Black man charged with assassinating Texas police officer.

If murder of police is assassination, what is the killing of unarmed Black men but assassination under the color of law! We don't need police in our communities who kill unarmed young Black men and women. 

We just attended August Wilson's play King Hedley II, at the Flight Deck Theatre in Oakland, produced and directed by Dr. Ayodele Nzinga. King Hedley's wife seeks an abortion because she refuses to bring a child in this world only to be murdered by another Black person or by the police. 

Even more ironic is the play's director, Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, who has four sons (three of them in the production) and has told this writer how fearful she is whenever her sons leave the house, fearful they may not return home due to Black on Black homicide or police homicide under the color of law. 

Imam Jamil Al Amin (H. Rap Brown) told us long ago violence is as American as cherry pie. Violence in America shall not stop until America ends her trillion dollar global military killing machine that needs permanent war to feed the military/corporate bandits, yes, the one per centers, aka, blood suckers of the poor.  

Shannon J. Miles is a tragic figure but his tragic flaw is rooted in American white supremacy. White Supremacy is the supreme American Tragedy due to classic hubris, greed, jealousy and envy. 

Officer Darren Goforth died a tragic death and with each passing day, we envision only more murder under the color of law and the response of the oppressed people who will find a way to strike back at those who represent and perpetuate oppression, who think they can literally get away with murder with fake grand juries and district attorneys  in league with the police. 

The police are not the real enemy but the political/economic institutions that allow them to murder under the color of law. Every slave has the human right to resist the slave master and those who help maintain the slave system, from the slave catchers of yesterday to the police of today. 

The police should remove themselves from our communities until they understand their role as peace officers, which they may be constitutionally unable to do since they represent a vicious system of wage slavery and mass incarceration of the unemployed, drug addicted and mentally ill. 

The police can and must do better or simply remove themselves from our communities. 

As the Black Panther Party said long ago, "You are either part of the problem or part of the solution." On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the BPP, we learned we don't have the power to confront the police, we cannot make war with them because they will bring in all the power of the state military and intelligence agencies to crush us into the dustbin of history. The condition of Oakland, California is partly due to the counter-revolution that the US waged against the Black Panther Party in particular and North American Africans in general. How else can one explain the reactionary culture of Oakland that was devastated by the introduction of Crack cocaine and guns, additionally germ and chemical warfare was utilized to break the back of the Black Liberation Movement, to crush any idea of radical and revolutionary change. Oakland is inundated with intelligence agents, agent provocateurs and snitches in abundance. The police mantra is, "Give up three and you go free!"

Nevertheless, we must resist at every turn because persecution is worse than slaughter, says the Qur'an.  In the tradition of the American revolution, Liberty or Death!

--Marvin X

29 August 2015

 

Man arrested in killing of Houston deputy, faces capital murder charge

By Kevin Murphy and Alex Dobuzinskis

(Reuters) - Sheriff's deputies on Saturday arrested a 30-year-old man who will be charged with capital murder in connection with the shooting death of a deputy at a Houston gas station, a killing the sheriff tied to anger against police.

Shannon Miles was picked up for questioning early on Saturday following the Friday night shooting, which was captured on surveillance video, Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman told reporters. He noted that Miles is black and has a history of prior arrests for trespassing and resisting arrest.
Earlier on Saturday, Hickman had linked the shooting of deputy Darren Goforth, who was white, to anti-police rhetoric across the country in the wake of deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of white officers.

On announcing the charges against Miles later in the day, Hickman said the department assumed that Goforth was "a target because he wore a uniform."

"We have not been able to extract any details regarding a motive at this point," Hickman added. "As far as we know, deputy Goforth had no previous contact with the suspect, and it appears to be clearly unprovoked."

Hickman said a handgun had been recovered and that a ballistics test matched it to bullets recovered from the scene.

Goforth, a 10-year veteran of the force, was pumping gas into his patrol car when the gunman approached from behind and shot him in the back, then shot him more times as he lay on the ground, sheriff's officials said.

The fatal shooting in Houston comes more than eight months after two New York police officers were ambushed and shot to death in Brooklyn by a gunman who had said he wanted to avenge the deaths of black men in confrontations with police.

New York Police Commissioner William Bratton said at the time of the shooting, which followed large-scale protests over deaths of African-Americans at the hands of officers, that police were unfairly subjected to public anger.

Hickman was blunt in his defense of law enforcement in the midst of protests against police by movements such as Black Lives Matter, which has complained of police violence and mass incarceration of blacks.

"We've heard black lives matter; all lives matter. Well cops' lives matter too," Hickman said.
"Our system of justice absolutely requires a law enforcement presence to protect our communities, so at any point where the rhetoric ramps up to the point where calculated cold-blooded assassination of police officers happen(s), this rhetoric has gotten out of control," Hickman added.

Some commentators on social media objected to Hickman's statements.

"When Blacks get legally killed we are constantly told it's not about race. But the sheriff in the DarrenGoforth case IMMEDIATELY invoked race," tweeted African-American author and lecturer Tariq Nasheed.

