Ahjamu Umi's: "The Truth Challenge"
  • Home
  • Workshops
  • New Manifesto
  • Hit Me Up
  • Blog
  • Coming Events
  • Videos
  • Donations

How To Define Free Speech for Racists, Hypocrites, and Dummies

5/30/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
The issue of free speech is being discussed constantly these days within the U.S.  The most common, and completely bourgeois, definition of free speech being repeatedly regurgitated in capitalist media circles is that free speech is the right to say what you want.  Although even the racist founders of the colonial U.S. empire had enough sense to make the distinction that freedom of speech has to stop where other's people's rights, and safety, begin (yelling fire in a crowded movie theater when no fire exists), current day apologists for imperialism ignore that contradiction completely.  For them, the framers of bourgeois ideas that pose as truth, anyone who speaks in favor of bourgeois capitalism should have free speech.  Anyone that challenges the hegemony of this oppressive system in any way, is against this country.  The ruling classes are projecting their analysis on the masses of confused and ignorant people in this society so that those millions of people can see their function as that of protecting bourgeois democracy e.g. the interests of the ruling classes because these people have been convinced to see ruling class interests as their own.  

What makes these ideas bourgeois is that they are permitted to ignore science, and the history that goes with it, for completely subjective and a-historical interpretations of reality.  The subjective is defined as whatever the framers want it to be.  Since their interests represent the concerns of those on top of this society, e.g. the bourgeois (the class of people who speak for the ruling classes), that's what makes these ideas bourgeois.  For example, currently, there is a position that argues that racist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), neo-Nazis, etc., are equivalent to the organizations that fight against them like the Black Panther Party.  The framers of this argument claim that the Panthers were an anti-white organization and that makes them the African equivalent of the racist KKK.  Besides the fact that these people can produce absolutely no evidence that the Panthers ever did a single anti-white thing (they fed White people, had White people working in their daily programs like the free breakfast program, and clearly had an ideology and practice of class warfare against the state, not White people), even if the Panthers were anti-White, there still is no equivalence.  The KKK, neo-Nazis, etc. have a long and documented history of terrorizing, murdering, and intimidating Brown people in the most heinous and barbaric ways imaginable.  Feeding us to crocodiles for sport.  Burning us alive for sport.  Ripping babies out of African pregnant women for sport.  Having dogs eat us alive for sport.  Hanging us as a national past time.  And these were sports.  We are not even talking about the treatment those of us received who had gotten on the wrong side of white people.  Terrorizing people and preventing them from living in peace.  There is no documented history of the Panthers terrorizing a single European anywhere so to compare the two types of organizations is something that can only make sense to the most simple minded individual.  So, to suggest that the Panthers (using them as an example, substitute Black Lives Matter, Antifa, football kneelers, etc.) are as dangerous, violent, and anti-human as the white supremacists groups above, and therefore when protest groups express their view, they are doing nothing different than racists do when expressing their views, is  insane because there is a strong history of violence and terror attached to what white supremacists say.  The only thing harmed when football players protest are a few blades of grass.  

A healthy definition of free speech is the ability to express yourself whatever ways you choose that doesn't damage society.  That means protesting any injustice against society is always free speech.  It also means a mature and conscious society would never permit racists, patriarchal proponents, homophobes, etc., to express their views because of the environment for repression their views create against the communities targeted.  In other words, Antifa is 100% correct to show up and prevent racist groups from massing because by doing so, Antifa is preventing racists from creating that unsafe environment for Brown people.  To suggest that Antifa preventing white supremacists from having a rally is preventing someone's free speech is an argument that only benefits the forces who profit from the exploitation of workers of all nationalities, races, etc.  Keeping workers divided by "race" is the core strategy of the capitalist system.  This is why the U.S. president continues to keep the focus of white workers on the football kneelers because the ruling classes know that their best resource is to keep white people identifying with racial identity instead of class interests.  That's really what's happening with this muddled definition of free speech. It has nothing to do with your right to speak your mind.  It has everything to do with keeping you confused about who your actual enemies are.  

If you understand that last statement, that means you are ready to explore the concept that White people expressing themselves is not the same as African, Indigenous, etc., people doing the same.  Since this society is built and based on our exploitation, when we speak out, its a threat to this system.  When that threat happens, the system reverts to its core strategy - white supremacy - to convince white people that anything we express is a threat to them (not the power structure).  There is no scenario currently, at least while white people as a mass are in such a state of slumber, where anything white people say poses any threat to the white power structure.  This is why the Panthers were effectively wiped out by the U.S. government. Its why Black Lives Matter and the football kneelers are currently being targeted by the government.  Its also why white supremacist groups continue to operate status quo without any consequences or pressure from the government.  Finally, all of these ill refutable facts are the reasons why Assata Shakur was correct when she said "you have freedom of speech in the U.S. as long as no one is listening to you when you speak out against the government."



0 Comments

Why I'm Officially Done with Professional Football From Now On

5/25/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
I didn't watch a single game during the 2017 season.  Not even the Super Bowl.  I didn't watch because it turned my stomach to think about watching a game when all the football organizations, the fans, and the merchant advertisers, made it quite clear that they don't have a single issue with African people being brutalized and murdered by the state, but they are up in arms against whatever way we decide to stand and speak against this treatment.  Look, I - more than many of you, understand that this is a backward and racist society.  It was built on that foundation and it balances itself on that carnage daily.  I know every institution in this society perpetuates that injustice.  I know professional basketball, baseball, soccer, etc., all perpetuate it.  As a result of that knowledge, I haven't been an avid fan of any sports in decades.  I watch when there is nothing of priority ahead of the games and I place everything as a priority ahead of these games.  So, I'm not going to pretend that I had some huge emotional investment in the National Football League NFL).  I just want to announce my intentions to continue not watching because the behavior of the people representing professional football has become so in our faces disrespectful that at this point, I don't understand truthfully how anyone who claims to stand for justice would permit themselves to be caught engaging any NFL games.  People have to do what they have to do to be happy I guess, but this is at the level where we have to respond.

