Cointel-pro | Hip-Hop and Politics

History 101: Black Panthers, Palestinians & The Fight to End Racist Zionism

August 2, 2014 By mrDaveyd

Former Political prisoner Dhoruba Bin Wahad

We sat down and spoke w/ former political prisoner, Black Panther (Panther 21) and BLA member Dhoruba Bin Wahad who gave us an incredible in-depth history about the relationship between the Black Panther Party and the Palestinian Liberation Movement.. It’s important history that has been erased in the current conversation as there is a concerted effort by organizations like AIPAC to rewrite history and downplay the militant aspects of the Black Freedom struggles. For example many do not know that there were Palestinian Black Panthers in Palestine. Dhoruba explained that they formed because they felt organizations like the PLO were not militant enough. The breakdown on this is serious history.

Our conversation started off with Dhoruba laying down the history of how Israel formed in the first place and the mass displacement of Palestinian people. He clears up the common misperception of Palestine and Israel being in armed conflict for centuries. Its an excuse given so that people avoid looking at Israel’s human rights violations. It obscures the racist and imperialistic aspects of Zionism which is driving the current conflict. More importantly as Dhoruba points out it takes away from the reality of Israel being a ‘settler state’.

Dhoruba talks about the role colonial powers, in particular Britain and France played in issuing mandates and how they fostered a climate that eventually resulted in the current conflict we see going on now in the Middle East..

Dhoruba detailed how and why the Black Panthers linked up with the Palestinians and the important role that the struggles in Algiers played in bringing folks together. Dhoruba explained his role as one of the liaisons between the Panthers and Palestine’s UN delegation..he also details how J Edgar Hoover and his infamous Cointel-Pro program launched a campaign with a racist name called Operation Hymie where they sent off letters to Jewish organizations asserting the Black Panthers were Nazis and Anti-Semitic. It was an attempt to demonize the Panthers and dampen the relationship and support they had from Jewish folks who did support the Panthers.

We were joined in our conversation by local activist and scholar Danea Martinez who detailed the relationship between Palestine and the Black freedom struggle in South Africa. She gave us an accurate perspective on Nelson Mandela, the ANC (African National Congress) and where and how they intersected with the Palestine struggle. She also gave us perspective on Israel displacing Palestinians in 1948 from their homeland and the formation of Apartheid in South Africa that same year.. Its remarkable and sobering history as she details Zionist Israeli’s long sordid relationship with Apartheid South Africa. Its history that many in power are trying to erase.

Both Danea and Dhoruba talked at length about Arab racism and slavery on the African continent. Dhoruba who lived in Africa for a number of years detailed the racial politics and how they play out both here in the US and abroad. He reminded folks that many of the Arabs we’re talking about involved in slavery in places like Mali and the Sudan are actually Black. he noted they are ‘Blacker than you and me’ but in appearance but they identify as Arab. He walks us through some of the complexities around this and talks about where and how Anti-Black sentiment emerges within the Arab world. The information he breaks down in this segment is extremely insightful and gives important context to this discussion on Arab racism.

We also talk at length about the impact the cold war had on the liberation struggles in both America amongst Black people and in Palestine. We talk about the role it played in heightening racist Zionism..

We conclude the conversation with a discussion of how Israel’s policies and practices are being exported to US police departments and SWAT teams here in the US.. There is an NYPD office in Tel A Viv and many officers have taken leaves of absence to go fight for Israel’s IDF to hunt down Palestinians. This slaughter has got to stop.

Check out the full Hard Knock Radio Interview below

https://soundcloud.com/mrdaveyd/hkr-08-01-14-fight-the-power-black-liberation-palestine-zionism

Update: As we are finishing up this interview we got word that Palestinian futball (soceer) legend Ahed Zaqout was killed as a result of Israel’s relentless bombings of Gaza. We also got word that 9 members of Dr. Mona El-Farra, of the Middle East Children’s Alliance and the director of Gaza Projects Lost 9 members of her family yesterday. You can hear her first hand accounts HERE

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News, Hard Knock Radio Intv Tagged With: Apartheid, Black Panthers, Cointel-pro, Danea Martinez, Dhoruba Bin Wahad, Nelson mandela, Operation Hymie, Palestine, Zionism

We Must Move Beyond the ‘Patriot’ vs ‘Traitor’ Debate Around Edward Snowden

May 29, 2014 By mrDaveyd

One thing I got from this Edward Snowden interview that was shown on NBC last night, is that we best refocus our energy on engaging one another above and beyond our fancy electronic devices. While these are helpful tools and can allow us to reach large numbers of people all at once, its important not to isolate ourselves behind keyboards. It’s important not to put our self-worth and sense of well-being in algorithms we don’t understand or control. In short we should all take time out to check in with folks, make sure we’re on the same page with our neighbors and keep our communication skills sharp. A lot of things are lost in text messaging and Facebook posts.

It’s interesting to see how some have foolishly engaged in a debate about why Snowden has not ‘come home to face the music‘. What does that mean? he should come home and go to jail? Are we romanticizing and putting nobility on being locked up? Really?

About a month ago, we spoke with former political prisoner Dhoruba Bin-Wahad on Hard Knock Radio about this assertion, the legacy of domestic spying and opposing the government for oppressing its citizens. For those who are unaware, Dhoruba spent almost 20 years behind bars and was a member of the New York Panther 21 which included Afeni Shakur, the mother of 2Pac. During our interview Dhoruba meticulously laid out all the ways in which the government stacked the deck against him and others Panthers members fighting injustice in the 60s and 70s. He noted that many Panthers and for that matter freedom fighters from all over the world, from South Africa to Chile went into exile. Do we want folks like Asaata Shakur to come home and ‘face the music’? Are we satisfied that those who did face the music have been tortured and have been in jail for 30 and 40 years, much of it in solitary confinement? Are we satisfied with the treatment of folks like the late Geronimo Jigga Pratt, Herman Wallace and Marilyn Buck or those recently released like Lynn Stewart? Are we satisfied with the treatment of those who are currently locked up who ‘faced the music’ from Chelsea Manning (Bradley) to Mumia to Leonard Peltier to Mutulu Shakur?

Former Political prisoner Dhoruba Bin Wahad

As Dhoruba noted, today in 2014 with the passage of the Patriot Act and other laws designed to ‘fight terror’, one who ‘faces the music‘ might not have access to a lawyer, could be held indefinitely and may have damn near all their evidence excluded from the proceedings under the guise its ‘classified’. As we saw last night, Snowden laid out similar points. Hence one should kill the noise about ‘facing the music’ from a system that has not been about fairness and justice for most people for a very long time.

We should not get caught up in meaningless debates about whether or not Snowden is a traitor or patriot. First, there is no definitive definition for either word. They are very subjective where at the end of the day there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Our discussion should be about whether or not what he revealed was true and are we comfortable with that? Are we comfortable with giving up our privacy, having severe restrictions placed upon us in courts of law or law enforcement gathering up all our data and not providing us with any sort of blueprint as to how its being used? Are we comfortable with what Snowden revealed about what is being done with our cell phones and how they are virtual microphones and cameras that can be turned on to record and evesdrop without us knowing? That should be our discussion.

We should be asking ourselves who in the public sector and who in the private sector is a part of this data collecting and domestic spying? Are we comfortable with powerful corporations and officials having so much access? As Snowden noted, even if you are ‘not doing anything illegal‘, the way the data is gathered and interpreted can set off alarm bells and have you under scrutiny.

What should be raising eyebrows is how these encroachments may play out if you politically oppose those in power. Our history via Cointel-Pro under the FBI’s J Edgar Hoover in which the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, the Student Movements, Chicano Movements, Puerto Rican Independent Movements and Anti-War Movements were undermined, compromised and dismantled by those who opposed the political direction organizers and people involved were taking, should be harsh reminders. Back in the hey day of these movements, what was done was under the guise of protecting America from ‘Communism’. Suppressing groups was done in the name of fighting the ‘Cold War’. Today its under the guise of protecting us from terrorism which has not fully been defined above one or two named villans, Al-Qaeda being one of them.

We should note what Snowden was talking about with respect to Whistle-blowers. and how under President Obama, more have been prosecuted and punished than all president in the past combined. Last year there was a conference of Black whistle-blowers in Washington DC who talked about the extreme challenges they face and how many have had to stay silent or risk freedom. We’ve had Senators like Feinstein who wanted to go extra hard on media and strip away shield protections as a way to curtail whistle-blowers .

