Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Oakland and the American Islamic Revolution
Oakland and the American Islamic Revolution
Imam Jamil Alamin (H. Rap Brown)
of Atlanta GA
Imam Luqman of Detroit (RIP)
Imam Musa of Oakland
Cause Célèbre Islam: Racism, Revolution, Black Nationalism
Written by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Madeleine Gruen
Friday, 20 November 2009 14:16
Written by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Madeleine Gruen
Friday, 20 November 2009 14:16
“We can’t just be saying, ‘O.K., everything is run by the U.S. government,’ we got to take out the U.S. government. The U.S. government is nothing but Kuffars.”
—Luqman Abdullah, imam of Masjid al-Haqq and Detroit representative to al-Ummah2
—Luqman Abdullah, imam of Masjid al-Haqq and Detroit representative to al-Ummah2
“So the goal of the government is to destroy this group [al-Ummah] and to send the message to other African Americans that the federal government will not allow any unified, organized Islamic activities to be carried out inside of the United States of America. But we have a message for them. We will not be intimidated by the government of the United States of America.”
—Abdul Alim Musa, imam of Masjid al-Islam and founder of al-Sabiqun3
—Abdul Alim Musa, imam of Masjid al-Islam and founder of al-Sabiqun3
The shooting of Luqman Abdullah, the imam of Detroit’s Masjid al-Haqq and a representative to al-Ummah, provided a glimpse into a movement that blends conservative Sunni Islamic practice with the legacy of black nationalism. Abdullah’s rhetoric weaves references to the Qur’an and ahadith together with the language of militant jihadism and assertions of injustice perpetrated against African-American Muslims by the U.S. government in the form of harassment, targeted raids, arrests, and “assassinations.” Other preachers similarly fuse these themes, resulting in a distinctive understanding of the faith that can be described as “cause célèbre Islam.”
For Abdullah and his followers, this doctrine provided justification for criminal behavior. In other cases, cause célèbre Islam prepares adherents for an inevitable violent revolution against the U.S. government: this revolutionary vision is at least as indebted to the ideas of men like Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver, and Malcolm X as it is to more typical advocates of Islamic revolution like Sayyid Qutb. Those who share this view tend to be suspicious of outsiders, and outside influences.
Cause Célèbre: An Indigenous American Islamic Movement
The “cause célèbre Islam” movement arose from a combination of uniquely American conditions and experiences. Because many of the movement’s leaders were children of the civil rights era and were active in the black nationalist movement, or had significant exposure to members of that movement, the leaders’ rhetoric fuses black nationalist themes with conservative or militant Islamic ideas.
Antecedents of this movement include quasi-Islamic sects that catered to African-Americans by trying to frankly address the reality of racism in America, such as the Moorish Science Temple and the Lost-Found Nation of Islam. However, unlike these groups, there is nothing within the cause célèbre Islamic movement—such as the Nation of Islam’s belief in W.D. Fard’s divinity and the prophethood of Elijah Muhammad—that clearly places it outside the mainstream of Islamic theology.
This issue’s article “Jamil al-Amin” profiles a significant leader within the cause célèbre Islam movement, a man who continues to serve as an ideological inspiration and who has himself become one of its causes célèbre following his conviction and life sentence for shooting two police officers in Atlanta. Al-Amin’s supporters claim he was framed because the U.S. government feared his power and influence.
Abdul Alim Musa, originally from Oakland, CA, is an associate of Jamil al-Amin, and the leader of the Washington, D.C.-based group As-Sabiqun, which subscribes to the same cause célèbre brand of Islam as al-Ummah. Speaking of al-Amin’s trial, he commented: “You know a different America than I do. I know America coming from Arkansas of lynchings, of burning, and of torture. I don’t know an America of a fair trial. I don’t know America of a Bill of Rights. I have never seen that America. Imam Jamil came out of a generation coming up out of Louisiana.”4
He has further explained his deep admiration for al-Amin, describing him as a living legend:
You know who Imam Jamil al Amin is? I’m gonna tell you who he is. You see all these movies, a last man standing, right? A guy who goes through houses being blown up. Ran over by a train. Legs ripped off, sawed in half, buried alive. Isn’t that right? And he’d come out the last man standing. Imam Jamil al Amin, they tried to blow him up in 1967. They tried to assassinate him on several occasions. Isn’t that right? They ran him into exile in the late 60’s and the early 70’s. But he came on back. The last man standing. Martin Luther King is dead. Malcolm X is dead. Medgar Evers is dead. Isn’t that right? [Huey] Newton is dead. Eldridge Cleaver is dead. Everyone you read about in a black history book that struggled against what we used to call the “white man” is dead. Isn’t that right?5
You know who Imam Jamil al Amin is? I’m gonna tell you who he is. You see all these movies, a last man standing, right? A guy who goes through houses being blown up. Ran over by a train. Legs ripped off, sawed in half, buried alive. Isn’t that right? And he’d come out the last man standing. Imam Jamil al Amin, they tried to blow him up in 1967. They tried to assassinate him on several occasions. Isn’t that right? They ran him into exile in the late 60’s and the early 70’s. But he came on back. The last man standing. Martin Luther King is dead. Malcolm X is dead. Medgar Evers is dead. Isn’t that right? [Huey] Newton is dead. Eldridge Cleaver is dead. Everyone you read about in a black history book that struggled against what we used to call the “white man” is dead. Isn’t that right?5
This article now turns to the revolutionary threads and criminal threads within cause célèbre Islamic ideology.
Revolutionary Threads
Revolution and potential confrontation with the U.S. government are overarching themes within the movement’s thinking. They featured prominently in Luqman Abdullah’s rhetoric, for example. “[W]e should be trying to figure out how to fight the Kuffar,” he said. “You see, we need to figure out how to be a bullet.”6 Further, he said, “you cannot have a non-violent revolution.” 7
There are various gradations of how revolution is seen within the movement. At their most extreme, the revolutionary ideas are pegged to the notion of establishing an Islamic state within the U.S., or more ambitiously seizing the instruments of government and imposing Islamic rule throughout the nation. At other times, the idea of revolution within the movement’s rhetoric is more secularized, with “the oppressed” (and not just Muslims) rising up against the institutions that hold them back. And in their mildest form, the movement’s revolutionary ideas are inward-looking, with fighting against ignorance and addiction seen as transformative in themselves.8
The revolutionary theme fosters an “us versus them” mentality, putting the U.S. government in the role of the community’s oppressor. This can isolate members of the movement from outsiders, and also cultivate a lack of respect and trust for the government’s authority. Members of the movement will see law enforcement action that has an impact on those within their community as calculated, part of a grand strategy to keep the movement weak. One example of this conspiratorial view is an article in New Trend Magazine, an online Islamist publication, which remarked that “Muslims of America, especially African Americans, are leaderless. The government knows this and wants to keep Imam Jamil in prison on a bogus case which should have been thrown out long ago.”9
Criminal Threads
Though Luqman Abdullah and his associates were heavily involved in criminal activity, this is certainly not the case for all adherents of this brand of Islam. Indeed, many antecedents of the cause célèbre Islamic movement, such as the Nation of Islam, prided themselves in giving followers with a criminal past the self-discipline necessary to avoid lapsing back into criminality.
Many within this movement have served time in prison, but in part this may be due to the fact that Darul Islam and similar groups have systematized prison dawah programs.
Often Islam provides an attractive alternative to the violent and degrading prison environment. “Acting through the principle of freedom of worship, Islam meets these challenges and shows a remarkable capacity to redefine the conditions of incarceration,” writes Robert Dannin. “A new Muslim repeats the attestation of faith, the shahada, before witnesses at the mosque. His Islamic identity then means a fresh start, symbolized by the choice of a new name, modifications to his physical appearance, and an emphasis on prayer.”10
But not all converts to Islam leave behind their criminal past. Among other reasons, some of them may not be able to shake old worldviews and habits after adopting their new faith. Others may not even try to shake off them at all, and may in fact use their new Islamic framework to justify criminality.
Luqman Abdullah, who served two prison terms (one for carrying a concealed weapon, the other for assaulting a police officer), continued to justify theft and crimes of violence after his conversion to Islam. After his conversion, he used religious justifications to argue that such activities were legitimate; when he helped arrange for a new VIN for a truck that he believed to be stolen, he described it as an act of jihad.11 He encouraged members of Masjid al-Haqq to carry firearms, which many did even though their criminal records made it illegal.
The shooting of Abdullah now gives the movement the opportunity to establish his status as a martyr, and to create another cause célèbre to rally around. As Abdul Alim Musa has declared: “[W]hat the government is doing by assassinating Imam Luqman is it’s trying to intimidate the Muslim community, especially the black community. And I say that because the immigrant community, which is about half of the Muslims in the United States, and the African American Muslim community, which form the other half, have different views about Islam in America and how it should be fostered.”12
As-Sabiqun
Certainly, one cannot draw complete analytical conclusions about a movement’s theology, doctrine, and strategy based on what is disclosed in court documents: criminal complaints and other such documents are used to support a criminal prosecution, and are not meant to provide a comprehensive history or account of the subject’s activities. Therefore, in assessing the movement’s priorities it is helpful to look beyond Abdullah, and toward an active group that is part of the cause célèbre Islamic movement.
As-Sabiqun, which is another offshoot of Darul Islam, is one such group. Group leader Abdul Alim Musa was a close associate of Jamil al-Amin, and is very active in the campaign to free him from prison. In his public statements, Musa often warns of a war on African-American Muslim converts by the FBI at the behest of a “Zionist-controlled U.S. government.”
