TBS New Direction board members

A Guide to the New York "Plantation" System

            When I was a young child, I never associated the "Negro" with a "chicken" on the farm although history would repeat itself with the killing of a chicken every Saturday.  For six days a week, most Blacks were vegetarians.  The Sabbath was not only a day of rest but also a day to eat the "gospel bird" with lard and rejoicing in the "Lord".

            Somewhere in this process, Blacks acquired the DNA of the "gospel bird".  Because the Hon. Elijah Muhammad grew up on a farm in Sandersville, GA, he, at some point in his life, was able to associate the "Negro" with the "gospel bird".  Every Saturday, he saw a "gospel bird" getting the axe.  In 1962, his conclusion, as I heard it about Black people, startled me.

            I left the "Cotton Curtain" in 1962 for Howard University, "the capstone of Negro education".  "Cotton" also came to Harlem in the 1960's.  Before I arrived on campus from a segregated train, I was listening to a radio program in a taxi en route to the campus.  I was unfamiliar with the speaker but I remember him saying, "The Negro is deaf, dumb and blind".

            In 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court said that Blacks were receiving an inferior education in Jim Crow schools.  The NAACP told us that the U.S. Supreme Court wanted Jim Crow education to come to a "deliberate" halt even though it was guided by the doctrine of stare decisis.

            Chief Justice Roger Taney in dictum in 1857 said in Dred Scott:  "No Negro has any right that a white man is bound to respect".  This was not American jurisprudence. Blacks were not in the law. Blacks were in the slave codes.  This is the difference between the common law and positive law.  Blacks always get the short end of the constitutional stick.  Most of the "badges of slavery" are still intact even if the institution of slavery is obsolete.  Blacks must address the "badges of slavery".  Today, they are mostly intact.

            When I arrived in New York City, forty years ago this year, there were not only untold racial atrocities perpetrated by law enforcement agencies but also despicable and racist acts perpetrated by white vigilantes.  Today, white vigilantes are in short supply but "rogue" cops still persist with no end in sight.  They were born under state law in New York City in 1845.

            Rev. Al Sharpton headed, in reality, the National Youth "Moment" even though David N. Dinkins, in collaboration with New York State Attorney General Robert Abrams, had formed and called it the "National Youth Movement".  Sharpton refuses to identify an organization, which he heads, by race.  Abrams would also aid Rev. Herbert Daughtry and the Black United Front through Dinkins.

            Although the Black community perceived them differently, they both advocated racial pacification and racial harmony.  To make it work, Blacks would confuse "non-resistance to evil" with "non-violent resistance".  Non-resistance to evil gives rise to pacification.   Non-violent resistance gives rise to civil disobedience.

            There is a difference between a "movement" and a "moment".   Black, ephemeral and emotional reaction to the senseless killings of Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell are examples of a "moment".  On the other hand, the racially-inspired kidnapping and rape of Tawana Brawley gave rise to a "movement".  It started in 1987 and the struggle against "legitimate rape" still continues.  Hush money is not on the agenda.  Justice is.

            Sharpton was only engaged in unlicensed, civil disobedience during his tenure with United African Movement as third in command.  After he was able to negotiate a peace plan with New York for himself, he assumed a new identity. He announced that he was replacing civil disobedience with mainstream politics, but he would continue to raise funds for himself in the name of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.

            Now, civil disobedience is off the table nationwide.  When Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. accompanied Sharpton to Florida in connection with the fatal and senseless shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, Sharpton announced that civil disobedience and boycotts were off the table.  This is double jeopardy. Even though they are effective tools against white supremacy, they are relics, in Sharpton's mind, of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.

            Sharpton grew up admiring the "Mafia".  As a result of this contact, he has emulated the "Mafia" by establishing a semblance of it on the plantation under the guise of "non-violent resistance".  Since he was a teenager, Sharpton has been operating a "protection racket and escort service" for whites.  My source is attorney Louis Clayton Jones. Today, Councilman Charles Barron is one of his chief allies.  Recently, Barron has been seen moonlighting.  One of Sharpton's clients, wittingly or unwittingly, is the mother of Kimani Gray.

            Sharpton and Barron are paving the way for attorney Sanford Rubenstein aka "ambulance chaser".  Rubenstein seeks "hush money" for his clients and a "pot of gold" for himself.  There is absolutely no legal relief sought for Blacks on the plantation.  History continues to repeat itself.  "Hush money" is not a deterrent to racial injustice.

