Look for Me in the Whirlwind

Sekou Odinga, Dhoruba Bin Wahad, Jamal Joseph

Description

Amid music festivals and moon landings, the tumultuous year of 1969 included an infamous case in the annals of criminal justice and Black liberation: the New York City Black Panther 21. Though some among the group had hardly even met one another, the 21 were rounded up by the FBI and New York Police Department in an attempt to disrupt and destroy the organization that was attracting young people around the world. Involving charges of conspiracy to commit violent acts, the Panther 21 trial—the longest and most expensive in New York history—revealed the illegal government activities which led to exile, imprisonment on false charges, and assassination of Black liberation leaders. Solidarity for the 21 also extended well beyond “movement” circles and included mainstream publication of their collective autobiography, Look for Me in the Whirlwind, which is reprinted here for the first time.

Look for Me in the Whirlwind: From the Panther 21 to 21st-Century Revolutions contains the entire original manuscript, and includes new commentary from surviving members of the 21: Sekou Odinga, Dhoruba Bin Wahad, Jamal Joseph, and Shaba Om. Still-imprisoned Sundiata Acoli, Imam Jamil Al-Amin, and Mumia Abu-Jamal contribute new essays. Never or rarely seen poetry and prose from Afeni Shakur, Kuwasi Balagoon, Ali Bey Hassan, and Michael “Cetewayo” Tabor is included. Early Panther leader and jazz master Bilal Sunni-Ali adds a historical essay and lyrics from his composition “Look for Me in the Whirlwind,” and coeditors kioni-sadiki, Meyer, and Panther rank-and-file member Cyril “Bullwhip” Innis Jr. help bring the story up to date.

At a moment when the Movement for Black Lives recites the affirmation that “it is our duty to win,” penned by Black Liberation Army (BLA) militant Assata Shakur, those who made up the BLA and worked alongside of Assata are largely unknown. This book—with archival photos from David Fenton, Stephen Shames, and the private collections of the authors— provides essential parts of a hidden and missing-in-action history. Going well beyond the familiar and mythologized nostalgic Panther narrative, From the Panther 21 to 21st-Century Revolutions explains how and why the Panther legacy is still relevant and vital today.

Sujets

• Programa de Contrainteligencia
• Grassroots
• Archive
• Social justice
• African American
• Legacy
• BLM
• COINTELPRO

Informations

• Publié par: PM Press
• Date de parution: 15 août 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781629634074
• Langue: English

Extrait

Praise for Look for Me in the Whirlwind
Listen to these voices of young men and women-from places like New Jersey or Panama or New York or Antigua-who poured their insights, courage, and creative energy into New York City s fledgling Black Panther Party that generated chapters in all five boroughs. Unlike out west, where police shot and killed Panthers to disrupt the revolutionary group, New York relied more heavily on courts, jails, and prison to sabotage the organization.
These men and women were tried in the case called the New York 21 -a barrel full of preposterous crimes which the Panthers supposedly conspired to commit-that led to the arrest and imprisonment of all the leaders. The state fully expected that the Panthers would remain behind bars for decades after being convicted, given that a police informant had masqueraded as a Panther until their arrest. However, the powerful example of Afeni Shakur, who defended herself, other defendants who took charge of their legal representation, the fierce dedication of brilliant attorneys, and the organizing talents of Panther supporters on the outside made the trial the longest running case in New York-with a short one-hour jury deliberation before finding the 21 not guilty on all charges. The case received worldwide publicity and garnered financial support from wealthy New Yorkers to help offset the exorbitant costs of legal fees and bail.
This new edition allows a host of new readers to hear these amazing stories and gain from learning the authors reflections and insights for today.
-Kathleen Cleaver, Black Panther Party communications secretary, 1967-1971; senior lecturer, Emory University School of Law
In the midst of this current iteration of the Black freedom struggle, we are in constant search of reminders and sources of strength. Stresses on our time, our bodies, our Spirits, can sometimes feel overwhelming and then we think about what those who struggled before us gave, and continue to give. The Black Panther Party, and the New York 21 in particular, serve a tremendous inspiration. They affirm for us that the struggle is always worth it when it contributes to the liberation of our people. We have been immensely fortunate to share space with and gain wisdom from members of the Party who have sacrificed so much for us, especially Baba Sekou Odinga and those who have served and continue to serve as political prisoners. This release of Look for Me in the Whirlwind challenges all of us-those who are active, and those who have yet to become activated-to step into our sacred duty to fight for our freedom and win.
-Melina Abdullah, #BlackLivesMatter leadership team; chair, California State University, Los Angeles, Department of Pan-African Studies
This book finds us teetering on the precipice of What? Imperial implosion? Democracy devastated? Capitalism collapsed? The Great Society in rags? Hope?! This is a better time than most to mine our past for lessons and inspiration. And for white people to listen to Black history, Black struggle, and Black resistance. We have so much to learn if we are to be allies in building a new future. This book is the right place to start.
-Frida Berrigan, Witness Against Torture, Plowshares, and War Resisters League activist; author of It Runs in the Family: On Being Raised by Radicals and Growing into Rebellious Motherhood
Look for Me in the Whirlwind: From the Panther 21 to 21st-Century Revolutions could not come at a timelier moment in history. As newly emerging grassroots movements challenge state violence against Black people in the U.S., it is essential that new generations learn anew, and that older ones are reminded, of police and FBI tools of repression deployed to demobilize Black radical activism and its growing influence on the Black working class in the 60s. These remembrances, by those framed in the Panther 21 case, are vital building blocks for reconstructing the history of one of the least understood chapters of the Black Panther Party. They are also indispensable reading for those seeking to understand how individual activists and their movements were able to hold their center in the face of harrowing government repression.
-Johanna Fernandez, professor of history, Baruch College Department of Black and Latino Studies, City University of New York; co-curator, Presente! The Young Lords in New York