Berkeley NAACP on Race, Equity and Gentrification

BERKELEY NAACP

RACE, EQUITY & GENTRIFICATION

"The Politics and Control of Black Bodies"

SPEAKERS - COMMUNITY CONVERSATION - ACTION

**City of Oakland Councilmember Desley Brooks**

**Black Lives Matter Panel Discussion**

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2015

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

South Berkeley Senior Center - 2939 Ellis Street, Berkeley CA

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Brooks’ Victory for Oakland’s New Department of Race and Equity  - Community support for historic measure garnered council’s unanimous vote

By Ashley ChambersPosted June 26, 2015 3:35 pm

After months of debate, the City Council unanimously voted this week to create a Department of Race and Equity to address systemic racism and inequality in the City of Oakland.

This victory for the Department of Race and Equity makes Oakland one of few cities around the country, along with Portland and Seattle, that have created departments to ensure equality and fairness for all residents.

Among other issues, the department will need to look at unequal enforcement of city zoning policies, said Brooks.

“It’s the planning and the zoning decisions that have allowed for auto body shops to be next door to somebody’s house, that allow for environmental issues to impact communities of color, that allow for West Oakland to have (a higher) asthma rate because of the bad conditions,” she said.

“We need a Department of Race and Equity because we have normalized the conversation of race,” Brooks said.

Link:  http://postnewsgroup.com/blog/2015/06/26/brooks-victory-oaklands-new-department-race-equity/

Parable of a Poor Righteous Teacher

The poor righteous teacher does not teach for money, fame or fortune. His message is truth and truth alone. Marvin X told Jet Magazine, "I don't want the Christian truth, Muslim truth, Communist Truth, I want the whole truth, so help me God!"

No matter how the political correct consider him, i.e., some say he is not a Muslim--although there are those who consider him the father of Muslim American literature (Dr. Mohja Kahf), though there are those who know he is one of the fathers of the Black Arts Movement, precursor of Rap or the Hip Hop movement (See the anthology Black Fire and the Black Arts Movement Reader SOS.

Amiri Baraka said, "Marvin X, aka El Muhajir, is one of the outstanding...African writers and teachers in America. He has always been in the forefront of Pan African writing. Indeed, he is one of the innovators and foudners of the new revolutionary schools of African writing."--Amiri Baraka

"When you listen to Tupac Shakur, E-40, Too Short, Master P or any other rappers out of the Bay Area of Cali, think of Marvin X. He laid the foundation and gave us the language to express Black male urban experiences in a lyrical way."
--James G. Spady, Philadelphia New Observer 

Many don't know where to place Marvin X, for sure he transcends the American and European literary tradition. 

Bob Holman called him, "The USA's Rumi. Then added he was Saddi and Hafiz."

Ishmael Reed said, "He is Plato teaching on the streets of Oakland." For sure, Marvin X teachers at 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland. But his mission is far beyond teaching, he is a  mental health counselor for the many suffering trauma and grief."

My teaching is thus about literacy, literature, consciousness, partner relations, parent/child relations and more. --Marvin X, August 28, 2015

 

Black Bird Press News & Review: Navigating the perilous mental landscape

Black Bird Press News & Review: Navigating the perilous mental landscape

In my 1968 interview with ancestor James Baldwin, he said, "It's a wonder we all haven't gone stark raving mad." Oh, Jimmy, your prophesy has come true today, 2015: the virus of white supremacy (type I and II, Dr. Nathan Hare, Foreword, How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy, Dr. M, aka Marvin X, Black Bird Press,  2007) is pervasive in North American Africans and Europeans. As a nation we are totally unable to navigate the perilous mental landscape with an iota of soundless or saneness. We are thus the performer on the tightrope about to fall headlong into the chasm or precipice of our own making. Like the hog returning to slop, we wallow in the madness of the times. And yes, the only light at the end of the tunnel is the train coming at us. And sadly, the engineer is busy text messaging as the oncoming train collides with our train and we are derailed and suffer death along with many injuries, physical and mental. We assumed or presumed the engineer was of sound mind, just as we assume our political leaders are of sound mind yet they are not, for they are enslaved to lobbyists of every stripe, pushing every agenda imaginable to advance themselves despite the fact they vowed to promote the consent of the governed upon election or reelection. Their duplicity feeds our madness and derails our mental equilibrium, causing us to descend even deeper into the chasm, confounded us with a plethora of lies and half truths.



We have been programmed by the monkey mind media to profess loyalty to the world of make believe the media magicians  present to us. Thus, we are hoodwinked into believing their fake world. Dr. Nathan Hare says we must understand the Fictive Theory, i.e., everything the white man says is fiction until proven to be fact. This is a most difficult proposition when we have become addiction to white supremacy, i.e., the white man's ice is colder than the Black man's. There are those who will not use their credit cards with Black web sites but have no fear with submitting their credit cards to Amazon.com. I've had customers who declined to use my Square swipe, they rather go to the ATM machine and pay the fee because they don't trust my Square swipe.



Fear and lack of truth is discussed in Step I of my manual How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy. Since this is a Pan African manual of recovery, an African recently said, "Marvin X, we need a book entitled The Mis-education of the African. Talk about those Oxford Africans who are brainwashed worse than American Negroes. Marvin X, I tell you the truth, I rather be a Negro than an African. I would be totally shocked by his statement except an African woman told me the same thing recently. With his and her statements, I am confounded yet humbled by the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad who told us we were the light of the world, as per Africans and Arabs, especially Arab Muslims. He preached to us to be our aboriginal selves and we would be leaders of the new world now coming into reality.