With respect to Secretary of State John Kerry and his claims about Snowden being a coward and how he should man up and do the right thing. cowardness and one doing the right thing; let us not forget that when Kerry did as a Senator. During his tenure, he made no ‘un-cowardly’ moves to impeach President Bush or any one in his cabinet after it was revealed they misled us into war and in doing so violated all sorts of international law. What was his excuse for not manning up there?

We should not forget that Kerry, who is calling for folks to ‘do the right thing’ sat silently in 2000 when members of the Congressional Black Caucus appeared on the Senate floor, damn near begging Senators to step forth and use their power to get a recount for Florida in the Presidential elections. Where was Kerry on that issue and at that moment? We should never forget.

With all that being said, understanding the nature of corporate media, one should ask hard questions and raise an eyebrow or two about how and why such revealing information being put forth by Snowden was allowed on prime time TV, when so much other information is often ignored. Is there something else going on or is this an attempt to redirect the conversation and eventually marginalize what Snowden is speaking about. The Patriot vs Traitor debate may be one way to take us down this road. In the mean time, pay attention to how you use your phones and computers and where you put them. Go outside, get some sun and fresh air, talk with your neighbors and stay woke.

Filed Under: 2014 Daily News Tagged With: Cointel-pro, domestic spying, Edward Snowden, John Kerry

Hip Hop History: Remembering the Historic 2001 Hip Hop Summit & Farrakhan’s Incredible Speech

November 6, 2013 By mrDaveyd

As we celebrate Hip Hop History Month and the 40th anniversary of the Universal Zulu Nation we wanted to take a look back and recall a historic event that has been written out of many Hip Hop history books.. It was the 2001 Hip Hop Summit in New York City. It was the first of its kind and came on the heels of many in the Hip Hop generation being woken up in the aftermath of the 2000 election where the Presidency was stolen from Al Gore and given to George Bush via the Supreme Court. That’s how many were feeling at that time and still feel to this day…

That sentiment was coupled with a heighten political awareness in New York, tyrannical reign of Mayor Rudy Giuliani who had his police running around hemming people up if they stood more than 2 or 3 in group.. This was before Stop and Frisk. He had a street crimes unit that would have police walking around and arbitrarily stopping people , searching for weapons. This led to the shooting death of Amadou Diallo in February of 1999 on Wheeler Avenue in the Bronx, the borough where Hip Hop was born. He was shot 41 times by cops who ‘mistook his wallet’ for a gun. A year later those cops would be acquitted with the main urban station Hot 97, not even announcing it on the air..

All this and a slew of other incidents led to many within the Hip Hop generation pushing and demanding change. So in short, the time was right for the gathering that took place that day…Just about everyone in the Hip Hop/ Music industry was there. We are talking executives from MTV and BET. Major record label heads were present.

A lot of Hip Hop journalists and writers were in there. All the major networks were there with their cameras and reports on hand.. Hip Hop pioneers and the biggest artists of the day from Dame Dash to Jermaine Dupri, Sean Puffy Combs, Master P, Wyclef packed the place..Quite a few members of Congress including Cynthia McKinney was there to address the audience.

Minister Farrakhan addressed that body and gave what he described as the best speech of his life.. It was incredible and inspiring. It held artists feet to the fire and it held executives feet to the fire. It left everyone fired up. Quite a few came out of that gathering determined to make the necessary changes that were called for that day and they would go on to do bigger and better things. Others remained locked into a world of coonery and you have to wonder why since they were present and expressed appreciation for what took place that day..

Below is a recap of the speech and gathering written by Cedric Muhammad of Black Electorate a few days after the event.. I included some of the audio I gathered which I think you will find useful.. My only regret was not recording Minister Farrakhan’s speech.. I was under the impression that it would be immediately released.. Word was it was going to be released via Def jam.. That never happened and I never got the full story as to why.. What he said that day still applies to our current situation, if not more..

-Davey D-

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Cedric Muhammad

On June 13th before a packed audience in the Mercury Ballroom of the New York Hilton Hotel, filled with some of the Hip Hop industry’s most prominent artists, producers and executives, Nation Of Islam Leader Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered the keynote address at the recent Hip Hop Summit organized by Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Records. In a nearly 3-hour address, the Minister simultaneously defended, encouraged, criticized and praised Hip- Hop artists, challenging them to take responsibility for their position as leaders of the world’s youth.

The Minister, who entered the ballroom to a standing ovation, began his remarks by speaking directly to the artists who were primarily seated in the front rows of the audience. Looking directly at such artists as L.L. Cool J., Talib Kweli, Keith Murray, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Crazy Legs, Damian Dash, Sister Souljah, Ja Rule, Afrika Bambatta, Redman, Luther “Luke” Campbell, Wyclef Jean, Fat Joe, Grandmaster Flash, Krazy Bone, D.J. Premier, Kurtis Blow, Eric B, U-God and many others, the Minister stated, “each of us is brought here with a purpose”.

He told the artists that part of their greatness rest in the fact that each of them, through the identification, development and cultivation of their talent had “discovered their reason for being”. Still directing his comments specifically to the artists in the audience, the Minister added, “Maybe you are not aware of it but you have been chosen to lead”.

On a dais with Queen Latifah, Chuck D., Haqq Islam, Jermaine Dupri, and others, Minister Farrakhan told the artists that because he was a spiritual leader he could inform them of “who you are and why you are called”, according to holy scripture, in both the Bible and Holy Quran. He began by quoting from the book of John, Chapter 1.

He quoted, in unison with some in the audience, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God”

The Minister then stated that in the historic evolution of culture and art, that the world has reached the point, through Hip-Hop, where the spoken word is dominating culture.

He then began to provide his exegesis of those verses in John, explaining that “the word was god” and that god represents “force and power”. He remarked of the Hip-Hop community, “there is strength in this community but what it needs is guidance”.

The Minister then expressed that the Hip-Hop community and industry should be concerned with what stage of its evolution it had reached. He told the audience that they have to keep growing their art form. And he punctuated his point by stating that Hip-Hop, like reggae, calypso, gospel and rhythm and blues are all different today than when they began.

The Minister then began his defense of Hip-Hop artists who have come under fire for their lyrical content saying, “Society wants lyrics cleaned up but it (society) doesn’t want to clean itself up.” The Minister said that the most negative aspects of Hip Hop lyrics only reflect the mind and heart of community leadership and aspects of a gangster U.S. government. He added that Hip Hop lyrics were bringing out in public, the private aspects of people’s reality. He said, Gangster lyrics are only showing aspects of “a government that is gangster.” The Minister said that when rappers talk about killing people, they are no different than those in government who have assassinated leaders of other countries. He also said that when artists speak of drug abuse, they are speaking of a behavior, in the open, that has taken place even in the White House.

What society wants to do with Hip Hop and young people is “break the mirror, rather than look in it and clean itself up.” The Minister concluded that part of his defense by stating: “If society cleaned itself up, rappers would have to talk about something else.”

The Minister then began part of his challenge to the Hip-Hop artists. He began by speaking of the female womb, telling the audience that the Holy Qur’an advises that we “reverence the womb that bore us”.

The Minister followed that beginning by saying that “the human brain is also a womb”.

He stated, “A man is what he eats, but what about the mind?” He answered his own question by saying, “Jesus said that “as a man thinketh, so he is”. He added that those who feed the mind shape the actions of others.

The Minister said that the media was present at the summit because they knew that it was a world-shaking event. Because” all over the world the youth are being led by you”, he told the artists. He then asked , ” In Congress they want to pass a law to disturb your right to free speech. Why hasn’t the government stopped Hollywood? Why now pick on Eminem? Why now pick on you?”

The Minister then stated, “It’s not the lyrics, (they are concerned about). It is that you have taken away the children from their mothers and fathers.” And he added, that “every government has used young people to fight its wars”, making the point that Hip-Hop was actually interfering with the protocol of the world and the power of parents and government to control the masses of the world’s youth.

The Minister then spoke of how governments have always been interested in controlling the youth – desiring that they be able to be called upon to fight in wars. He then spoke of how in countries all over the world, in Africa and Europe, 10 and 11-year olds and teen agers were being taught how to make bombs and fight in war. But he added that all of the youth that are fighting and killing are unaware as to why they are doing such. He emphasized that the courage of young people was used to benefit others while they (the youth) were kept ignorant as to who and what purpose they were serving in fighting the war.

