Behind Enemy Lines

Comment

Comment by Original Woman on December 9, 2011 at 2:37am

"Press Release: Response To DA Decision on The Mumia Abu Jamal Case" (Interview with Mumia Abu Jamal 12/7/2011)

http://http://www.prisonradio.org/12-7-11PressRelease.html

 

 

Comment by Original Woman on November 25, 2011 at 7:20pm

ALL OUT FOR MUMIA
FRI., DEC. 9 • PHILADELPHIA
THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS INCARCERATION AND FRAMEUP

 

Constitution Center, 525 Arch St, Philadelphia
7:30 p.m. sharp - 10:30 pm, (doors open at 7 p.m.)

NO TO LIFE IN PRISON, FREE MUMIA NOW!!!
No to the Racist Death Penalty, No to the Prison Industrial Complex,
No to Police Terrorism, No to U.S. Wars at Home and Abroad,
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS, OCCUPY WALL STREET

HEAR: Cornel West, Immortal Technique, Ramona Africa, Vijay Prashad,
Michelle Alexander (by video), Amina & Amiri Baraka, IMPACT Youth Repertory,
African Drum & Dance Ensemble, Attorney Michael Coard

PICK UP PALM CARDS AT SOLIDARITY CENTER, 55 W. 17th St., 5th Floor,
212-633-6646 anytime after 2 p.m. weekdays
Call 212-330-8029 for bus tickets & other locations for pickup of palm card.
Buses leave NYC at 3 p.m., $20 roundtrip from 33rd St. and 8th Ave.

 

Comment by Original Woman on October 15, 2011 at 3:15pm

Today is the 63rd b(earth) day of the beloved Robert "Seth" Hayes. Hayes is one of the longest-held political prisoners in the United Snakes of AmeriKKKa. Seth has been denied parole over 5 times due to his ongoing activity in the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army.  He has now served 15 years over his sentenced time.

 

Write to Seth at:

Robert Seth Hayes #74-A-2280

Sullivan Correctional Facility

325 Riverside Drive, P.O. Box 116

Fallsber NY 12733-0116

 

Follow @FreeSeth on twitter

Join the Free Robert Seth Hayes group on FB ~> http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54743617988 

#Uhuru #FreeEmALL #FTP

Comment by Original Woman on October 13, 2011 at 2:41pm

SENDING B(EARTH)DAY BLESSINGS TO HERMAN WALLACE OF THE ANGOLA 3. Wallace has been kept in solitary cofinement at Angola Prison/Slave Plantation since 1972 for a crime he DID NOT COMMIT!!! 39 years later, at the age of 70, he remains there, waiting for JUST US!! FTP(FREE THE PRISONERS) FREE THE ANGOLA 3!!

 WRITE WALLACE AT:

Herman Wallace

#76759

Elayn Hunt Correctional Center

CCR - B - #6

PO Box 174

St Gabriel, LA 70776

USA TAKE ACTION AT: http://www.angola3.org/takeaction.aspx   #FreeEmALL

 

Comment by Original Woman on August 16, 2011 at 6:26pm

Happy Born Day to political prisoner Hanif Shabazz Bey of the Virgin Island 5

Comment by Naji Mujahid on August 24, 2010 at 10:13pm

Tuesday, August 31, 2010; 2 pm EST

US Human Rights Network

Black August Commemorative Educational Call: Political Prisoners, Prisoners of War in the United States and the legacy of repression and resistance

A Combined effort of the Political Prisoner and State Repression Working Group and USHRN Training Committee

To participate in this call, please register using the following link:
https://www.accuconference.com/customer/Registration/index.aspx?pkR...

Black August
is a month of great commemorative significance for peoples’ of African descent throughout the African Diaspora, but particularly those in the U.S. where the commemorative tradition originated. Black August, as noted by Mumia Abu-Jamal, “is a month of divine meaning, of repression and radical resistance, of injustice and divine justice; of repression and righteous rebellion; of individual and collective efforts to free the slaves and break the chains that bind us” (http://sfbayview.com/2009/black-august/).