Master Sun Ra taught us we would not go forward or backward until we did the right thing, i.e., accepted our role in the world, along with our responsibility as the leaders as we enter the new era or the new cycle of history or mystery (Sun Ra) , yes, as we begin another 25, 000 year cycle of time.



So let us be clear on how we can navigate the perilous mental landscape in the now of our lives. Know thyself said the Africans, followed by  the Greek students of the Africans (see Stolen Legacy, George M. James). Knowledge of Self is the first knowledge on the road to us regaining our mental equilibrium.



We cell phones, we can now Google African Knowledge of Self! We can Google any knowledge from anywhere in the world. This makes the Bible saying, "The people were destroyed for lack of knowledge," even more relevant because there is no excuse for ignorance except the desire to remain ignorant. And there are those who desire to remain ignorant. Some of those brothers who stop by my Academy of da Corner, will say proudly, "Oh, Bro, I don't read books, my woman reads." Imagine the depths of this statement, a prescription for some horror story in male/female relations "further on up the road," as that old Blues song tells us. Can't remember if this is a Bobby Bland or BB King song.



I am horrified when brothers come to my Academy and ask for work. As I watch them, I can see their primary objective is my female assistant. I observe that his pants are hanging off his behind, so I know he can't work with me if he has a problem pulling up his pants. Would anyone hire him with his pants sagging showing his drawers. If the white man won't hire him, I don't blame the white man. I know if I came in my Father's house with my pants sagging, I would get a serious beat down. Alas, we know many if not most of these brothers have no knowledge of their fathers, and this fact contributes to their difficulty is navigating their perilous mental landscape.



Manhood training is thus a necessity is regaining our mental equilibrium, and the same for women. What are the fundamentals of manhood and womanhood and who is qualified to teach us this essential lesson of life? The most recent lessons came from the Nation of Islam's FOI and MGT training classes.



The Nation of Islam, no matter the negatives, it attempted to instruct us in manhood and womahood training rites and rituals. In truth, we need to bow down and kiss the ground for the teachings of the Nation of Islam that gave us Black Studies 101 and manhood/womanhood training as well. Socalled academic Black Studies never gave us basic manhood and womanhood training. If one doesn't know the purpose and meaning of manhood and womanhood, all other knowledge is to no avail. When I taught Black Studies at Fresno State University, 1969, Message to the Black Man was my text and as per my journalism class Muhammad Speaks was my text. Yes, Gov. Ronald Reagan removed me from campus by any means necessary. He did the same to Angela Davis at UCLA the same year. And as a Communist, what do you think her texts were? Ask her!



I conclude with the question, How do we navigate the perilous mental landscape before us at this hour?

Firstly, we must be fearless. We must overcome our fears in order to navigate successfully.



We are so thankful our ancestors taught us to be fearless, e.g., David Walker, Nat Turner, Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Noble Drew Ali, Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Betty Shabazz, et al.



On the West Coast, Huey P. Newton taught me to be fearless, along with Bobbly Seale, Little Bobby Hutton and Eldridge Cleaver, Geronimo and Bunchy Carter, Elaine Brown, Kathleen Cleaver, Queen Mother Moore, Clara Muhammad, et al.

--Marvin X

Crisis in California Sex Education: Pregnancies and STDs in Fresno County

Fresno Unified looks to restore sex education

June 17, 2015

The school board examined a plan Wednesday to add a comprehensive sex education curriculum
The district’s Sociology for Living class ended in 2011
Fresno County has some of the highest teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates

By Hannah Furfaro
hfurfaro@fresnobee.com

Listen up Fresno high schoolers: sex education could soon be coming to a classroom near you.
Fresno Unified officials are talking about restoring sex education across the city’s high schools under a plan that would add lessons about sexually transmitted infections, contraception and healthy relationships.

At the district’s school board meeting Wednesday, trustees took up a proposal that would bring back all those topics by January. They didn’t take a vote and the issue will likely get more discussion this summer or fall.

The measure comes after local organizations like teen health group Fresno Barrios Unidos and the ACLU of Northern California urged district administrators to restore the lessons. It’s also on the heels of legislation that’s passed the state Assembly and is winding through the state Senate that would make comprehensive sex education mandatory in middle and high schools.

If the bill becomes law, it would mark a huge shift in what’s required of California public schools.
Fresno students already get the absolute basics. State law currently requires middle and high schools to provide education about how to prevent HIV/AIDS.

But schools are not mandated to offer “comprehensive” sex education, or age-appropriate, unbiased, medically accurate information. To be comprehensive, students must learn about abstinence, sexually transmitted infections and contraception.

Fresno County has the state’s fourth-highest rate of teens with chlamydia and gonorrhea infections, a figure that’s consistently 20%-25% higher than state averages.

Fresno Unified’s plan would use a curriculum called Positive Prevention Plus to teach those topics.
Local health advocates who attended Wednesday’s meeting praised the curriculum and said they were encouraged by the district’s effort.

Socorro Santillan, executive director of Fresno Barrios Unidos, urged trustees to partner with organizations like hers to help teach students. The group already has programs for parents and has taught workshops at some high schools.