He uses every incident involving law enforcement actions against African-American converts as an opportunity to bolster his claim. He also speaks of the need for dramatic change to the government:
[I]t is the responsibility of God-serving people to champion the right of self-determination—to alter that government, and to institute a new form of administration that is in conformity with the eternal principles and values of God’s Law; a government which is both human-friendly and earth- friendly. Prudent and just means must be employed to accomplish the establishment of such a government. The timeless prescribed methods to address tyranny are threefold: the usage of the hand (physical or military might), the tongue (to raise our voices in defense of Truth and justice), or the heart (to detest it internally and implore for God’s assistance).13
[I]t is the responsibility of God-serving people to champion the right of self-determination—to alter that government, and to institute a new form of administration that is in conformity with the eternal principles and values of God’s Law; a government which is both human-friendly and earth- friendly. Prudent and just means must be employed to accomplish the establishment of such a government. The timeless prescribed methods to address tyranny are threefold: the usage of the hand (physical or military might), the tongue (to raise our voices in defense of Truth and justice), or the heart (to detest it internally and implore for God’s assistance).13
One of Musa’s favorite themes is the use of “snitches and FBI informants” as a tool of the government to eliminate the movement’s leaders. In June 2007, he delivered a lecture at his mosque entitled “How to Punk the FBI,” which included such pointers as: “How to bring the sissy out of your local FBI agent. Counter-harassment techniques (Did your mamma buy that shirt?) Laugh your fears away by laughing in your oppressor’s face.”
And in July 2009, Musa hosted another seminar to discuss the position of the African- American Muslim community toward the FBI entitled “RE-PUNK THE F.B.I.: Practitioners of Tyranny & Oppression.”
The justification for holding the meeting was described in a release issued by As-Sabiqun in June 2009. It read, in part: “The history of the Zionist-occupied United States government has been one of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an oppressive and tyrannical world order.
The justification for holding the meeting was described in a release issued by As-Sabiqun in June 2009. It read, in part: “The history of the Zionist-occupied United States government has been one of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an oppressive and tyrannical world order.
Prudence demands that we, the oppressed, list some of our outstanding grievances in this regard.” The release asserts that “actions, on the part of the Zionist-occupied U.S. government, has created an atmosphere of pervasive fear, that exists both nationally (via the FBI, Homeland Security, Immigration, and others) and internationally (via the CIA and its partners in crime throughout the globe).”
The announcement then asked supporters to join them at their masjid “for an afternoon of courage and clarity, where Imam Musa will, insha’Allah, give a detailed discussion on two very critical and timely topics: the Re- Africanization of the Islamic movement in North America & the De- Israelization of the global Islamic movement.”14
Many followers of As-Sabiqun are ex-convicts who converted to Islam while in prison, as did Musa, who spent several years in the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas after being convicted of charges that included drug trafficking. As-Sabiqun engages in dawah efforts directed at prison inmates, and offers them a community where they can go after their release.
According to Musa’s biography on his personal MySpace page, “His ‘street’ background helps explain part of his appeal to inner-city youths and ex-convicts, with whom he can identify through personal experience.”15 In addition, Musa travels extensively to lecture, often speaking to Muslim youth groups and Muslim student associations at U.S. universities.
As-Sabiqun’s web site is a first place to look to understand the group ideologically:Carrying on the torch lit by El-Hajj Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X) and past homegrown Islamic movements such as the Darul Islam movement and the Islamic Party of North America, As-Sabiqun aspires to:
make Islam a living force by challenging and breaking the grasp of social and political forces seeking to suppress and destroy the Deen.
obliterate the hold of jahiliyyah through moral and spiritual development.
establish Islamic homes and build model communities where Islam is lived.
work toward total economic independence.
stand up against those who oppress Muslims and all other human beings across the globe as well as the earth and Allah’s creation itself. 16
As-Sabiqun members are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the writings of thinkers like Abu Ala al-Mawdudi, Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Malcolm X, and Ayatollah Khomeini. This list is telling in itself: though a number of conservative and militant Sunni Muslims were heartened by Iran’s 1978-79 Islamic revolution, they largely turned against Khomeini in the 1980s due to their problems with Shia theology. Not so for Musa, for whom being a revolutionary seems to be a top concern.
As-Sabiqun’s stated goal is to establish the “Islamic State of North America” no later than 2050. 17 However, Musa has given somewhat contradictory guidance about this aspiration. On the one hand, he tells his followers to invite people to Islam peacefully; on the other, he glorifies suicide bombers as heroes.
In a June 2008 speech delivered to a group in Dearborn, Michigan, honoring Ayatollah Khomeini, Musa said, “My enemy is the United States…. We are living under a dictatorship in the U.S.” Though he preceded these comments by telling his audience to “invite people to Islam instead of shooting,” he went on to say that “we are being harassed to a point.”10 Perhaps, then, Musa is suggesting that violence is now justifiable, given the extremes to which the Muslim community in the U.S. has been “pushed.”
Conclusion
The shooting of Luqman Abdullah does not eliminate potentially violent groups that fuse Islamism with black nationalist grievances. This movement, which we dubbed “cause célèbre Islam,” is broader than Abdullah, with a traceable ideological foundation based on the heritage and experience of African-Americans. It is certainly a movement that will remain on the radar of those who are concerned about the possibility of homegrown terrorism.
.......................................
1Portions of this article were originally published in Madeleine Gruen & Frank Hyland, “The Threat Here—2008: As Sabiqun,” Counterterrorism Blog, July 28, 2008.return
2Gary Leone, Criminal Complaint, United States v. Abdullah, No. 2:09-MJ- 30436 (E.D. Mich., Oct. 27, 2009).return
3“Washington’s Imam Musa: FBI Assassinated Luqman Ameen Abdullah to Intimidate the Black American Muslim Community,” Press TV (Iran), Nov. 2, 2009.return
4Abdul Alim Musa, speech at Jamil al-Amin Fundraiser, University of California at Irvine, Sept. 9, 2001, accessed from the Investigative Project on Terrorism web site, Nov. 20, 2009.return
5Leone, Criminal Complaint, United States v. Abdullah, ¶ 18.return
6Ibid.return
7Ibid. See also ibid. ¶ 24, in which Abdullah states: “We are going to have to fight against the Kafir.”return
8Examples of this framework can be found in Jamil al-Amin, Revolution by the Book: The Rap is Live (Beltsville, MD: Writers’ Inc., 1994).return
9Kaukab Siddique, “Dr. Siddique Interviews Sister Karima al-Amin,” New Trend Magazine, Sept. 9, 2009.return
10Robert Dannin, Black Pilgrimage to Islam (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 175.return
11Leone, Criminal Complaint, United States v. Abdullah, ¶ 33.return
12“FBI Assassinated Luqman Ameen Abdullah to Intimidate the Black American Muslim Community,” Press TV.return
13“RE-PUNK THE F.B.I. (Practitioners of Tyranny & Oppression,” posted to Abdul Alim Musa’s Facebook page on June 24, 2009 (accessed Nov. 20, 2009).return
14Ibid.return
15This page can be accessed at http://www.myspace.com/imammusa2 (last visited Nov. 20, 2009).return
16As-Sabiqun’s web site can be accessed at http://www.sabiqun.net/ (last visited Nov. 20, 2009).return
17This statement can be found at http://www.sabiqun.net/join.html (last visited Nov. 20, 2009).return
18Video of this speech can be seen at http://www.shiatv.net/view_video.php? (accessed Nov. 20, 2009).return
Imam Abdul Alim Musa is a radical Muslim American activist and public speaker. Known for his openly anti-Semitic remarks, Alim Musa is a well known figure in the Muslim world.
He grew up in Oakland, California amid the drug dealing turf of East Oakland. During his serving time in prison for heroin smuggling, currency smuggling and assaulting a federal agent, Musa converted to Islam. Upon release, he established a masjid in East Oakland. Soon after, he went to Iran, where he showed his staunch support for the 1979 Iranian revolution.
During his travels, he met many top Islamic leaders and scholars.Musa is on the leading members of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought, an international intellectual center promoting a global Islamic movement. He is also the founder and director of As-Sabiqun, an American organization advocating an establishment an Islamic state in the United States.Alim Musa had made many extremely anti-Semitic statements.
He has stated that the U.S. was controlled by the Jews, has glorified Palestinian suicide bombers as heroes and has claimed that the Zionist Jews were responsible for most terrorist attacks worldwide, including the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center.Musa has accused the Jews of running the slave trade.
At an anti-Israel event at University of California Irvine, Musa said the following: “Who ran the slave trade…who funded [it]? You’ll study and you will find out: the Jews…It was the Jewish bankers…in Vienna, with pockets full of money, funding and insuring, that’s who did it…. you can’t tell us about no holocaust.
Between the African Americans and the Native Americans, everybody else’s stuff was small potatoes.”Despite his openly anti-Semitic views, Musa is a frequent speaker and has given speeches at events organized by such prominent Muslim-American organizations as Muslim American Society, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Circle of North America, Muslim Public Affairs Committee and Islamic Society of North America.
In addition, he has spoken at many pro-Palestinian rallies nationwide.Alim Musa is strongly associated with the Muslim Student Union at University of California Irvine, where he organization frequently disrupts Israeli guest speakers and stages anti-Israel events..As of April 2009, Musa became banned from entering the United Kingdom for supporting terrorism and propagating extremist ideology.
Imam Luqman
October 28, 200
FBI kills leader of radical Muslims; 12 charged
BY BEN SCHMITT, NIRAJ WARIKOO AND ROBIN ERBFREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
The leader of a local mosque who authorities also are calling the head of an Islamic fundamentalist group was killed in a shootout with federal agents this afternoon during a series of raids that resulted in charges against a dozen men.
