Biography
Abayama Katara was the youngest of the New York Panther 21 defendants, a teenager at the time of his April 2, 1969 arrest. He was one of the 13 defendants who went to trial and was acquitted on May 13, 1971.
In a signed letter, Katara, identified in the caption as Alex McKeiver, describes actual confinement at Rikers Island and the October 1970 Branch Queens jail rebellion. He reports that thirty-nine prisoners left the occupied jail on October 6 after assurances about treatment. Transfer and additional riot or kidnapping accusations did not begin a separate postrelease custody spell. The Black Panther, December19,1970 volV no25, original PDF page 6. Source: https://washingtonareaspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1970-12-19-bpp-.pdf#page=6
