Together We Are

For Mikey & Tony

This event was a collaboration in conjunction with 4WardEver the Mikey Powell Campaign and Birmingham Indymedia, and took place at The Rainbow in Birmingham on 7th September 2007.

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‘Together We Are’ was a vibrant night of live music, arts and poetry commemorating the death of Mikey Powell, who died in police custody in September 2003, and in support of Tony Egbuna Ford, an innocent black man awaiting a death sentence in Texas, USA.

There were blazing live performances by Capital X, Le bien-être des poètes, Princess Emmanuelle & Amis, Summer Alexander et The Tribunes.
Many of the artistes travelled from the United States and London to take part in this annual event, and the campaign were also supported by The Rainbow manager/owner, Kent, who gave the venue free of charge and provided refreshments to the performers throughout the night.

Thanks also go out to Sam, Alex and others at IndyMedia Birmingham who assisted with securing the venue, publicity, press and radio interviews. Friends and family members also helped on the night and provided support and advice in the planning of the event.

The campaign would also express appreciation to Newstyle Radio, BBC West Midlands et Smooth Radio for giving airtime about the event and the work of 4WardEver, and the Mikey Powell Campaign.

This was a special night enjoyed by all present. We cannot thank enough those artistes that have supported this event every year since Mikey’s death (Summer Alexander, Princess Emmanuelle), regular contributors since 2006 (The Tribunes); and this years selfless contributions from Capital X and the Welfare Poets.

Special thanks to Tippa Naphtali who made it all happen!

From Texas death row Tony Egbuna Ford sent us this powerful message:

“The death of Mikey Powell is something that should resonate with everyone in the UK and abroad, regardless of race, class or background. Here was a brother who was taken into police custody, and given an impromptu death sentence.

“For me personally, this resonates with me, in that I was taken into police custody, and charged with a capital offence which resulted in my being sentenced to death. Maintenant, while my experience and Mikey Powell’s may not be ‘exactly’ the same, we have both been sentenced to death. Mais, I am still able to fight to save my life. Sadly, brother Mikey Powell is not here to do the same. Brother Mikey should not be dead.”

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Suivi Nouvelles:

Tony Egbuna Ford was the driver for two brothers who went to a house in El-Paso to collect a drug debt in 1991. The brothers forced their way in but didn’t find the man they were looking for.

They demanded money from a woman at the address then shot each of the four family members, killing the son, seriously injuring the mother and wounding two young women. There was no evidence to place Tony in the house that night. He was convicted and sentenced to death despite his testimony that he was not involved in the break-in or shooting. Visiter le site web >

Michael Lloyd Powell, connu sous le nom de Mikey, (a cousin of renowned poet and writer Benjamin Zephaniah) died on 7th September 2003, ans 38, whilst in police custody in Handsworth, Birmingham.

Here’s what happened: Officiers conduit une voiture de police à Mikey, le frapper, l'ont frappé avec des matraques, CS lui gazés, le retint et le, sachant qu'il a été blessé, drove him to a police station not a hospital. Au poste de police les officiers n'ont tout simplement pas appeler une ambulance pour plus de 4 minutes. Mikey était mort au moment où il est arrivé. Visiter le site web >