These people are basically telling our athletes that all they have the right to do is perform for them.  They keep repeating the lie that their issue with Kaepernick and others who protested is "how they did it, etc."  They say "they shouldn't protest at work.  I don't like politics being brought into it.  I watch sports to escape politics and life issues."  All stupid arguments that no one with an ounce of sense shouldn't be able to see through.  The same people criticizing our athletes for "protesting at work" are the same people praising and raising money for doctors who refuse to perform abortions.  People who refuse to provide service to LGBTQI people, etc.  So, these liars have proven they have no problems with people protesting at work.  They just don't think we - Africans - have the right to do anything except what they expect us to do.  The tired statement about not wanting to deal with politics in sports is asinine because if they really believed that, they would be mad at the military which is hoeing itself out to the NFL for millions of dollars.  That's how politics got into sports when political institutions are buying out sporting games to promote their propaganda so they can recruit young people to go fight and die overseas for multi-national corporations.  It doesn't get more political than that, yet you won't hear a peep from any of these fools about that contradiction.  So, that's not it.  The issue they have is they see us as slaves who only exist to service and entertain them.  That's the issue and the insults from some idiot on Twitter everyday are just more examples of that.  

So, while Kaepernick and Eric Reid sue the NFL and hopefully gain some retribution for the racist collusion that has clearly been aimed against them, I'll be telling everyone I know not to watch.  And, for those people, who aren't in organizations by the way, who will drone on about "what good is a boycott?" my answer is its healthy and good for me.  By not watching I can claim some small measure of my own dignity in this society that is so effective at attempting to steal every bit of dignity you could ever expect to maintain for your sanity.  

I'm also going to use my commitment to not watching to have as many conversations as I can about it.  To help people understand that we are a people of dignity.  Kaepernick has clearly demonstrated that.  He has more dignity in his toenail than everyone at FOX, all the NFL owners, all the racist NFL fans, and that clown in D.C. combined.  I was listening to some local sports talk idiot the other day go on and on about how his problem was Kaep wearing the pig socks.  No issue with Africans being mrudered in the streets.  Just some pig socks.  Get down on your damn knees and thank your demons that all we are doing is wearing some pig socks at this point.  The other conversation is the criticisms against Kaep wearing Fidel Castro on a shirt.  Just like Kaep, Castro had more dignity in the last gas he passed than all the U.S. presidents, including the capitalist one in black face, combined.

Maybe if we work hard enough we can demonstrate enough power to shake them financially.  Or, if not, we can at least continue the very important conversation about a society that claims freedom, but denies it to anyone who doesn't move like sheep behind their immoral and criminal agenda.


0 Comments

Learning to Hear Our Voices Above Noise on the Anthem Protests

5/24/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
This is a very difficult pill for people to swallow, but we are not the originators of the thoughts we believe and promote.  Whether we want to admit it or not, the process that determines what we believe is heavily influenced by external forces.  The question of the anthem protests is a clear example of this.  Professional football players, led by Colin Kaepernick, started sitting and/or knelling during the so-called U.S. national anthem before games in September 2016.  Since that time, the dominant narrative circulating about the protests has been the players, by protesting the anthem, are disrespecting the U.S., particularly those within the U.S. military.  And, some element of this angle is exactly how most of the people you know are understanding and processing this discussion.  Let all of that sit for a moment and then let's unpack it.

What's important to remember is Colin Kaepernick may have started the National Football League protests, but he didn't start the movement protesting against police terrorism.  That designation goes, as always, to the masses of African people.  Kaepernick, to his absolute credit, merely fulfilled his responsibility by using his platform to advance awareness about his people's suffering.  The point about the masses is crucial because with all this noise making all this effort to distort and discredit the legitimate messages from the people makes it easier for you to become deaf to the voices of those masses.

Those voices arose, and clearly represent, a challenge to every aspect of the capitalist system.  Those voices are expressing that the institutions of this capitalist society are designed to oppress and repress African people.  And what's most important about that last statement is at this stage, those voices are primarily concerned about informing and educating the public about this problem of police terrorism.  That's what our people are doing.  That's why its so absurd that all these other narratives have developed a life of their own the way they have.  At this stage, despite ill-refutable evidence to support us if we did, in the U.S., the masses of African people who are protesting police terrorism are not doing so in a way designed to confront the contradictions of the flag, the military, etc.  This is true despite the fact if aliens landed on Earth today and studied the most objective interpretation of U.S. history they could develop, they would have to conclude without a doubt that we would be insane to salute a U.S. flag and to support the U.S. military.  They would understand the last statement because they would learn that at no time in our 500+ year relationship has the U.S. ever respected African people.  They would learn that African people have "served" with great loyalty in the U.S. military in every conflict this country has ever faced, from the civil war up to Afghanistan, and while doing that, the masses of African people have absolutely nothing to show for that loyalty.  Even the most decorated African war veteran of the U.S. military would face life threatening circumstances were they to be pulled over by U.S. police in any area of this country.  Those aliens would have to acknowledge that and any sane thinking person with the slightest understanding of history would have to do the same.  Clearly, all of our parents trained us that we should reserve our respect for those who respect us.  Since we have never received respect from a country that doesn't even acknowledge its oppressive conditions against us, we are under absolutely no obligation to provide any respect towards any institutions within this country.

Within the dysfunctional logic of a backward society, the people who benefit most from the system that oppresses those who are oppressed oddly believe themselves to be the experts on that oppression.  And, for most Europeans (whites), that means an individualistic perspective on everything and an inability to perceive the institutional nature of the oppression our people experience.  All of this is why its important to learn how to hear the voices of those who are oppressed.  And, all of us do need to learn how to hear those voices.  Nothing you experience in this racist society is going to prepare you to hear those voices, regardless of how conscious you may think you are.  Regardless of what nationality you are.  Without training, you won't hear the people's voices. Instead, you will hear the voices the system wants you to hear.  And when you are hearing the system produced voices, you will end up parroting the propaganda of this backward system. 

In order to properly learn how to hear our voices, there is homework involved.  You are required to develop a strong historical analysis of our conditions.  No matter how "Black" you are, how liberal you are, how determined to be an ally you are, how revolutionary you think you are, there is absolutely no shortcut to this homework.  You will need to study.  And, you will need to engage in high level study, meaning an organized study process that involves people other than yourself.  If you are not willing to do this, you will be defenseless against the onslaught of system propaganda to shape your voice the way they want you too.  For examples, just look at the many dark faces, liberals, celebrities, etc., who are parroting the voice of the master when they talk about the anthem protests.  When they talk about respecting the flag, etc.  No, you have to engage in that high level collective study.  When you do that, you will learn that again, at this stage, we are just crying out for justice.  Nothing more.  But, you will also learn to understand that since we are systemically oppressed, that protest will have ebbs and flows.  It will have contradictions.  Some days it will look like we just want to fit into this country.  Other days it will look like we wish to destroy this country.  If you do that homework, you will realize this isn't unusual.  We, like all people, are engaging in our process of self development.  We are maturing politically as a people.  We, like all people, are a reflection of all our people's different levels of consciousness.  So, although its true that at this stage, we are just wanting people to understand what is happening to us, human progress suggests that we will not stay in that place.  Especially since capitalism, true to its playbook, continues to double down on justifying its oppression of us.  The National Football League rules to punish players who protest while ignoring the reasons for the protests.  The so-called president doing the same.  All these things do is continue to help our processing.  Do your homework and you will learn to understand this.  That will help you learn to get out in front of what happens instead of reacting to it.  