Luqman Ameen Abdullah, 53, leader of the Masjid Al-Haqq mosque in Detroit, is accused in a federal complaint of heading a Sunni Muslim group with a mission of establishing a separate Islamic nation within the United States. Abdullah, also known as Christopher Thomas, was gunned down after firing on officers as the FBI raided a Dearborn warehouse, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
An FBI canine also was fatally shot. Raids also were conducted in Detroit."The eleven defendants are members of a group that is alleged to have engaged in violent activity over a period of many years and known to be armed," a joint statement from the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office said. A 12th man was arrested late Wednesday in connection with the investigation. Three of the men charged were at large Wednesday night.
Abdullah and the others were charged with conspiracy to commit several federal felony crimes, including illegal possession and sale of firearms and theft from interstate shipments.Abdullah spoke of attacking Super Bowl XLAbdullah believed he and his followers were soldiers at war against the government and non-Muslims."Abdullah told his followers it is their duty to oppose the FBI and the government and it does not matter if they die," FBI agent Gary Leone said in an affidavit unsealed today. "He also told the group that they need to plan to do something."
Abdullah, 53, of Detroit stayed true to his word as armed FBI agents raided a Dearborn warehouse at Michigan Avenue and Miller. Authorities said he refused to surrender, opened fire and then died in a shootout in which an FBI dog also was killed. Agents also raided two Detroit homes in the 4400 block of Tireman and the 9200 block of Genessee. The affidavits and returns for those warrants were sealed today.The U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI in Detroit unsealed a 43-page document describing a sinister, radical fundamentalist group headed by Abdullah.
The document notes conversations he had with undercover agents and federal informants that ranged from talking about attacking Super Bowl XL in Detroit to blowing himself up as a final act of courage."If they are coming to get to me, I'll just strap a bomb on and blow up everybody," he said in a March 21, 2008, conversation.
Federal officials said Abdullah was the leader of a group that calls itself "Ummah, a group of mostly African-American converts to Islam, which seeks to establish a separate Sharia-law governed state within the United States."
"The Ummah is ruled by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, who is serving a state sentence ... for the murder of two police officers in Georgia." Brown came to prominence in the 1960s as a leader of the Black Panther Party."He regularly preaches antigovernment and antilaw enforcement rhetoric," Leone said of Abdullah in the affidavit.
"Abdullah and his followers have trained regularly in the use of firearms and continue to train in martial arts and sword fighting."Why Abdullah and his followers chose Detroit as their haven remains unknown, Detroit FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said today.Authorities said none of the charges levied today are terrorist-related. Abdullah and 11 suspects were charged with felonies including illegal possession and sale of firearms, mail fraud to obtain the proceeds of arson, theft from interstate shipments and tampering with motor vehicle identification numbers.
Seven of the suspects appeared today in U.S. District Court, one was in custody and three were still being sought.Imad Hamad, senior national adviser and regional director of the Dearborn-based Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, said he received a call from the head of the FBI's Detroit office mid-day to tell him about the raid.
Hamad said FBI Special Agent Andrew Arena told him that the case was "solely criminal" and had to do with "smuggling and fraud." He said Arena revealed few details of the investigation, but said it had been ongoing for about two years.Hamad said he didn't know the defendants."Agents were trying to chase some people," Hamad said Arena told him about the raid. "They were giving instructions to lay down. He resisted. He pulled a gun. They exchanged fire, he was shot down, killed. A dog ... was dead as well."The warehouse is near the heavily commercial intersection of Miller and Michigan.Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Arena called him as well.
Walid said he knew Abdullah."I know him as respected imam in the Muslim community," Walid said.At some point after the raids and shootout, the FBI landed a helicopter with the wounded dog at 12:25 p.m. on normally busy John R, just south of 12 Mile Road, "right in front of the hospital," Madison Heights police said.
FBI agents then carried the wounded dog into Veterinary Emergency Services at 28223 John R. There were no injuries and no traffic mishaps as a result of the unusual landing, although the police department received so many calls about the landing that Police Chief Kevin Sagan issued a written news release Wednesday explaining what happened.Shadi Saad, the owner of Wellcare Pharmacy on Oakman in Dearborn, said he stepped outside before lunchtime to see several people in FBI jackets with guns going toward the warehouse across the street. He heard noises like shots and a short time later a helicopter descended.
"It was like a movie scene for a minute," he said. He opened his business, he said, just 10 days ago. "This isn't the way I wanted it to start."Contact BEN SCHMITT : 313-223-4296 or bcschmitt@freepress.com. Staff writers Bill Laitner, Zlati Meyer and Amber Hunt contributed to this report.The suspectsThe FBI targeted 12 people believed to be engaged in violent crimes over many years. After raids Wednesday, police still are searching for three of them. Killed Luqman Ameen Abdullah (a.k.a. Christopher Thomas), 53, of Detroit during the raids. He had been charged with conspiracy to commit federal crimes, sale or receipt of stolen goods transported in interstate commerce, providing firearms or ammunition to a person known to be a convicted felon, possession of body armor by a person convicted of a violent felony and altering or removing motor vehicle identification numbers....
Imam Jamil Al-Amin
By Askia Muhammad
Senior Correspondent
Final Call
Updated Aug 14, 2007 - 10:51:00 AM
WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - From his jail cell on K-Block in the state prison at Reidsville, Ga., to his supporters all over the country—an unambiguous demand is being sounded for prison authorities and for the legal system itself, to end the unjust persecution of Imam Jamil Al-Amin.
“My husband says he feels he has been sentenced two times. He has been sentenced for a crime, number one, that he did not commit and that someone has confessed to it, and confessed shortly after the incident. And he’s been sentenced by the Department of Corrections,” Karimah Al-Amin, wife of Imam Al-Amin, told The Final Call.
WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - From his jail cell on K-Block in the state prison at Reidsville, Ga., to his supporters all over the country—an unambiguous demand is being sounded for prison authorities and for the legal system itself, to end the unjust persecution of Imam Jamil Al-Amin.
“My husband says he feels he has been sentenced two times. He has been sentenced for a crime, number one, that he did not commit and that someone has confessed to it, and confessed shortly after the incident. And he’s been sentenced by the Department of Corrections,” Karimah Al-Amin, wife of Imam Al-Amin, told The Final Call.
In March 2002, Imam Al-Amin was convicted of murdering a Fulton County, Georgia Sheriff’s Deputy and wounding another in an incident March 16, 2000. Mr. Al-Amin steadfastly maintains his innocence. His supporters insist that he was convicted not based on the evidence, but because he is a Muslim, because of his militant past and his former association with the Black Panther Party.
There is a consensus among Imam Al-Amin’s supporters that he was convicted long before the jury announced its verdict and that prosecutors intentionally ignored the truth in order to punish someone with whom Atlanta authorities have had a long-running feud.
Law enforcement officials “know they’ve got the wrong people, but as long as they can do it in the darkness, or as long as there’s no mass protest, then they can just say, ‘Hey. We got another leader off the streets. So what if he didn’t do it. We’ve been after him since the ’60s’ COINTELPRO,’” complained Hodari Abdul-Ali, executive director of the Imam Jamil Action Network.
“What’s needed is more public awareness of the fact that he’s an innocent man. He’s a political prisoner who is serving time for a crime that he did not do. If he’s guilty, he’s guilty of fighting for the rights of African Americans and, fighting for the rights of Muslims. And trying to make America the democracy that it claims to be. Yeah, he’s guilty of that,” said Mr. Abdul-Ali.
Imam Al-Amin’s second unjust sentence, his supporters insist, is his treatment in the Georgia prison system where he has been on 23-hour lock-down since 2002, despite many public complaints, even petitions from among the Muslim population at Reidsville that he join them for Jumu’ah prayers as their Imam.
He gets one hour out of the cell to shower and also to walk around, what is considered a ‘Dog Pen’ for exercises, according to Mrs. Al-Amin. Authorities even tried recently to humiliate him by passing his meals to him through a slot on the floor, his supporters pointed out. That practice was ended after many vocal complaints.
“The [Prison] Commissioner, when questioned on the phone [recently] by [Imam Al-Amin’s] brother Ed Brown, said, ‘We’ll consider [modifying his conditions] once the situation changes.’” said Sister Al-Amin. “He was asked, ‘What is the situation?’ He could not come up with anything. He doesn’t have any infractions against him. He would be considered a model prisoner anywhere else.”
And there is the fundamental injustice of his conviction, insists Imam Al-Amin’s wife. The Imam has been a target of government harassment since the 1960s when he was the leader of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). At that time he was known as H. Rap Brown and was known for militant civil rights rhetoric.
The fiery civil rights leader was singled out individually, by name, as a threat by FBI Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) agents. “Spiro Agnew, who was then governor of Maryland said: ‘Throw Brown in the jail and throw away the key,’” Nkechi Taifa, then Director of the Equal Justice Program at Howard University School of Law told The Final Call at the time of Imam Al-Amin’s trial in January 2002.
The facts in the case also strongly support Imam Al-Amin’s claims of innocence. There was testimony during the trial that within minutes of the shootout March 16, 2000, in which deputy Ricky Kinchen died, a caller to Atlanta’s 911 Emergency Telephone line reported seeing a bleeding man a few blocks from the scene of the confrontation, begging motorists for a ride. That fact is important because both Deputy Kinchen and his partner, Aldranon English, claimed to have wounded their assailant.