THE ORIGIN OF BLACK AUGUST

As the battle for civil come human rights raged in the streets across the United States and around the world, the awareness of those incarcerated for social as well as political action grew and the prisons also caught afire. There arose behind the prison walls a consciousness and resistance, from the Montgomery Bus Boycotters, Birmingham Children's Crusade, Greensboro Sit-in, and Freedom Riders, which persists to this day. While Black August originated in the prisons of California in the 1970’s to honor Jonathan Jackson, George Jackson, William Christmas, James McClain and Khatari Gaulden, it is widely commemorated across the United States.

It was sparked when Jonathan Jackson, 17 year old brother of imprisoned revolutionary human rights activist, George Jackson, was gunned down outside the Marin County California courthouse on August 7, 1970. Johnathan had attempted to liberate three imprisoned Black Freedom Fighters: James McClain, William Christmas and Ruchell Magee. Ruchell Magee is the sole survivor of the August 7th rebellion. He was the co-defendant of former political prisoner Angela Davis. There trials were severed and though he was acquitted of the most serious charges, including kidnapping, Ruchell has been locked down for 45 plus years; most of it in solitary confinement.

George Jackson was assassinated on August 21, 1971 by San Quentin prison guards. The assassination was a deliberate move by the US government to eliminate his successful and revolutionary leadership. In the midst of the government orchestrated murder of George, three prison guards were killed and six Black and Latino prisoners were charged with the guards' deaths. These six human rights activists became known as the San Quentin Six.

Khatari Gaulden, a key intellectual architect of the Black August commemorative tradition, was murdered as a result of the government's malicious denial medical treatment. He suffered a mysterious accident on the San Quentin Prison yard in August 1978.

To honor these sacrifices and the revolutionary vision advocated by George Jackson and others, brothers throughout the prisons of California banded together to continue the fight for dignity and human rights. Black August commemorators in the prisons wore black armbands on their left arm and studied revolutionary works, particularly those of Comrade George Jackson, abstained from music and television, and fasted from sun-up to sundown. Commemorators also exercised daily to sharpen their minds, bodies, and spirits in honor of the collective principles of self-sacrifice, inner fortitude, and discipline needed to advance the struggle for self-determination and other human rights. Black August is a commemorative time to embrace the principles of communion, unity, self-sacrifice, political education, physical training and determined resistance.

THE SPREAD AND GROWTH OF BLACK AUGUST

In the late 1970's, the observance and practice of Black August spread from the prisons of California and Black activists throughout the US, under the leadership of the Black August Organizing Committee (BAOC), began observing it. In alliance with the BAOC, members of the New Afrikan Independence Movement (NAIM) began the practice and popularization of Black August in the early 1980’s. During Black August, the community focuses on Study, Community Education and Mobilization of Afrikan people to for self-reaffirming action to advance our struggle for self-determination and national liberation.

As the Black August practice and tradition spread, it grew to commemorate not only the sacrifices in California’s prisons, but the historic struggles and sacrifices of Black people against white supremacy, colonialism, and imperialism. A sampling of the “righteous rebellion” and “racist repression” that defines Black August include: The arrival of the first enslaved Africans to Jamestown, Virginia in August 1619; the start of the great Haitian revolution in August 1791; the call for a general strike by enslaved Africans by Henry Highland Garnett on August 22nd, 1843; the initiation of one of the major networks that conducted the Underground Railroad on August 2, 1850; the March on Washington on August 28th, 1963; Gabriel Prosser's rebellion of August 30th, 1800.; the rebellion of Nat Turner on August 21st, 1831; the Watts rebellion of August 1965; the defense of the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika (PG – RNA) from a FBI assault in Mississippi on August 18, 1971; the bombing of the MOVE family by Philadelphia police on August 8, 1978. Black August is also a commemorative month of birth and transition. Dr. Mutulu Shakur (New Afrikan prisoner of war), the legendary Pan-African Leader Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Maroon Russell Shoatz (political prisoner) and Chicago Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton were born in August. The great scholar and theoretician W.E.B. Dubois died in Ghana on August 27, 1963.

BLACK AUGUST AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT AND DEFENSE

This history of activism has not gone unnoticed by the United States government in its longstanding commitment to make North America safe and prosperous for European commercial interests and arrest the fears of its beneficiaries. Today, along with Ruchell Magee, the world's longest held political prisoner, there are dozens more human rights activists who have been held for the past 30 and 35 years despite impeccable conduct and continued service to the community both in and out of the prison walls. Most are survivors of the Justice Department, J. Edgar Hoover, and the FBI's illegal vigilante enterprise commonly known as COINTELPRO, Counter Intelligence Program.

