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Title: Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown) on Violence View count: 162 Rating: 1.0 (1 ratings) Description: News conference by Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, then known as H. Rap Brown, chairman of the militant Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), held at 1234 U St., the Washington, D. C., headquarters of the group, July 27, 1967. At the time, U Street was a throbbing center of African American business and cultural activity. Across the street was the world-famous Ben's Chili Bowl at 1213 U St., where SNCC workers, including Kwame Ture (then Stokely Carmichael) often ate or ordered takeout, and, next to restaurant, the Lincoln Theatre (which was recently restored and reopened). The SNCC headquarters has since been torn down and the area is being racially gentrified. Imam Al-Amin's head is bandaged because he'd been shot in the face by a sheriff's deputy at Cambridge, Md., two days earlier, following a speech to the black community. His denim jacket was, in effect, the uniform worn by SNCC field workers, who were originally dispatched thruout the "Jim Crow," or racially segregated, South to conduct voter-registration drives, nonviolent direct-action desegregation campaigns and "Freedom Schools," which not only taught basic literacy, but also helped fill in the missing pages of African American and African history. In 1966, the multi-racial, non-violent SNCC, which originally sought the integration of African Americans into the mainstream of U. S. society, evolved into an all-black group that sought Black Power, or control of the economic, political and social destiny and affairs of African American communities, and advocated and practiced self-defense -- armed, if necessary -- against racist attacks. Imam Al-Amin briefly served as the "minister of justice" of the Oakland, Calif.-based Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP). While being incarcerated in 1971, Imam Al-Amin embraced Islam. Upon his release, he became a respected Muslim cleric, leading a small, mostly black "ummah," or religious community, at Atlanta, Ga.'s historically black West End. In 2000, he was accused of killing one sheriff's deputy and wounding another and convicted in 2002. He is presently incarcerated at the infamous "Supermax" federal prison at Florence, Colo., which houses a number of convicted domestic and foreign terrorists. However, he continues to maintain that he is the innocent victim of an ongoing government conspiracy, which began in the 1960s. For more information, see the three-part series, "Rabble rouser: The FBI conspiracy against H. Rap Brown," by historian Paul Lee in "The Michigan Citizen" (Detroit), which could be read at the following link: www.michigancitizen.com (AP Television News Video Courtesy Getty Images) Tags: jamil abdullah al-amin, h. rap brown, washington, d. c., u street, black power, ben's chili bowl, jim crow, black panther party, kwame ture, stokely carmichael, lincoln theatre, Author: pauldarwinlee |