There was also testimony of a trail of fresh blood leading from the scene to an abandoned house, which was not investigated by the police, according to Sister Al-Amin, and “the Imam’s fingerprints were not found on any firearm associated with the crime,” she wrote in The Weekly Mirror. When Imam Al-Amin was arrested three days after the shooting in White Hall, Alabama, after a massive manhunt, authorities were shocked that he had no injuries.
Prosecutors managed to stack the jury, said Mrs. Al-Amin, excluding Muslims, Black women who might be old enough to recall COINTELPRO involvement in civil rights and campus rights activities.
Another puzzling development is the recent appearance of an un-dated and unsigned letter, purportedly written by a Mr. Otis Jackson who in the typewritten letter identifies himself as Mr. Bey. In his confession letter, Mr. Bey writes: “I pulled out and opened fire with my 9 mm hand gun. I then went to my car and got my M-14 and fired off some rounds. Deputy Kinchen shot me two times in the arm so I shot him. I shot Deputy English as well. I remember standing over him and him telling me about his family, but I was upset and hurt and I hate cops so I shot him anyway.
“I got in my car, went to the home of [redacted] She along with [redacted] removed the bullet. One went in and came out. The one that was in there, they got it out. I went home, on the 17th or 18th I found out that they were looking for Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin. So I called my parole officer and told her what I had done,” the confession letter continues. “I was sent back to Vegas. I had to beg the FBI to investigate and I was told that I was not the one that they wanted. I was told that I should be honored that I had gotten away with killing a police.”
With such potentially convincing evidence available for his legal team, why is he still behind bars?
“That’s what we’re dealing with right now,” said Sister Al-Amin. “We’ve been in court in the county where he’s being held with a habeas corpus (petition). We have two new attorneys, not the original trial attorneys. We raised 14 grounds for reversal and for him to have a new trial,” she continued.
The plight of Imam Jamil Al-Amin is not new in the persecution of freedom fighters. We must not forget, and continue to organize and mobilize our community to support, defend, and with God’s help, gain the release of our Brother, another political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been on death row in a Philadelphia, Pa. prison for the past 25 years.
Like the case of Imam Al-Amin, wicked forces do not desire to look at the truth of the evidence in his case that would free him.
The Final Call will continue to monitor, investigate and report on the legal proceedings of both cases involving Imam Jamil Al-Amin and Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Oakland's Easter Crucifixion: 2 Dead, four Wounded at Nightclub
Two killed, four wounded in Oakland nightclub shooting
By Dan Whitcomb
Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:48pm EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two people were killed and four others wounded early on Monday when a gunman opened fire at an Oakland nightclub, then sped away in a car with three suspected accomplices, police said.
The four wounded victims, who were not identified by authorities, were taken to a local hospital where two of them, both men, were listed in critical condition and said to have life-threatening injuries.
The remaining two victims, both women, were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police were searching for four young men, described as African American and in their teens or early twenties, who fled the shooting at Sweet Jimmie's nightclub in a white Dodge Avenger.
An Oakland Police spokeswoman said they had not yet determined a motive for the shooting, despite reports in the local media that the gunman had been denied entry to the club.
"Whether he was trying to get in or not, we don't know," Oakland Police spokeswoman Cynthia Perkins said, adding that it was also unclear if the shooter had targeted one of the victims.
"Last night's shootings, which are a rare occurrence in downtown Oakland, are tragic and troubling," Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said in a written statement, adding that solving the case was a "high priority" for the city. "The Police Department will schedule increased patrols in the area as they continue to investigate the circumstances," Quan said.
The mayor and police officials asked that anyone with information about the shooting or suspects contact Oakland homicide detectives.
Commentary by Marvin X
Apparently the nightclub shooters got the Easter weekend ritual confused. Sunday was Resurrection Day, but the killers must have thought it was Crucifixion Day. In light of events around the world where people are standing up and dying for freedom, the Oakland dead and wounded are as Mao said, lighter than a feather, meaningless incidents signifying nothing but madness. And yet we cannot separate this incident and other from international events, for all things in the universe are connected.
The USA cannot have a trillion dollar budget to kill and maim from Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, yet expect peace at home. What goes around comes around, or shall we say the chickens must come home to roost.
One day America will get over its fetish with guns and wars across the planet, only then will the children of the world be safe, for as James Baldwin said, "The murder of my child will not make your child safe."
Guns, violence and sex are projected 24/7 in the Monkey Mind Media, in films and television shows, even Rap glorifies violence, but again, the USA is the number one purveyor of violence in the world. Nelson Mandela said America is the main reason there is no peace in the world. American greed for oil to grease the wheels of a white supremacy culture that consumes 25% of the world's energy although she is only 5% of the global population, is the main reason the culture of violence exists at home and abroad. America is the number one arms merchant of the world. So yes, the violence in the streets of America is simple blow back and one must expect more to come until this nation realizes guns are not the panacea for problems, whether personal, political, economic, religious or otherwise.
How is it possible for two persons to be dead and four wounded because a man was refused entry to a nightclub? If it was that important that he entered the club, surely someone could have talked with him as a former nightclub owner said he used to do with unruly clientele. He would pull them aside and rap with them in a civilized manner. He said no one was ever shot at his club, nor was he attacked.
He speculated that perhaps this is a sign of class war in the hood, and those persons who feel excluded want to strike out at those in authority, although most incidents of violence usually only occur at African American night clubs. Several such clubs in Oakland have been shut down as a result of violence. Others shut down because they refused to submit to police shakedowns, Geoffrey's Club is the most recent example, although he lost his case against the OPD.
The tragedy is that we refuse to consider there is a war in the hood on much the same level as wars in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In fact, the doctors train for battles abroad in the emergency rooms of hospitals that serve ghetto battlefield wounded, most suffering multiple wounds from weapons similar if not the same as those used in America's global wars to maintain white supremacy.
We think parents should adequately warn their children they must be aware of their surroundings at all times and do not pretend they are in La La Land, but recognize they live in a battle zone. America is a hostile environment for North American Africans and others, to think and act otherwise is to be in denial and we are then subject to be victims of the mine fields in our path as we make our daily round. Put on the amour of God for we are in the valley of the shadow of death, but with the amour of God we shall fear no evil for the Lord is my rod and staff.
--Marvin X
4/25/11
By Dan Whitcomb
Mon Apr 25, 2011 5:48pm EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two people were killed and four others wounded early on Monday when a gunman opened fire at an Oakland nightclub, then sped away in a car with three suspected accomplices, police said.
The four wounded victims, who were not identified by authorities, were taken to a local hospital where two of them, both men, were listed in critical condition and said to have life-threatening injuries.
The remaining two victims, both women, were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police were searching for four young men, described as African American and in their teens or early twenties, who fled the shooting at Sweet Jimmie's nightclub in a white Dodge Avenger.
An Oakland Police spokeswoman said they had not yet determined a motive for the shooting, despite reports in the local media that the gunman had been denied entry to the club.
"Whether he was trying to get in or not, we don't know," Oakland Police spokeswoman Cynthia Perkins said, adding that it was also unclear if the shooter had targeted one of the victims.
"Last night's shootings, which are a rare occurrence in downtown Oakland, are tragic and troubling," Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said in a written statement, adding that solving the case was a "high priority" for the city. "The Police Department will schedule increased patrols in the area as they continue to investigate the circumstances," Quan said.
The mayor and police officials asked that anyone with information about the shooting or suspects contact Oakland homicide detectives.
Commentary by Marvin X
Apparently the nightclub shooters got the Easter weekend ritual confused. Sunday was Resurrection Day, but the killers must have thought it was Crucifixion Day. In light of events around the world where people are standing up and dying for freedom, the Oakland dead and wounded are as Mao said, lighter than a feather, meaningless incidents signifying nothing but madness. And yet we cannot separate this incident and other from international events, for all things in the universe are connected.
The USA cannot have a trillion dollar budget to kill and maim from Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, yet expect peace at home. What goes around comes around, or shall we say the chickens must come home to roost.
One day America will get over its fetish with guns and wars across the planet, only then will the children of the world be safe, for as James Baldwin said, "The murder of my child will not make your child safe."
Guns, violence and sex are projected 24/7 in the Monkey Mind Media, in films and television shows, even Rap glorifies violence, but again, the USA is the number one purveyor of violence in the world. Nelson Mandela said America is the main reason there is no peace in the world. American greed for oil to grease the wheels of a white supremacy culture that consumes 25% of the world's energy although she is only 5% of the global population, is the main reason the culture of violence exists at home and abroad. America is the number one arms merchant of the world. So yes, the violence in the streets of America is simple blow back and one must expect more to come until this nation realizes guns are not the panacea for problems, whether personal, political, economic, religious or otherwise.
How is it possible for two persons to be dead and four wounded because a man was refused entry to a nightclub? If it was that important that he entered the club, surely someone could have talked with him as a former nightclub owner said he used to do with unruly clientele. He would pull them aside and rap with them in a civilized manner. He said no one was ever shot at his club, nor was he attacked.
He speculated that perhaps this is a sign of class war in the hood, and those persons who feel excluded want to strike out at those in authority, although most incidents of violence usually only occur at African American night clubs. Several such clubs in Oakland have been shut down as a result of violence. Others shut down because they refused to submit to police shakedowns, Geoffrey's Club is the most recent example, although he lost his case against the OPD.
The tragedy is that we refuse to consider there is a war in the hood on much the same level as wars in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In fact, the doctors train for battles abroad in the emergency rooms of hospitals that serve ghetto battlefield wounded, most suffering multiple wounds from weapons similar if not the same as those used in America's global wars to maintain white supremacy.
