new afrikan panther, volume 3, issue 2, 05-2017
ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
FREE THE LAND!
During the last few weeks there have been many Democratic Party primary elections held featuring both prominent veterans and new-comers to electoral politics. There certainly will be more primaries held in several states over the next few months as the process advances toward the general elections of November 2017.
Some of these primaries, held in districts dominated by the Democratic Party, also have significant populations of Blacks/New Afrikans as well. As such, the general assumption is that whoever wins the democratic primary is the de-facto victor in the general election.
Within the circles of Black/New Afrikan, radical, progressive and leftist politics, no recent primary has received more attention, scrutiny and general support than that of Chokwe Antar Lumumba in his quest to become mayor of Jackson, Mississippi.
Chokwe Antar is the son of the late Chokwe Lumumba, a long-time human rights and revolutionary activist/attorney, himself a former city councilman and mayor of Jackson.
To the credit of his campaign organizers, supporters and the legacy of grassroots advocacy and organizing through formations such as the New Afrikan Peoples Organization, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and Cooperation Jackson, Chokwe Antar Lumumba won the Democratic mayoral primary on May 2, 2017 and appears to be on his way to becoming the next mayor of Jackson, Mississippi.
Chokwe Antar Lumumba
And while we commend and congratulate Brother Chokwe Antar Lumumba for his decisive primary victory, there remain some very important strategic issues concerning the quest for Black/New Afrikan freedom and self-determination.
A central issue however continues to be the need to develop a truly independent political vehicle, i.e. political party in Jackson and the surrounding cities, counties and states.
Why has this not happened? And, why is there continued dependence and reliance on the traditional Democratic Party machine and mechanism in areas that are predominantly Black/New Afrikan?
The democratic party is a political party of racism, capitalist exploitation, imperialism and war.
Throughout the United States, in countless cities, the dominant political party directly overseeing the deluge of Black poverty, unemployment, crime, police brutality and terror, closed schools, mass incarceration and gentrification has been the Democratic Party.
THE BLACK RADICAL POLITICAL TRADITION
We can do better and chart a new course on developing and sustaining genuinely independent Black/New Afrikan political institutions.
Jackson, Mississippi is over eighty percent (80%) Black. We must challenge the stranglehold and hegemony of the democratic party over the Black/New Afrikan community. It is time to leave the political plantation of the Democratic Party and free the land.
All Power to The People!
Free The Land!
Khalid Raheem, Founder & Chairman
New Afrikan Independence Party
05-23-2017
Concerning the Call for Proportional Political Representation: Origins
Recently, there has been some discussion regarding the subject of Proportional Political Representation as it pertains to the Black/New Afrikan community. Where did this concept come from? How is it connected to the current struggle for Black freedom and self/group determination?
The call for Black/New Afrikan proportional political representation was conceptualized, formulated and articulated as part of the National Platform of the New Afrikan Independence Party (NAIP) as written by NAIP founder Khalid Raheem in 2012 and 2014.
The call for Proportional Political Representation, (along with Economic and Judicial) is an integral aspect of our party’s strategic initiative to increase legitimate, independent Black political power and provide some relief and remedy to the disproportionately poor, low-income and working-class masses of Blacks/New Afrikans and others.
It is a political empowerment model based on the demographics and historical struggles of Black/New Afrikan people for freedom, liberation and self/group determination. The NAIP model is a non-traditional variation of proportionality politics, unlike that practiced within other, mostly parliamentary-styled governments and nation-states.
It was not conceptualized nor intended to become a ‘back-door’ entrance for the continued dominance of Black politics by what Glenn Ford and the Black Agenda Report refer to as the “Black mis-leadership class”.
And, while we certainly welcome, encourage, support and unite with other genuinely radical and revolutionary formations taking up the call for Proportional Political Representation, we also continue to educate and organize for its implementation through our weekly political education classes and the distribution of our publication Philosophy and Platform of the NAIP
All Power to The People!
Free The Land!
Bro. Khalid Raheem, Chairman
Khalid Raheem
ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!
FREE THE LAND!
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Artwork: Zolo Agona Azania
Political prisoner and former death row inmate, Zolo Agona Azania, needs your help. Zolo was finally released on Monday, February 6, 2017, after spending 35 years in prison, 27 years on death row. Zolo is a prolific writer and an accomplished artist. His writings and art reflect his deep commitment to the Black freedom struggle and a just world for all people.
Zolo exited prison practically penniless and faces enormous financial challenges. He needs to pay for housing, food, clothing, transportation, furniture, a cell phone, utilities, and the many other expenses we all encounter.
Zolo will seek employment but at the present time he has little savings. He has been paid $.35 an hour during most of the time he has worked inside Indiana’s prisons.
Let’s ease Zolo’s path and make sure he does not confront his financial challenges—and all the challenges he will face–alone. Please donate…
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EPILOGUE
“What Is To Be Done With the Negro?”
THE ERA OF RECONSTRUCTION 1865-1877
Detail from J.L. Giles’ allegorical 1867 lithograph, Reconstruction, promoting sectional reconciliation between Northern and Southern whites, but pointedly excluding African-Americans.
Feb 2nd 1866
Congressman Thaddeus Stevens offered an amendment to Freedmen’s Bureau bill authorizing the distribution of public land and confiscated land to freedmen and loyal refugees in forty acre lots. The measure was defeated in the House by a vote of 126 to 37. A Black delegation, led by Frederick Douglas called on President Johnson and urged ballots for former slaves. Meeting ended in disagreement and controversy after Johnson reiterated his opposition to Black suffrage
Appomattox marked an ending, but also a beginning. What had been resolved by the war was clear: the United States was whole again — the Union was inviolate, and slavery was dead. What remained unclear, however, were the relationship of…
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