Dr Mutulu Shakur, renowned freedom fighter, holistic healer and noted political prisoner has passed away aged 72 six months after being released from 36 years of incareration. (1) He probably more known in popular circles as the step-father of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur and was married to Tupac’s mother Afeni from 1975 to 1982. (2) Baba Mutulu was also a Brother in arms of Mama Assata Shakur, activists within the Black Liberation Army (BLA).

Dr Shakur’s death follows that of another long term prisoner, Eddie Conway of the Black Panther Party (BPP) at 76 years in February of this year. He spent 44 years in prison until his 2014 release. (3) These two are among a legion of freedom fighters that also served decades’ long sentences, some of which are still being served by the likes of Mumia Abu Jamal, Imam Jamil Al-Amin (H Rap Brown) and Ruchell Magee, now 84 who has been behind bars since for 60 years. (4)

For many of these their activism began at time when the Black liberation movement of the 1960s was still considered by the USA government as “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country.” (5) One has to wonder at the status of this threat is half a century later.

But then this is the country that calls itself “Land of the free and the home of the brave”, even though slavery is still legal under the Thirteenth Amendment for “… as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” Moreover, the retention of political prisoners, up to the present, frequently in solitary confinement, which is torture, is at the very least state sanctioned cowardice. (6) In essence, Black political prisoners are the very bedrock of the Prison Industrial Complex that seeks the mass incarceration of Afrikans in the USA at a time when the state is looking to roll back whatever gains the civil rights movement could be said to have made. (7)

(1) AmNews Staff Reports (08/07/23) Mutulu Shakur, Black Liberation Army activist and stepfather to Tupac Shakur, dies at 72 . https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2023/07/08/mutulu-shakur-dies-at-72/

(2) CrimethInc. (02/07/23) Justice for Nahel: The Roots of the Uprising in France. https://crimethinc.com/2023/07/02/justice-for-nahel-the-roots-of-the-uprising-in-france; Mathieu Rigouste (13/02/20) The violence of the French police is not new, but more people are seeing it now. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/13/french-police-violence-gilets-jaunes-victims.

(3) Mansa Musa (27/03/23) A tribute to the revolutionary life of Marshall ‘Eddie’ Conway. https://therealnews.com/a-tribute-to-the-revolutionary-life-of-marshall-eddie-conway

(4) Glen Ford (19/08/20) Free All Political Prisoners – and Say Their Names! https://blackagendareport.com/free-all-political-prisoners-and-say-their-names; Judy Greenspan (27/07/21) Who is Ruchell Magee and why has he been in prison 58 years? https://www.workers.org/2021/07/58024/; Natalia Marques (19/04/22) Ruchell Magee: US prisoner, political thinker, rebel, and still fighting for release after 67 years. https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/04/19/ruchell-magee-us-prisoner-political-thinker-rebel-and-still-fighting-for-release-after-67-years/

(5) Jonathan David Farley (04/04/08) Preventing the rise of a ‘messiah’. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/apr/04/preventingtheriseofamessi.

(6) Ed Pilkington (30/07/18) The 19 black radicals who are still in prison after four decades. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/30/black-panther-radicals-still-in-jail; Whitney Benns (21/09/15) American Slavery, Reinvented. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/prison-labor-in-america/406177/

(7) Stephen Wilson, Dylan Rodríguez, Orisanmi Burton et. al. (13/09/21) The Growth of the Prison Industrial Complex. https://www.aaihs.org/the-growth-of-the-prison-industrial-complex/; Dahlia Lithwick (30/06/23) Alex Wagner Tonight: Supreme Court engaged in civil rights era rollback with radical rulings https://www.msnbc.com/alex-wagner-tonight/watch/supreme-court-engaged-in-civil-rights-era-rollback-with-radical-rulings-186017861898

we ask the question:

Black Freedom: A threat to who?

1) What is the legacy of Dr Mutulu Shakur?

2) Do these activists still represent a threat after 40-60 years?

3) How can we tackle the Prison Industrial Complex?

4) Is the USA on the path to re-enslavement?

Our Special Guest:

Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of almost 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.