We think parents should adequately warn their children they must be aware of their surroundings at all times and do not pretend they are in La La Land, but recognize they live in a battle zone. America is a hostile environment for North American Africans and others, to think and act otherwise is to be in denial and we are then subject to be victims of the mine fields in our path as we make our daily round. Put on the amour of God for we are in the valley of the shadow of death, but with the amour of God we shall fear no evil for the Lord is my rod and staff.
--Marvin X
4/25/11
War Between Nation States
4.25.11
DANGEROUS PRECEDENTS HAVE BEEN SET BY OBAMA, SARKOZY, CAMERON AND HAGUE
Dr. Sam Hamod
Dangerous precedents in attempting to kill Col. and Leader of his Libyan nation, Mu'ummar Qaddafi,have been set by Obama, Hague, Cameron and Sarkozy.
If this internationally illegal behavior and action is allowed to go unpunished, then it will be chaos in the world, where no leader will be safe, including that ignorant group of four: Obama, Hague, Cameron and Sarkozy.
There has been international understandings for centuries not to attempt to publicly attempt, and to trumpet, the desire, to kill the leader of a sovereign nation. But somehow, these Western "leaders" have now taken it upon themselves to violate this tradition, which now means there are no safeguards against world chaos and war, and even these fools may be next in line if this continues.
Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy have set 2 very dangerous precedents that may come back to devour them, if China, Russia or some other power group decides to do this against them. They feel they have the right to:
1. Go in and help, and instigate, "rebels" in a country, and to help them overthrow the government of a nation.
2. They feel they have the right to kill the leader of a sovereign nation, as they wish, for whatever reasons they choose.
Suppose China decides to come to the USA to help the Latinos in Arizona, Texas and California; what would Obama do?
Suppose India feels the UK is mistreating the Indian population in the UK, and decides to send in military and secret operatives to overthrow the UK government; what would Cameron and Hague do then?
Suppose some of the Muslim countries decide to hire mercenaries to assassinate Sarkozy of France because they feel he is being unfair to Muslims who live in France: what would Sarkozy do then?
Supposed Qaddafi sent agents in to sabotage or to kill any of this group of 4; what would they do? I'm sure they'd go screaming to the UN saying, "This is a violation of international law!"
These are just some hypothetical situations, but we must remember, just as GW Bush opened Pandora's Box in Iraq, I see that Obama, Sarkozy, Cameron and Hague have now done this with their attack on Libya.
And, just as I forecast before GW Bush opened the Pandora's Box of Iraq, the tiger came out and is now devouring America in all spheres: morally, financially, militarily and in terms of our respect in the world.
Yes, these fools have set a dangerous precedent, one that now cannot be pulled back. The peace of the earth will pay for their sins.
c: sam hamod, ph.d
4.25.11
Howard Univ. to Establish Ronald Walters Center
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Kerry-Ann Hamilton
Media Relations Manager
k_hamilton@howard.edu
202.238.2332
http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/
Howard to Establish Ronald Walters Center
WASHINGTON (April 11, 2011) – Howard University President Sidney A. Ribeau announced the establishment of the Ronald W. Walters Center during the 40th anniversary Congressional Black Caucus Foundation symposium held on campus.
Political activist, prolific author and media commentator Ronald W. Walters, Ph.D., served as a Howard University professor for 25 years, political science department chair, and was a preeminent global scholar and expert on American political behavior, Black politics and comparative politics. He died in September 2010
The Ronald Walters Center will serve as an interdisciplinary focal point for public policy research, publication and leadership development. “Through this center, his name, his spirit and his work will live on as we prepare others to follow in his footsteps and impact the world as much as he did,” Ribeau said.
Walters served as a campaign manager and consultant for the Rev. Jesse Jackson during his two presidential bids and was a policy adviser for former Congressmen Charles Diggs (D-MI) and William Gray (D-PA).
Walters was instrumental in the creation of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The Ronald Walters Center will examine the role of African Americans in the development of U.S. foreign policy; the impact of globalization on the African-American community; and the role of African Americans in U.S. presidential and congressional politics. It will also house the Walters papers.
The Center will also establish a visiting scholars program to provide research opportunities for internal and external scholars, including post-doctoral students. The Center will sponsor conferences, symposia, quarterly newsletters and other activities.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Kerry-Ann Hamilton
Media Relations Manager
k_hamilton@howard.edu
202.238.2332
http://www.howard.edu/newsroom/
Howard to Establish Ronald Walters Center
WASHINGTON (April 11, 2011) – Howard University President Sidney A. Ribeau announced the establishment of the Ronald W. Walters Center during the 40th anniversary Congressional Black Caucus Foundation symposium held on campus.
Political activist, prolific author and media commentator Ronald W. Walters, Ph.D., served as a Howard University professor for 25 years, political science department chair, and was a preeminent global scholar and expert on American political behavior, Black politics and comparative politics. He died in September 2010
The Ronald Walters Center will serve as an interdisciplinary focal point for public policy research, publication and leadership development. “Through this center, his name, his spirit and his work will live on as we prepare others to follow in his footsteps and impact the world as much as he did,” Ribeau said.
Walters served as a campaign manager and consultant for the Rev. Jesse Jackson during his two presidential bids and was a policy adviser for former Congressmen Charles Diggs (D-MI) and William Gray (D-PA).
Walters was instrumental in the creation of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The Ronald Walters Center will examine the role of African Americans in the development of U.S. foreign policy; the impact of globalization on the African-American community; and the role of African Americans in U.S. presidential and congressional politics. It will also house the Walters papers.
The Center will also establish a visiting scholars program to provide research opportunities for internal and external scholars, including post-doctoral students. The Center will sponsor conferences, symposia, quarterly newsletters and other activities.
Marvin X Calls for General Strike
The following story from the archives of Marvin X calls for the general strike. This speech was made several years ago in Houston, Texas, but today it appears America, black and white, is ready to shut down this nation to institute a redistribution of wealth, the ultimate solution to the economic woes of all the suffering American people.
Marvin X Calls for a General Strike for Reparations
On Saturday at Houston's Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, the National Black United Front hosted a forum on reparations. Keynote speaker was Att. Deadra Pellman who filed a lawsuit against corporations who benefited from slavery, including insurance companies. Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee presented a paper entitled "Making the Case for Slavery Reparations."
Also on the panel was a sister who is a direct descendent of slaves and she told an eloquent story of her genealogy. In attendance were Mrs. and Mr. Omari Obadele, legends of the reparations movement and founders of N'Cobra, the organization that has spearheaded the call for reparations. The Nation of Islam was present, along with the New Black Panther Party of Houston.
Marvin X called for a general strike to go along with litigation and legislation--mass action to keep the pressure on the American people until we achieve self-determination and sovereignty. He said we should demand reparations for our ancestors if no one else. The poet described his train ride from South Carolina to Houston: as he looked out at the trees, the woods, the swamps, the marsh, the rivers, he thought about the many thousands gone, bones buried deep in the clay, in the creeks. He thought about the slaves who tried to escape but failed and the ones who did make it to freedom.
For all these people, we must fight for reparations, and as Brother Kofi of NBUF noted, we must fight for compensation for the vestiges of slavery: our deplorable mental and physical health, our poor housing and now gentrification, lack of economic parity and educational opportunities. On another level, Marvin X noted that we are the 16th richest nation in the world (GNP), so even without repa! rations we have enough money to come up, if we use it wisely. We must take authority over our economic resources.
The forum ended with Marvin X reading his poem "When I'll Wave The Flag."Later that evening, the poet's daughter, Nefertiti, hosted a book party for her father, but because of the ENRON disaster many of the lawyers and MBAs present were unemployed and unable to purchase his book of essays, but they listened attentatively as he read.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Free Tibet!
FREE TIBET!
In response to your request for articles for posting, I will send you shortly an article if written in my newspaper, UP FRONT News ("The paper that can't be bought and can't be sold.") about an issue that I feel strongly is under-reported in the black media, i.e. the ongoing racist Genocide in Occupied Tibet.
Much of the political world, and in particular that which refers to itself as "left" and/or "progressive", perhaps still swayed by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong's Marxist, populist, anti-imperialist rhetoric, simply continue to ignore the fact that the very imperialist Chinese invasion of independent Tibet in 1950 was the beginning of what has been a imposition of a thoroughly racist occupation which has led to the deaths of over 1 million Tibetans and the exile of hundreds of thousands more.
It is apparent that most Americans, regardless of political ideology remain unaware that 1.) before the Chinese invasion of 1950 Tibet was an independent nation and 2.) the dark-complexioned Tibetan people are completely ethnically, linguistically, and culturally distinct from their light-complexioned oppressors. In fact, relatively speaking, the Tibetans are" black people."
Indeed in many cases it's not so "relative" inasmuch as I've seen photographs of Tibetan nomads who spent long periods of time (praying) in the Himalayan sun, who are almost as black as charcoal.
In fact Mao had a deep hatred of the Tibetans, in part because of their deep religiosity (which explained the systematic destruction of many Tibetan temples the took place as the Chinese military took over Tibet). Mao and his expansionist Communist Party allied regarded the Tibetans as inferior and in need of Chinese-style modernization, a racist attitude not unlike Hitler's view of non-German Europeans.
A probably not very widely read Chinese military document is illustrative. In March, 1959 as the Chinese were completing their conquest of Tibet (a nation led by a pacifist Dalai Lama, so it wasn't a fair fight) there was a monk-lead uprising in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, which was brutally crushed by the Chinese military at a cost of many thousands of Tibetan lives.
One day a Tibetan exile living in New York City showed me a Chinese military booklet that discussed the rebellion and its suppression. It referred to the estimated 70,000 Tibetans killed as "insects."