Their continued imprisonment is an indictment of the United States and its false claims of democracy and freedom. Before any COINTELPRO target “broke any laws”, they were simply exercising their constitutional and human rights. It was the State’s unwillingness to change its relationship to the historically oppressed groups in this country, i.e. do justice, pay reparations, recognize and honor their humanity that resulted in literal warfare. Non-violent direct action, as in India, South Africa, Algeria, Cuba and resistance struggles around the world, escalated to the use of force.

The United States, like other governments, has not acknowledged that this happened; the acknowledgement of which would be the first step towards addressing these violations and resolving that they will not happen again. It continues to deny that it holds any political prisoners, prisoners of war, and exiles (pp/pow/exiles), especially from the human rights battles of the 1960s up to the 1980s. In fact, since the safe guards put in place as a result the U.S. Senate's Church Committee's investigation and recommendations are now being swept aside, we can be assured that it will happen again. Recent legislation such as the USA PATRIOT Act has restored or legalized many of the extra-legal methods that were used in the past.

BLACK AUGUST AND THE CONTINUING LEGACY OF DOMESTIC REPRESSION

By holding these political activists, with or without the use of force, for excessive sentences, under the harshest possible conditions, including the threat of death, the State is saying, "if you want to protest/demonstrate/advocate/etc., you will do so in a manner acceptable to the government, or else you will face the consequences evident in our assassinations and imprisonment of those that came before you." Thus, this issue is of concern to all of us, beyond the practical matters of abuse and injustice or tactical debate regarding property destruction or the use of force.

In his "Beyond Vietnam" speech at Riverside Church, in New York, April 4, 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, pointed out that " Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable." While most activists did not use force, some did. They met the State's violent onslaught on African, Latino, Native communities with equal vigor. The US, rather than abide by U.N. protocols, criminalized these activists and has attempted to delegitimize their role in the struggles within the United States for national independence and racial justice. The government must differentiate between righteous rebellion and illegality as is required by its international human rights obligations.

These men and women are "prisoners of war," an internationally defined designation for certain actors within an armed conflict. Moreover, combatants struggling against colonial and alien domination and racist regimes, when captured as prisoners are to be accorded the status of prisoners of war (POW) and their treatment in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Conventions Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 12 August 1949. (General Assembly Resolution 3103 (XXVIII)). This is particularly true of those who identify themselves as POWs, given that their resistance results directly from the U.N. acknowledged “crime against humanity” that was the slave trade and the genocide of the Native peoples.

PURPOSE OF THE EDUCATIONAL CALL

The purpose of this Educational call is to highlight the ongoing plight of political prisoners and prisoners of war in the United States, particularly those falsely imprisoned since the 1960’s and 70’s, many of who have now been held illegally for more than three decades! In addition, we aim to highlight the efforts of activists within the Network to address this human rights violation in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR process). In the spring, activists submitted two reports addressing the plight of political prisoners and the question of domestic repression and torture.

These reports can be accessed utilizing the following links:

http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/default/files/US_Political_Prisone...

http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/default/files/Political_Repression...

NEXT STEPS

We will outline what you and your organization can do to support the recommendations of these works and help free the political prisoners, prisoners of war, and other victims of state repression, detention, and torture.

To participate in this call, please register using the following link:
https://www.accuconference.com/customer/Registration/index.aspx?pkR...
PRESENTERS

Efia Nwangaza, Co-Author UN Reports on COINTELPRO/Civil Rights Era Political Prisoners, Prisoners of War, and Exiles (PP/POW/Exiles)/ Domestic Repression is a SNCC Veteran, Life long Civil/Human Rights Activist-Lawyer, Popular Educator and Organizer, Guest Columnist, Television/radio host and media justice activist. She is the Founding/President and CEO Afrikan-American Institute for Policy Studies & Planning, Malcolm X Center for Self Determination, and WMXP-LP, Greenville, SC.

Kumasi
is a veteran of the street fighting between Los Angeles youth and combined police and national guard forces during the 1965 uprising called Watts Rebellion. 1966 -1975, organizer, agitator, and operator within the leadership circles of the black militant prison movement in California, 1978-79. Opened up L.A.Chapter of Patrice Lumumba Coalition, 1980's-90's. Southern California Coordinator for Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and Director of its Prison Initiatives. Presently, historian and So. Calif. Representative of Black August Organizing Committee.

