| The MSNBC headline proclaimed "Black Activist dies at 57." Stokely Carmichael, one of many important revolutionaries during the 1960s, was mostly famous for his blunt criticism of capitalism, Zionism, and Americanism. "I will not rest until the American capitalist system is destroyed," he once told an audience. Others would later pick up the ideas of Carmichael, propelling a Black movement of struggle into an American legacy. With frustrations peaking during this period, the Black community was determined to end racist American policy, inequality, and gross injustice. Unhappy with the progress, Carmichael would change his name to Kwame Toure and move to Guinea, Africa where he lived until cancer claimed his life in 1987.
The 1960s was an era of sacrifice, desperation, and experiment in revolution. Notable figures such as Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King would advance the movement to directly inspire two schools of revolution. Dr. King led a ‘turn the other cheek’ nonviolent movement that welcomed all people, but often did little to calm the rage. Malcolm promoted a type of movement that is best characterized by his statement that, "Our objective is complete freedom, justice and equality by any means necessary." Both movements planted seeds watered by years of bloodshed.
King wrote from Birmingham Jail, "When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will… when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in the airtight cage of poverty… when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of ‘nobodiness’; then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait." He argued that American persistence in inequality and injustice would further antagonize the Black community into moving outside of the legal system.
The protests continued in 1963 with more than 3,000 Blacks jailed by the mid-year. King and other nonviolent leaders worried they could lose control of the movement to Malcolm’s brand of protest. Students for Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Chairman John Lewis charged American politicians with building their careers on immoral compromises. In the end, King’s fears materialized, forcing Congress to take swift action.
Despite the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, White resistance to social justice and equality remained firm. Malcolm began to harshly criticize the approach of King and others as ineffective. As civil rights activists began to question their own long term strategy, many turned toward the ideas of Malcolm. In August 1965, the Los Angeles police violently arrested a Black man, which led to seven days of riots. More than 30 Blacks were killed by the police as they suppressed the rebellion. The killings went on as more Blacks continued their opposition to injustice.
SNCC selected Stokely Carmichael to replace John Lewis as its national chair and spokesperson. This was out of frustration with the progress of the movement, which appeared to be going nowhere. Carmichael would be remembered as effectively energizing the movement. The Black Panther Party (BPP) was born from the growing frustration of Black youth who grew tired of being beaten, lynched, and jailed. Inspired by SNCC under Carmichael, Huey Newton and Bobby Seal founded the Oakland-based BPP in 1966. The BPP’s political objectives were summed up in a 10 point program: "We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace." The BPP attracted Black youth in mass. It also became the focus of the FBI’s Counter-Intelligence Program (Cointelpro).
Under constant attack from Cointelpro, which used deception, division, and deprivation as its major weapons, BPP members were murdered, sent to prison, or exiled. The Black community was effectively divided and isolated by a campaign similar to that used by Great Britain in Africa and India. Movement leaders such as Geronimo Pratt were convicted on trumped-up murder charges. Pratt spent more than 27 years in prison before his release in 1997. Pratt "is a victim of a frame up that goes so high it’s scary," Attorney Johnny Cochran told one reporter. Cointelpro was designed to kill, destroy, or permanently remove the voices of opposition to social injustice. | | Another major figure to be targeted by Cointelpro was Hubert Gerold Brown, also known as H. Rap Brown. After moving to Washington, DC in 1964, Brown became politically involved with SNCC. In 1967, at the age of 23, Brown was elected chairman of SNCC, succeeding Carmichael. During the summer of that year, he addressed a crowd at a civil rights demonstration in Cambridge, Maryland. His words would later be described by police as "inciting the people to riot." Two days after the demonstration in Cambridge, Brown was arrested by FBI agents at DC’s national airport and charged with "unlawful flight to avoid prosecution."
By 1968, much of SNCC’s leadership merged into the BPP. Brown would become the organization’s Minister of Justice. His first book, Die Nigger Die!, was published. Brown went underground before his trial could take place and was placed on the FBI’s most wanted list. He resurfaced in 1971 in New York City. His next five years would be spent in prison, where he embraced Islam and changed his name to Jamil Al-Amin.
After being paroled from prison in 1976, Al-Amin moved to Atlanta, opened a community store, and became the Imam (prayer leader) of the Atlanta Community Masjid. On August 7, 1995, he was arrested on charges that involved the FBI Domestic Counterterrorism Task Force and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The charges were later proved unfounded and dropped. Some of the local police would later comment that the FBI’s involvement was "a bit strange."
When reviewing the past movement for social justice, the boldness of Kwame Toure, the imprisonment of Geronimo Pratt, and the current trials of Imam Jamil Al-Amin need to be studied in order to understand the present. It appears that even veterans of the past are asking questions. Did the movement die with Kwame Toure or has it just begun with Imam Jamil Al-Amin?
Julian Bond recently told participants at the 96th Annual Convention of NAACP, "We believe that racial discrimination is a prime reason why the gaps between Black and White life chances remain so wide…They tell us class, not race, produces racial inequity, that culture, not color, separates Black from white."
"Racism is at the root of this (American) society," charged Imam Siraj Wahaj, an Islamic community leader in Brooklyn and former Black revolutionary during the 1960s.
At 12 percent of the U.S. population, Blacks are nearly half of the entire U.S. prison population. Federal prisons are growing at a rate of five times more than state prisons. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Black males are incarcerated at a rate of 2,351 per 100,000 compared to Hispanic males at 957 per 100,000, and White males at 393 per 100,000.
Malcolm said shortly before his death, "I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation."
If anyone wonders if the movement died with Kwame Toure, they might consider the following words by his successor: "The struggle is an ongoing process...When the first slave rebelled against being a slave, he gave an alternative to slavery that has been built upon until now. That’s struggle; and there have been many movements in the struggle--the abolitionist movement, the antislavery movement, the civil rights movement...but, the struggle still goes on." Imam Jamil Al-Amin’s words are closely connected to the continued struggle for freedom and justice in America.
The prisons are being filled with both Muslims and Blacks. The final story could end with a chapter of disaster in the handbooks of injustice. The grandchildren of past oppressors are terrified of ‘Islamic extremism’ in the hearts and minds of America’s historically oppressed. This sort of ending is not unique, but still has an epic feel made for a Hollywood feature film. I look forward to the ending. |