Pro-Communist China apologists (e.g. the Revolutionary Communist Party, the Workers World Party) falsely allege that the Dalai Lama is a "CIA agent." That would have made the French underground fighters against the Nazi's the equivalent as there is no question and anti-Nazi fighters got assistance from the OSS, the predecessor to the CIA. In if in fact the Dalai Lama, receiving no assistance from the world's democracies as he tried to save his country's independence, accepted support from the CIA, how could one blame him?
There is an enormous amount of information (a good deal of which I have and have written and spoken about publicly about the de facto Genocide that continues in Tibet and the fact that the United States is in fact aiding and abetting the destruction of what may be one of the oldest cultures on the earth. Why is the world's purported greatest democracy turning a blind eye to the destruction of Tibet? Profits. "Communist" China is the perhaps the profiteering capital of the world, intimately connected with the multinationals based here and in other capitalist powers.
As far as I am aware, relatively few African-Americans have spoken out on this issue. There are a number of reasons for this, such as the fact that the relatively small U.S.-based Tibetan diaspora (small compared with, say, African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Italian-Americans-Irish-Americans) tend to be less than publicly demonstrative about the situation in their occupied nations. (There is however an annual increase in Tibetan demonstrations on March 10, the anniversary of the aforementioned revolt and its suppression. There were also "Free Tibet" demonstrations around the world protesting the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In fact a New York City Council resolution originally proposed by me and introduced by then City Councilman (now State Senator) Tony Avella (D.-Queens), which called for the removal of the 2008 Olympics from China because of the Tibet Genocide) was suffocated by Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a "leader" not known for her
sensitivity to the black agenda (e.g. the Sonny Carson street name change issue) who is notoriously considerate of mega-corporate power (e.g. the cartel known as the China Lobby).
In fact I do not believe that the activist "free Tibet" community, at least here in New York, has reached out sufficiently to African-
Americans, who certainly know what it is to struggle against oppression and racism. Indeed I've discussed this reality with a number of Tibetan activists, some of whom are personally acquainted with the Dalai Lama (who, as you know, like Dr. Martin Luther King, is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.)
I've also discussed this issue with a number of African-American leaders including in particular my pastor, Rev. Dr. Demetrius S. Carolina, Sr., of the First Central Baptist Church in Staten Island. Indeed, as a consequence he has not only referred to the Genocide in Tibet in one of his sermons but also issued a brief and eloquent statement in which he urge the government of China to, "Afford the Tibetan people what is rightfully theirs: independence and freedom to control their own destiny and place in the world today!"
Whether he knows it or not (yet) President Obama, by making the categorically false statement that "Tibet is part of China", has made the Genocide in Tibet a campaign issue starting immediately. If he really believes that, all those history courses he took at those fine Ivy league schools need recalibrate their Asian history curricula. If he knows that statement to be false, he is simply bowing to the might of the China Lobby.
In any event, the only morally defensible position for Obama to take is to (as he has in the case of Palestine and Kosovo) recognize Tibet as a free country - and then to whether the inevitable tantrum in Beijing.
I will forward to you (probably tomorrow, as the internet cafe I am using is about to close for the day) a copy of my UP FRONT News article, "Tibet Is a Nation, The Tibetans Are Not Chinese, Therefore Free Tibet."
-- Tom Weiss
Saturday, April 23, 2011
A Mother's Message to the Police of America
A Mother's Message to the Police of America
Those of us who came of age in the 60s will recall that many of the riots and rebellions were the result of a mother rescuing her son from the hands of the police.
Before we knew it, all hell had broken loose, cities burned to the ground. In a recent conversation with Oakland Tribune Editor Martin Reynolds, he urged me to inform him of incidents of police abuse. Well, Martin, a mother approached me today in Berkeley to inform me the Berkeley police were harassing her son under the color of law, even though he has no police record. She was awakened by neighbors one night who told her the police were engaging her son outside. She got out of bed, dressed and went outside.
Even though he had a Cannabis card for the legal possession of marijuana, he was arrested and taken to jail. She had to pay $3,000.00 for bail and $5,000.00 for a lawyer.
Her son is now suffering trauma and apparently is harassed almost daily when he comes home from work. He begs his mother to move from the home she owns and where her family has lived for over a half century. The mother refuses to move, after all she owns the home and only must pay taxes,plus she is retired and a widow on a fixed income. She has no desire to have a house payment, for she cannot afford it.
The little money she had saved was lost when the stock market fell due to the Wall Street pyramid scheme. So she must now deal with a son in terror of coming home from work each night. She has not been able to convince him to rid himself of his fear. Her only fear is that he will be stopped alone by the police and her son will fail the tone test (depending on ones tone of voice, when stopped by the police, one of three things can happen: one can be killed, arrested or released). Her son has not taken quietly to harassment under the color of law.
But she says if anything happens to her son she will react in a manner of those mothers during the 60s. Unlike her son, she is fearless and will respond in the manner of a warrior woman. She will not go out without taking somebody with her, she swears on the blood of Jesus!
The mother wants to know where can she and other elderly persons go for help when confronted with problems such as police harassment of their children?
We think the police of America should be aware of this mother's cry and get prepared to make radical changes in their behavior, for they may soon face the wrath of a people who say enough is enough, just as the people in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain are doing at this hour. The oppressive police in those land shall soon be accountable in the court of people's justice for their abuse under the color of law.
We know the police are nothing but an occupying army in our community. They are another gang of thugs who practice wickedness under the color of law. The days of wickedness are soon to end once they people overcome fear as they did during the
60s, especially here in the Bay Area with the Black Panther Party and as they are doing throughout the Middle East and North Africa at this hour.
The Black Panthers said one is either part of problem or part of the solution. It is past time for the police of America to cease their reign of terror, harassing black and other minority men. We have seen them in action from Oakland to New York, stopping black men at will and asking for ID, are you probation or parole, then releasing them, sometimes taking their money, jewelry and any drugs. Often the men are severely beaten before they are released, not to mention the brothers and sisters who are victims of homicide under the color of law, killed in cold blood like Oakland's Oscar Grant and so many others coast to coast.
It may not be long before the courts of the people will hold accountable all those officers who have blood on their hands. There is no hiding place!
--Marvin X,
4/23/11
The Revolutionary Vision of Jesus
The Revolutionary Vision of JesusRodney D. Coates* ~
I never saw a contradiction between the ideas that sustain me and the ideas of that symbol, of that extraordinary figure, Jesus Christ.
--Fidel Castro
There are many who will condemn me as a heretic –both within the church and among so called progressives – for declaring that Jesus was a revolutionary and had a revolutionary vision for the world. Yes, Jesus –that Jesus that we celebrate, that we proclaim, and that we have been labeled as his followers – the Christ (or Promised one). And even though I will be condemned, well so also was Jesus, and even though they will try to crucify me, well so was Jesus, but I will not stay down, as well as Jesus –for his teachings continue to ferment change, rebellion, and revolution –some 2,000 years after they were spoken. I will begin with the beginning of his ministry, where he identified his vision. It is this vision which clearly articulates his revolutionary stance. In Luke 4:14 we note:
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."(Luke 4:14-21, ESV)
His mission
1) Proclaim good news to the poor
2) Proclaim liberty to the captives
3) recover sight ot the blind
4) set at liberty those who are oppressed
Not only did he identify with the poor, the helpless, but he also identified with those imprissioned and were oppressed. Jesus, a member of an oppressed group was from the least of those groups –Nazareth. What do we know of Nazareth –as Jonathan said “Can anything good come from Nazareth”,. Nazareth was a ghetto, one of the least among the opressed. And Jesus never lost sight of an outcast among the outcast. Jesus who proclaimed that “ “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 18:25)” set himself against a religious ideology that had increasingly become obsessed with materialism and the objectification of religion. Hence, he was appalled at how the temple had become prostituted to the materialist interests of the Sanhedrin. Consequently, he marked himself for death when he in concert with the religious leaders had defiled and corrupted the Holy temple with their greed. (John 2: 13 - 22. Matthew 21: 12 - 13. Mark 11: 15 - 17. Luke 19: 45 - 46.)
If we examine his mission statement, perhaps we will learn more about this Jesus.
1) Proclaim good news to the poor
What was this good news to the poor. Perhaps we need to go back to Isaih, fore it is here that we can understand not only the context but also the intent of Jesus’ revolutionary vision. From Isaih condemned the religious and political hyprocrasy of the Theocracy when he charged that:
They deprive the poor of justice and deny the rights of the needy among my people. They prey on widows and take advantage of orphans. Isaiah 10:2
"The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. Isaiah 41: 17
Share your food with the hungry, take the poor and homeless into your house, and cover them with clothes when you see [them] naked. Don't refuse to help your relatives. Isaiah 58: 7
So clearly, this Jesus was committed to a vision that challenged a materialist obsession that had pervaded the Temple, his people. He was also challenging a perversion of religion whereby the poor, homeless, and downtrodden were blamed for their situation. He ostensibly blamed the social structure, and those in leadership for the destitution so pervasive in these lives. And what of his second mission statement, how might this be understood.
2) Proclaim liberty to the captives
Political, economic, social, cultural, and racial captives throughout the ages have found comfort in these words. Liberation theology, slave rebellions, social transformations have all been launched with these words. Even past this if we consider the thousands of prison ministries, teen shelters, homes for sexually abused, and the like that have taken this as their mission statement –the power of this vision becomes clearer when take a look at the entire phrase.
to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.