The Minister then added that the government was frightened because the U.S. was poised to go to war but has to deal with who controls the minds of the youth.

Sensing that Hip-Hop has taken away the minds of the youth, the Minister argued that now some in government and society are asking the question, “How do we get our children back?”

The answer, the Minister explained, depended upon the destruction of Hip Hop beginning with its most prominent artists.

The Minister then articulated how much of the feuding and civil wars in Hip-Hop between prominent artists was orchestrated by the media and that the artists themselves, played right into the plan by making records that “dissed” other artists. But the Minister added that the conflict never remains between the two principals. Because Hip-Hop artists have fans and followers, their disagreements with each other result in groups of young people being opposed to one another.

And because of this fact the Minister challenged the artists “to accept responsibility that you have never accepted”, as leaders.

The Minister then spoke of the responsibility and consequences of words.

He said that America is a great country and unique in the world because “freedom of speech in the U.S. constitution is a guarantor” that wrong will be pointed out in society.

The Minister then explained that part of the power in Hip-Hop is that the words are accompanied by music saying, “the beat in the song literally drives the word in.” The Minister then advised the artists that they should learn from his example.The Minister stated that he understands why artists feel they can not compromise the right to say whatever they feel but he cautioned that they should be aware of the consequences of their words.The Minister told the artists, that they should “learn the skill of words and how to use them in a way that gains universal respect…I have learned through years of pain that I can say things and say it in a way that doesn’t trigger a certain response”.

The Minister told the audience that Hip-Hop has brought Black and White together in a way that is frightening to some in power. He also spoke of Hip-Hop’s global implications, saying, “Rap has brought the children of the world to you: what will you do with your leadership?”

Minister Farrakhan told the artists that they were actually raising the world’s children – in the U.S., Iran, and China. And he stressed that because the church, mosque and school had failed, the children were in the street being raised by Hip-Hop and their peers.

The 68-year old Muslim leader said that Hip-Hop was actually in the middle of the transition of two worlds and that such a position required responsibility on the part of rappers. He said, “The freedom of speech is one thing but freedom is not license…carelessness is the right attitude to break from the old but not the right attitude to come into the new”

But the Minister, again, stressed that he was not there to rebuke young people and that he was following the example set by Jesus to “suffer the children…”

His comments were directed at some of the civil right sleaders who were present in the audience as well as those who were not present but who had dedicated a tremendous amount of energy to condemning Hip Hop.

The Minister said, “Children don’t need rebuke but to be shown the way to perfect what they are doing.”

The Minister then spoke of the account in the Bible and Holy Qur’an where the elders and magicians – the older leaders of the Children of Israel – actually helped Pharoah in his plan to spare the females of the Children of Israel while killing the male babies. He warned the older leaders that God did not bring but two “older” members of the Children of Israel into the promised land, with everyone else being twenty years old or younger.

The Minister then returned his focus to the artists present, telling them that their fearlessness and courage is being used by the enemy to get them and their “followers” to kill one another.

He pointedly told the rappers that their association with weapons was counterproductive, and not the real source of their popularity. “Guns didn’t get you your power in China, Iran or Egypt, it was the word”, he said.

The Minister then turned his attention to the media and said that he knew that they were really there to see what he was going to do with his access to the Hip-Hop community. He commented that he knew that they were frightened by the relationship between he and the Hip-Hop community, recognizing its potential.

Speaking as if he were a reporter, he said, they want to know ” What is Farrakhan going to tell them?”

The Minister answered by saying that he had the following to tell the Hip Hop artists:

“I believe that you can change the reality of American life and racism – that you have the power to stop it.”

“I believe that 18-30 is the age group not registered to vote”

“I believe that wars can’t be prosecuted without the youth.”

He then asked the rappers, “Will you accept your responsibility as a leader of the youth?”

The Minister, still speaking to the artists said, “You have to digest a newspaper. Current events are what rap artists have to rap on. So here are some current events I want you to rap on…”

The Minister then turned the ballroom into a classroom and for the next 15 minutes verbally traveled the globe telling rappers what subjects he thinks they should focus on and weave into the creative works.

He began by advising them of the fulfillment of the vision of Nasser and Nkrumah through the OAU’s efforts to establish the “United States of Africa”.

He then spoke of how rap artists should speak on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians asking the audience, “What do you have to say about that? Are you ready to be a peacemaker?”

He then added, “Look at Black and Brown and how we are being pitted together (through the census and politics) and in prisons, we are against each other, being made to believe that we are enemies when we are natural allies. Can you rap about that?”

He then asked them, “What about DCFS snatching Black and Brown children sending them off away from their families… and where they end up going off to prison later?”

The Minister then asked the rappers of what they had to say about the drug trade being facilitated by a government that has satellites so powerful that they can see a grapefruit on the ground but can’t see whole convoys of drugs being brought into America and into the innercities.

He then asked them, “What do you have to say about the abuse of women?”

The Minister then told them that they should be aware of the fact that, “where there are no decent women, there are no decent men and women are the mothers of civilization”. He challenged them to influence society so that young boys and men will end up “admiring women instead of defiling them.”

Minister Farrakhan then went into a tactful but graphic elucidation of how the slang and cursing that many Hip-Hop artists have popularized is a reflection of the real condition of Black people, in its most negative sense.

The explanation he provided caused the entire audience to erupt in applause at various points.

He began by saying that the curse word phrase with the initials “M.F.”, though depicting a filthy concept, accurately reflects the fact that many men have not fully grown up and have not accepted their responsibility. He said that is why men call women “ma” – a phrase that is very popular among rappers today. The result, at times, is that many men look to their girlfriends and wives as they looked to their mothers. And so women are forced to finish the raising of their boyfriends and husbands. The end result, the Minister said, for men, is that ” You are having sex with your other mother”. He told the women present that some men ” are looking for someone to finish the nurturing process”

The Minister then gently spoke of the hypocrisy of many who claim God at award shows and then join Satan in their musical creativity.

He then worked to prove his point by referring to Genesis Chapters 1 and 5 and Psalms 82 which clearly indicate that human beings are in the image and likeness of God and are, themselves, gods.

Minister Farrakhan then jumped back into Hip-Hip lingo, speaking of how rappers and youth greet one another with the phrase, “What’s up dog?” The Minister asked the question, “Why not what’s up god?” The Minister answered his own question, by saying, “Because a god will force you to respect god”. Several rappers, who are members of the 5% Nation of Islam and do in fact refer to one another as “god”, in the spirit of Psalms 82, literally jumped out of their seats when the Minister made that remark.

But the largest applause were reserved for the Minister’s explanation of why artists use the word “bitch” in reference to women. The Minister said, “If ‘god’ has now become ‘dog’ then the woman has become a ‘bitch’. If you came from a ‘bitch’, then you are the son of a bitch”

The Minister followed that up by telling the rap artists that they don’t realize the devastating power of their words and that calling a woman a “bitch” denigrates their own mothers, grandmothers and aunts.

The Minister then skillfully used the 34th chapter of the book of Ezekiel to encourage the rappers, intellectuals and civil rights leaders present to consider themselves as shepherds and the consequences that they will face if they do not feed their flocks after they themselves have been fed by the flocks. The Minister said, that among other things, these verses were referring to people being fed the word of God. The Minister encouraged the artists, in particular, to use their words to grow the people up into the mind of God and into the fulfillment of their gifts.

The Minister then told the artists that they were obligated to do this and had in fact been fed and supported by their fans and followers. He told them that they have cars, private jets, jewelry and they have been able to move out of the projects where they grew up because the “little people gave it to you. You are their leaders…what are you going to do to show your appreciation?”

He then told them of the greatness of their power to transform human life. He spoke of his own experience with the most downtrodden of human beings, and the power of the word on human beings. He told the audience that his teacher, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, taught that light ravels from the sun to the earth at the rate of 186,000 miles per second and that it takes 500 seconds or 8 minutes and 20 seconds to strike the earth. He said blood travels from the heel of the human being to the head and back to the heel in 500 seconds. He said that the word of God is like light and when it enters into the heart of the human being, it causes a transformation. He said that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught him that within 500 seconds of delivering inspiration through words, just under ten minutes, the human being will begin to perk up.

The Minister related this teaching to his experience in speaking to prisoners on death row.

