Who Is the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
| Who Is the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement |
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| Written by Robert ID2357 |
| Sunday, 19 February 2006 06:14 |
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We report a lot of Urban Culture & Struggle news on our site, which is one thing that separates us from a lot of rap and hip-hop sites. We try to inform hip-hop culture on the ‘Big Picture’ instead of just focusing on one small segment of it. Many have asked and seek information about some of the organizations we report on. As a service to our visitors we would like to share some background information on some of the organizations we recognize for their hard and constant work for the community. One of the organizations that we report news and actions on is The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. Black August, a celebration of Hip Hop and Freedom Fighters is one project of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement; there are many. As a Tupac (2Pac) fan you will be aware of the video of Tupac (2Pac) giving a very moving speech at a Malcolm X Grassroots Movement luncheon. Here is some information on The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement that is posted on another great information source Assata Shakur .org Forums, posted by Jacuma. Please see the end of this post for links to Assata Shakur’s site and many others. More information on other organizations will be posted on a regular basis, to afford visitors the tools to become knowledgeable and hopefully involved. The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement is an organization of Afrikans in America/New Afrikans whose mission is to defend the human rights of our people and promote self-determination in our community. We understand that the collective institutions of white-supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism have been at the root of our people's oppression. We understand that without community control and without the power to determine our own lives, we will continue to fall victim to genocide. Therefore, we seek to heighten our consciousness about self-determination as a human right and a solution to our colonization. While organizing around our principles of unity, we are building a network of Black/New Afrikan activists and organizers committed to the protracted struggle for the liberation of the New Afrikan Nation - By Any Means Necessary! What We Do Peoples’ Community Feeding & Clothing Program The goal of the program is to inform mostly homeless and hungry people about their human rights under international law and to assist them with organizing around their inaccessibility to those rights. Since the spring of 1996, 4,000 meals have been served to the hungry and homeless in Central Brooklyn along with literature, video and informative discussions that frame housing and food as human rights. The Peoples’ Community Feeding Program serves an average 120 hot, nutritious meals to homeless and hungry men, women, and children twice a month. Year round, articles of clothing are collected and distributed to people who take advantage of the feeding program. We have been able to recycle used clothing to over 200 individuals and families throughout the Central Brooklyn area. Central Brooklyn Cop Watch This program recognizes the right of Central Brooklyn residents to live free of oppression and human rights violations, as well as any community’s rights to observe and document abuse. The cop-watch program will establish nightly patrols to observe the police interactions with the central Brooklyn community. The program is conducted in collaboration with the New York City Police Watch Hotline, the Medgar Evers Center for Law and Social Justice and the National Conference of Black Lawyers. The cop watch attempts to prevent incidents of police brutality and misconduct from occurring, document human rights abuses, educate the community about their 4th Amendment Rights as well as their human rights to be free from arbitrary arrest and detention. Community Education Workshop Series Education is a major weapon in the fight against oppression. In attempts to raise political awareness in our community, MXGM sponsors various political education forums. Workshops topics include: Deconstructing Patriarchy, Know Your Rights * How to Deal with Police Confrontation, Goals of Alternative Education, Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War, Rap * Racism and the Entertainment Industry, Critical Race and Feminism, The Prison Industrial Complex, and Tenant Organizing. Community workshops provide spaces for the community to discuss and create effective “community-led” solutions. Political Prisoner Amnesty Campaign The MXGM works to bring attention to the plight of political prisoners in the United States, such as the recently released - Geronimo Jijaga Pratt and the currently incarcerated - Mumia Abu-Jamal. These political prisoners who are now in jail were political activist, who were targeted and jailed based on government misconduct. We have co-organized mass mobilizations bringing out tens of thousands of people in support of this issue. Additionally, we sponsor Black August a hip-hop tribute and benefit for political prisoners. MXGM Chapters ATLANTA 2616 Old Wesley Chapel Road, Suite 105B Decatur, GA 30034 404 289 4477 Ext. 2 BIRMINGHAM 119 Third Avenue West Birmingham, AL 35204 205 323 5444 BROOKLYN 388 Atlantic Avenue, 3rd Floor Brooklyn, NY 11217 (718) 254-8800 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it MXGM NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS PO Box 31762 Jackson, MS 39286 601 354 8731 NEW ROCHELLE PO Box 92 New Rochelle, NY 10801 914 576 3807 OAKLAND PO Box 3585 Oakland, CA 94609 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it SELMA 1207 Alabama Avenue Selma, AL 36701 334-872-7517 PO Box 1401 Selma, AL 36702 Here is a little back ground on Black August taken from The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement web site at http://www.mxgm.org . PLEASE check them out. Black August: A celebration of Hip Hop and our Freedom Fighters is a project of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, which strives to support the global development of Hip Hop culture by facilitating exchanges between international communities where Hip Hop is a vital part of youth culture, and by promoting awareness about the social and political issues that affect these youth communities. Our goal is to bring culture and politics together and to allow them to naturally evolve into a unique Hip Hop consciousness that informs