On November 15th, 1998, Kwame Ture (formally Stokely Carmichael) made his physical transition. I remember where I was when we received the news. We were at Sacramento State University, early on a Sunday morning, preparing to begin our work study meeting when one of the members came in and made the announcement. None of us were surprised. Kwame had been ill with the prostate cancer that eventually took his life for quite some time. I remember thinking things were about to change for all of us. [Over] Twenty years later, we have gone through major growing pains as an organization . . .
Black Power
The Black Panthers, the NRA, and the Contradiction of Guns in the U.S
May 2, 2021, marks the 54th commemoration of 29 Black Panther Party members and supporters converging on the California State Capitol in Sacramento, armed with guns, to protest the pending Mulford bill legislation to make carrying guns in public illegal. Don Mulford, a racist state senator from racist Mill Valley in the Bay Area, sponsored this bill, with full backing from the National Rifle Association (NRA). . . .
Remembering Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald
On March 30, 2021, the African Liberation Struggle gained a new ancestor, Romain “Chip” Fitzgerald. Chip, a former member of Black Panther Party for Self Defense, was a 50 year hostage of the California prison system, making him California’s longest serving Black Panther. . . .
Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson: A Tower of Strength
Despite the loss of her physical presence, there is not an African alive anywhere on earth who has not been touched by the legacy of her movement work. Her courage, determination, and commitment to lifting us higher are principles that will continue to inspire our movement for justice and forward progress. . . .
Joe Biden and the ‘Passive Revolution’
Though it appears that Biden has pulled off a revival of centrism amid an ‘organic crisis’, his honeymoon period will be short-lived as there is a crisis of legitimacy of the ideas, institutions, and coalitions that undergird U.S. neoliberal capitalism. During moments like this, the ruling class may attempt what Gramsci called a ‘passive revolution’ – implementing symbolic or limited change from above without fundamentally transforming social relations – to restore its hegemony and stave off challenges to its position within society. Key parts of this process include the co-optation of demands from below, new political coalitions, paying lip service . . .
An Analysis of the “Free Huey” Speech by Kwame Turé
In “Free Huey,” Kwame Turé underlines the concept of survival. Turé argues that the survival “of a race of people…is all that is at stake”. By establishing this, Turé discusses the roles that resistance, the vote (its futility, rather), allyship, and ideologies play in contributing to survival. . . .
The Black Reformist & the Betrayal of the Black Masses
What you and I must understand is, the negro reformist is a powerless political entity, therefore, the only card he has to play in the game of politics, is his ability to keep the Black masses trapped in the system that oppresses them (i.e. keep the Black masses voting), in exchange for progressive legislation for himself. . . .
79th Birthday of Brother and Comrade Kwame Ture
The more you love the People, the more you work for the People; the more you work for the People, the more you want to know the People; the more you study and know the People, the more you love the People; the more you love the People, the harder you work for the People… Kwame Ture Born in Trinidad and Tobago on 29 June 1941, Kwame Ture is more alive now and lives on eternally! Developing upon the mass organizing culture (reform theory) already acquired while in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), where he had already ‘returned to . . .