He gave an account of a recent trip that he took to a prison where he asked to speak to those who were scheduled to receive the death penalty. The Minister was taken to that section of the jail but was told that he would have to speak to them through the bars. The Minister refused and said that there was no way that he would speak to them through bars. He told the audience that he was warned not to enter this part of the prison and that his safety could not be guaranteed by the prison guards, if he went into that part of the jail and spoke to them after they had been let outside of their jail cells. The guard told Minister Farrakhan that if the Minister insisted on speaking to the death row inmates that he would come with him. The Minister told him that he did not need his protection. The audience laughed when the Minister relayed how the prison guard agreed to let the Minister go by himself and then told him that he would be nearby if the Minister needed him. Minister Farrakhan told the audience that he told the guard that that he wasn’t needed.

The Minister explained that he asked the men to get chairs and form a circle with him. They did. He said that there were 17 altogether – 14 Blacks, 2 Brown and 1 White death row inmate. The Minister said that within 10 minutes their countenance had totally changed, they were relaxed, smiling and that one of the inmates asked Minister Farrakhan if he could read him a poem that he had written. The Minister said that of course he welcomed such and the prisoner read his poem to Minister Farrakhan. The Minister said that the poem was one of the most beautiful he had heard.

After 10 minutes, the Minister said that he called the guard over to look at the group and asked him what did he see. Minster Farrakhan was making the point to the prison guard that buried deep in even these men was great beauty and warmth.

He then added that some of the most powerful and intelligent Black men are in prisons and some of the most powerful women on earth, right now, are prostitutes.

The Minister then, after recounting this story, stressed to the rappers that they have the power to transform human beings with their mouths. He told them that they are in the “word business” and that they have a loyalty and allegiance from their fans that is staggering. He said, “They dress like you, they walk like you, they talk like you, they even bling-bling like you.” Of course, the audience cracked up with laughter at the Minister’s reference to the obsession that some have with jewelry – the so-called “bling-bling” phenomenon.

The Minister then told the Hip-Hop artists, “I love you, but I am not satisfied. We can do better. I am here to encourage you to do better.” The Minister told them that he was not asking for” a radical change, but speak to the issues that enlighten”

He then challenged the rappers, again, to see if they could contribute, through their lyrics to a peaceful resolution to the race problem in America and the conflict in the Middle East. He told the audience that all conflict can be solved and he then spoke of the public disagreement between Russell Simmons and Conrad Muhammad. The Minister said that Conrad Muhammad loves his people and that he knows this because he (Conrad Muhammad) was a former student of his. But he stated that he did not think that it was appropriate that Mr. Muhammad had taken his disagreement with Russell Simmons before the media, which does not support either man or Hip Hop.

Minister Farrakhan then urged Russell Simmons and Conrad Muhammad to come together. He then added that he hoped that Conrad Muhammad, who he believed was not present, would get the tape of Minister Farrakhan’s address to the Hip Hop Summit.

Then, from the rear left corner of the audience came shouts of “He’s here!”

It turned out that although two days before on CNN’s Talk Back Live program, Conrad Muhammad had said that he was not invited and even told not to come to the summit; he in fact was in attendance for the Minister’s remarks.

The Minister was pleasantly surprised, acknowledged Conrad Muhammad’s presence and again, urged he and Russell Simmons to resolve their differences in private and then come out in unity before the media. Russell Simmons, from the stage, nodded his head in agreement, and Conrad Muhammad from the back of the ballroom, smiled, waved to Minister Farrakhan and nodded his head as well.

The Minister concluded his remarks by telling the artists, ” It is not enough to be a good rapper, your character has to be up under your rap”. He said that the real power of a human being was present in the power of character to generate trust and maintain it. The Minister said that people trust him and that some have entrusted him with many secrets and then turned on him, but that he has never divulged their secrets.

Minister Farrakhan then added that he hoped he would be able to visit Rev. Al Sharpton in prison and he added that what Rev. Sharpton did in protesting the Vieques bombing was so important in that it demonstrated unity between the Black and the Brown working together. He said that Rev. Sharpton should not be in jail for 90 days or even for 90 minutes.

The Minister then briefly touched on his efforts to help raise $1 billion dollars in an economic trust fund and he encouraged the artists to prepare for the day when they will not be making records. He encouraged them to save and invest their money and to not partake in excessive conspicuous consumption or “bling-blinging”.

After receiving a standing ovation, the Minister made some concluding remarks and after walking over to hug Queen Latifah, Minister Farrakhan encouraged unity among music executives like Kedar Massenberg, Russell Simmons, and Barry Hankerson, and also acknowledged the attendance of Sister Souljah, Stephanie Mills and Lennox Lewis.

Among those in attendance at the Minister’s keynote address were Hip-Hop opinion leader Davey D, writers Kevin Powell and Harry Allen, activists Viola Plummer and Ras Baraka, radio host Bob Law and Hip-Hop pioneers Kool Herc, Fab Five Freddy and D.J. Red Alert. Also present were Black intellectuals Michael Eric Dyson, Cornel West as well as NAACP head Kweisi Mfume.

written by Cedric Muhammad

Friday, June 15, 2001

source: http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=354

Before Minister Farrakhan spoke there was a private gathering of artists and label executives.. During that gathering several members of congress addressed the body. Earl Hilliard, Benny Thompson and Cynthia McKinney.. Mckinney’s speech to the audience was passionate and penetrating.. She talked in detail about Cointel-Pro. For many in the room it was the first time they had ever heard about the FBI’s insidious program that impacted many of the freedom struggles.. McKinney talked about how Cointel-Pro was impacting artists today….

————————————

After Cynthia Mckinney a number of people spoke including Talib Kweli and Michael Eric Dyson who lit up the place.. We are including his address to the artists…

Just before Minister Farrakhan spoke in the big hall, Chuck D of Public Enemy spoke to the gathering of artists and executives.. In the room were executives from MTV as well Stephen Hill of BET.. Chuck went in on the role of media and the perception it leaves with folks around the world.. Many of the executives were left feeling very uncomfortable.. Here’s his blistering address…

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: 2001 Hip Hop summit, Cointel-pro, Hip Hop, minister Farrakhan, politics

45 Years Ago Today Dr Martin Luther King Was Killed by the US Government

April 4, 2013 By mrDaveyd

Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane

The US Government Killed Dr King

Today April 4th 2013 marks the 45th anniversary that Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated.. I want folks reading this to be crystal clear about a couple of things.. First, do not mention King’s death and reduce it to the work of a deranged man name James Earl Ray..If the local or national corporate backed media talks about Dr King’s death in those terms, then they are negligent. In fact its safe to say they are complicit in helping cover up what should disturbing to all of us.. Dr Martin Luther King was killed by the FBI.. he was killed by our US government.. He was one of many victims to the FBI’s Counter Intelligence program best known as Cointel-Pro..

Repeat after me… COINTEL PRO.. This was the program used by former FBI head J Edgar Hoover to go after the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, the American Indian Movement, The Student Anti-War Movement and the Chicano Movement. The FBI saved its most vicious and invasive tactics for the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements.. Malcolm X and Dr King were key targets, primarily because they had linked the domestic struggles for ‘Civil Rights’ and Black American self determination to the larger struggles taking place internationally.. That was dangerous to the FBI and our government and led to Hoover seeing King as public enemy number one along with the Black Panthers and other groups that had shifted into the same direction of internationalizing Black struggles.

So again do not say Dr King was killed 45 years ago today without mentioning Cointelpro.. In another note we should not lose sight of the fact that earlier this year we saw a lot of fan fare around Dr King statue on the national mall and President Barack Obama get sworn in using Dr King’s bible..In fact his inauguration was on the same day as the King Holiday.. many thought this was anice and potent gesture.. I say it was a distraction.. If President Obama can get sworn in using King’s Bible, how about using those Presidential powers to completely unearth the role the US government played in Dr King’s killing? How about using those Presidential powers to to bring about justice and punsish all those still alive who were a part of Dr King being killed..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlKP5fgY4C0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbJkJTFXvkM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMgccsq1IyM

What took place was with Dr King being killed was something much larger then James Earl Ray.. It was part of something deep rooted and systemic..