Comment by Naji Mujahid on August 3, 2010 at 11:23am

Black August 2010 in DC
sponsored by the Black August Planning Organization (BAPO)
For More INFO:  202-271-7763, Facebook, or black.august07@gmail.com
http://legacybookclub.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/black-august-in-dc-2...
8/1 Black August Unity Reception co-sponsored by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) beginning at 5pm at Sankofa Video & Books 2714 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC

Beginning at 5 o'clock, this gathering will coincide with the film showing of Finally Got the News, part of the Black August Sunday Film Series at Sankofa. Members of BAPO and MXGM will be on hand to engage in lively and politically educational discussion. All are encouraged to join. Refreshments will be available.

8/7                African Heritage Festival from noon to dusk at Roots Public Charter School, 15 Kennedy St NW

The African Heritage Festival will be an all day event featuring performances, food, vendors, info booths, and community services.  Free admission; bring the whole family.  For more info or vending opportunities, contact 202-256-2518
8/8                Discussion with Standish Willis, Esq. regarding the report that he submitted to the United Nations citing Human Rights violations as they relate to political prisoners in the United States from 2-430 at MLK library room A-10.  901 G st NW, WDC
Earlier this year, Standish Willis and others submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Commission to outline the string of human rights abuses related to political prisoners and political repression in the United States.  This submission was a stakeholders report to the Universal Periodic Review which is a mechanism used by the UN to evaluate member States regarding there adherence (or lack thereof) to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related treaties.  Through this mechanism citizens and NGOs (e.g. stakeholders) are able to participate in this evaluation process.
The work of Mr. Willis, and others, follows in the footsteps of Malcolm X, who advised that we should not diminish our struggle by settling for civil rights, but should take our grievances to the world stage as part of a demand for the respect of our human rights.  We want to support this effort and do what we can to raise awareness and encourage involvement.  BAPO intends to join the many other organizations within the US Human Rights Network (www.ushrnetwork.org).
Read the report: http://www.ushrnetwork.org/sites/default/files/US_Political_Prisone....
Also see http://www.ushrnetwork.org/campaign_upr

8/12             Performance and Discussion with Bilal Sunni Ali from 7-10pm at Roots Activity Learning Center, 6222 North Capitol St NW, WDC

This program will feature Republic of New Afrika citizen and world-class saxophonist, Bilal Sunni Ali.  In the 1970s he was a member of Gil Scott-Heron’s Midnight Band.  In 1981, Bilal was charged in the “Brinks Conspiracy” case along with Mutulu Shakur and his wife Fulani Ali.  Defended by Chokwe Lumumba, Bilal and Fulani were able to beat the government’s trumped up case.  He will speak from his perspective as a life-long freedom fighter and musician.  Tickets are $15; for more info contact Baye Services at 202-256-2518.
8/14             Book Showcase and Discussion from 2-4pm at Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, WDC

The Greatest Threat by political prisoner Marshall Eddie Conway
The Greatest Threat puts the government’s war on the Panthers into historical context. Marshall  “Eddie” Conway, a veteran of the Black Panther Party (and former Minister of Defense for the Baltimore chapter) who has been held as a political prisoner for four decades, has compiled the available documentation  and research on COINTELPRO, and  traced its dirty history, from the active repression of the black revolutionary movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, to the conditions of Black America today and the dozens of political prisoners who remain in U.S. prisons on charges stemming from their involvement in the Black liberation movement.
The Discussion will be led by Baltimore BPP veteran Rev. Ann Chambers
8/21             Black Women and the Prison Industrial Complex
from 3-6pm at Sisterspace & Books, 3717 Georgia Ave NW, WDC