Once you do this homework and learn what you need to learn, maybe then you will be better positioned to understand why Kaepernick would wear pig socks.  How the hell is he or any of us supposed to respect an institution that guns us down in the streets?  With all the trauma this system causes us, the defenders of this backward system should be getting down on their hands and knees and thanking their God that all we are doing is wearing socks.  

If you listen with a filtered ear, you will know we are not concerned about what the football owners do with their rules.  Our voices also tell us we couldn't care less what some idiot tweets.  We know that oppression breeds resistance.  The more they come down on us, the more we stand up for ourselves.  The more work you do to understand that, the more you will realize that although most of us aren't talking about the military and the flag, as we continue in our maturation process, we are growing and learning that police terrorism, the flag, the military, and everything symbolic of this system are all connected.  And all of it is against us.  As you do your homework and grow in your understanding of our voices, you realize that those of us who are in tune with our voices aren't concerned and upset.  We are encouraged because we know all of this is handwriting on the wall that our victory is coming.


0 Comments

YouTube Consciousness & A Cover for Lazy Ignorance about Africa

5/22/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
An experience I had last Saturday prompted the reason behind this writing piece.  While passing out postcards and information about African Liberation Day at the Malcolm X Jazz Festival in Oakland, California, U.S., I and another comrade encountered some Brothers, presumably (based on their literature) from the Hebrew Israelites.  They have their uniforms and we have ours so I doubt there was any confusion from any of us as to what direction we consider ourselves headed in.  One of the brothers gave me his literature and he immediately started to go into what it represents.  I patiently listened and when he was finished, I attempted to give him our literature piece to which he responded "I can't hold anything!"  I asked him to clarify and he said because he's passing out literature, he cannot hold anything else.  I pointed out that besides whatever beliefs they have developed around the concept of holding someone else's literature (because that seemed to be underneath his strange statement), there was no difference between what he was doing and what I was doing e.g. passing out literature for our movements, causes, etc.

Our position has always been that our people need to be in organizations.  We never quibble over which organization because we respect our people's ability to eventually figure out for themselves what direction is correct.  The important thing is to be in some organization because if that's not happening, people can never engage in that journey.  It would be like someone trying to learn how to drive without a vehicle.  So, my issue would never be what those Brothers believe, etc.  My issue is there is a growing element of younger African people who are involved and promoting a number of interesting ideas and belief systems.  And, unfortunately, much of the time, these beliefs contain a strong dose of "I ain't no African" within the core of these so-called ideologies.  Now, the day I meet any African anywhere who tells me they aren't African, and that person possesses a strong knowledge base about African history, culture, politics, spirituality, etc., then, I would have absolutely nothing to say.  Of all the people peddling new age this and "I've got the solution" that, not once have I met one of them who has even a working knowledge of anything to do with Africa.  This is the real issue because any tree without its roots is subject to fall into any situation.

Again, none of this is an attack against Hebrew Israelites, Moors, or any of the developing phenomenons among African people within the U.S.  We just encourage our people to study more than just their own already existing philosophical concepts.  We need that critical analysis piece.  If you are going to argue with me that a significant number of Africans in the Western Hemisphere did not come here as a result of the slave trade, but because their families have been in this hemisphere for centuries, you should be able to demonstrate clear evidence of this.  I've talked to literally thousands of Africans over the years in my organizing work in this part of the world and I haven't met a single person who didn't either have Southern U.S. roots (slavery), Caribbean or South American roots (slavery), names like Smith, Jones, Jackson, etc., (slavery), or a unique history connected to some of the Africans brought here in slavery who were able to return home to Africa e.g. places like Sierra Leone, Liberia, etc.  I'm not saying no one exists who's roots were here.  I'm just saying those people are few and far in between,  The masses of us came here under the slave ship which means the only difference between us in the U.S., Caribbean, South America, and of course Africa, is where the boat stopped.  Nothing else.  These new age people probably feel some reason to be ashamed of being slaves.  There is this confusion about slavery being a choice and all, but anyone of these people saying these things demonstrates a serious lack of understanding of how much our people resisted slavery.  Once you learn of the successful Maroon rebellions (which actually explain much better how most of us as Moors got to the Western world), the masses of plantation uprisings, and the serious level of commitment coming from the people who carried out the Haitian Revolution and every revolt on down.  And, the impact those revolts had on shaping the world we live in today, there is absolutely no reason to feel any shame towards any of our history.  And, even the slightest understanding of our proud history as Fulani, Wolof, Fante, Mandinka, Ibo, Yoruba, Hausa, etc., would give anyone pride at being African.  

So, as we move towards the 60th commemoration of African Liberation Day this weekend, here' s a call to everyone claiming to want consciousness on how to liberate African people.  Our Chemeringa is never going to happen by trying to take shortcuts.  Trying to make up things.  Consciously or unconsciously disrespecting the spirit and struggle of our ancestors.  Being lazy in our intellectual pursuits of our history isn't going to push us forward.  There's no easy way and us developing schools of thought that really do nothing besides make us feel better about our oppression aren't going to help us either.  The only thing that will assist us is our truth that we are Africans and until we connect to Africa and make her free, we are doomed.  There is absolutely no way you can disrespect Africa and love yourself.  Garvey told us that you cannot hate the roots and love the tree.  You know you don't know anything about Africa.  Nothing, except what the slave master has told us.  Its time to correct that so we don't have to make up things.  What we have in reality actually works out just perfectly.

0 Comments

Claim Our Dignity.  Make sure You Rep African Liberation Day

5/21/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
This 1997 picture captures the core of Nkrumah's message in the "Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare" and the A-APRP's work over the last 50 years. Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) stands fourth from the right. Everyone in this picture is A-APRP cadre, but each of these Africans represents work taking place in Pan-African formations in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Gambia, and other places. This is the work of the Handbook. This is the work of the A-APRP. And, this work is what African Liberation Day represents.
This is the 60th commemoration of African Liberation Day (ALD) and its my 35th year organizing and participating in ALD commemorations.  I participated in ALD in Oakland in 1980 as a just turned 18 new member of the Pan-African Secretariat and I've organized ALD every year since 1984 as an organizer for the All African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP).  