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: 45 Years Ago Today Dr Martin Luther King Was Killed by the US Government, Barack obama, Black Panthers, Civil Rights Movement, Cointel-pro, J Edgar Hoover, James Earl ray, King, Martin Luther King

Documents Reveal FBI Infiltrated Occupy Movement -Worked w/ Banks to Shut Down OWS

December 26, 2012 By mrDaveyd

So now we know the FBI had infiltrated the Occupy Movement What’s interesting about this information about Occupy, is I was at the press conference and recorded Oakland Mayor Jean Quan saying that she was on the phone with mayors from 16 other cities on how to deal with the Occupy Movement.. Her remarks were quickly downplayed and any discussion of ‘coordinated shut downs’, Department of Homeland Security involvement or FBI infiltration was chalked up as ‘conspiracy’ theory…

Most folks involved with Occupy already figured out something was afoot.. and now its been confirmed.. What’s problematic is seeing how many blatant things have been ignored.. For example, how and why were NYPD units able to work on behalf of a private firm? In this case Wall Street/ JP Chase..You can read about that HERE..

We never really got to understand why so much energy was put on Occupy Wall Street and not the people who actually caused the financial crises that brought OWS into existence..How many FBI agents have been or are working to take down those running illegal financial schemes?

In places like Oakland where we’ve had high number of homicides as well as in neighboring SF and San Jose.. we also saw tremendous amounts of time and energy spent monitoring the Occupy Movement vs solving pressing crimes.. We’ve seen as many as 17 different police agencies show up to stop 100 people from taking over abandoned buildings, but if your place got robbed, you would have to make the trip to the police station to file a report.. The police say they were stretched watching Occupy folks.. With all that’s been going on in this beloved country, the Occupy Movement was that much of a threat?

Sounds more like monitoring folks was an easier gig, paid lots of overtime and reflected deep mismanagement and warped priorities inside some of these departments.. And for those who think this is some sort of exaggeration take a look at the types of things our law enforcement spends our tax dollars on… Read this story about the police investigating Meet the Press anchor David Gregory for holding a gun magazine on TV.. You can peep that HERE

The most pressing question is how did all this go down on President Obama’s watch? What kind of community organizing is this? It’s interesting to note that many accused Occupy of being a grand brainchild of Obama.. Maybe when he realized that OWS wasn’t rolling in lockstep with the Democrats, he decided to send in the FBI.. Maybe there was a reason behind all the antiwar movements quieting down after he got elected even though he continued many of the same Pro-war policies of President George Bush his predecessor.

Questions: Did the FBI infiltrate the Tea Party? If Obama’s FBI was spying on Occupy what other domestic political groups were under his ‘watchful eye’? What sort of dissention did infiltrating agents cause in the ranks? Were these endless debates about diversity of tactics and property destruction tactics deployed by the FBI to make Occupy less attractive?

One thing I recall Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seal stating about what the FBI/ Cointel-Pro papers on the Panthers revealed… He noted that the Panthers were considered a threat when they started doing community things like serving free breakfast.. Seal said FBI papers showed they worked overtime to make Panthers be unattractive to the community. Did they do similar things with Occupy? With all the hi-tech equipment available today spying on someone is easy, if we’re talking about capturing footage or a recording a conversation.. If the FBI had infiltrated OWS then it had to be to cause confusion and be disruptive..This is what happened during Cointel-pro days from the 60s.. why not now?

-Davey D-

**PS.. Dec 29 2012**.. This just came in… FBI worked with the big Banks to shut down Occupy Movements.. Folks need to chew on that for a minute..u can read that article here… http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/29/fbi-coordinated-crackdown-occupy

—————————————————————————-

FBI Had Counterterrorism Agents Investigate Occupy Movement

It’s the latest example of counterterrorism officials looking into domestic protest groups.

http://www.alternet.org/fbi-had-counterterrorism-agents-investigate-occupy-movement

FBI_Police_charger The New York Times reports that the FBI had counterterrorism agents to investigate Occupy Wall Street, and that “F.B.I. personnel around the country were routinely involved in exchanging information about the movement with businesses, local law-enforcement agencies and universities.”

The Partnership for Civil Justice received the records after a Freedom of Information Act request. They show that once again the agency used counterterrorism agents to track domestic activists — like they have in the past with environmental, anti-poverty and animal rights groups.

The Times reports that:

The memo said agents discussed “past and upcoming meetings” of the movement, and its spread. It said agents should contact Occupy Wall Street activists to ascertain whether people who attended their events had “violent tendencies.”

The memo said that because of high rates of unemployment, “the movement was spreading throughout Florida and there were several Facebook pages dedicated to specific chapters based on geographical areas.”

The F.B.I. was concerned that the movement would provide “an outlet for a lone offender exploiting the movement for reasons associated with general government dissatisfaction.”

The records provide one of the first glimpses into how deeply involved federal law-enforcement authorities were in monitoring the activities of the movement, which is sometimes described in extreme terms.

An agency spokesman told the paper that “The F.B.I. recognizes the rights of individuals and groups to engage in constitutionally protected activity. While the F.B.I. is obligated to thoroughly investigate any serious allegations involving threats of violence, we do not open investigations based solely on First Amendment activity.”

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: Cointel-pro, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Freedom of information legislation, jean quan, New York Times, occupy Movement, Occupy Wall street, United States

FBI Informant Infiltrates Mosque Causes Drama: How To Spot an Agent in Your Organization

December 7, 2010 By mrDaveyd

A couple of weeks ago we ran this article on how to spot an agent in your organization and decided to run it again after seeing this recent article in the Washington Post called Tension grows between Calif. Muslims, FBI after informant infiltrates mosque.

Craig Monteilh

In this Washington Post article they point out how a man with a criminal record Craig Monteilh was set loose on a unsuspecting Mosque in Irving california where he became disruptive and started talking about getting violent and Jihad..

They said the informants talk was so outrageous that the people he was supposed to be spying on called and got a restraining order against him.. Here’s an excerpt from that article..

The undercover FBI informant – a convicted forger named Craig Monteilh – then drove off for 5 a.m. prayers at the Islamic Center of Irvine, where he says he spied on dozens of worshipers in a quest for potential terrorists.

Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the FBI has used informants successfully as one of many tactics to prevent another strike in the United States. Agency officials say they are careful not to violate civil liberties and do not target Muslims.

But the FBI’s approach has come under fire from some Muslims, criticism that surfaced again late last month after agents arrested an Oregon man they said tried to detonate a bomb at a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony. FBI technicians had supplied the device.

In the Irvine case, Monteilh’s mission as an informant backfired. Muslims were so alarmed by his talk of violent jihad that they obtained a restraining order against him.

continue reading Washington Post article HERE

As you read this article and see the tactics used on the Mosque take a look at the article below written by author Supreme Understanding who lays out a number of tactics that are often used when agents infiltrate organizations and why..The new cointel-pro is not only here its deeply embedded and constantly being refined…Also its interesting to note when you look up the phrase agent provocateur in Google search what emerges are ads and photos for perfume and lingerie-go figure..

-Davey D-

How to Spot and Agent?

by Supreme Understanding

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/notes/supreme-understanding-supremedesignonline/how-to-spot-an-agent/464236052290

Author Supreme Understanding

I’m sick and tired of watching good groups fail because of the wicked people who are still being sent among us. Moreso because of our failure to respond appropriately to these wicked people. I don’t blame them so much as I blame us for not doing anything about them. But we who are intelligent people should be wise enough to know that COINTELPRO still exists, both online and in real life. Yet very rarely do I hear about people being “run from among us” nowadays. So we know that they’re here, yet we continue to let them do their work? They’re not gathering info. They’re making us fall apart. And my survey says that they’re being highly successful. So if you can use this to improve your organization, please do so. If not, I’ve said my part. Here’s some qualities to look for, when you are wondering if someone is an agent provacateur:

They bring confusion and chaos with them. Everytime they come around, it’s drama.
They keep discussions and productivity at a stalemate. They’d rather keep debating than engaging the community you’re supposed to serve.
They focus on impertinent theoretical points of contention as serious sources of conflict. It’s never about the people or the work. It’s always about some ideas, structures, philosophy, or abstract concept.
They create/increase tribalism and intensify pre-existing organizational dissatisfaction. Whatever issues you had, they root them out and make them grow.
They don’t have reputable sources or references for where they come from. Nobody knows them where they say they came from, or they can’t even tell you who can vouch for them. Anyone with more than 5 years of involvement in any community should have good references. Anyone with less than 5 years experiences should not be in a position to dictate or distract.
Many have short bursts of vigorous activity, not long histories of continuous (documented/verifiable) growth and development. They come in, make a mess, then disappear to enjoy their plea deal, stipend, etc…or to move on to another org. Because we have little cross-organizational communication, they can sometimes do the same thing to 3 or 4 orgs in a row. So many of them are organization-hoppers.
Others claim long histories, even claiming “birthrights” of some sort, as a means to establish authority. Yet these claims rarely hold up under further investigation. For example, some agents who were outed by the Church Committee had claimed to be “born into” the organizations and groups they’d later infiltrated. Oh, by the way, I’m a historical researcher. Everything in this list is based on extensive research on publicly-identified agent provocateurs, as well as the documented methods used by COINTELPRO, the CIA, the “hip hop police” etc.
They have ambiguous sources of income. They may be on the payroll, but they’re posing as an independent hustler of some sort, or working in some office building you can’t visit.
They came from prison or worked in the military or law enforcement in the past (or the present, if u dig deep enough). They may be working in exchange for reduced time/plea agreement/special assignment.
They turn around all questions about them into attacks on the questioner. They create scapegoats, red herrings, and target people who may be onto them.
They build alliances with weak-minded dissatisfied people through shared vices, financial generosity, or a sense of solidarity. Do you smoke with em and give em a free pass on their transgressions?
They also “give” as a means of establishing authority and legitimacy. Some even give “knowledge” to an extent that it blurs their allegiances, making less critical-minded people believe they “must” be on the side of good, since they share so much “good information.” But even this can be a ruse. If the information does not serve to liberate people, empower the community (regular people, that is), and engender social change, then they are doing NOTHING to disturb the status quo.
These people don’t tend to be primary sources either. They simply get credit by “sharing” or transmitting information and ideas created by others. Yet these people also tend to “modify” this info as well, significantly affecting the end result.
They act like zealots but aren’t zealous about social change. You’ll never see them go this hard when it comes to helping regular people.
They want power and control, but demonstrate no ability to use this power or control for the good of others. Once they have acquired enough authority, it’s all gonna get burned to the ground.
They are masters of manipulation, but never teach others how to manipulate the system. But watch how they can twist, spin, and distort everything that comes their way. It takes TRAINING to be that good. And there are actually programs that train people on how to do this.

FYI, I’m not talking about people who are stupid and don’t know how to act right. I’m talking about people who are clear, consistent, and CONSCIOUSLY working to undermine and neutralize progress. It’s not impossible to distinguish the former from the latter. And typically, the former acts that way because they are following the lead of the latter.

Also, let’s be clear. Agents are no longer gathering information, unless your org. is HIGHLY proactive and doing intensive work in the community…so let’s stop this talk of “They can come and take whatever notes they want…and I’ma teach em.” No. Most agents now are simply working to keep orgs at a STANDSTILL. Mired in debate, hate, and wait. Read that again. DEBATE, HATE, and/or WAIT. Through these three mechanisms, they do their job QUITE effectively.

What do you do if someone has many of these characteristics? If your org has a structure for calling someone to attention and letting them know their actions are creating a disturbance, then it’s time to gather the people who can call that meeting and notify that person. Either they will (A) become belligerent and threaten physical harm, (B) respond quietly and soon disappear, or (C) continue doing the same. If they disappear, notify other orgs about them, because that person may be headed their way. If they do (A) or (C), proceed to whatever is “level 2” of your org’s protocol for dealing with serious offenders. Just know that the person is NOT someone with a misunderstanding, or someone who just doesn’t get it yet. If you are effective in explaining your concerns (as a collective) and they PERSIST, it should be clear that they are not naieve. They are acting purposefully and willfully, and it is YOUR collective failure if you allow this behavior to exist, remain, thrive, and destroy everything around it.

I’m just one man speaking, but I had to say something because it’s getting out of control in some places. I hope people will take notice and DO something. Beyond what I’ve said above, it’s important we establish some cross-cultural/cross-organizational communication. I propose that we identify, by name and picture, those individuals we run out of our groups, so that when they come to another group, we will know not to accept this person in with open arms. I’d love to some sort of online agent provocateur database (like www.whosarat.com), but that presents too much potential for abuse and misuse. In lieu of that, we should AT LEAST engage in (a) teaching awareness of the above, (b) background checks on new people coming to our groups, (c) some checks and balances for people trying to leverage power and authority, (d) an investigation and response protocol for people causing repeated disturbances, and (e) cross-organizational communication for people who have been rooted out.

Tag anyone you know who is involved with an organization/group/culture that is serious about the community, and who would benefit from this perspective.

Thank you,

Supreme Understanding

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2010 Daily News, Political articles Tagged With: agent provocateur, Cointel-pro, Craig Monteilh, FBI after informant infiltrates mosque, FBI Informant, FBI Informant Infiltrates Mosque Causes Drama: How To Spot an Agent in Your Organization, How to Spot and Agent?, Jihad, Supreme understanding, Tension grows between Calif. Muslims

Debate, Hate & Wait: How to Spot an Agent in Your Organization

November 26, 2010 By mrDaveyd

Tonight (Fri Nov 26, 2010) in San Francisco there will be an screening of an incredible documentary called ‘Cointel-Pro’ followed by a community discussion w/ children of political prisoners and Hip Hop artists Wise Intelligent, Killer priest, Casual and Digable Planets..It’s an important discussion followed by a concert.. For more info on discussion and concert click here… http://bit.ly/def2sr

In the meantime.. I want everyone to read this article about government infiltration/ domestic spying into organizations.. The author Supreme gives a lot of insight and encourages folks to set up protocals vs going on witch hunts and having endless discussions about who is real and who isn’t..

This is important because government infiltration still goes on today and as was shown in the documentary Cointel-pro it’s not limited to militant/ Black organizations.. In fact groups like the Black Panthers were the last to get infiltrated.

In recent years we’ve seen agents touch base in peace organizations as highlighted by Michael Moore in his film on 9-11. We seen this happen in the aftermath of Katrina with Common Ground organization. The agent (Brandon Darby) who came to disrupt recovery efforts had already caused havoc among organizations in Austin , Texas. This is important to note, because as the author Supreme points out in his article, so many groups don’t talk to one another. Some have egos and see everything as uber competitive. Others are afraid of losing funding by tipping off other operations. Others are simply ignorant to history and don’t believe our government will go that far..

More recently we here in Oakland saw this happen during the Justice 4 Oscar Grant Movement.. Sometimes its the feds other times its local police departments doing the infiltrating. Folks need to read the article, get informed and act on principle not personality..

The most important statement in this article is as follows

Agents are no longer gathering information, unless your org. is HIGHLY proactive and doing intensive work in the community…so let’s stop this talk of “They can come and take whatever notes they want…and I’ma teach em.” No. Most agents now are simply working to keep orgs at a STANDSTILL. Mired in debate, hate, and wait. Read that again. DEBATE, HATE, and/or WAIT. Through these three mechanisms, they do their job QUITE effectively. “

-Davey D-

How to Spot and Agent?

by Supreme Understanding

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/notes/supreme-understanding-supremedesignonline/how-to-spot-an-agent/464236052290