Captives made explicit reference to slaves and prisoners to those detain. In a society –both then and now where people could be bound as slaves, where a whole system was predicated on a military, industrial,prison complex where slavery and prison labor accounted for not only a tremendous amount of human misery but also imperialist exploitation –this was truly a revolutionary call to action. The Jewish and Roman state could not have doubted the insurectional appeal of such a proclamation.
Jesus’ third mission statement demonstrates his consistent concern with those who were not only ill but suffered from were disabled.
3) recover sight ot the blind
We see in the ministry of Jesus a not only compassion but action with respects to the disabled. Disability was not something that merely deserved our charity, but our active involvement with. While others would shun these, Jesus would embrace them.
And lastly, what more revolutionary could you hope for when one considers his final mission statement.
4) set at liberty those who are oppressed
The oppressive system imposed by both Roman Imperialism and the Jewish Temple were not only apparent but invassive. All aspects of Jewish life were dominated by this oppression. Jesus in this mission statement not only alligned himself with the downtrodden, but also proceeded to began a ministry to the oppressed. Many have argued that we may draw a pedagogy of social justice by reading, understanding and implementing not only his teachings but his parables.
Ultimately, Jesus understood that actions speak louder than words. When asked by his friend, cousin John the Baptist (who had been marked for marterdom) are you the Christ -0 Jesus reponds:
Luke 7: 22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
The clarity of Jesus’s vision and ministry has been obscured not only by ideologues but also much of the organized church that has in many ways bastardized the message. But clearly, as we look throuhgout acts we note that the early followers of Christ were commited to selling all that they had and distributing it to the poor, tending the sick and shut ins, serving the widows and orphans, and attempting to bring the Kingdom of God (i.e. the Good news) to the lives of the all.
Note: Rodney D. Coates is a professor of sociolgy and he can be reached at coatesrd@muohio.edu
The song that lies silent in the heart of a mother sings upon the lips of her child....
--Kahlil Gibran
Dr. Fritz Pointer Responds to Dr. Rodney Coates on Jesus as a Revolutionary
One could just as well claim that Hercules and Robin Hood are revolutionary characters, though both, like Jesus, are mythical figures. Then, what about the other face of our sweet savior, the megalomaniac who in Luke 19:27 orders his followers to bring unbelievers to him "and slay them before me."
He repeatedly condemns and damns those who do not embrace him as the one true savior: "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" Those who are skeptics, who doubt Jesus' delusions of greatness "are of your father the devil." "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." And "if a man abide not in me, he is cast forth [like a withered branch] into the fire" (Matthew 23:33; John 8:43-44; Matthew 25:41; John 15:6. This is extreme megalomania and has nothing to do with "Revolution."
He even approves of eunuchs, especially those who deliberately castrate themselves so that they can be "eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake" (Matthew 19:12). He is also a home wrecker: "a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:35-37; Luke 12:53). And, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).
This sounds more like a cult leader who wages war against the competing loyalties posed by the families of his followers - anything but a revolutionary. He does not urge the poverty stricken mobilize against the wealthy. In fact, his precursor, John the Baptist, tells the working poor to "be content with your wages" (Luke 3:14). Jesus has no problem with that. He reminds the poor that "the servant (slave) is not greater than his lord" (John 13:16). He accepts the notion that masters have a right to whip servants whenever a servant's performance is not up to snuff. The servant who knowingly disobeys his lord "shall be beaten with many stripes" while the servant who performs poorly but without deliberate disobedience "shall be beaten with few stripes" (Luke 12: 47-48).
What kind of revolutionary is that? And, Peter tells slaves that they must "be subject to your masters with all fear" (1 Peter 2:18). For the Christ whose divinely inspired wisdom is supposedly timeless and universal, transcending the historic limitations of place and culture it does no good at all to say that he was a product of his time...women kissing his feet and whatnot. What's revolutionary about that? Women are forbidden to teach, adorn themselves, speak in church, or visit friend. They must live in fearful and chaste subjugation to their husbands and whatever other men who might enjoy dominion over them ( 1Corinthians 11:3,9; 14:34, 35; 1 Timothy 2:9, 11-12 and 5:13; Luke 7:45-46; John 12:3). Now, what's revolutionary about that? I am sick of neophyte christians, etc. cherry-picking from this incoherent, cobbled together text, the bible, to satisfy their own religiously inspired nonsense, and imposing or attempting to impose their misunderstanding on thinking people. Enough already.
--Fritz Pointer
He even approves of eunuchs, especially those who deliberately castrate themselves so that they can be "eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake" (Matthew 19:12). He is also a home wrecker: "a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:35-37; Luke 12:53). And, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).
This sounds more like a cult leader who wages war against the competing loyalties posed by the families of his followers - anything but a revolutionary. He does not urge the poverty stricken mobilize against the wealthy. In fact, his precursor, John the Baptist, tells the working poor to "be content with your wages" (Luke 3:14). Jesus has no problem with that. He reminds the poor that "the servant (slave) is not greater than his lord" (John 13:16). He accepts the notion that masters have a right to whip servants whenever a servant's performance is not up to snuff. The servant who knowingly disobeys his lord "shall be beaten with many stripes" while the servant who performs poorly but without deliberate disobedience "shall be beaten with few stripes" (Luke 12: 47-48).
What kind of revolutionary is that? And, Peter tells slaves that they must "be subject to your masters with all fear" (1 Peter 2:18). For the Christ whose divinely inspired wisdom is supposedly timeless and universal, transcending the historic limitations of place and culture it does no good at all to say that he was a product of his time...women kissing his feet and whatnot. What's revolutionary about that? Women are forbidden to teach, adorn themselves, speak in church, or visit friend. They must live in fearful and chaste subjugation to their husbands and whatever other men who might enjoy dominion over them ( 1Corinthians 11:3,9; 14:34, 35; 1 Timothy 2:9, 11-12 and 5:13; Luke 7:45-46; John 12:3). Now, what's revolutionary about that? I am sick of neophyte christians, etc. cherry-picking from this incoherent, cobbled together text, the bible, to satisfy their own religiously inspired nonsense, and imposing or attempting to impose their misunderstanding on thinking people. Enough already.
--Fritz Pointer
Dr. Fritz Pointer is professor emeritus of English at Contra Costa College. His father was a minister. His siblings include the Pointer Sisters.
Bibliography of Marvin X
Bibliography of Marvin X
Books
Sudan Rajuli Samia (Fresno: Al Kitab Sudan Publishing, 1967)
Black Dialectics (Fresno: Al Kitab Sudan, 1967)
Fly To Allah: Poems (Fresno: Al Kitab Sudan, 1969)
Son of Man: Proverbs (Fresno: Al Kitab Sudan, 1969)
Black Man Listen: Poems and Proverbs (Detroit: Broadside Press, 1969)
Woman-Man's Best Friend (San Francisco: Al Kitab Sudan, 1973)
Selected Poems (San Francisco: Al Kitab Sudan, 1979)
Confession of A Wife Beater and Other Poems (Fresno: Al Kitab Sudan, 1981)
Liberation Poems for North American Africans (Fresno: Al Kitab Sudan, 1982)
Love and War: Poems ( Castro Valley: Black Bird Press, 1995)
Somethin Proper: Autobiography (Castro Valley: Black Bird Press, 1998)
In The Crazy House Called America: Essays (Castro Valley: Black Bird Press, 2002)
Wish I Could Tell You The Truth: Essays (Cherokee: Black Bird Press, 2005)
Land of My Daughters: Poems (Cherokee: Black Bird Press, 2005)
Beyond Religion, toward Spirituality, BBP, 2007
How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy, a Pan African 12 Step Model, BBP, Berkeley, 2008
Eldridge Cleaver: My friend the Devil, a memoir, BBP, 2009.
Mythology of Love, toward healthy psychosexuality, BBP, 2009
The Wisdom of Plato Negro, parable/fables, BBP, 2010
Hustler's Guide to the Game Called Life, (Vol. II, The Wisdom of Plato Negro), BBP, 2010
Pull Yo Pants Up fada Black Prez and Yo Self, essays on Obama Drama, BBP, 2010
Notes on the Wisdom of Action or How to Jump Out of the Box, essays, BBP, 2010
I AM OSCAR GRANT, essays on Oakland, BBP, 2010
Soulful Musings on the Unity of North American Africans, BBP, 2010
Guest Editor, Journal of Pan African Studies Poetry Issue, BBP, 2010
Works In Progress
Sweet Tea/Dirty Rice, poems, BBP, 2012
In Sha Allah, A History of Black Muslims in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1954-2004 (Cherokee: Black Bird Press, 2012).
Seven Years in the House of Elijah, A Woman's Search for Love and Spirituality by Nisa Islam as told to Marvin X, 2012.
Play Scripts and/or Productions
Flowers for the Trashman, San Francisco: San Francisco State University Drama Department, 1965.
Flowers for the Trashman, San Francisco: Black Arts West/Theatre, 1966.
Take Care of Business, musical version of Flowers with music by Sun Ra, choreography by Raymond Sawyer and Ellendar Barnes: Your Black Educational Theatre, San Francisco, 1972.
Come Next Summer, San Francisco: Black Arts/West, 1966.
The Trial, New York, Afro-American Studio for Acting and Speech, 1970.
Resurrection of the Dead, San Francisco, choreography by Raymond Sawyer, music by Juju and Sun Ra, Your Black Educational Theatre, 1972.
Woman-Man's Best Friend, musical, Oakland, Mills College, 1973.
How I Met Isa, Masters thesis, San Francisco State University, 1975.
In The Name of Love, Oakland, Laney College Theatre, 1981.
One Day In The Life, Oakland, Alice Arts Theatre, 1996.
