REMEMBERING BOBBY JAMES HUTTON, BLACK PANTHER PARTY FOR SELF DEFENSE

 

April 21, 1950 - April 6, 1968

 

BOBBY HUTTON -
The Day My Beloved Brother Comrade was Murdered

by Terry M. Cotton

On April 6, 1968, two days after Martin Luther King had been murdered, I got dressed and prepared to go to Central Headquarters of the Black Panther Party (BPP) along with Panthers Jimmy Charley and Terry Claridy. I read a chapter of the "Red Book - Quotations by Chairman Mao" before I left. We arrived at Central Headquarters at 45th and Grove St. to get assigned to various locations to sell the Party's newspaper "The Black Panther," collect donations and pass out leaflets in the community about the barbecue for the "Free Huey Newton" defense committee to be held at then called - Defremery Park on April 7th.  

Later that evening, around 4pm, other Panthers and I, in groups of two and three, were circulating in the community and going to high schools spreading the word that despite the murder of Dr. King, they should stay cool, lay low and refrain from all counterproductive and random violence, because riots would cause nothing but mass genocide. If trouble erupted, it would be open season on blacks and the BPP would be the first attacked.  

Around 6pm, some Party members and I met at a Panther's apartment off San Pablo Ave. We decided that we would ride in three vehicles transporting food and supplies for the barbecue picnic and at the same time we would observe and patrol the police activities in the Black community.

Around 7:30pm, after patrolling and picking up supplies for the rally, two policemen turned their cruiser south observing and following us onto 28th street and Union street where we had stopped for a minute for Eldridge Cleaver who had to urinate. Eldridge and L'il Bobby Hutton were riding in a 1961 Ford with several other Panthers. I was riding shotgun, in the center of the back seat, armed with a banana clip 30 caliber carbine. Panther Charles Bursey was to the left of me and Donnell Lankford was to the right. The officers pulled their cruiser to a stop in the middle of the street side by side with these vehicles. (The 1961 Ford with Florida license plates had been observed all week because it was known by the Oakland Police as a Panther vehicle.) Gunfire erupted at once, two wild shots were followed instantly by a deluge of lead that riddled the squad cars and shots were fired by police into the rear window of the 1954 Ford in which I was riding.  

More policemen flocked to the shooting scene. Charles Bursey was able to get out of the car and escape the scene. Donnell Lankford, who was to the right of me, attempted to open the door so we could take cover, but the door was jammed. The door finally came open, but as soon as we tried to exit the vehicle, there were about a dozen police with their guns and shotguns drawn and thrust into our faces. They were making racist, insulting remarks while we were lying face down, handcuffed behind our backs, helpless on the pavement. They made statements such as, "you niggers just lost Martin Luther King and if you make one move we will not hesitate to blow your heads off."  

We were then put into the police paddy wagon. Donnell, John L. Scott and I were the first to be arrested. The over- reactionary pigs sprayed mace into our eyes after we were already handcuffed and helpless. As the police wagon drove away from the scene, I could barely see out the back, but it appeared to me that there were black people running behind the wagon saying, "Free these brothers, you racist cops." I told my comrades in the police wagon that this was a deliberate ambush, attempting to commit genocide against the BPP.  

The booking officer asked me if I wanted to make a statement after being booked. I said no, I was taking the 5th amendment until I consulted with my attorney, Charles Garry. They put Lankford, Scott and me into different holding cells. I could hear racist statements like, "They should kill Eldridge Cleaver. He's like a wild animal running amok." Note: the ambush of other Party members was still going on at this time. Later that night, Harold Rodgers, Charles Garry's assistant attorney, visited me in my cell and told me that one Party member did not survive. That was the Party's first member and treasurer, Bobby James Hutton.

 

Long Live The Spirit of L"il Bobby Hutton.

Terry M.cotteon, former political prisoner and BPP member.

 

http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/Memorials/Bobby_Hutton_Murdered.html

 

 

MARCH 6, 2013 CONGRATULATIONS GHANA ON 56 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

 

 

 


After the Second World War (1939-1945), things began to change in the then Gold Coast. The discrimination against educated Ghanaians in the civil service was on the increase and high positions were reserved for white men while Ghanaians became "hewers of wood and drawers of water". The European and Asian firms were also seriously exploiting the Africans. The Ex-servicemen (Ghanaian soldiers who fought in the World War), helped in another way to expose the weakness of the British.

On June 12th, 1949 Kwame Nkrumah formed a radical nationalist party - Ghana's Convention People’s Party (C.P.P) with its motto "self-government now". He was joined by Kojo Botsio, K.A Gbedemah and others.