our collective struggle for a more just, equitable and human world. Since August of 1998, Black August has had benefit concerts in (1998) New York City at Tramp's, (1999) the Bowery Ballroom, (2000) the New Age Cabaret, (2001) Synod Hall, and three shows at Cuba's National Rap Festival and five shows in South Africa, including a show at the United Nations World Conference on Racism in Durban. All Black August concerts in New York, South Africa and Cuba have been sold out. In New York, Black August has featured hip-hop and rap artists such as, Common, dead prez, Black Star, Fat Joe, the Roots, Les Nubians and Gil Scott-Heron. In Cuba, Black August hip-hop and rap artists included Black Star, Common, dead prez and Tony Touch and in South Africa, Black August shows included dead prez, Talib Kweli, Black Thought, Jeru and the Coup. The international shows were electric and, the responses, euphoric. In addition to the shows, MXGM has had political education workshops with the participating artists. The benefit concerts coupled with the political education workshops have made Black August an unforgettable experience for participants, which have increased the political commitment and dedication of Black August artists and activists to radical change. The 5th Annual Black August Benefit Concert (2002) will be taking on more human rights issues, while continuing to organize cultural activists and artist to bring about global change and solidarity. Black August will highlight political prisoners in the Americas, discussing how activists have been jailed because of their political activities to end racial and economic oppression. RESISTANCE: THE ORIGIN OF BLACK AUGUST Black August originated in the concentration camps of California to honor fallen Freedom Fighters, Jonathan Jackson, George Jackson, William Christmas, James McClain and Khatari Gaulden. Jonathan Jackson was gunned down outside the Marin County California courthouse on August 7, 1970 as he attempted to liberate three imprisoned Black Liberation Fighters: James McClain, William Christmas and Ruchell Magee. Ruchell Magee is the sole survivor of that armed rebellion. He is the former co-defendant of Angela Davis and has been locked down for 40 years, most of it in solitary confinement. George Jackson was assassinated by prison guards during a Black prison rebellion at San Quentin on August 21, 1971. Three prison guards were also killed during that rebellion and prison officials charged six Black and Latino prisoners with the death of those guards. These six brothers became known as the San Quentin Six. To honor these fall soldiers the brothers who participated in the collective founding of Black August wore black armbands on their left arm and studied revolutionary works, focusing on the works of George Jackson. In the month of August the brothers did not listen to the radio or watch television. Additionally, they didn''t eat or drink anything from sun-up to sundown; and loud and boastful behavior was not allowed. The brothers did not support the prison's canteen. The use of drugs and alcoholic beverages was prohibited and the brothers held daily exercises because during Black August emphasis is placed on sacrifice, fortitude and discipline. Black August is a time to embrace the principles of unity, self-sacrifice, political education, physical training and resistance. The tradition of fasting during Black August teaches self-discipline. A conscious fast is in effect FROM SUNRISE TO SUNSET (or suggested from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm), this includes refraining from drinking water or liquids and eating food of any kind during that period. Some other personal sacrifice can be made as well. The sundown meal is traditionally shared whenever possible among comrades. On August 31, a People's feast is held and the fast is broken. Black August fasting should serve as a constant reminder of the conditions our people have faced and still confront. Fasting is uncomfortable at times, but it is helpful to remember all those who have come and gone before us, Ni Nkan Mase, if we stand tall, it is because we stand on the shoulders of many ancestors. THE SPREAD AND GROWTH OF BLACK AUGUST Black August is a time to STUDY AND PRACTICE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ABOAT OUR HISTORY AND THE CURRENT CONDITIONS OF OUR PEOPLE. In the late 1970’s Black August was moved from the yards of California’s concentration camps to New Afrikan communities throughout California and the united states empire. As the Black August practice and tradition spread, it grew to observe not only the sacrifices of the brothers in California’s concentration camps, but the sacrifices and struggles of our ancestors against white supremacy, colonialism, and imperialism. A sampling of this month of “righteous rebellion” and “racist repression” includes: The first Afrikans were brought to Jamestown as slaves in August of 1619. In 1843, Henry Highland Garnett called a general slave strike on August 22. The Underground Railroad was started on August 2, 1850. The March on Washington occurred in August of 1963, Gabriel Prosser's slave rebellion occurred on August 30th, 1800. The “Prophet” Nat Turner planned and executed a slave rebellion that commenced on August 21, 1831. The Watts rebellions were in August of 1965. On August 18, 1971 the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika (RNA) was raided by Mississippi police and FBI agents. The MOVE family was bombed by Philadelphia police on August 8, 1978. Further, August is a time of birth. Dr. Mutulu Shakur (New Afrikan prisoner of war), Pan-Africanist Leader Marcus Garvey, Maroon Russell Shoatz (political prisoner) and Chicago Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton were born in August. August is also a time of transition and rebirth. The great scholar and educator W.E.B. Dubois died in Ghana on August 27, 1963. So, August is a month during which New Afrikans can reflect on our current situation and our struggle for self-determination and freedom. The Struggle Continues! “Recognizing that the Roots of Black August are founded in the Black August Organizing Committee (BAOC), we, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM), are respectfully including this organization in the trademark of *Black August in solidarity with the history and actions that come from this movement.” Please Visit the following sites for more information and knowledge: The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) Assata Shakur Assata Shakur Forums http://assatashakur.org/forum/ The Drum Collective The Talking Drum Mutulu Shakur
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