One Day In The Life, Brooklyn, NY, Sistah's Place, 1997.
One Day In The Life, Manhattan, Brecht Forum, 1997.
One Day In The Life, Newark, NJ, Kimako's Blues, 1997.
One Day In The Life, Oakland, Uhuru House, 1998.
One Day In The Life, San Francisco, Bannam Place Theatre, North Beach, 1998.
One Day In The Lifee, San Francisco, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 1999.
One Day In the Life, Marin City, Marin City Rec Center, 1999
One Day In the Life, Richmond, Unity Church, 2000.
One Day In the Life, San Jose, San Jose State University, 2000.
One Day In the Life, Berkeley, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2000.
One Day In the Life, Sacramento, New Colonial Theatre, 2000.
Sergeant Santa, San Francisco, Recovery Theatre script, 2002.
Other
Delicate Child, a short story, Oakland, Merritt College Student Magazine contest winner, 1963.
Delicate Child, a short story, Oakland, SoulBook Magazine, 1964.
Flowers for the Trashman: A One Act Drama, San Francisco, Black Dialogue Magazine, 1965.
Flowers for the Trashman, Black Fire, An Anthology of Afro-American Writing, edited by Amiri Baraka and Larry Neal, (New York: Morrow, 1968).
Take Care of Business: A One Act Drama, aka Flowers, (New York: The Drama Review, NYU,1968)
The Black Bird (Al Tair Aswad): A One-Act Play, New Plays from the Black Theatre, edited by Ed Bullins with introduction (interview of Ed Bullins) by Marivn X, (New York: Bantam, 1969)
"Islam and Black Art: An Interview with Amiri Baraka" and foreword by Askia Muhammad Toure, afterword by Marivn X, in Black Arts: An Anthology of Black Creations, edited by Ahmed Alhamisi and Haroun Kofi Wangara (Harold G. Lawrence) (Detroit: Black Arts Publications, 1969).
"Everything's Cool: An Interview with Amiri Barka, aka, LeRoi Jones", Black Theatre Magazine, New Lafayette Theatre, Harlem, NY, 1968.
Resurrection of the Dead, a ritual/myth dance drama, Black Theatre Magazine, New Lafayette Theatre, Harlem, 1969.
Manifesto of the Black Educational Theatre of San Francisco, Black Theatre, 1972.
The Black Bird, A Parable by Marvin X, illustrated by Karen Johnson ( San Francisco: Al Kitab Sudan and Julian Richardson and Associates Publishers, 1972).
"Black Justice Must Be Done," Vietnam and Black America: An Anthology of Protest and Resistance, edited by Clyde Taylor (Garden City: Double-day/Anchor, 1973)
"Palestine," a poem, Black Scholar magazine, 1978.
Journal of Black Poetry, guest editor, 1968.
"The Meaning of African Liberation Day," by Dr. Walter Rodney, a speech in San Francisco, transcribed and edited by Marvin X, Journal of Black Poetry, 1972.
Muhammad Speaks, foreign editor, 1970. (Note: a few months later, Marvin X was selected to be editor of Muhammad Speaks until it was decided he was too militant. Askia Muhammad (Charles 37X) was selected instead.)
A Conversation with Prime Minister Forbes Burnham of Guyana, Black Scholar, 1973.
VIDEOGRAPHY
Proceedings of the Melvin Black Human Rights Conference, Oakland, 1979, produced by Marvin X, featuring Angela Davis, Minister Farakhan, Eldridge Cleaver, Paul Cobb, Dezzie Woods-Jones, Jo Nina-Abran, Mansha Nitoto, Khalid Abdullah Tarik Al Mansur, Dr. Yusef Bey, Dr. Oba T-Shaka, and Marvin X.
Proceedings of the First Black Men's Conference, Oakland, 1980, John Douimbia, founder, Marvin X, chief planner, Dr. Nathan Hare, Dr. Wade Nobles, Dr. Yusef Bey, Dr. Oba T'Shaka,Norman Brown, Kermit Scott, Minister Ronald Muhammad, Louis Freeman, Michael Lange, Betty King, Dezzie Woods-Jones, et al.
Forum on Drugs, Art and Revolution, Sista's Place, Brooklyn, New York, 1997, featuring Amiri and Amina Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Sam Anderson, Elombe Brath and Marvin X.
Eldridge Cleaver Memorial Service, produced by Marvin X, Oakland, 1998, participants included Kathleen and Joju Cleaver, Emory Douglas, Dr. Yusef Bey, Minister Keith Muhammad, Imam Al Amin, Dr. Nathan Hare, Tarika Lewis, Richard Aoki, Reginald Major, Majidah Rahman and Marvin X.
One Day in the Life, a docudrama of addiction and recovery, filmed by Ptah Allah-El, produced, written, directed and staring Marvin X, edited by Marvin X, San Francisco: Recovery Theatre, 1999.
Marvin X Interviews Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, former actor in Marvin X's Black Theatre: Berkeley, La Pena Cultural Center, 1999.
"Abstract for An Elders Council," lecture/discussion, Tupac Amaru Shakur One Nation Conference, Oakland: McClymonds High School, 1999.
Marvin X at Dead Prez Concert, San Francisco, 2000.
Kings and Queens of Black Consciousness, produced by Marvin X at San Francisco State University, 2001, featuring Dr. Cornel West, Amiri Baraka, Amina Baraka, Dr. Julia Hare, Dr. Nathan Hare, Rev. Cecil Williams, Destiny, Phavia, Tarika Lewis, Askia Toure, Kalamu Ya Salaam, Rudi Wongozi, Ishmael Reed, Dr. Theophile Obenga, Marvin X, et al.
Live In Philly At Warm Daddies, a reading accompanied by Elliot Bey, Marshall Allen, Danny Thompson, Ancestor Goldsky, Rufus Harley, Alexander El, 2002.
Marvin X Live in Detroit, a documentary by Abu Ibn, 2002.
In the Crazy House Called America, concert with Marvin X and Destiny, San Francisco: Buriel Clay Theatre, 2003.
Marvin X in Concert (accompanied by harpist Destiny, violinist Tarika Lewis and percussionists Tacuma and Kele Nitoto, dancer Raynetta Rayzetta), Amiri and Amina Baraka, filmed by Kwame and Joe, Berkeley: Black Repertory Group Theatre, 2003.
Marvin X Speaks at the Third Eye Conference, Dallas, Texas, 2003.
Marvin X and the Last Poets, San Francisco: Recovery Theatre, 2004.
Proceedings of the San Francisco Black Radical Book Fair, produced by Marvin X, filmed by Mindseed Productions, San Francisco, Recovery Theatre, 2004, participants include: Sonia Sanchez, Davey D, Amiri Baraka, Sam Hamod, Fillmore Slim, Askia Toure, Akhbar Muhammad, Sam Anderson, Al Young, Devorah Major, Opal Palmer Adisa, Tarika Lewis, Amina Baraka, Julia and Nathan Hare, Charlie Walker, Jamie Walker, Reginald Lockett, Everett Hoagland, Sam Greenlee, Ayodelle Nzinga, Suzzette Celeste, Tarika Lewis, Raynetta Rayzetta, Deborah Day, James Robinson, Ptah Allah-El, Kalamu Ya Salaam, Marvin X, et al. (Note: let me please acknowledge some of the historic personages in the audience: Gansta Alonzao Batin (mentor of the Bay Area BAM, made his transition shortly after the conference), Willie Williams of Broadside Press, Detroit, Gansta Brown, Gansta Mikey Moore (now Rev.), Arthur Sheridan, founder of Black Dialogue magazine, also co-founders Aubrey and Gerald LaBrie, Reginald Major, author of Panther Is A Black Cat. Thank you all for making this event historic, ed. MX)
Get Yo Mind Right, Marvin X Barbershop Talk, #4, a documentary film by Pam Pam and Marvin X, Oakland: 2005.
Marvin X Live in the Fillmore at Rass'elas Jazz Club, A Nisa Islam production, filmed by Ken Johnson, San Francisco, 2005.
Marvin X in the Malcolm X Room, McClymonds High School, accompanied by Tacuma (dijembe and percussion, dancer/choreographer Raynetta Rayzetta, actor Salat Townsend, filmed by Eddie Abrams, Oakland, 2005.
AUDIOGRAPHY
In Sha Allah, interview with Nisa Islam, Cherokee, 2004.
In Sha Allah, interview with Nadar Ali, Fresno, 2004.
In Sha Allah, interview with Manuel Rashid, Fresno, 2004.
In Sha Allah, interview with John Douimbia, Grand Ayatollah of the Bay, San Francisco, 2004.
In Sha Allah, interview with Minister Rabb Muhammad, Oakland, 2004.
In Sha Allah, interview with Antar Bey, CEO, Your Black Muslim Bakery, Oakland, 2004.
In Sha Allah, interview with Norman Brown, Oakland, Oakland, 2004.
In Sha Allah, interview with Kareem Muhammad (Brother Edward), Oakland, 2004.
Love and War, poems, Oakland, 1995.
One Day In The Life, docudrama, Oakland, 1999.
Jesus and Liquor Stores, Marvin X and Askari X, Oakland, 2002
Wake Up, Detroit, Marvin X interviewed by Lawrence X, Detroit, 2002..
Wish I, interview with Pam Pam, San Francisco, KPOO Radio, 2005.
Wish I, interview with Terry Collins, San Francisco, KPOO Radio, 2005.
Marvin X and the Black Arts Movement, interview with Professor James Smethurst of UMASS, Oakland, 2003.
The archives of Marvin X are at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
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