On 9th January, 1950 the C.P.P organized a nation-wide boycott and strike for workers and the masses. The people refused to buy all British goods. Workers were warned not to cause any trouble. In the cause of the riots however, two policemen were shot dead. On January 21st 1950, Nkrumah and other leading C.P.P members including Kojo Botsio and K.A. Gbedemah were imprisoned at the James Fort Prison, Accra, on charges arising from pursuing what was termed as "Positive Action" against the Government. The imprisonment of Nkrumah made him a hero and martyr in the eyes of the people.

In 1951, the pace was set for general elections. Kwame Nkrumah was in prison when the elections were conducted. He overwhelmingly won the elections and was released by the then Governor, Sir Charles Noble Arden-Clark to head the new government. This however became the British Colony’s first African government. In March 1952, Kwame Nkrumah was designated Prime Minister. He was to appoint a cabinet, which was not to be responsible to the Governor but the Assembly.Kwame Nkrumah in June 1953 submitted proposals for a new constitution. It was upon those that the April 1954 constitution was introduced making the country virtually self-governing. This new constitution provided for an All-African cabinet from an enlarged legislature. A general election followed in June 1954 from which the C.P.P won 79 out of the 104 seats of the National Assembly.

In 1956, another election was held in response to a pledge by the British Secretary of State for the colonies that if the newly elected legislature, by a reasonable majority, passed a resolution calling for independence; a firm date for the changeover would be announced. C.P.P won 71 out of the 104 contested seats. The British Mandated Togoland also held a plebiscite to join the Gold Coast.

This action opened the way for Ghana’s Independence and on 6th March, 1957, the curtain was drawn on the old order. The country emerged as the first country in Africa, South of the Sahara to regain independence from colonial rule. A new chapter was opened in the history of Ghana. On the eve of Ghana’s independence, Kwame Nkrumah (then Prime Minister) proclaimed at the old Polo Grounds in Accra: "At long last, the battle has ended and Ghana, our beloved country is free.

For further reading, go to: http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/about-ghana/ghana-at-a-glance/1237-know-more-about-ghana

KNOW YOUR HISTORY BOOKLIST Created by Professor James Small

by Professor James Small African World

•  African Glory -J.C. Degraft-Johnson
• African Origins Of The Major Western Religions -Yosef Ben Jochannan
• Africans At The Crossroads -Dr. John Henrik Clarke
• Before The Mayflower -Lerone Bennet, Jr.
• Black Labor, White Wealth - The Search For Power And Economic Justice -Claud Anderson, Ed. D.
• Blueprint For Black Power -Amos Wilson
• Breaking The Chains Of Psychological Slavery -Na'im Akbar
• Chains And Images Of Psychological Slavery -Dr. Na'im Akbar
• Civilization Or Barbarism -Cheikh Anta Diop
• Criminalizing A Race -Charshee C. L. McIntyre
• From "Superman" To Man -J.A. Rogers
• From Babylon To Timbuktu -Rudolph Windsor
• From Columbus To Castro -Eric Williams
• How Europe Underdeveloped Africa - Walter Rodney.
• Introduction To African Civilization -John G. Jackson
• Isis Papers -Frances Cress Welsing
• Man, God And Civilization -John G. Jackson
• Precolonial Black Africa -Cheikh Anta Diop
• Stolen Legacy -George James
• The African Origin Of Civilization -Cheikh Anta Diop
• The Afrocentric Idea -Molefi Kete Asante
• The Black Jacobins -C.L.R. James
• The Community Of Self -Dr. Na'im Akbar
• The Destruction Of Black Civilization -Chancellor Williams
• The Mis-Education Of The Negro -Carter G. Woodson
• The Philosophy & Opinions Of Marcus Garvey -Amy Jacques Garvey
• The Shaping Of Black America -Lerone Bennett, Jr.
• The Wretched Of The Earth -Frantz Fanon
• They Came Before Columbus -Ivan Van Sertima
• What They Never Taught You In History Class -Indus Khamit Kush
• Wonderful Ethiopians Of The Ancient Cushite Empire -Drusilla Dunjee Houston

Credit: Professor James Small, https://www.facebook.com/ProfJamesSmallAfricanWorld

 

TCXPI - A LIFETIME JOURNEY

Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King, jr.