This 60th year is very special because its also the 50th year since the publication of the eternal "Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare" by A-APRP founder Kwame Nkrumah.  Its also the 50th year since the creation of the A-APRP as called for in the Handbook.  A novice to political organizing and struggle might say 50 years?  60 years?  Why have you not succeeded with your objective?  The clear ideological answer is that we are succeeding and anyone who has the slightest understanding of organizational work should be able to easily understand why.  In those 50 years we have made major contributions to a number of areas of significant political accomplishments.  Just from my own humble experience I can tell you that when I started back in 1984, very few Africans in the Western Hemisphere wanted to identify with Africa.  Today, African is a part of the dominant identifier in this country for people of African descent and we are seeing great strides on this question.  Cuba allocates funding to teach about African culture in that country, recognizing that the majority of their population should identify as Africans.  Other Caribbean nations like Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic are making progress on this question as well and the same can be said for South American countries like Brazil and Venezuela.  The concept of African unity has never had as much steam as it does today on the continent itself.  Even the neo-colonial regimes in countries like Ghana and Nigeria are having to cede to the demand of the people by instituting Pan-African steps like reducing border requirements and making it easier for Africans born in other countries in Africa, and even outside of Africa, to become citizens in African countries.  In 1984, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), not to mention other imperialist and terrorist intelligence agencies like the Moussad from Israel and M16 in Britain, were viewed as the "good guys."  Today, all of those entities are widely recognized for the beasts and terrorist organizations that they are and the entire imperialist industrial military apparatus will soon be joining them.  Finally, in 1984, questions like African support and understanding of the connections we have with Palestinian and Indigenous people's of the Western Hemisphere struggles for justice couldn't boast anything close to the level of collective consciousness that all of those questions have among the masses of people today.  My point is political consciousness is a process, not an event.  It will take time, possibly generations, to get us where we need to be, but the work is clearly happening and its not happening by accident or chance.  It reflects the organized efforts of organizations like the A-APRP.  I'm only one A-APRP cadre and I can tell you I've probably facilitated 100 events dealing with these questions to many thousands of people.  I've worked with dozens of organizations to build and maintain relationships.  So, clearly, if we have any number of people, which we do, engaging in the same work that I do, that is going to have an impact.  That's what we have been doing the last 50 years.

This weekend, we will again make ALD a reality for African people in every corner of the planet Earth.  Our theme for 2018 - "Divided by Borders, United by History and Culture" - will be expressed this coming weekend in Guinea-Bissau Creole, Kenyan Ki-Swahili, Ghanaian Twi and Ga, Shona in Zimbabwe, and Xhosa and Zulu in Azania, South Africa.  In Britain, our theme will be echoed in the Africanized version of that colonial English.  The same will be true in Canada and throughout the U.S.  For you, that may just be a wide spread event, but in reality, its clear and undeniable evidence that our people are coming together.  That we do want unity.  That we have the desire and capacity to be united.  And, that ALD is just today's writing on the wall for what we will accomplish on behalf of our struggling people.  You may see just a day.  Just an event, but for those of us who actually do this work, and not just believe in our head's that we understand this work, we know what we are participating in and witnessing is the groundwork of victory in our struggle.

So, if you understand the above, then you shouldn't have any trouble understanding why the night before ALD - this Friday night, May 25th - I'll have a very difficult time sleeping.  I've had that struggle since 1984 because the concept of what ALD actually means is extremely exciting to me.  And, the fact I get the sincere honor to contribute to that process is extremely exciting to me.  There are people who started this work with me in 1984 who are no longer on Earth.  And then there are the giants who paved the way for us.  That night, as I toss and turn, I'll be thinking about Malcolm and Kwame Ture.  Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Ture.  Mbalia Camara and Carmen Peirera.  Shirley Graham and W.E.B. DuBois.  George Padmore.  Franz Fanon.  Patrice Lumumba.  Fred Hampton.  I'll be thinking of all of them and more and I'll be thanking them for all their sacrifices.  I'll be attempting to be as still as I can be so that I can hear their voices speaking into me.  I couldn't care less if you don't believe they speak into me.  I believe they speak into all of us, but many of us are just not prepared to receive their communication. I am and its their guidance that has permitted me to weather this decadent society.  They are the reason I haven't completely lost my way because through them I know what my true contribution has to be.  

So, ALD may seem like just an event, but we know that its an institution.  One we are building.  One that will one day have an entirely different meaning.  So, if you love freedom and African self-determination.  If you love seeing all the struggles of all oppressed people united and sustainable together.  If you love seeing women represented and strong, uncompromising voices through word, song, and dance, expressing our determination to be free.  Then, I cannot for the life of me understand why you wouldn't want to be at the closest ALD to you (this link will give you logistic information for ALDs happening all over the planet -
http://www.africanliberationday.net/​.  And, if physical circumstances just won't permit you to get to one of the manifestations, then let us know and we will forward you the commemorative 60 year tabloid containing articles and information about ALD.  This day is about Africa and African people.  There is absolutely nothing else that even comes close.  


0 Comments

Why These Africans Stand 100% with the Palestinian People

5/15/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
The entire world is watching this completely disrespectful and insulting move by the imperialist U.S. government to "announce" their criminal embassy in the holy city of  Jerusalem within occupied Palestine, or what is known as the state of Israel.  We have witnessed the Palestinian people, fatigued and determined to continue to rise up to protest this move by the U.S., only to be met with maximum brutality.  All of this within the last 24 hours.  The supporters of imperialism, all over the world, see events only through the lenses of their oppressive tactics.  So, to them, all is well with the continued dehumanization of the Palestinian people.  Since the criminals and their supporters view Palestinians, Africans, Indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere, etc., as less than roaches, to them, killing us for simply speaking out for justice is no different than spraying roaches for existing.

That is the reason that we African revolutionaries have always, and will continue, to stand on the side of the Palestinian people in their just fight for self-determination and an elimination of the zionist entity known as the state of Israel.  To us, our work in doing this revolves primarily around educating our African masses about the Palestinian question as a part of our overall strategy to achieve Pan-Africanism; or one unified socialist Africa.  And, for those who wonder what our struggle has to to with the Palestinian situation, again, to those causing all of our problems, we are all the same.  So, we take a page from our enemies on this question.  We know that the zionist state of Israel is the capitalist/imperialist network's key ally in the Middle East.  That is the reason imperialism offers unwavering support for zionism.  They have done so since the imperialist Lord Balfour in Britain, as a part of their deranged dominance of the world through control of the Ottoman Empire, decreed that Palestine belonged to the worldwide zionist movement.  This incident occurred in 1919, and since that time, zionism has worked overtime, with the full support of worldwide imperialism, to steal Palestinian land, culminating with the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.  Like all settler colonies (Europeans stealing other people's land) e.g. Australia, Azania, South Africa, and the U.S., the state of Israel and the people who support it, will never admit to their theft.  They will always claim, as the Europeans in Azania, South Africa are claiming, and as the zionists are saying today, that whenever the oppressed rise up, as the Palestinians are doing, and imperialism brutalize them, it is the fault of the people resisting oppression.  