Look for Me in the Whirlwind: From the Panther 21 to 21st-Century Revolutions
Edited by Matt Meyer d qui kioni-sadiki 2017
2017 by: Kuwasi Balagoon, Joan Bird, Michael Cetewayo Tabor, Robert Collier, Dhoruba Bin Wahad, Richard Harris, Ali Bey Hassan, Jamal, Abayama Katara, Kwando Kinshasa, Baba Odinga, Shaba Om, Curtis Powell, Afeni Shakur, Lumumba Shakur, and Clark Squire Introduction to the 1971 edition Haywood Burns
This edition 2017 by PM Press
ISBN: 978-1-62963-389-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016959612
Cover by Josh MacPhee
Interior by Jonathan Rowland
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PM Press
PO Box 23912
Oakland, CA 94623
www.pmpress.org
Printed in the USA by the Employee Owners of Thomson-Shore in Dexter, Michigan.
www.thomsonshore.com
If people don t know where they have been and what they have been they don t know what they are. They don t know where they re going to have to go or where they still have to be. History is like a clock; it tells you your time of day . It s like a compass that you use to locate yourself on the map of human geography: politically, culturally, financially.
-John Henrik Clarke, Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Professor of African History, Cornell University
You are trying a political case under a criminal guise for the elite ruling class of this Babylon . You deny us our Constitutional rights according to the Fourth Amendment of the racist Constitution of this country and you know you are denying us those rights . If I had one hundred thousand dollars, I wouldn t even bail myself out. You serve to educate Black people better than anybody in the world . All we ask for is justice. That s all we ask for. Four hundred and fifty mother-fucking years we ask for justice.
-Richard Dhoruba Moore (aka Dhoruba Bin Wahad), New York Panther 21 trial transcript
Contents
Dedication to Sundiata Acoli
Foreword: Look for Me in the World by Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin
Look for Yourselves: An Introduction by Shaba Om
Panther 21 Poetry: Newly Discovered or Rarely Seen
Whirlwinds All Around Us: The New York Panther 21 in 21st-Century Revolutionary Context by Matt Meyer
The Past Catches Up to the Present by d qui kioni-sadiki
The Case of Sundiata Acoli
Parole 2016: Ride and Denied by Sundiata Acoli
An Updated History of the New Afrikan Prison Struggle by Sundiata Acoli
A Brief History of the Black Panther Party and Its Place in the Black Liberation Movement by Sundiata Acoli
Senses of Freedom by Sundiata Acoli
Still Believing in Land and Independence by Sekou Odinga
The Last of the Loud: New and Revised Commentary by Dhoruba Bin Wahad
Urban Police Repression: Criminalizing Resistance and Unraveling the FBI s Counter Intelligence Program, Timeline of Empire, Racial Profiling, Police Violence, and Class compiled and written by Dhoruba Bin Wahad and Paul Wolf
Assata Shakur, Excluding the Nightmare after the Dream: The Terrorist Label and the Criminalization of Revolutionary Black Movements in the USA by Dhoruba Bin Wahad
New Age Imperialism: Killing Africa Softly, with Democracy by Dhoruba Bin Wahad
Man-child in Revolution Land by Jamal Joseph
Photo Section: Original Work by Stephen Shames
Look for Me in the Whirlwind: The Collective Autobiography of the New York 21 ( full text, from 1971 edition )
Photo Section: Original work by David Fenton
Counting to 21, Part One: Remembrances, Corrections, Biographies, and Eulogies: Overview by Matt Meyer, with Cyril Innis Jr. (Brother Bullwhip)
Poem for Sundiata by Assata Shakur
Counting to 21, Part Two: New Reflections on Members of the 21
Photo Section: From the Archives
Ready to Step Up: Lumumba Shakur and the Most Notorious Black Panthers by Bilal Sunni-Ali
Consciousness, Community, and the Future by Ali Bey Hassan
Capitalism Plus Dope Equals Genocide (excerpt of the classic 1969 pamphlet) by Michael Cetewayo Tabor
Building a Bridge to the 21st Century (excerpt from an unpublished letter) by Kuwasi Balagoon
How Committed Are You? Excerpts of a Talk at Green for All s Dream Reborn Conference, Memphis, 2008 by Afeni Shakur
Look for Me in the Whirlwind (poem-lyrics from the jazz interpretation) by Bilal Sunni-Ali
Black Panther Party Platform and Program
Afterword by Mumia Abu-Jamal
Acknowledgments
Author/Editor Biographies
Index
DEDICATION TO SUNDIATA ACOLI
A New Afrikan political prisoner of war, mathematician, and computer analyst; former member of the Harlem branch of the Black Panther Party and the New York Panther 21

The editors and authors dedicate this book to Panther 21 member Sundiata Acoli, trapped in the dungeons of the imperial prison system that designates defense against genocide to be a crime. At eighty years old, a political prisoner of war for well over forty years, Sundiata remains a stalwart struggler for the freedom of all and the liberation of the Black/New Afrikan nation; he remains an inspiration for current, past, and future generations because of his undying love for the people, his academic brilliance, his consistency, and his all-encompassing smile in the face of torture.
Though hardly known outside a small circle of ardent supporters, Sundiata s case is surely one of the best examples of