Others who attended, like UCSF Fresno resident Dr. Janae Barker, said it’s a matter of public health.
Barker said she’s constantly witnessing teens who repeat their mistakes: they never learn about safe sex and prevention and wind up contracting syphilis or getting pregnant. Among a group of at-risk teen girls she’s worked with at Fresno High, she said, “it was amazing the things they didn’t know. There are kids in that class, two of which are currently pregnant, one who is on her second pregnancy.”

Fresno high schools used to have a class called Sociology for Living, a health and life skills class that was axed for budget and other reasons in 2011. It was at one time a graduation requirement and taught students about some sexual health topics and about marriage and family issues.
In 2011, school board members found a compromise to cut the class, but retain the subjects students were taught. That may have happened for a while, but school officials said this spring that comprehensive sex education is no longer offered.

It was amazing the things they didn’t know. There are kids in that class, two of which are currently pregnant, one who is on her second pregnancy.

UCSF Fresno resident Dr. Janae Barker, who is working with a group of Fresno High at-risk teen girls

Public health officials and community health organizers have been scratching their heads asking why sex education wasn’t restored earlier. Fresno County still has the fourth-highest rate of teens with chlamydia and gonorrhea infections, a figure that’s consistently 20%-25% higher than state averages. For people of all ages, Fresno County ranks second for both chlamydia and gonorrhea.

Among school districts in Fresno County, students within Fresno Unified have the highest rates of both infections, Fresno Department of Public Health statistics show. Clovis and Central Unified are next on the list.

At the meeting, trustee Carol Mills said she hopes the district will move sooner than later to bring sex education back into both the middle and high schools. She’s talked to middle school nurses who have told her about eighth-grade girls becoming pregnant, a fact Mills said is almost “incomprehensible, although I know it exists.”

Many of the trustees said schools can’t alone be expected to turnaround such dire statistics. But overall, most were supportive of the plan.

Trustee Brooke Ashjian, who attended the meeting via conference call, questioned whether students would learn about lesbian, gay, bisexual and other sexual orientation and gender issues. He also questioned whether traditional relationships and marriage values would be taught.
Those questions will likely be hashed out in future board discussions.

Hannah Furfaro: (559) 441-6412, @HannahFurfaro

STDs In California On The Rise (PHOTOS)

Posted: 08/15/2012 9:23 pm EDT Updated: 08/16/2012 8:49 pm EDT

Generally, you expect to see preventable diseases decline in advanced societies. Not so with some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in California.

Syphilis cases in the Golden State jumped by 18 percent from 2010 to 2011, according to new data released by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). There was also a 5 percent increase in chlamydia cases and a 1.5 percent increase in gonorrhea cases.

Across the board, the STD rates among African Americans continue to be strikingly high, especially in comparison to the other racial groups. 

In regards to why African American women contract STDs at far higher rates than women of other races, Robert Fullilove, a clinical sociomedical professor at Columbia University Health and chairman of the HIV/AIDS committee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on "Fresh Air" that it is partly because fewer African American men are available.:

Because of incarceration, homicide and AIDS, Fullilove said, "A large number of marriageable men were taken out of the community. When you have this kind of population imbalance, many of the rules that govern mating behavior in the community are simply going to go out the window."
"The competition for a man becomes so extreme ... all of the prevention measures [like condom usage] that we've been trying to create over the last 30 years go out the window."

But Heidi Bauer, chief of the health department's STD control branch, told The Huffington Post that Fullilove's theory is hard to prove, and that the department has not found a smoking gun explaining any of the disease increases. It may be that individuals have more partners and use fewer condoms or that, especially given cuts to local health departments and clinics, there is less access to care, she said.
Regarding education, Bauer said that California law mandates HIV education but that schools have a lot of autonomy over what other curriculum, if any, they provide -- as long as it's accurate.

The health department is concerned with the increase in state rates because these STDs can lead to infertility, passing a disease on to a newborn and increasing the risk of HIV, Bauer told HuffPost.
Across all races, chlamydia affected the highest number of people in California, with about 164,000 cases reported in 2011.


Across the board, the chlamydia rates were about twice as high for women than for men. This is largely because the disease is often asymptomatic, but women are screened annually up to age 25 and therefore diagnosed more often, Bauer explained. The rates were highest for men and women between 20 and 24 years old, with the exception of African American women, with whom the highest rate is women between 15 and 19 years old. Here is the racial breakdown:

Chlamydia rates (per 100,000 population):

• African American - 1,030.3
• Latino - 332.6
• Native American - 216.4
• White - 141.9
• Asian/Pacific Islander - 118

There were 27,000 gonorrhea cases in California in 2011. Gonorrhea rates were higher -- sometimes twice as high -- for men than for women (except for Native Americans) because of men having sex with men and because women with gonorrhea often don’t have symptoms. The highest gonorrhea rates were in San Francisco (276.5), followed by Fresno (127.2) and Sacramento (126.7). Here is the racial breakdown:

Gonorrhea rates (per 100,000 population):

• African American - 303.8
• Latino - 40.7
• Native American - 37.7
• White - 33.3
• Asian/Pacific Islander - 17.2