We know that no people in power, particularly these criminals who obtained power through theft and violence, have ever surrendered that power.  We know that the Palestinian people, and no oppressed people, will ever achieve their liberation through bourgeois elections in these societies.  We know that our freedom will only come when we organize and fight against the power structures for that freedom.  This is why we know we must make sure our people are clear about why we support the Palestinian people because the more they struggle against zionism, the weaker zionism becomes.  The weaker zionism becomes, the weaker imperialism becomes.  The weaker imperialism becomes, the stronger all forces fighting against imperialism become.  In other words, we benefit from the Palestinians winning.  We benefit from the Filipino people winning their fight against imperialism.  We benefit from the Indigenous people winning their struggle against our enemies.  We win when the Irish win.  And all of those people win when we win.  So, strictly from a position of logic, it makes sense strategically for us to support the Palestinian people and all of the struggles just mentioned.  And, it makes sense for them to support us.  Any other argument is shortsighted, naive, and nonscientific.  This is what we tell our people everyday.  This is what we will be telling them all over the world during African Liberation Day in two weeks.  And, representatives from all of those struggles will be there explaining that as well.

We will also add in that our reasons for being against zionism have direct connections to the suffering of African people as well.  The zionist government of the state of israel relies on its illegal diamond polishing industry to provide a large sector of its gross national product.  This industry depends upon the continued exploitation of African diamonds since there are no diamonds mines in occupied Palestine (israel).  Since israel currently supplies about 40% of the polished diamonds on the world market right now, this is certainly no exaggeration.  Again, a Palestinian victory helps alleviate our suffering.  

This is our message to Africans everywhere, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and going forward.  We will never accept settler colonialism and we will continue to say that zionism is the most potent face for white supremacy worldwide.  We call upon all peace loving people to do any and everything you can to support the Palestinian people.  Support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.  Support rallies and protests standing with the Palestinian people.  Whatever you can.  We will continue to do what we have been doing for decades since Kwame Ture, as chairperson of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) led that organization to become the first national organization in the U.S. to take a clear anti-zionist position.  Kwame and others from SNCC brought that principled position into the All African People's Revolutionary Party (compliments to Sister Ethel Minor).  We must continue to apply more and more pressure to the zionist regime and their puppet masters in the U..S, Britain, etc.  We cannot be swayed at the arrogance of the imperialists.  As Kwame Ture told us, appealing to their morality is a waste of time because they have no conscience.  So, don't let their arrogance rattle you.  They will never admit any wrong doing.  They have never admitted that their brutal savagery against the Indigenous people was/is wrong.  They have never admitted their devastation of African and African people was/is wrong.  And, they will never admit their oppression of the Palestinian people is wrong.  We can't be confused into thinking an imperialist acknowledgement of their wrongdoing is our objective.  We must gain strength in the fact we are on the right side of history.  In other words, our struggles are just.  And, that is more important than any of the other legitimate reasons we are supporting the Palestinian people.  The Palestinian people, like the African masses, the Filipino people, the Indigenous people, the Irish, all are fighting for power.  So, we have to work to develop that power.  That should be our focus.  Achieve power and walk right over imperialism's chest.  And, even while we are doing that, they will still be denying any knowledge of the havoc they've wrecked upon the world.  The difference will be, at that stage, it will no longer matter what they think.
0 Comments

Celebrating Women, Mothers, and The Trauma and Loneliness of It

5/13/2018

0 Comments

 

In a world dominated by an economic system (capitalism) that relegates human beings to commodities - especially women - grasping a day that honors women is critically important.  This is certainly true as it relates to mothers who in every culture, are the source of light and glue that holds any semblance of family together in this anti-family society we live in.  We of course should honor women this way everyday, not just on the day that capitalism designates us to do it (so we can spend money of course).  And, most of us who make every attempt to be conscious of our existence, do try to engage in this honor daily, but since today is the day most people are going to recognize in this light, we wish to bring a spot light to the power and struggles of the day.

I of course remember my own mother.  Born and raised in Monroe, Louisiana, U.S., her life was a very difficult one and like all of us, those experiences shaped her.  Since she would never explain the sources of her anger and difficulties, I had to take time to do my own investigative work and what I found is the realities of her experiences were more horrific than she could have ever communicated.  The most sad thing about this is her experiences were by no question unique.  They were the typical experiences of African women, everywhere.  And, despite her best efforts, those dysfunctions transferred to me as is the systemic case for the vast majority of our people and humanity. 

Today, I sit here on this day with my mother - Clothilde Dewhart - no longer present in her physical form.  She, along with my father - Richard Dewhart - and my sister and brother, are all deceased.  All of them left the Earth well before they should have and I'm convinced this is the direct result of the complex elements of our oppression as a people.  The stress, early poverty, institutional racism, all of it.  I saw my parents frustration at the system on a daily basis and I internalized it long before I began to experience my own frustrations on a systemic level.  

Like all of us, I absorbed all of my dysfunctions and I've spent my entire life fighting against them.  The attention I didn't get from my parents I spent much of my life pursuing from relationships.  Trying to fill that hole.  That didn't work.  I sit here today thinking of my mother, loving her, appreciating all that she sacrificed for me (and it was a lot).  I hold no negative feelings about anything from my youth.  I know my parents both did the best they could with what they each had to work with, which wasn't much.  In fact, they did an outstanding job considering the pressures they were under.  Still, I sit here today, lonely as hell.  Thinking about the dysfunctions that haunt me, the work I've done against them, and how I declare myself ready to move on and improve my abilities to meet someone.  I think I'm in a place where I've concluded that its all a process and I'll meet whomever I'm supposed to meet whenever I'm supposed to meet them.  In the interim, I know I need to keep doing what I'm trying to do.  Fight through my issues and continue to struggle to grow and be a better human being.  That's hard because on the surface anyway, it doesn't feel as if too many women are interested in men like me.  It feels like my intensity often intimidates women and my values and lifestyle e.g. African liberation, socialism, no smoking, drinking, studying, etc., seems completely unattractive to most people.  I don't know, but I tell myself that regardless of those feelings, I know I'm fun to be around.  I try hard to be an asset to any situation.  Its a dilemma, but I want to believe there are enough who do appreciate what I am.  I know I bring a lot to the table so it must be that the timing just isn't right I guess.  And, one day everything will come together.

