing/organizing exhibits for Kenyatta's art. Supporters who are educators have used Kenyatta's story and art as instructional materials, for example, a High School English Teacher included a course segment on "Kenyatta - the Warrior Artist".

Coalition members have signed "Affidavits of Personal Responsibility" for ibn Kenyatta. The affidavits state in part: "Be It Resolved That I do hereby assume personal responsibility for ibn Kenyatta 74 A 3701 upon his unconditional release from prison. Such responsibility includes development and implementation of mechanisms to facilitate ibn Kenyatta's successful reintegration into the community."

Although the locus of support is New York, Kenyatta has active supporters in Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Colorado, Washington. D.C., Washington state, California, and New Mexico.