There were about 2,500 syphilis cases, and men had vastly higher rates as it largely affects men who have sex with men. The highest syphilis rate was in San Francisco (46.2), followed by Berkeley (14.8). It is the only STD out of the three discussed where whites had the second-highest rate:

Syphilis rates (per 100,000 population):

• African American - 16.6
• White - 6.2
• Latino - 5.4
• Native American - 4.9
• Asian/Pacific Islander - 2.3

Nationally, in 2010, chlamydia rates increased, gonorrhea increased slightly and syphilis decreased (but increased among black men), according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education/article24835135.html#storylink=cpy

Malik Zulu Shabazz on the beating of Dhoruba bin Wahad

Received by email Aug 23, 2015

Dr. Malik Zulu Shabazz on the Dhoruba Bin Wahad Incident & Criticism On BPP/BLA History 





Official Statement of Dr. Malik Zulu Shabazz on the Dhoruba Bin Wahad controversy

 
On August 8, 2015 I was speaking in Atlanta as an invited guest at the New Black Panther Summit on Police Terrorism and explaining my experiences from the streets and combatting the police brutality in Ferguson, Baltimore, South Carolina as well as inside the courtroom since last year. I was speaking on my 27 years on the front lines.

Dhoruba Bin Wahad and Kalongi Jima Changa plotted to disrupt and conduct "operation shutdown" to stop my speech and to shutdown the NBPP summit.

DBW and KJ led a group of at least 8 armed men to the stage to take the stage and to take me physically off the stage and shutdown the panther summit.

DBW AND KJ detailed their plan to stop the NBPP summit and MZS in their pre summit press release "Operation Shutdown" and other communication sources where DBW and KJ shockingly believed they had exclusive control of the police brutality issue and NO OTHER GROUP would be allowed to have a meeting on that subject unless they had the approval of DBW and KJ. A form of Black facism in the Black community. KJ was convicted of a similar offense in the Black community in 2005 by the POCC under the leadership of Fred Hampton Jr.

DBW has a 45 year history of armed intimidation against political figures in the Black community he does not agree with. DBW started his disputes by bucking the Black Panther Party founder, Honorable Huey P. Newton in 1971 and opposing his leadership. The legendary Sam Napier, BPP newspaper editor in New York, was a tortured, kidnapped and a murdered casualty to this tragic conflict. DBW has admitted in books and interviews to "feeling like a Black cop" while executing actions against Black drug dealers and other figures he does not like. True indeed. DBW has suffered in prison and committed heroic acts and been targeted by cointel-pro. All that is true. But none of that is a pardon or pass for his extensive acts and attempts of aggression and intimidation in the Black community.

I have sat with DBW many times. At one point he was like a big brother to me. But the political opposition to the very existence of the NBPP by some BPP turned him harshly toward me and now towards the NBPP. DBW's "OPERATION SHUTDOWN" was a wild and desperate and irresponsible and reckless attempt to physically harm me and physically take over the New Black Panther annual Summit with his armed posse.

Therefore, knowing DBW history and his current intentions, I suspected an AUDUBON BALLROOM type of situation was developing. Minister Malcolm X was assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom.

I spied the takeover plan and plot as I was speaking and asked DBW to wait and I would deal with his issues. As I have sat with him many times to discuss issues and as I have a long track record of patiently answering any questions asked of me at at a public event.

In the middle of my keynote speech, with his squadron of armed men at the stage, DBW, in response to my simple request for him to wait until I completed my speech and I would answer his question; DBW screamed at the top of his voice , "NO NIGGER WE GONNA DEAL WITH THIS SHIT NOW NIGGER!" and DBW moved to take over.

Instinctively and self defensively I said, without yelling, "get his ass out of here". I was simply asking for him and his group of armed sizable men, to be escorted from the room. This was a general request made to hotel security or anyone who would help. I do not have any supervisory authority or control over the New Black Panther Party. The New Black Panther is under the capable leadership of Minister Hashim Nzinga, my and Dr. Khallid Muhammd's former chief of Staff. I am the National President of Black Lawyers for Justice.

After my request to have DBW and KJ and their squad of. men removed from the stage, I was solely focused on scanning the room for the possible gunman or whoever was sent to physically attack me. I do not know what happened in specific to DBW amongst the crowd.

Reports from eye witnesses says that DBW threw a punch at his escort, which then caused a reaction and a fight between NBPP AND DBW squad members and a melee ensued.

Other eyewitnesses say DBW had a knife or dropped a knife and that's what set everything off. An NBPP Investigation is pending.

So brothers and sisters this is what really happened. A physical plan to attack my person and to shutdown the NBPP was hatched by DBW and KJ. It went terribly wrong for DBW and KJ. These were risky and grossly reckless, aggressive actions by DBW and KJ. Their actions put not only my life at risk but also Nation of Islam and several hundred Black community children and women at risk.

DBW strategy was risky and dangerous and filled with emotion and hatred for his own brothers. He must take responsibility for his own reckless actions. I hate what happened, but bear no responsibility. Responsibility lies squarely with DBW as the aggressor and initiator and the misleader of his men .
DBW acted in the manner of a gangster a thug and a fascist. And his actions are in line with the aims and objectives of the counterintelligence program. His actions fit the COINTELPRO Pattern to disrupt and cause fighting amongst Black groups.