            In the white community, there is no need for activists to militate against injustices.  They are in short supply.  White elected officials are not only mouthpieces but they are also effective lawmakers for their constituents.  They also write laws to prevent plantation uprisings.  If a Jewish youth had been shot in the back by the NYPD, there would have already been indictments and zealous prosecutions.  With no political party by its side, Blacks are unable to secure any semblance of justice. 

            In New York, most white elected officials are fully enrolled in the Democratic Party.  On the other hand, Blacks selected officials are nominally enrolled in the Democratic Party.  Blacks are like North Korea.  Both may have missiles but neither has a delivery system.  Moreover, Black "selected officials" provide added legal protection for whites.

            It is easier for Blacks to construct a delivery system for a political party than it is for North Korea to construct a delivery system for nuclear warheads.  Nonetheless, Blacks refuse to form a political party and construct a delivery system for fear that it would be a "threat" to white supremacy.  Blacks live for white "approval" even if it means committing suicide.

            I have no confidence that anything will happen after the state-sponsored, unconstitutional assassination of Kimani Gray.  If Barron is unable to do the job of pacifying Blacks, whites will call in Sharpton from the bullpen.  There must be racial harmony at all costs.  In the meantime, Blacks are knocking on the wrong door, talking to the wrong people and asking the wrong questions.  This repeated conduct is defined as "insanity". 

            Where is the Democratic Party on the senseless and state-sponsored fatal shooting of 16-year-old Kimani Gray in the back?  There is already prima facie evidence of a homicide.  Prima facie evidence of a felony is sufficient to warrant an indictment.  No grand jury has been convened.   This would be odd for a white victim who was shot by a Black person.  Andrew Cuomo, Eric Schneiderman and Joe Hynes, as Democrats, are in the executive branch of government.  They have the responsibility of enforcing the laws.   "Justice delayed is justice denied".

            By law, a contract exists between the obligations of the Democratic Party and the rights of its members.  New York Election Law, for example, requires a member to be loyal to his enrolled political party or, otherwise, be subject to expulsion.  This loyalty is reciprocal.  Among other things, it will not permit a Black person to be a "selected official", as a Democrat, while also pretending to be a proponent of the Freedom Party.  No Black voter is allowed to wear two hats.

By Alton H. Maddox, Jr.

                                     

Compliments of the David X files

Ode To Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War

My courageous she-roes and heroes from way back when

Unethical discrimination and all isms were far worst back then

As bold ones rallied and marched to a mothers cry

There were those who struggled, dared to win or laid down to die

You fought the good fight

Some forced to run or take flight

Escaping cruelty and other persecution from the law

 Because you stood up for the meek and for the poor

All while teaching, feeding and organizing the people

Their voices echoed for justice just to be equal

The coward enemies of the people continued to hold us back

Masses of our people were under constant attack

The staunch resistors, mostly black and latino brothers and sisters  

The brave, the bold and the strong took a stand

They crated formations of SNCC, FPO, BPP, BLA, YLO, with support from some Weathermen

The battle fields covered with freedom fighters blood

By occupying pigs shooting bullets like rain soaked grass covered with mud

Like reigns of pouring CoIntelPro

 Telling the movement to go straight to hell

While their soldiers are honored enjoying the rapture

Our militant soldiers to endure a brutal capture

Behind enemy lines some will rot and sit

For years left to linger in the devils pit

Yet today we still feel the struggle, the strife

From the enemies gun and well honed knife

Plotting and planning to take another hue-man life

Wake up black people, Stand up black people

So that we never re-live the pain and the torture from way back when

Rise up my courageous black she-roes and heroes from way back then.

By David X

Anger In Trenton

Anger In Trenton

So why am I so angry?

What makes me so damn mad

Is it because my momz raised us with no help from my dead beat dad

Momz no actor, but she plays her two roles

Working two jobs so I and my siblings can eat

Seldom resting, endless days never complete

Will we get by another day, only she knows

So why am I so angry?

Is it because I wear my brothers hand me downs

Or eat another dinner of rice, cabbage and pork rounds

Not anticipating early morning breakfasts of bagged cereal

Mom definitely provides to make ends meet

Never to complain or admitting to defeat

Survival mode is so real

So why am I so angry?

Years gone by, growing older I realize

My life was not exactly as I had visualized

I found with no job, no career, I wanted more

I wanted better things for my family and myself

Materialistic things, expensive top of the line, and top shelf

I now understood that we were dirt poor

So why am I so angry?

Now I needed fast money so I hustled

Weaker chumps money I muscled

I had to step up my street game

Needing to be ruthless for respect

With my street investments to protect

Just another face in the hood, reputation attached to my name

So why am I so angry?