Co-sponsored by Sisterspace and D.A.D.A Sister’s Circle, BAPO will host Theresa Shoatz [daughter of Russell ‘Maroon’ Shoatz] and Crystal Hayes [daughter of Robert Seth Hayes] as they discuss the cases and conditions of their fathers, as well as, how this relates to their own experiences.  Also, as part of the discussion, Monica Bowles, an activist with ONE DC, will speak from her personal experience as an ex-offender on the issue of the alarmingly high rise of incarcerated Black women who now represent the fastest growing demographic within the prison system.
8/26             “Let Your Motto Be Resistance”, Lecture by Dr. CR Gibbs from 2-4pm at Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave NW, WDC
Dr. Gibbs will give a historical account of slave rebellions and other forms of resistance to slavery in the Western hemisphere.  Dr. Gibbs is an internationally noted lecturer, exhibitor of historical artifacts, and historian of the African Diaspora. He is the author/co-author of six books including “Black Explorers, 2300 B.C. To The Present,” “Black Inventors: From Africa To America,” and “Black, Copper, & Bright: The District of Columbia’s Black Civil War Regiment,” the subject of an upcoming documentary by Three Dimensional Publishing.
8/28             Happily Natural Day and 4th Annual Pilgrimage to Richmond, VA in honor of Gabriel’s Rebellion all day (8a-8p) bus trip to RVA.  $35.  For ticket info contact 202-470-7780
This year our annual pilgrimage will coincide with Happily Natural Day. Participants will be exposed to the history and landmarks of Gabriel Prosser’s attempted revolt in 1800 including Spring Creek, where the rebellion was planned and Shockoe Bottom, the major slave market in Richmond. We will also learn of the history of slavery as it relates to the area and visit the major slave port of the James River. Catered lunch and a DVD featuring a panel discussion on political prisoners will be included and before coming back to DC we will stop at Happily Natural Day.  The tour guides for the pilgrimage will be Ana Edwards, Chairperson of the Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project and co-founder of the Defenders for Freedom, Justice, and Equality and Janine Bell, founder and director of the Elegba Folklore Society.
TENTATIVE ITENERARY: http://legacybookclub.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/tentative-itenerary-...
 
Sankofa Sunday Sunday Film Series for Black August
co-sponsored by BAPO
Sankofa Video & Books, 2714 Georgia Ave, WDC
8/1     Finally Got the News
FINALLY GOT THE NEWS is a forceful, unique documentary that reveals the activities of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers inside and outside the auto factories of Detroit. Through interviews with the members of the movement, footage shot in the auto plants, and footage of leafleting and picketing actions, the film documents their efforts to build an independent black labor organization that, unlike the UAW, will respond to worker's problems, such as the assembly line speed-up and inadequate wages faced by both black and white workers in the industry.  Beginning with a historical montage, from the early days of slavery through the subsequent growth and organization of the working class, FINALLY GOT THE NEWS focuses on the crucial role played by the black worker in the American economy.
8/8     Can’t Jail the Revolution/Break Down the Walls
These two 30 minute videos use footage compiled from over 40 social justice media productions to chronicle the perspectives of political prisoners and of war within the United States. Historical footage is combined with interviews of activists from revolutionary movements waged by African Americans, Puerto Ricans, Native Americans and Whites against oppression. The prisoners, victims of government sponsored attacks on liberation movements in the United States and its colonies, discuss how they and their companions have been murdered, forced underground, driven into exile and unjustly imprisoned since the late 60s.
8/15   Chicago 10
At the 1968 Democratic National Convention, anti-Vietnam War protestors who were denied permits for demonstrations repeatedly clashed with the Chicago Police Department. Tensions mounted, and an already fraught week culminated in riots broadcast live to a television audience of more than 50 million, further polarizing the nation.  Seeking a scapegoat for the riots, the U.S. government held eight of the most vocal activists accountable for the violence and brought them to trial a year later.  A parable of hope, courage and ultimate victory, CHICAGO 10’s unique and unconventional style uses motion-capture animation to portray actual events from the trial, recreating courtroom dramas based on transcripts and interviews. CHICAGO 10 moves from the streets of Chicago to the courtroom at an accelerated pace, giving the audience a ringside seat for one of the most controversial trials of the period.
8/22   Pete O’Neil:  A Panther in Africa
The tumultuous period known as "the '60s" continues to cast a long shadow across the contemporary American experience. Few, if any, of the seminal conflicts that drove the era — civil rights, war and peace, racism, women's liberation — have been fully resolved today. Nor have all the key players in that national drama been tried, pardoned, punished, vindicated, or even allowed to come home.  A Panther in Africa is the story of Pete O'Neal, one of the last exiles from the time of Black Power, when young rebels advocated black pride, unity, community service and sometimes, violence. Facing gun charges in Kansas City in 1970, O'Neal fled to Algeria, where he joined other Panther exiles. Unlike the others, however, O'Neal never found his way back to America. He moved on to Tanzania, where for over 30 years he has struggled to continue his life of social activism — and to hold on to his identity as an African-American.
8/29   Bastards of the Party
BASTARDS OF THE PARTY draws its title from this passage in “City of Quartz”: “The Crips and the Bloods are the bastard offspring of the political parties of the ’60s. Most of the gangs were born out of the demise of those parties. Out of the ashes of the Black Panther Party came the Crips and the Bloods and the other gangs.”  BASTARDS OF THE PARTY traces the timeline from that “great migration” to the rise and demise of both the Black Panther Party and the US Organization in the mid- 1960s, to the formation of what is currently the culture of gangs in Los Angeles and around the world.  The documentary also chronicles the role of the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI in the evolution of gang culture. During his tenure from 1950 to 1966, Chief Robert Parker bolstered the ranks of the LAPD with white recruits from the south, who brought their racist attitudes with them. Parker’s racist sympathies laid the groundwork for the volatile relationship between the black community and the LAPD that persists today.