Author Supreme Understanding

They bring confusion and chaos with them. Everytime they come around, it’s drama.
They keep discussions and productivity at a stalemate. They’d rather keep debating than engaging the community you’re supposed to serve.
They focus on impertinent theoretical points of contention as serious sources of conflict. It’s never about the people or the work. It’s always about some ideas, structures, philosophy, or abstract concept.
They create/increase tribalism and intensify pre-existing organizational dissatisfaction. Whatever issues you had, they root them out and make them grow.
They don’t have reputable sources or references for where they come from. Nobody knows them where they say they came from, or they can’t even tell you who can vouch for them. Anyone with more than 5 years of involvement in any community should have good references. Anyone with less than 5 years experiences should not be in a position to dictate or distract.
Many have short bursts of vigorous activity, not long histories of continuous (documented/verifiable) growth and development. They come in, make a mess, then disappear to enjoy their plea deal, stipend, etc…or to move on to another org. Because we have little cross-organizational communication, they can sometimes do the same thing to 3 or 4 orgs in a row. So many of them are organization-hoppers.
Others claim long histories, even claiming “birthrights” of some sort, as a means to establish authority. Yet these claims rarely hold up under further investigation. For example, some agents who were outed by the Church Committee had claimed to be “born into” the organizations and groups they’d later infiltrated. Oh, by the way, I’m a historical researcher. Everything in this list is based on extensive research on publicly-identified agent provocateurs, as well as the documented methods used by COINTELPRO, the CIA, the “hip hop police” etc.
They have ambiguous sources of income. They may be on the payroll, but they’re posing as an independent hustler of some sort, or working in some office building you can’t visit.
They came from prison or worked in the military or law enforcement in the past (or the present, if u dig deep enough). They may be working in exchange for reduced time/plea agreement/special assignment.
They turn around all questions about them into attacks on the questioner. They create scapegoats, red herrings, and target people who may be onto them.
They build alliances with weak-minded dissatisfied people through shared vices, financial generosity, or a sense of solidarity. Do you smoke with em and give em a free pass on their transgressions?
They also “give” as a means of establishing authority and legitimacy. Some even give “knowledge” to an extent that it blurs their allegiances, making less critical-minded people believe they “must” be on the side of good, since they share so much “good information.” But even this can be a ruse. If the information does not serve to liberate people, empower the community (regular people, that is), and engender social change, then they are doing NOTHING to disturb the status quo.
These people don’t tend to be primary sources either. They simply get credit by “sharing” or transmitting information and ideas created by others. Yet these people also tend to “modify” this info as well, significantly affecting the end result.
They act like zealots but aren’t zealous about social change. You’ll never see them go this hard when it comes to helping regular people.
They want power and control, but demonstrate no ability to use this power or control for the good of others. Once they have acquired enough authority, it’s all gonna get burned to the ground.
They are masters of manipulation, but never teach others how to manipulate the system. But watch how they can twist, spin, and distort everything that comes their way. It takes TRAINING to be that good. And there are actually programs that train people on how to do this.

Tag anyone you know who is involved with an organization/group/culture that is serious about the community, and who would benefit from this perspective.

Thank you,

Supreme Understanding

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2010 Daily News, Political articles Tagged With: agent provacateur, Brandon Darby, Cointel-pro, Debate, domestic spying, FBI, Hate & Wait: How to Spot an Agent in Your Organization, Supreme understanding

In the Wake of Eddie Long-What’s the State of the Black Church? Is it too caught up to fight for justice?

October 6, 2010 By mrDaveyd

There’s an old saying that goes, you’re only as strong as your weakest link. Hence it should come as no surprise that since the sex scandal surrounding New Birth pastor Bishop Eddie Long has emerged, there’s a whole lot of questions being raised about the current state of the Black Church. ‘What’s wrong with it?’, ‘Why has it failed?‘ ‘Where is it headed?’ and of course ‘Will it survive this scandal’?

First of all we have to acknowledge that we’ve seen this movie before. These types of questions come on the heels of every scandal and controversy involving a church leader. It’s happening now with Eddie Long. It happened a couple of years ago when President Obama had his falling out with his long time pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright. We asked these questions when iconic figures like Jesse Jackson, Bishop Thomas Weeks III or even gospel singer BeBe Winans found themselves in hot water.

Should the troubles surrounding Bishop Eddie Long lead to all Black Churches coming under fire?

Are these questions fair? Should the misdeeds of one pastor or one church put the totality of Black churches on front street?

Ideally the accusations levied against Bishop Eddie Long should’ve been an aberration. There was a time when talk of a pastor, who is an outspoken ‘strong’ leader in the community seducing young men would’ve been seen as too far-fetched to entertain. But sadly in 2010 Long’s alleged actions aren’t shocking in far too many circles. They seem to fit an over-riding perception that egregious, sexually abusive contradictory behavior in the church is the norm. His actions fit the narrative of Black churches being over indulged in material wealth coupled with ego driven sermons where the pastors come across as prima donna rock stars. That’s disconcerting and should be a wake up call for anyone who sees themselves as part of the Black church.

Some of the controversies involving Reverend Jesse jackson has led to us questioning the state of the Black Church

It’s disconcerting because a whole lot of good work that goes on in the Black church gets overshadowed. This is not to say bad behavior should be ignored or glossed over, but at the same time when we have exposes like the one recently featured in the Atlanta Post that highlights 10 Black Church Leaders who’ve been involved with Scandals it’s easy to forget that in most of our communities the majority of Black churches work tirelessly to fulfil community needs.

There are numerous Black churches that for years have been doing things like; building homes for senior citizens, setting up food, shelter and clothing programs for the homeless, putting together after school programs for youth and tours through Historically Black colleges for young adults. Many Black churches have established well received prison ministries that include parole to work programs. We could go on and on listing examples of where Black churches have stepped up to walk the walk and back up the talk.

With all that being said, those of us who are members of a church still have to grapple with the challenging questions before us; ‘Is there a disconnect between the Black church and its aforementioned good works and the community at large?’ ‘If so how and why is that happening?’ ‘What is fueling these nagging negative perceptions?’ ‘Is it because of biased media coverage or are these off-color actions more widespread than we care to admit?’ ‘Do we not have not enough church folks stepping up and letting their light shine so to speak?’ or Is the Black Church dead? as Princeton religious professor Eddie Glaude Jr brazenly declared in his controversial essay earlier this year.

How did we move from a place where the Black church was considered sacred and its leaders highly respected to a place where it’s routinely lampooned in the mainstream with the Black preacher often depicted as buffoonish ‘Reverend Porkchop’ type caricatures?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccB5FLUNqh4

Members of the Black Church Have to Let their Light Shine in the Midst of Scandals

When looking at these types of challenges facing pastors like Eddie Long there are several things to keep in mind. To start, his transgressions are going to result in a number of people saying things like; ‘This is why I don’t go to church’, ‘So-called Christianity is a farce’ , There’s a thin line between pimping and preaching and what we saw go down with Eddie Long was pimping’, or ‘the Church has been an opium for Black people in this country that stirs us away from who we really are’. In short, left unchallenged and uncorrected the Black Church becomes an empty space and place that turns people away instead of being an inviting place for those who seek healing and solace.

Second, such commentary should inspire us to step forth and take corrective action and show compassion for those victimized and for those in trouble. It should inspire us to do some serious self examination. This should be the case if you’re a member of a congregation and it should be the case for the entire body. Self examination should be a constant endeavor.

One should always be checking to see if one’s actions are aligned with the teachings in the Gospel. Are we Christ-like in our day-to-day behavior? How are we growing in Christ? If Jesus was to show up next week would he be pleased with the things we are doing? Those should be the driving questions of the day.

The proverbial question of ‘What would Jesus do?‘ should be more than just rhetoric for those of us who believe. Many of us look at Christ and see him as the ultimate personification of love. If so, how is love being manifested in our day-to-day lives? How are we showing love for family, friends and ourselves? How do we show love for our community? How are we growing in love? Do we even have a full understanding of all the definitions of love from Eros to agape to Xenia?

What would Jesus do? This saying has to be more than rhetorical?

As Christians the goal should be for us to strengthen our spiritual relationship with Christ which comes from fellowship, prayer and constant ‘wrestling’ and studying of the word. We need to take these steps and ask those hard questions whether we have an Eddie Long scandal in our midst or not.

Lastly, we as a members of a church whether it’s a 25 thousand mega-church like New Birth or a church by the side of the road in the rural south with 15 people, should be asking how we are serving our community?

If we come from a tradition where feeding the poor and looking after the down trodden is a guiding tenet, how is our respective church fulfilling this mission? What role are we playing in seeing this happens? Do we volunteer to take those bold and much-needed steps or are we waiting on someone else to do it? Serving our community is a form of love, it’s an everyday thing and its a way in which we serve God.

Being aligned with Christ does not mean playing ‘holier than thou’ games where your beating folks upside the head with a book demanding they see it your way or burn in hell. Nor does it mean pretending to be this flawless person who can do no wrong and showing little compassion for those who are trying to find their way. We’re supposed to be humble and not carry ourselves in such a way that people are hoping for our downfall but instead cheering for our upliftment.

Was It a Wrong Turn to Go from the Prophetic to Prosperity?

When talking with folks about the ‘State of the Black Church‘, many like to point to the hey-days of the Civil Rights Movement and note that the Black church was at its full glory. It was powerful, on point and gave birth to stellar leadership that was rooted in the Black prophetic tradition. Many were praised for fearlessly speaking truth to power and riding hard for social justice causes. As a result the Black church was deemed by many to be the ‘conscience of America‘. It’s leadership was best personified by preachers like Benjamin Mays, Ralph David Abernathy, Wyatt Tee Walker, Fred Shuttlesworth, Gardner C. Taylor and of course Dr Martin Luther King. The Black Church was one of the few, preeminent institutions in the community that we controlled from top to bottom. It was the place where folks gathered, strategized, sought refuge, and drew inspiration for the arduous fights against Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan and other forces of white oppression.