DBW actions could have set off a wider war. DBW attacked me and I am a member of the family of the Nation of Islam and I am a close son of Minister Louis Farrakhan and I am the real son of Dr Khallid Muhammad. DBW duped members of the 5 per centers into his plan and we have nothing but love for the Nation of Gods and Earths. Also we have never had any physical incidents with BPP members despite some issues between us.

So therefore DBW actions were reckless and could set off adverse actions all across several Black organizations. So yes, I ask the question, "who is DBW working for? And is his work In the BLA haunting him or hanging over his head?" Why is DBW so obsessed with me and the NBPP? Why does DBW track my cities and my speeches and plot his plans and operations with an intense hatred and focus on me ? Why me? Why is the real enemy all over my back and uncle toms nationwide DBW at the same time. Why? I ask myself why?

DBW did not conduct himself as an elder. He acted as a thug and gangster and he set off a tragic chain of events with his aggressive and provocative actions. DBW did not act as a wise elder. He acted like a young gangster moving against his rivals in 1971.

In conclusion, check my track record. I am not a thug nor am I a gangster. I have no record of bringing harm to Black people. I am a patient man and a gentle man but I am not a weak man and I am not a punk. I will secure my safety and I will defend my self. I have a divine duty to safeguard my life because my life is not my own my life belongs to God and the Black Nation and I am needed on duty to help our people. I will NOT submit to anyone's assassination attempt.

If you doubt any word I say contact eye witnesses who were at the event. Contact Mukasa Ricks. Mukassa Ricks is the founder of Black Power and a right hand to Kwame Ture. Mukassa is an original Panther from Lowndes county. Elder Mukassa saw it all and has officially ruled against DBW and his actions as being at fault for this tragedy.

In the 60s some Panthers did the same thing to Stokley Carmichael. They accused Kwame Ture and his men of being racist and "too Black " and reactionary. Even though Kwame and his men organized the Panther Party for them nationwide. They verbally and in writing, attacked Kwame Ture, called him an agent, and they disrupted his meetings. Sadly some BPP kept harassing and attacking US and Dr Maulana Karenga, saying they were "reactionary cultural nationalists" and making attempts to forcibly shut Black Nationalists down.
History is repeating itself.

This is an official statement of Malik Zulu Shabazz, esq

Notes by Dr. Ayodele Nzinga on August Wilson's King Hedley II

Blood on the Mountain, III by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

o

Growing Family in the Land of Rocky Soil or Blood on the Mountian, II by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

Tonya does not want to have anymore children. Not in a world where "their friends might kill them, the police might kill them, in a world that don't respect life." She says her 17 year old daughter with a baby is falling down a hole that it will take her a lifetime to dig her way out of. As a part of her argument for an abortion she details the story of a mother learning that her son has been shot down. She receives the news as she is washing his clothes and preparing his dinner not knowing he will never eat the meal or wear the laundry she has washed. It is delivered as part of a chilling monologue that helps to explain why the Lower Bottom Playaz offer a different brand of Wilson than you may have come to expect.

We play Wilson from the experience of our lives. We have lived beyond the playwrights observations and see his descriptions of the now pass as vivid depictions of our lived reality. The realty of drive-bys in the eighties has given way to the police terror and continued inter-group violence on steroids. We have seen the connection from the pass to the present that Wilson intends and we see beyond it to an even more blasted and blistered current moment.

Tonya's monologue is a political position. She is in resistance to death with her refusal to bear life. Her decision is also influenced by her man's choices. His choices are influenced by his reality. But his answer is to make something/life in the absence of all it takes to insure and sustain that life. He insist they try even if they have to call the undertaker.

She has a baby daddy in jail and fears her current man who has done time for murder is on a path back to jail. He, King Hedley, II is trying to make life grow in the rocky soil he has inherited. He never considers remaking the box his life came in --he is bound by his perception of  personal history, national history, blood, and honor and out of that lens of those contexts and grim necessity he is using what he has been given to create what he perceives he needs. His ability to do so is impacted by other men who have their own rocky soil. It seems everyone's garden in the land of rocky soil is watered by blood. Tonya's babies father's have blood on their hands as she fears, instructed by her lived experience, the possibility of her unborn child being bled of life.

King wants the baby in order to put something in the world. He plants a seed in the less than optimal soil of his backyard and sees it struggle to grow and reasons a child deserves a chance at life, he advised Tonya against putting it in a coffin before it draws breath. He wants to plant a seed in life even if the soil is not all it could be. How else can we go forward? How else can we get to the top of the mountain?

King Hedley, II is a tale about men and blood honor. It is a tale of women and longing for a life with good soil where love family and dreams can grow. It is a saga about struggle, the weight of things older than us, resistance and the prayer for redemption.

See it at the Flight Deck now through September 6, 2015.

Notes on Blood as a motif in King Hedley II

Blood is a motif in King Hedley, II. It is a strong and instructive note. It signals the life and death struggle to create and maintain life in marginalized spaces. The tension between the discussion of abortions and blood feuds destined to end in blood carry us through this speeding train ride that can only end in a tremendous wreck. What else can happen when the doors are all barred and life is on the other side.