Comment by Naji Mujahid on January 11, 2010 at 12:04am

SEKOU ODINGA
LEGAL DEFENSE FUND

LONG TIME NEW AFRIKAN LIBERATION SOLDIER/PRISONER OF WAR, SEKOU ODINGA IS SEEKING FUNDS IN ORDER TO LAUNCH A POST CONVICTION APPEAL.

SEKOU HAS BEEN IN CONTACT WITH A LAWYER, WHO SPECIALIZES IN POST CONVICTION APPEALS AND HAS TOLD SEKOU THAT HE WILL TAKE ON HIS APPEAL AT A CUT RATE OF 20K. NORMAL LEGAL FEES FOR APPEALS GO AS HIGH AS 50K.

SEKOU SAYS THAT THIS APPEAL IS HIS BEST (AND POSSIBLY ONLY) CHANCE AT SECURING HIS RELEASE. HE ISN'T ELIGIBLE FOR A PAROLE HEARING UNTIL AUGUST OF 2033.

SEKOU WILL BE SETTING UP A SEKOU ODINGA LEGAL DEFENSE COMMITTEE IN THE NEAR FUTURE BUT UNTIL THEN PLEASE SEND ALL FUNDS IN FORM OF A U.S POSTAL MONEY ORDER TO:


SEKOU ODINGA
#09A3775
P.O. BOX 700
WALLKILL, NY 12589



"My name is Sekou Mgobogi Abdullah Odinga. I am a Muslim and a POW. I was born in Queens, N.Y., on June 17, 1944. I was raised in a family of nine — Father, Mother, three brothers, and three sisters. I was kicked out of school in the tenth grade for defending myself against an attack by a teacher.

"At age 16 I was busted for robbery and sentenced to three years as a 'Youthful Offender.' I spent 32 months at Great Meadows Correctional Institution (Comstock) in upstate New York, where I finished my high school education. In 1961-63 Comstock was very racist. No Blacks worked in any capacity at the prison. One of the sergeants working at Comstock was the head of the KKK. My first political education came at Comstock. In 1963, I was caught in a serious race riot at Comstock.

"The teachings of Malcolm X, who was then with the Nation of Islam, became a big influence on me at that time. After my release, I became involved in Black political activity in New York, especially revolutionary, nationalist politics. In 1964, I also became involved in the Cultural Nationalist movement. By 1965, I had joined the organization of African American Unity, founded by El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X). I began to move with and among many young African Nationalists. My political consciousness was growing daily. I was reading and listening to many Afrikan Nationalists from Africa and the U.S. and became convinced that only after a successful armed struggle would New Afrikans gain freedom and self-determination. I also became convinced that integration would never solve the problems faced by New Afrikans.

"After Malcolm's death, the OAAU never seemed to me to be going in the direction I desired. By late '65 or early '66 I hooked up with other young Revolutionary Nationalists to organize ourselves for the purpose of implementing what we felt was Malcolm's program. We organized the Grassroot Advisory Council, in South Jamaica, New York. We were all very young and inexperienced and got caught up in a local anti-poverty program.

"By 1967 I was thoroughly disillusioned with that, when I heard about the Black Panther Party (BPP) in Oakland, California. Myself, along with some of my closest comrades, decided this was the type of organization we wanted to be a part of. We decided that some of us would go to California, investigate, and join the BPP if it was what it claimed to be. By the spring of 1968, we heard that representatives from the BPP were coming to New York and there was a possibility of organizing a chapter. I attended the meeting and decided to join and help build the BPP in New York. I became the section leader of the Bronx section, sharing an office with the Harlem section.