KWANZAA 2012

THE 42 DIVINE PRINCIPLES OF THE NTRT MA'AT

(As shared on Facebook by Awo Yaa Asantewaa Ankomah)

 

The Neophyte's (student) ultimate aim in Kemet was for a person to become "One with God" or to "become like God." The path to the development of godlike qualities was through the development of virtue, but virtue could only be achieved through special study and effort. According to George G. M. James in his timeless work Stolen Legacy writes: The following of the 10 virtues were sought by the Neophyte in ancient Kemet. In the final analysis, the ancient Kemites sought Maát or to be more correct they sought to become one with Maát, the cosmic order.

(1). Control of thoughts
(2). Control of actions
(3). Devotion of purpose
(4). Have faith in the ability of your teacher to teach you the truth.
(5). Have faith in yourself to assimilate the truth
(6). Have faith in themselves to wield the truth
(7). Be free from resentment under the experience of persecution.
(8). Be free from resentment under the experience of wrong.
(9). Cultivate the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and
(10). Cultivate the ability to distinguish between the real and the unreal

 

 

December 10, 2012 - BLOGGING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

“In order for us as poor and oppressed people to become part of a society that is meaningful, the system under which we now exist has to be radically changed. This means that we are going to have to learn to think in radical terms. I use the term radical in its original meaning-- getting down to and understanding the root cause. It means facing a system that does not lend itself to your needs and devising means by which you change that system.” - Ella Jo Baker

 

 

THE U.S. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS

As an African American native of Oakland, California, a product of the Oakland Unified School District’s (OUSD) educational system, and a mother of children who were also students of the same system, I am aware of the weaknesses that continue to exist with the instruction of African American children and youth. As a child of the OUSD system, I remember reading about American history and the building of the Americas, and how rarely were there images of African Americans or any attention, by teachers, given to Africans and African American’s contributions. As a parent of children in the OUSD, I observed the same lack of African American imagery in my children’s homework assignments, teaching instruction, and classroom settings. Overall, When it came to images of people with the same complexion, the same hair texture, the same thick lips, the same broad nose, as my children, family, friends and I, there were many images of people of African descent with these features that were considered to be savages, primitive, and uncivilized – a people that had to be “made” civilized through the Eurocentric teachings of Christianity. The rare images that I did observe and came to appreciate were few: Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Dr. Martin Luther King., Jr. I remember often wondering as a child, “Were there only a handful of people with the same African/Black features as me that made significant contributions to society? - Were people of my likeness vicious beast that were un-intelligent, lazy, ignorant, etc.?” Having this mental dilemma at such an early and impressionable age, could and would have a lasting impact on my self-identity, my self-worth, and would lead to another self-imposed question unanswered; “Where would I fit in society?” Had it not been for my parents, extended family and my community teachings of the importance of education and Black Pride; I would have so easily been able to answer “yes” to my self-imposed questions, based on the traditional and mainstream educational system, teaching practices, and the curriculum of the OUSD educational system. In the same vein, when I observed the homework assignments and projects that my children were given, they were not representative of who they were as African Americans. My children were being assimilated and acculturated in the same system that viewed Africans as objects as opposed to the subjects of their existence.

Historically, the U.S. educational system’s curriculum and teaching practices has been culturally centered on a Eurocentric worldview, not taking into account the various ethnicities and cultures that create these classroom settings. The Europeans continue today to use the educational system as a crucial tool in the advancement of white supremacy and domination. Within this cultural hegemony, Africans and African Americans have been adversely affected by the Eurocentric form of education. In the early 20^th century, Carter G. Woodson (1933), the Father of Negro History and Black History Month proclaimed in his critical novel, “The Mis-Education of the Negro”, that African Americans have been disenfranchised educationally in the United States.  He explains:

“The oppressor…teaches the Negro that he has no worth-while past, that his race has done nothing since the beginning of time, and that there is no evidence that he will ever achieve anything great…Lead the Negro to believe this and thus control his thinking. If you can thereby determine what he will think, you will not need to worry about what he will do.”

“If you teach the Negro that he has accomplished as much good as any other race he will aspire to equality and justice without regard to race. Such and effort would upset the program of the oppressor in Africa and America…Let him learn to admire the Hebrew, the Greek, the Latin and the Teuton. Lead the Negro to detest the man of African blood-to hate himself. The oppressor then may conquer, exploit, oppress and even annihilate the Negro…without fear or trembling.”(p.192)

 

 

"We must voice our protests on the inequalities that continue to exist in the educational system in order to perpetuate mainstream propaganda that one culture and people are superior to all others. We must allow All cultures to become grounded in their own existence."         Chinue X