King's desire to sit on top of the mountain -- with the key given the righteous requires -- he wipe the blood off his hands. He is told the key is forgiveness but he is bound by codes of honor which dictate his actions. Blood for blood is a mantra carried by his reflection in the character of Mister. Mister outlines the tenets of honor and explains that blood spilled requires the spilling of blood, especially in the defense of your blood. It is a matter of honor. If a man kills your blood you ain't supposed to be looking at him long. Someone must die. Blood is energy, it is life, your bloodline is your most intimate legacy, you are required to defend it.

What pathology is engendered at the event of the interruption of a man's ability to care for his blood.  How then does one proceed with honor in the world? At what point is crossing the line to ensure your blood survives permissible? What would you do to insure your unborn child's right to live in a world big enough to dream in? At what point does the world get so small that the thought of new life, rather than inspiring joy,  births fear and desperation along with the consideration of killing it before it breathes? Who turned the world around like that and how do we find a way to thrive in a world where the path to life is blocked by barbed wire or something even harder to cut through?

One of Wilson's greatest skill displays in the work of The American Century Cycle, is to show you the world-changing as the North American stands in the same place, or even more disturbing as the ground beneath him literally shrinks.  The lack of work and the great difficulty encountered by those who dream of thriving in a country they helped to build with blood and sweat. Blood on the ground but no way into the dream. King remarks that he was once worth $1200.00 during slavery but in 1985 he is reduced to $3.35 an hour he says he is going backwards. Mister observes the woman with the store got a bigger store and bigger house to go with it, he speculates, if she could drive she would have a bigger car. As the country moves forward North American African's  have moved further from center.

In our current moment the ruthless gentrification of formerly affordable communities and the continued economic inequity experienced by large numbers of North American Africans  coupled with a cannibalistic educational system/carceral system and an escalation of inter-group violence informed and encouraged by systemic violence perpetrated against them magnifies the moment in which our characters live. We know this dark moment goes on, gets deeper, becomes as consuming as an ocean.

King Hedley like many young men today carries a gun because he fears violence being enacted upon him.  He has killed one man and is looking to kill the man's kin to stop him from retaliating against him. He is also about to become a father for the first time.  While the sooth sayer calls on him to wash the blood from his hands I wonder how he might go about that. Some of the blood on his path is older than him. The sooth sayer says he can right the house of his father even though it may be torn asunder, but even the sooth sayer calls for the remission of blood. Blood is the new life coming extending King's blood line and ultimately his possibles in life. The question of honor may require him to shed blood in order to live long enough to help sustain this new life.

Come and see who survives and what the blood cost of honor is. See King Hedley, II now through September 6.

http://www.lowerbottomplayaz.com

Sekou Osei responds to comments of the "real" New Black Panther Party on the beating of Dhoruba bin Wahab, et. al

 Black Panther Party Elder Dhoruba bin Wahab

These are nice words but rather late. I just want to know about any charges of "assault" on the members of the NBPP who carry this attack out? And a public notion of the reasons for the attack at an open table discussion that was to be led by the NBPP in ATL. 

Now, its almost September and I am receiving in my E-mail of platitudes on the physical safety of elders and nothing about the performance "militancy" of the NBPP or it counter-revolutionary practice of selling "wolf tickets" in an attempt to create a popular base or presence. For it must be noted that this attack still would been counter-revolutionary even "if" Dhoruba was 26 or 36 or 46.

At this point, I haven't seen the deeper questions addressed or a deeper political analysis given. What needs to be assessed what role has Messianic leadership had played in the catalyst in the development of the NBPP through Khalid Abdul Muhammad after he broke with Mister Louis Farrakhan. 

Nonetheless as we look at our history, we can see that the Messianic forces can only  apply violence upon Black people and confronting the state is only been a pipe dream of theater. 

  

As we look at our history,  we now have a second platitude of selling wolf tickets this October in calling for the need for ten fearless thousand men in the vacant posture of "Justice or Else." It must be noted that Farrakhan in his history has never done anything to give retribution of racists or state violence against Black people, he's never busted a grape in that area of struggle. The only activity in Farrakhan history was creating the social and public environment and the "rationalization" for the assassination and murder of Brother comrade Malcolm X.  

What has to be noted in carrying out any political decision it is never a public call for 10,000 fearless men this only create chaos to be calm down by the newly emerging broker-of-discontent to keep the calm. 

I once thought the NBPP was trying to fulfill that role through Khalid. But Khalid early passing that never came to flower in a real way. While, our community has a number of so-called historians, but they are as helpful as a colorful broken clock. As we examine our history we all need a systematic and historic assessment of the nature and character of Black opportunism. And to give clarity on the practice and conclusions of its betrayal of smothering a truly radical offensive.

Peace Your Brother

        Sekou      

The "Real" New Black Panther Party comments on the beating of Elder Dhoruba bin Wahad, et al.

Greetings and Black Power,

This letter is to serve as an official statement from National Central Committee of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense from the office of the National Chair Krystal Muhammad.  

It has come to the attention of the NBPP and the Nu Afrikan community that an Elder Black Panther, Dhoruba Bin Wahad , Kalongi Jama Changa and several other activist were subjects of assault on August 8, 2015 in Atlanta, Ga. 

during a Black Power event hosted by Hashim Nzinga.  We do not condone the use of excessive force on any Nu Afrikan or human being ESPECIALLY an elder.