As for the loneliness, I feel like I just need to embrace it.  Let it run its course.  Its here today because I wish I had my mother (and father) to reach out to.  I wish their lives had been better.  I wish I could have done more to make their lives better.  And, I wish I had learned to take better care of myself earlier.  I wish I had known the value of me because I used to give it away so easily.  Its a lot.  I wish I could go with parents to visit my daughter and that we could sit around and laugh and enjoy each other.  I wish I had a partner to go with us, with me.  Someone who isn't intimidated.  Who sees my attributes as strengths and who appreciates the support I would provide for her.  Who my daughter would look up too.  A person to be in my life.  I don't have that.  And, my parents obviously can't take that trip with me.  At least not physically.  Thus, the loneliness.  I hate feeling this way on such a nice day, but I guess I just need to live in it and live through it.

So, I'm going to try my best today, and everyday, to take a positive bend on all of this.  The losses I've suffered are without question the result of our oppression as a people so instead of sulking about that, I commit my life to struggling for our liberation.  That makes me feel better.  And, in doing so, I continue to work on myself and that will hopefully place me in the position for the things I wish to come into my life.  Sweat now to avoid bleeding later.  That's always been my approach, but no matter what happens to me, one lesson I definitely leave today with.  The enemies cannot and will not define my perception of my mother or any African woman, or any woman period for me.  The work of our struggle for justice will do that.  And, I'll honor my mother and all women for what they did and try to do.  So, even though imperialism only promotes today to make money off of it (as evidenced by all the people buying flowers and candy, etc., in the supermarket I just left), I'm going to use it to reaffirm what's right.  I'm also going to use it to remind myself that whatever sadness I feel, is there for a reason.  I won't deny it.  I'll sit with it today.  And, I hope for something better while doing everything I can to make that happen.  She didn't always know how to say or it and/or she didn't usually communicate it the right way, but I know that's exactly what Ms. Cleo always wanted for me.  So, if you still have your mother, instead of focusing on the problems, try to figure out how to work through them.  My mother and I did that, but we ran out of time.  Don't waste yours if you still have some.  And, if your situation is like mine, celebrate the beauty of what you shared and use it to build on yourself.  That's what today should mean beyond the brunches and flowers.

0 Comments

From MOVE to Malcolm to ALD; A Tribute to the Martyrs

5/13/2018

0 Comments

 
For those among us who wonder why focus on police,
the work we do among us provides an analysis at least,
that internal violence comes as a result of the organized beast,
who subjects us to oppression every second of every day of the week.
Their violence is monumental and they objectively oppose peace,
They dropped bombs and killed MOVE members, including children, before they would cease,
They bought the bullets, created the plan, and paid off the participants who blew Malcolm a piece,
they continue to sabotage African liberation on every level at least,
But, they will not and cannot win because of our commitment to a justice feast,
Our unwavering courage and desire to see our future rise in peace,
Our time is now and the way they are acting is proof this is no lease,
Our freedom isn't for rent, sale, or donation, and our enemies know this piece,
So celebrate our struggle, participate in it, and help us build capacity to walk right over the chest of this beast.

0 Comments

White Women & Police on Africans; As American as Appie Pie

5/11/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
The videos have been coming in left and right.  A European (white) woman calls the police on an African woman at a university for napping in a dorm room.  A white woman calls the police on two Native youth during a university campus tour.  A white woman calls the police on Africans leaving a home they rented.  A white woman employee in Starbucks calls the police on two Africans waiting for a business partner.  A white woman calls police on a group of Africans peacefully grilling meat on a barbecue.  White people call police on us for breathing too much oxygen.  

With the emergence and dominance of social media in everything we do these days, its easy to attribute all of this to a developing trend since the election of the latest U.S. so-called president, but as easy as it could be to accept that narrative, its not one grounded in reality.  And this is true for several very connected reasons.  One, this phenomenon of calling the police on Africans for absolutely nothing isn't a strictly U.S. issue.  There is data to demonstrate this is happening throughout Europe, Canada, and Australia so this issue cannot be confined within the context of U.S. presidential politics.  Secondly, these people are calling the police on us because they wish to exert their power over us and doing so is very effective for them.  When the police arrive, its not as if they question the logic of harassing us for occupying space.  They typically arrive and react as if we are indeed guilty of breathing without the required permits.  And often, despite the absurdity of the accusation, we end up in the back of the police car for the egregious offense of blinking more than once in the presence of white folks.

The third reason interacts with the first two.  Despite the appearances, this isn't a new issue.  White women, white people, even brown people, have been calling the police on us at the slightest, or even nonexistent, violation as policy for quite some time now.  It happens because African people, Indigenous people, all poor people, are criminalized in capitalist societies.  The vast majority of Europeans believe the capitalist hype that we are all criminals who are always committing crimes.  And, since one of the staples of white supremacist ideology is to convince white people, especially working class white people, that they are still several rungs above us, its imperative that those white people accept their age old and honored responsibility to serve as overseer to ensure the slaves don't organize and revolt.  So, whenever an African stops to take a break, shut our eyes, or just wait for the next act on our daily agenda, white people are programmed to view us with suspicion if we are doing anything other than serving their interests.  

This process only works because of the premise behind it.  Capitalism is built and maintained on exploiting Africa.  The forces who benefit from that exploitation realize that it is only a matter of time before we are able to figure out all of our confusions and dysfunctions so that we can organize against them.  So, the image of us being criminals, coupled with the historic depictions of Africa as savage, serve to indoctrinate people that we are not to be trusted.  So, an African sitting in a Starbucks, walking down the street, shopping in a store, driving a decent car, etc., are all potential crime suspects because its not the alleged "act" that generates the suspicion.  Its the fact we exist.  That we are here.  This is the hard pill for African people to swallow.  The reality that in 2018 we are in the exact same condition  we were when we plotted a slave revolt outside the master's plantation at midnight in 1700.  Understanding this means we cannot be confused into thinking all of this is new.  These recent occurrences are no different than Carolyn Donham (and the thousands of white women like her) accusing Emmit Till of rape in 1955.  Its no different than the white woman who called the police on me in 1979 when I was just a 17 year old kid playing basketball on a playground.   Its all a part of the same process.  The job of white people is to protect the plantation from the rebellious slaves.  And the role of white women in this is to do what white women have done for hundreds of years.  Serve as chief accomplices to white supremacy.  There's no escaping the reality that the Ku Klux Klan, motivated by imposed class friction against African workers as a result of the nullification of chattal slavery (and thus the need to start paying Africans something for our labor) when it was created during reconstruction years in the U.S.  But, there is also no way to refute the fact that protecting white womanhood was used as the emotion dynamic behind fueling the klan's rise.  Instead of rejecting that premise, white women as a whole have always played right into it and they continue to do so today.  Although African people have suffered immensely and savagely because of the behaviors of white women for centuries, white women have never sacrificed anything for justice for African people.  These are all hard facts.