I’m on my grime, I gotta rob, cheat and steal

It satisfies my hungry stomach, my next meal

I have to have more

I go out at night, on my side is my gat

To stick up some unwilling cat

Because I’m gonna get mine

So why am I so angry?

I run into my next vic, pulling out my gun

A struggle ensues; I shoot down another mother’s son

Damn, I got my first homicide

With so many crimes committed

If I’m caught there’s no chance I’ll be acquitted

So why am I so angry?

I’m playing back my lifes tape in my mind

Rewinding, trying to forget how I got into this bind

Fast forward, the cops sought after me

Street life had caught up to me

Now looking at some hard time

All this for living my life of crime

I sit in my jail cell numb

How could I be so dumb

So why am I so angry?

Two families feel the pain

One love lost, another with nothing to gain

Lives ruined, I had made my choice

Making poor decisions was the voice

I should not have listened to

So why am I so angry?

I am angry because I’m behind bars doing life

But I didn’t have to.

By David X

Freedom Fighters

Ode To Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War

My courageous she-roes and heroes from way back when

Unethical discrimination and all isms were far worst back then

As bold ones rallied and marched to a mothers cry

There were those who struggled, dared to win or laid down to die

You fought the good fight

Some forced to run or take flight

Escaping cruelty and other persecution from the law

 Because you stood up for the meek and for the poor

All while teaching, feeding and organizing the people

Their voices echoed for justice just to be equal

The coward enemies of the people continued to hold us back

Masses of our people were under constant attack

The staunch resistors, mostly black and latino brothers and sisters  

The brave, the bold and the strong took a stand

They crated formations of SNCC, FPO, BPP, BLA, YLO, with support from some Weathermen

The battle fields covered with freedom fighters blood

By occupying pigs shooting bullets like rain soaked grass covered with mud

Like reigns of pouring CoIntelPro

 Telling the movement to go straight to hell

While their soldiers are honored enjoying the rapture

Our militant soldiers to endure a brutal capture

Behind enemy lines some will rot and sit

For years left to linger in the devils pit

Yet today we still feel the struggle, the strife

From the enemies gun and well honed knife

Plotting and planning to take another hue-man life

Wake up black people, Stand up black people

So that we never re-live the pain and the torture from way back when

Rise up my courageous black she-roes and heroes from way back then.

By David X

Hands Off Assata Shakur

This reward poster provided by the New Jersey State Police, announces the federal reward of $1 million for the capture of Joanne Chesimard in West Trenton, N.J., May 2, 2005. Chesimard, who now calls herself Assata Shakur, was convicted of the murder of Trooper Werner Foerster but escaped from prison in 1979 and has been living in Cuba under the protection of Fidel Castro’s government. Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron on Tuesday, May 24, 2005, is calling on the United States to rescind the $1 million bounty for Chesimard, describing her as an innocent victim of racial bias. Photo: AP Photo/New Jersey State Police

(FinalCall.com) - One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist and so goes the story of Assata Shakur. To many around the world, Assata Shakur is a freedom fighter that escaped the chains of oppression to Cuba where she has been living in exile since 1984.

 

The FBI doesn’t see it that way and classified her in 2005 as a domestic terrorist and offered a $1 million reward for assistance in her capture.

 

New Jersey’s Attorney General Jeffery S. Chiesa announced in February with the support of New Jersey’s State Police that they want to add Ms. Shakur (born Joanne Chesimard) to the FBI’s Top Ten and the Top 25 Most Wanted Terrorists lists plus increase the reward for her capture from $1 million to $5 million.

 

“Adding Chesimard to your Top Ten list and the Top 25 Most Wanted Terrorists lists would very much aid local New Jersey law enforcement in their efforts to finally bring Joanne Chesimard to justice,” wrote New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez to FBI Director Robert Mueller.

 

“Given that law enforcement has worked collaboratively on this effort for nearly 33 years, I feel these final steps are necessary to ensure that Chesimard is captured and returned to the United States to serve her sentence.”

 

On March 10, in Newark, the New Black Panther Party rallied ‘In Defense of Assata.’

 

“We are pathetically living in an era where the U.S. government’s foreign policy is crippling the world with its doctrine of ‘Regime Change,’” explained an angry Zayid Muhammad, a longtime friend and supporter of Shakur and organizer of the rally.

“This new attack is highly provocative and is not only a renewed threat on Assata’s life, it could be a real, election year opportunistic, threat to the national sovereignty of Cuba.”

 

Mr. Muhammad is concerned that in an economic crisis raising the reward is provocative and might encourage people interested in the money to respond militarily against Cuba. He told The Final Call, “This is a threat to peace. People should be warned that Cuba would defend itself if attacked.”