For the record Malik Zulu Shabazz is not the leader of the New Black Panther Party as of October 2013 when he resigned his post as NBPP National Chair  and called for the election of a new National Central Committee of the NBPP. A national summit was then called for Nov 30 – Dec 1, 2013 in Atlanta, Ga.  

Days after Malik's resignation he then got on public blogtalk radio and called for martial law on the NBPP and for calling off the elections. He then went on to say he was appointing Hashim Nzinga as  National Chair and a few other officers as owning the NBPP into perpetuity.  Despite Malik’s counter-revolutionary declaration , a national NBPP Summit was convened November 30 – Dec 1, 2013 in Atlanta, Ga . The NBPP leadership and rank and file members held an Nu Afrikan democratically centered election. As a result , Krystal Muhammad was elected as National Chair and a new National Central Committee.

As stated previously , we the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense do not condone the use of excessive force on any New African or human being ESPECIALLY an elder . Furthermore none of the members of our formation were involved or present during this unfortunate incident. Black Power!

Sincerely,

Krystal Muhammad, NBPP National Chair

Bobby Johnson, NBPP National Minister of Defense

Sharif Amenhotep, NBPP National Field Marshall

Nat Turner, NBPP National Minister of Information

Leonardo Muhammad, NBPP National Spokesman

David X, NBPP National Minister of  Communication

Queen Sheena, NBPP National Director of Community Programs

Khadijah Shakur, NBPP National Minister of  Health

Keisha X, NBPP National Minister of  Finance

Jumoke Ifentayo, NBPP National Minister of  Culture

Queen Azania, NBPP Deputy National Field Marshall 

Zayid Muhammad, NBPP National Minister of Culture, Emeritus

KPFK's Dedon Kamathi joins Ancestors

From: Michael Novick mnovick.kpfklsb@gmail.com;
Subject: Passing of brother Dedon Kamathi
Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2015, 2:28 PM


 Dedon Kamathi

I just received a call with the sad news of the passing of brother Dedon Kamathi, long time host of Freedom Now here at KPFK, a former member of the Pacifica National Board and the local board, former member of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense out of San Diego and an international figure in the struggle for the liberation of Africa and of all oppressed and exploited people. This is a great and grievous loss for the movements and for Pacifica. As we get more details, we will keep people informed of where and how to express their condolences.


Marvin X on Dedon Kamathi:

We are deeply saddened by news of Dedon's transition. We recall his recent interview of Norman Richmond and myself on the anniversary of the Vietnam War. May he rest in peace.

Long Live Black Liberation fighters,
Marvin X

The "Real" New Black Panther Party on the Beating of BPP Elder Dhoruba, Kalongi, et al.

From: Krystal Muhammad <nbppnationalchair@gmail.com>
To: panthershepcat <panthershepcat@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Aug 25, 2015 8:08 pm
Subject: Fwd: NBPP STATEMENT ON DHORUBA, KALONGI AND OTHERS

 

August 18, 2015

Greetings and Black Power,

This letter is to serve as an official statement from National Central Committee of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense from the office of the National Chair Krystal Muhammad.  

It has come to the attention of the NBPP and the Nu Afrikan community that an Elder Black Panther, Dhoruba Bin Wahad , Kalongi Jama Changa and several other activist were subjects of assault on August 8, 2015 in Atlanta, Ga. 

 

during a Black Power event hosted by Hashim Nzinga.  We do not condone the use of excessive force on any Nu Afrikan or human being ESPECIALLY an elder.

 

For the record Malik Zulu Shabazz is not the leader of the New Black Panther Party as of October 2013 when he resigned his post as NBPP National Chair  and called for the election of a new National Central Committee of the NBPP. A national summit was then called for Nov 30 – Dec 1, 2013 in Atlanta, Ga.  

 

Days after Malik's resignation he then got on public blogtalk radio and called for martial law on the NBPP and for calling off the elections. He then went on to say he was appointing Hashim Nzinga as  National Chair and a few other officers as owning the NBPP into perpetuity.  Despite Malik’s counter-revolutionary declaration , a national NBPP Summit was convened November 30 – Dec 1, 2013 in Atlanta, Ga . The NBPP leadership and rank and file members held an Nu Afrikan democratically centered election. As a result , Krystal Muhammad was elected as National Chair and a new National Central Committee.

 

As stated previously , we the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense do not condone the use of excessive force on any New African or human being ESPECIALLY an elder. Furthermore none of the members of our formation were involved or present during this unfortunate incident. Black Power!

Sincerely,

Krystal Muhammad, NBPP National Chair

Bobby Johnson, NBPP National Minister of Defense

Sharif Amenhotep, NBPP National Field Marshall

Nat Turner, NBPP National Minister of Information

Leonardo Muhammad, NBPP National Spokesman

David X, NBPP National Minister of  Communication

Queen Sheena, NBPP National Director of Community Programs

Khadijah Shakur, NBPP National Minister of  Health

Keisha X, NBPP National Minister of  Finance

Jumoke Ifentayo, NBPP National Minister of  Culture

Queen Azania, NBPP Deputy National Field Marshall 

Zayid Muhammad, NBPP National Minister of Culture, Emeritus