For white people who claim to be different, your task for addressing this is simple.  In each of the instances described as examples here, there were plenty of white people present at the time the Africans were being discriminated against.  Although the white people in that Starbucks did appear to offer some protests about what was happening, for the most part, Europeans do nothing when this type of disrespect is being meted out against us.  Protests alone are not enough anyway.  If you are white and you truly object to this dehumanizing activity against our people, you must get to work.  Regular and consistent workshops, seminars, and work study groups for white people on white supremacy.  You need to get to work challenging this dominant narrative attacking African people.  Doing so is your responsibility and just talking about and/or reposting these videos of our oppression is doing nothing to help the problem.  You must decide to construct a movement that confronts this dysfunction by white people in militant and uncompromising fashion.  By any means necessary.  You have the responsibility to create an environment where this type of behavior by white people is unacceptable by the majority of white people.  Clearly, we are a long way from this reality.  You'll must get to work.  Otherwise stop telling us how progressive you are.  We ain't listening.

For us, we have to stop acting like its a travesty of justice when these things happen.  Capitalism has no morality or conscience so its foolish for us to keep acting as if it does.  Its time for us to wake up from this fantasy where we want this backward capitalist system to be what we wish it was instead of us recognizing it for what it is - a ruthless, backward system that must repress us to ensure its interests.  An empire that we must get serious about organizing against if we are ever going to stop this system from brutalizing us.  After 500 years if we continue to be surprised that police brutalize us and that we just simply do not have the rights of other people than at a certain point, many of us become accomplices to this oppression.  Or as Fanon said, we either fulfill our mission or betray it.  

We need to acknowledge that all of these things happening are reflections of what happens in a dying system.  The power structure knows its days are limited and its utilizing its most treasured resource - its dominance over the ideology of white working people - to pit everyone against each other so as to ensure that if we are looking at each other, we won't be looking at them.  Many of these white women/people calling the police on us are doing it because of their own insecurities and fears.  Regardless, its not our responsibility to educate them, as if they would be open to that even if it was.  Its our responsibility to liberate ourselves.  We cannot do that by attempting a moral argument against a system that possesses no moral capacity.  Power doesn't concede anything without a demand.  We are going to have fight for our liberty if we are ever going to get it.  We are going to have to be prepared to sacrifice and we are going to have to develop the political maturity to deal with the consequences of that.  These examples are simply the manifestation of a dying system attempting to preserve itself.  That means this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.  We are either going to get serious about getting out in front of it and changing the tide or we are going to be swept up by it.



0 Comments

A Real Conversation:  Unmasking Huey P. Newton?

5/8/2018

3 Comments

 
Picture
In this new age of activism, particularly within the U.S., grassroots organizing is defined for most people through the visual provided by the non-profit industrial complex model.  Fortunately, there are enough of us around who grew into this work by way of the model provided by independent African organizations.  Radical African organizations.  Groups like the Democratic Party of Guinea, Pan-African Congress of Azania, South Africa, Republic of New Afrika, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Revolutionary Action Movement, Nation of Islam, and of course, the Black Panther Party. When I was a teenager, my role models weren't entertainers.  They were people like Malcolm X, Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), Assata Shakur, Marcus and Amy Jacque Garvey, and without question; Huey P. Newton, the co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.

By the time I was twenty years old I had ready Huey's "Revolutionary Suicide" and "To Die for the People."  I had also read the "Black Panther Party Manifesto," Bobby Seale's "Seize the Time; the Story of Huey P. Newton" and everything else about Huey P. that I could get my hands on.  

As a young African growing up in the inner-city, Huey P. Newton's work to provide the philosophical groundwork for the Black Panther Party (BPP), just minutes away from where I grew up, and his fearlessness in confronting police, had a profound impact on me.  By the time I was 11, I had already experienced police terrorism.  And that was just the beginning of my exposure to the true role of police; to repress all potential pockets of resistance, particularly the African masses.  So, for me, Huey P. Newton personified that identity in my mind.  His example of personal courage was the model I used to try and model my own behavior off of.  For a young African man growing up, he was the epitome of what I thought I wanted to be like.

That's why the accusations against Newton that have surfaced in recent years have been extremely troubling to me.  He has been accused by close Panther associates of behaving erratically and in abusive manners towards comrades, particularly women.  Now, unlike lots of folks, I don't react to things that bother me by letting those things overwhelm me.  When the negative talk about Newton first surfaced for me, about 20 years ago (its escalated quite a bit in the last 10 years or so with the resurgence of interest in the BPP) I went to work doing extensive research to understand as much as I could.  Plus, I benefit from having exposure with many former Panthers, some of which had much face time with Huey P.  So, I'm probably a little more aware of the extent to which the federal government e.g. the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), played a crucial role in doing everything it possibly could to undermine Newton once he was released from jail on August 5th, 1970 (after the initial conviction for the death of Oakland policeman Frey was overturned).   What I mean is a cursory study of the FBI's counter intelligence files, which they were forced to make public in the 1974 Freedom of Information Act, demonstrates that the FBI closely studied the day to day interactions within the BPP.  As they freely indicated in their documents, the FBI understood that the BPP that existed when Newton first went to jail in the police shooting in 1967 was a totally different organization from the one Newton stepped into when he was released in 1970.  In October, 1967, when the confrontation that left Frey dead and policeman Heanes and Newton injured occurred, the Panthers had a limited number of members and although their work was swiftly creating a reputation for them, they were still basically a regional organization.  By 1970, largely as a result of the "Free Huey" movement that expanded into an international effort, the Panthers had almost 40 chapters throughout the U.S., a clear presence, and relationships internationally.  By 1970, most people, including many of the most visible and active Panthers besides Newton, had no real relationship with Huey P. Newton.  For many people, he was the leader in the ratan chair with the spear and the rifle.  The FBI had done extensive work by 1970 to undermine the Panthers.  Bobby Seale and David Hilliard were incarcerated on questionable charges.  Eldridge Cleaver was in Africa (an African going to Africa cannot be in exile since Africa is our national home).  Much had been done by the FBI (forged attack letters and having informants sew seeds of mistrust for examples) to weaken the foundation of the BPP.  Keep in mind that by 1970, dozens of Panther offices had been raided illegally by police across the country.  Panther leaders Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter, John Huggins, Fred Hampton, and Mark Clark, and original member Lil Bobby Hutton, had been killed either by police informant work and/or direct police terrorism.  Panthers all over the country were being arrested on mostly fabricated charges and faced with serious prison time.  Much of the party needed a spiritual boost in the face of this intense repression.  The prospect of having the bold and courageous Huey P. Newton out and ready to again lead the Black Panther Party created a condition that Huey P. Newton, or any living or dead human being, could ever hope to live up to.  The FBI was acutely aware of this reality and they plotted methodically on ways to exploit this issue.  Specifically, they sought to find imaginative ways to discredit Newton.  This was done by more informant work, letters, etc.  For example, we know now that the conflict that led Newton to expel the hugely popular Geronimo Ji Jaga (Pratt) was completely instigated by the FBI.  This is also true for the widening of the divide between Newton and Cleaver.  The FBI worked to exacerbate this split for months focusing on manipulating the actions of people like Connie Mathews who served as an aide to Cleaver and Newton at one point pretty much during the same general time period until those relationships were completely blown apart.  When Newton and Cleaver openly argued on a television show in 1971, the FBI enthusiastically celebrated the spoils of their work.