 

“This is a matter of principle. She’s our sister, our freedom fighter. I’m one of her cubs. This is a propaganda campaign to further demonize her. When the devil acts up the righteous have to do what we have to.”

 

The year is 1973 and an incident of what would now be called “racial profiling” takes place on the New Jersey Turnpike. Ms. Shakur, actively involved in the Black Liberation Army, is traveling with Malik Zayad Shakur (no relation) and Sundiata Acoli. State troopers stop them, reportedly because of a broken headlight.

The three are made to exit the car with their hands up. All of a sudden, shots are fired.

That much everybody seems to agree on.

 

When all was said and done, State Trooper Werner Foerster and Malik Shakur were dead. Ms. Shakur and Mr. Acoli were charged with the death of state trooper Foerster.

The trial found them both guilty.

 

“I was shot with my arms in the air. My wounds could not have happened unless my arms were in the air. The bullet went in under my arm and traveled past my clavicle. It is medically impossible for that to happen if my arms were down,” Ms. Shakur told The Final Call in a 2002 exclusive interview in Cuba.

 

“I was sentenced to life plus 30 years by an all-White jury. What I saw in prison was wall-to-wall Black flesh in chains. Women caged in cells. But we’re the terrorists. It just doesn’t make sense.”

She spent six and a half years in prison, two of those in solitary confinement. During that time she gave birth to her daughter Kakuya.

 

In 1979 during a daring escape that continues to infuriate the New Jersey State Troopers, she was freed. There was a nation-wide search for her. In 1984 she went to Cuba and was united with her daughter.

“I felt it was important for me to be there,” Gail Walker, Executive Director of Pastors for Peace that coordinates humanitarian aid to Cuba told The Final Call.

 

“The rhetoric and vitriol about her is still so high. It’s amazing,” she said. “Ironically someone so physically and emotionally disconnected from her family for all of these years still gets this kind of publicity.”

“For those of us who have traveled to Cuba and understand the role she’s played and Cuba’s role in social issues have to be supportive. She’s an inspiration.”

Vigilantism

Vigilantism 101 in 2012
By Alton H. Maddox, Jr.

 "Vigilantism" is not new to American jurisprudence.  It predates the Articles of Confederation and it certainly predates the U.S. Constitution.  Vigilantism is an arm of white supremacy and also an arm of the white, business community Black's Law Dictionary defines "Vigilantism" as follows: The act of a citizen who takes the law into his or her own hands by apprehending and punishing suspected criminals.

 Vigilantism is a part of a tripartite relationship.  The other components are the business community and the law enforcement community.  The business community funds vigilantism and the law enforcement community protects vigilantism which, in turn, protects the private ownership of property.  This is a function of capitalism.

 In the history of the United States, it has been rare for the criminal justice system to punish a white vigilante for inflicting harm on a person of African ancestry.  You can count those cases on the fingers of one hand.  Congress has never passed anti-lynching legislation.

 A case in point is State v. Johnson.  In an unprecedented fashion, the U.S. Supreme Court assumed original jurisdiction of the lynching of Ed Johnson who allegedly raped a white woman.  Afterwards, law enforcement personnel would hound the two Black lawyers out of the United States.  They had successfully confronted vigilantism in the U.S. Supreme Court.

 There is more to the shooting of an unarmed Trayvon Martin than what is being printed or aired in the news media.  George Zimmerman, the vigilante, is being protected by the law enforcement community, the business community and the news media.  A special prosecutor has been appointed to hide the motives of these special interests.

 Vigilantism is a complex system and it has antennas in many quarters.  For any prosecutor, the killing of Trayvon Martin should be a cakewalk but the prosecution will be hampered by organized, white supremacists.  Blacks can win but it will take more than those who are currently hollering No Justice! No Peace!

 I will be discussing the legal structure of vigilantism and its use as a tool to protect capitalism.  This discussion will happen at an in-depth legal seminar at the Cotton Club, 656 West 125th Street in Harlem this Saturday, March 31 at 9:00 a.m.  The mission of this legal seminar is to protect the mission of Medgar Evers.  His mission was to uproot censorship.

 Thomas Jefferson, a white supremacist, said that "the cost of freedom is eternal vigilance".  This is a truth and it can be spoken by anyone including a white supremacist.  Black's Law Dictionary defines "vigilance" as follows:

Watchfulness; precaution; a proper degree of activity and promptness in pursuing one's rights, in guarding them from infraction, and in discovering opportunities for enforcing one's lawful claims and demands.