"On January 17, 1969, the day Bunchy Carter and John Huggins were murdered in Los Angeles, I went underground. I was told that Joan Bird, a sister in the party, had been busted and severely brutalized by the police and that the police were looking for me in connection with a police shooting. On April 22, 1969, I awoke at 5:30 AM to the sound of wood splitting around my door. When I investigated, I found that my house was completely surrounded with pigs on my roof, fire escape, in the halls, on the street, etc. I was fortunate enough to evade them and go deeper into hiding.

In 1970, I was asked to go to Algeria to help set up the International section of the BPP. After the split in the Party, caused by the COINTELPRO program, I decided to come back to the U.S. to continue the struggle. I continued to work until my capture in October of 1981.
"In 1970, I was asked to go to Algeria to help set up the International section of the BPP. After the split in the Party, caused by the COINTELPRO program, I decided to come back to the U.S. to continue the struggle. I continued to work until my capture in October of 1981. I was charged with six counts of attempted murder of police, for shooting over my shoulder while being chased and shot at by police. I was also charged with nine predicate acts of a RICO indictment. I was convicted of the attempted murders and given twenty-five years-to-life for it. I was convicted of two counts of the RICO indictment (the liberation of Assata Shakur and expropriation of an armored truck) and given twenty years and $25,000 fine for each RICO charge. All sentences run consecutively. " – Sekou Odinga, in Can't Jail the Spirit, 4th edition, March 1998.

Sekou recently finished his federal sentence and is now serving his 25 to life New York sentence.

Comment by Naji Mujahid on January 10, 2010 at 11:49pm

Robert Seth Hayes Update

Dec. 26, 2009

We are happy to report that all disciplinary charges against Seth due to his recent diabetic episode have been dropped. He is back on the honor block and no longer in keep-lock. It is truly amazing to think that a diabetic incident in which a person's blood sugar plunges to 32 and then soars to 620 within a short amount of time can be classified as a disciplinary incident, but all DOCS rules are made to be broken when it comes to our freedom fighters.

However, this fluctuation in blood sugar levels is a continuing problem for Seth, as the prison does not provide a diabetic diet, although it is classified as a medical facility. Fresh fruits and vegetables, so important for diabetics, are practically impossible to find in either the visiting room machines or the commissary, not to mention the mess hall.

Apparently NYSDOCS has never heard of whole grains or a heart healthy diet. One has to wonder how dangerous a green pepper, a cherry tomato or some spinach leaves must be in the hands of an inmate and what a threat this is to the guards. An entire green salad would probably cause a total lockdown!

Seth's wife Sheila is working hard on being given permission to bring Seth fresh fruits and vegetables when she visits, but prisoners at Wende are only allowed two 20 pound food packages a year. Obviously, Sheila cannot do this alone and needs our help.

We still need to call both Wende and Commissioner Brian Fischer in Albany and demand that a diabetic diet be provided to all inmates with diabetes at all NYS Correctional Facilities.

The number to call at Wende is: 716-937-4000. Ask to speak with the warden about this issue. Make sure you use Seth's DIN number: 74A2280

The NYSDOCS number is 518-457-8126. Ask to speak with Commissioner Brian Fischer about this issue.

Obviously, due to the force of inertia, this will be difficult to accomplish. At the same time, we should stress that Seth's wife Sheila is more than willing to provide him with some fresh produce until the dietary issue is resolved.

Write to Seth. It is very important that he receive letters at this time:
Robert Seth Hayes #74A2280, Wende C.F., P.O. Box 1187, Wende Rd.,
Alden, NY 14004-1187

Comment by Lorenzo on November 5, 2009 at 7:20pm

Peace Family, I haven't heard much from Behind Enemy Lines lately. I wanna give a shout out to all our comrades that's behind the walls serving life bids but still keeping their heads up. It's a Blessing to hear from these brothas and sisthas. Keep in mind that their struggle and our struggle is one in the same, and they would love to hear from us. I have a list of Political Prisoners that we can write to so whoever interested, please hit me up anytime. Let's Get Free! Yo Comrade and Brotha Lorenzo!

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