We also know that the pressures of all these realities were clearly not lost on Newton himself.  From all reports, he struggled mightily to be the leader he knew people expected him to be.  Preferring to articulate his ideas through his writing, Newton was not even comparable as a orator to Cleaver or Bobby Seale.  With the pressure of his imprisonment and the weight of the besieged BPP on his shoulders, it can be effectively argued that Newton melted from the weight of this pressure.  He had always displayed reactionary tendencies, even before the creation of the BPP, but at no time before he left imprisonment did he demonstrate the erratic behavior that came to define him throughout the 70s.  So, there's no question that FBI inspired repression took its toll on Huey P. Newton.  There's also no question that its no accident that these discrediting efforts against Newton (and Malcolm X, Che Guevara, and any revolutionary who has extensive respect and following) are reflections of COINTELPRO 2018, but that's a another article.

Still, as a person committed to revolutionary politics and organizing, I make it my business to struggle with myself to not be that "rugged individual revolutionary male" organizer that our All African Women's Revolutionary Union (A-AWRU) has always warned us about.  From that education, I knew that despite the fact I greatly admire men like Newton, Che Guevara, Kwame Nkrumah, Kwame Ture, etc., its fair to say none of them excelled in their personal relationships with women.  Even Malcolm X, who starts that list of admired men for me, cannot be categorized as successful with building and maintaining relationships with women (Malcolm was married to Sister Betty Shabazz for seven years, and during that time, she left him on three different occasions).  None of those men will ever win best social skills awards as it relates to their abilities to connect with people on smaller day to day levels.  The common denominator is all of them were forced to endure an overwhelming level of pressure to carry the movement on their backs so I can excuse the fact they probably were not always the best people to go out bowling with.  What has troubled me about Newton, which separates him from the others, is the accusations of abuse against women.  I think I understand better than most people the pressures on him after he came out of prison, but that is absolutely no excuse for the abuse.  And, the allegations are strongly supported.  The stories of beatings of Panther women.  The whipping of the 17 year old sex worker in Oakland.  Those things more than likely happened and that's problematic and inexcusable.

Believe me when I tell you I have stayed up at night thinking about this often.  The reason I think about it is because I love Huey P. Newton and I've tried to struggle to understand how I can love someone who abuses women.  I mean, I went to jail for beating up a domestic abuser so my position on that subject is pretty clear.  I haven't wanted to give Newton a pass and I don't think that I have.  Instead, where I've landed is that Newton, drug infused due to the repression and pressure or not, was wrong.  His abusive behavior was reactionary and unacceptable.  The element that has stuck with me is how Newton could write such an eloquent statement about the need to respect women and LGBTQ people in our communities (50 years ago when such thoughts being articulated in an organization was extremely rare), and then engage in such abusive behavior?  I don't think the answer is any different than it is for any inconsistent behavior people in the movement and world exhibit.  One of Kwame Ture's most consistent criticisms of the Black Panther Party (as well as the criticism of numerous Panthers who became All African People's Revolutionary Party cadre - and there are many) was the lack of consistent and ongoing political education within the BPP.  By that, we don't mean weekly political education classes.  We mean defined reading, discussion, and praise/criticism/ self-criticism.  The Panthers never institutionalized these critical elements and their failure to do this opened the door for the FBI.  The best protection against police infiltration is a strong political education program.  With that, you need not worry about police infiltration because your members are steeled in your ideological direction and will not veer off of it for anyone.  With strong political education you don't need the false sense of security that security culture practices provide.   Huey P. Newton is part and parcel of African people who are part and parcel of humanity.  He was the victim of a failed political education process like all the Panthers, the African community, and all of humanity.  The A-AWRU has said that the revolutionary process requires not just a change in who manages the production apparatus, but a change in our values.  A change in the people that we are.  Without that social revolution and changing of hearts and minds, what we have is socialism on paper and capitalism in our hearts and minds.  

I still love Huey P. Newton.  I see his shortomings and I use them (as I'm attempting to do now) to frame how we move forward.  It is possible to admire the courage and commitment of the young Huey P. Newton while deploring the erratic behavior and abuse of the 70s Huey P. Newton.  I choose to take the best of Huey P.  and educate on how we can create institutions and processes that permit us to challenge conditions that produce the unacceptable behaviors.  I speak this out loud every night to the framed picture of Huey P.  in that ratan chair that I'm looking at right now as I type this.  And I give thanks to the A-AWRU and I focus on keeping myself as honest as I can while appreciating the fact I have an organization that is committed to helping me do that.
3 Comments
<<Previous

    Picture

    Author

    I don't see disagreement as a negative because I understand that Frederick Douglass was correct when he said "there is no progress without struggle."  Our brains are muscles.  Just like any other muscle in our body if we don't stress it and push it, the brain will not improve.  Or, as a bumper sticker I saw once put it, "If you can't change your mind, how do you know it's there?"

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    June 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly