On June 4th, 2013, Baba Chokwe Lumumba officially became the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi. Now as Baba Lumumba himself correctly indicated in a youtube video where he was discussing his respect for the All African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) and the late Kwame Ture; the A-APRP has never supported electoral politics in the U.S., but we have always stood principally with our comrades, allies, and brothers and sister organizations. Our position on electoral politics is of course based in our core belief that electoral politics are dominated by capitalist politics and economics which we are convinced were built and are maintained on the backs of our people. Therefore, we do not believe we can buy, vote, or negotiate our liberation from this system. We believe our justice will only come through revolutionary change and we know that revolution will not only not be televised, but it won't be status updates on Facebook either. Plus, for us, Africa is always primary and therefore it is she that is our political, economic, and social priority.
The above clearly represents the foundation of our position within the A-APRP, but that said, we have profound respect for Baba Lumumba and the organizations that he has produced his work through; the New Afrikan People's Organization (NAPO), the Republic of New Afrika (RNA), and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM). As a teenager, I first heard about the work of NAPO and RNA while being educated by the Pan-African Secretariat. It was then that I first became familiar with Baba Lumumba and his work. I was deeply inspired and once I joined the A-APRP I learned even more because of the A-APRP's long standing and mutually respectful working relationship with NAPO, RNA, and MXGM. In fact, within the A-APRP's workstudy process, the educational process that I credit with most of what I know today, we formally studied the work of those organizations so that we could effectively understand why we should maintain principled relationships with them. It was from those studies that I learned of NAPO and RNA's "Free the Land" strategy. That phrase is widely used within housing justice work circles today, but it was NAPO and RNA that I first heard use the term decades ago. Also, the "Right to Return" as a part of those organization's strategy to build African self-determination wtihin the Southern areas of the U.S. I know those strategies are at the core of Baba Lumumba's mayoral campaign. I also know that keeping in the tradition of their democratic tradition, the people's assemblies MXGM has built, and is continuing to build, in Jackson is at the core of the strategy to strengthen that self-determination.
The fact that White people, many with probable direct historical links to slavery, are still in Jackson and Baba Lumumba's elected position requires him to serve as representative to those elements doesn't in anyway diminish the quality of the strategy. MXGM, NAPO, RNA, like the A-APRP, have always sought to build democratic and human rights based societies, regardless of the ethnic and racial background of the people inhabiting the territory, whether it's in Mississippi or Africa. We want democracy, but we know that democracy has to be built on justice and African self-determination since these socieites were built, and are maintained, on exploiting us. Any White people who truly desire peace and justice not only understand that, but would wholeheartedly support those efforts.
So yes, I support Baba Lumumba 100%. Do I understand completely how they will achieve the goals and objectives laid out in the Jackson Plan through his elected position? No, but I believe, and I know the A-APRP supports, that a essential aspect of building principled relationships is trusting and respecting the sincere political work of comrades even when you may not agree with their approach. This is the position we take as it relates to MXGM and Baba Lumumba's plan in Jackson, Mississippi. We trust and respect our comrades down there and provide our complete support for the work they do because we know they do the same for us. We go even further and say that MXGM's current work in Mississippi is a proud continuation of the work of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Loundes County Freedom Organization - the original Black Panther Party from Alabama. There is no division within the African liberation movement. We are one with MXGM, NAPO, and RNA and we look forward to seeing them struggle successfully in Mississippi!
The above clearly represents the foundation of our position within the A-APRP, but that said, we have profound respect for Baba Lumumba and the organizations that he has produced his work through; the New Afrikan People's Organization (NAPO), the Republic of New Afrika (RNA), and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM). As a teenager, I first heard about the work of NAPO and RNA while being educated by the Pan-African Secretariat. It was then that I first became familiar with Baba Lumumba and his work. I was deeply inspired and once I joined the A-APRP I learned even more because of the A-APRP's long standing and mutually respectful working relationship with NAPO, RNA, and MXGM. In fact, within the A-APRP's workstudy process, the educational process that I credit with most of what I know today, we formally studied the work of those organizations so that we could effectively understand why we should maintain principled relationships with them. It was from those studies that I learned of NAPO and RNA's "Free the Land" strategy. That phrase is widely used within housing justice work circles today, but it was NAPO and RNA that I first heard use the term decades ago. Also, the "Right to Return" as a part of those organization's strategy to build African self-determination wtihin the Southern areas of the U.S. I know those strategies are at the core of Baba Lumumba's mayoral campaign. I also know that keeping in the tradition of their democratic tradition, the people's assemblies MXGM has built, and is continuing to build, in Jackson is at the core of the strategy to strengthen that self-determination.
The fact that White people, many with probable direct historical links to slavery, are still in Jackson and Baba Lumumba's elected position requires him to serve as representative to those elements doesn't in anyway diminish the quality of the strategy. MXGM, NAPO, RNA, like the A-APRP, have always sought to build democratic and human rights based societies, regardless of the ethnic and racial background of the people inhabiting the territory, whether it's in Mississippi or Africa. We want democracy, but we know that democracy has to be built on justice and African self-determination since these socieites were built, and are maintained, on exploiting us. Any White people who truly desire peace and justice not only understand that, but would wholeheartedly support those efforts.
So yes, I support Baba Lumumba 100%. Do I understand completely how they will achieve the goals and objectives laid out in the Jackson Plan through his elected position? No, but I believe, and I know the A-APRP supports, that a essential aspect of building principled relationships is trusting and respecting the sincere political work of comrades even when you may not agree with their approach. This is the position we take as it relates to MXGM and Baba Lumumba's plan in Jackson, Mississippi. We trust and respect our comrades down there and provide our complete support for the work they do because we know they do the same for us. We go even further and say that MXGM's current work in Mississippi is a proud continuation of the work of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Loundes County Freedom Organization - the original Black Panther Party from Alabama. There is no division within the African liberation movement. We are one with MXGM, NAPO, and RNA and we look forward to seeing them struggle successfully in Mississippi!
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