Church Leaders Like Fred Shuttesworth pushed forward even in the face of brutal attacks and killings

The Black church was seen as a ‘threat’ to many who opposed the upliftment of Black people. This resulted in quite a few churches being burned and its members attacked.

The KKK while espousing Christian values would eventually come to bomb a Black church. Most of us are aware of the tragic situation that took place at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham , Alabama in 1963. Here 4 young girls were killed.

For those who don’t know 16th Street Baptist church was a key meeting place for Black leaders including Dr King and Pastor Fred Shuttlesworth. As horrific as the bombing was the strength of the Black church shined through. Instead of slinking back, the Black Church leaders stepped up their efforts with renewed vigor and determination. Folks became more outspoken in their demands for justice.

Today many feel those days are gone. They look at the rise of mega-Churches, TV evangelists and a marked political shift in many pews to the conservative right with the prophetic social justice, liberation theology teachings taking a backseat to what we now call Prosperity Theology . Here Jesus has been transformed from one who prioritized the poor and downtrodden to someone who now is only about the business of providing material wealth for those he favors.

Initially championed by preachers like Oral Roberts around the time of World War II, we later saw a few vestiges of this prosperity thinking during the Civil Rights era. One keen example was Reverend Ike who was outspoken in his opposition to Dr King especially when he started working on the Poor People’s Campaign. He claimed King was doing Black folks a disservice by associating ‘poor’ with Blackness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHYxeLYIv18

The prosperity themes really hit full stride and grew in popularity throughout the 90s with iconic church figures like embattled Bishop Eddie Long, Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes and Joel Osteen who even though is white has enjoyed a large African-American following.

is jesus Really about the business of us being rich at the expense of the poor?

The fact that Jesus is depicted as one who emphasizes financially rewarding those he favors makes the prosperity teachings seem not to far removed from the God and Country, American Exceptionalism ideology expressed by far right evangelicals.

Such thinking has been best exemplified by preachers like Pat Robertson and his Christian Coalition, the late Jerry Falwell and his Moral Majority and in books like the recently published American Patriot’s Bible.

Was this turn to prosperity theology a natural evolution for the church because Jesus was directing folks or was the prosperity teachings a reflection of the current state of affairs both in the African-American community and the larger mainstream society? After all, we are in a day and time where we celebrate opulence and literally worship those who have it.

This was a point author and Spelman college history professor Jelani Cobb made during a recent radio interview where he noted that our desire for obscene riches is reflected in our music, our literature and the way we conduct business. Should we be surprised that its reflected in our churches?

When looking at this switch from the prophetic to prosperity, we should not be dismissive of the deliberate pushes made by sinister outside forces? I’m talking specifically about Cointel-Pro-The Counter Insurgency programs championed by then FBI director J Edgar Hoover.

If the Black church was a major cornerstone for the Civil Rights movements in the 60s would it be safe to assume that was infiltrated, compromised, discredited and ultimately redirected or destroyed via Cointel-Pro operations?

FBI director J Edgar Hoover made it pretty clear that organizations like the Black Panthers, Black Muslims, SNCC, Free Speech and the Anti-War Movements were domestic threats that needed to be contained. We now know through the Freedom of Information Act that Martin Luther King was constantly under surveillance. Hoover’s men went out of their way to employ physiological games including issuing death threats, planting false stories in the media and attempting to play him off other leaders with the intent of causing divisions and tensions with other Civil Rights organizations. At one point FBI agents even tried to get King to take his own life.

It’s hard to imagine that the FBI did not look at the influence of the Black church and try to find ways to cause divisions, soften its impact and ultimately redirect its energies. Malcolm X in his speech ‘Message to the Grassroots talks about how Black leadership was compromised with money and resources on the days leading up to the 1963 March on Washington where King delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech‘.

Reverend Dr Martin Luther King came from a long line of Black preachers who represented Prophetic Teachings

Many saw Malcolm X’s remarks as what best articulated the violence vs non-violence debates at the time. Others said Malcolm was simply hating on King, but years later when King gave his famous ‘Why I oppose the Vietnam war‘ speech on Aril 30 1967 at Riverside Church in Harlem, he got to really experience hate. Many church leaders at that time stepped away and shunned him. Some feared cuts in their funding and compromised. King points this out in his speech ‘Transforming a Neighborhood into a Brotherhood‘

“There are those who have said to me, ‘Why are you taking a stand against the war? You’re a civil-rights leader. You shouldn’t be on this. You’re out of your field.’

Long before I was a civil-rights speaker, I was a preacher of the Gospel. When I was ordained to the Christian ministry … I took a commission to bring the insights of our Christian heritage to bear on the evils of our day.

He goes on to add

“There are those who go on to say beyond that, ‘Aren’t you going to hurt your leadership?’ Somebody said to me not long ago, “People have respected you, and don’t you feel you’re going to lose that and, in order to maintain that respect, don’t you think you’ll have to start talking more in terms of the policy of our nation in Vietnam?’

“I looked into his eyes and said, ‘Sir, I’m sorry you don’t know me. I’m not a consensus leader. I don’t determine what is right and wrong by looking at the budget of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. I don’t determine what is wrong by roaming around taking a Gallup poll of the majority opinion.’ …

It was said that after King gave these types of speeches it soured his relationship with then President Lyndon B Johnson who helped usher in important Civil Rights legislation with King at his side. King eventually was cut off and lost access to the White House while being roundly criticized by other leaders who became comfortable with tasting power.

Creflo Dollar represent the new breed of Conservative thinking Prosperity Gospel Preachers within the Black Church

Now contrast King’s willingness to stand up to the Vietnam War and sacrifice his friendship with President Johnson and Black Mega-Church Evangelist Creflo Dollar who reprimanded his congregation for speaking out against George Bush and his call for war.

He demanded that people repent for their criticisms. Professor/ commentator Marc Lamont Hill pointed this out in a October 2006 column title the ‘New Black Church Strikes Again‘ where he shows how he links’ blind patriotism to Christian duty’.Hill points out the letter..

When a nation is on the brink of war, the worst thing its citizens can do is allow themselves to become divided. The Bible says that there is a time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:8). In fact, Jesus said that in the last days there would be wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6). When this country was attacked on September 11, 2001, there was a fierce public outcry. America wanted her enemies to pay. Now, two years later, those same Americans are protesting the war against terrorism.

President Bush is worthy of your prayers and support. He is a man who rises early every morning to seek God and His wisdom through prayer and the study of the Word. This is not the time for Christians to picket, carry protest signs or throw their opinions around. The election is over, and the man in the Oval Office is the one we, as Americans, voted in. Numbers 32:7-13 makes it clear how God feels about a nation divided during a time of war.

This country needs unity, and it begins with the church. It is your responsibility as a believer to pray for the president, others in leadership, this nation, the men and women serving in the Armed Forces and our enemies–whoever they may be. Forget about your political affiliation or preference. You are first and foremost a Christian.

Dr Cornel West said there's been alot of manipulation and distortion of Christ and his teachings within prosperity circles

As was mentioned earlier what has taken place over the years is a manipulation and distortion of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Professor Dr Cornel West noted in a recent interview “There’s been a whole lot of creativity and imagining to move Christ from helping the poor to being a wealthy individual who embraces greed and dislike people who are different..’

We don’t really know Christ and his basic teachings anymore because he’s been so distorted. Along with this manipulation comes an unwillingness by many to be empathetic toward people who are suffering and in pain.

West concluded now more than ever we have to step up and keep justice on our hearts and minds. The key word here is JUSTICE. This is especially true for those who profess to be Christians. If we don’t speak up who will?

We all know the famous quotes in Matthews where Jesus said its easier to pass through the eye of a camel than for a rich man to get into heaven. Was he saying folks should be destitute and not have money? Hardly.

Jesus was letting folks know that its easy to get caught up when you have riches. It’s easy to forget some basic things that he was teaching and believe your own hype. It’s easy to have money become your master.

Can we let our material possessions go? I means its hard times right now…so would we let our things go if asked by Jesus? Can we let the money, fame and power go and be without? Is this what happened to Bishop Eddie Long? Have we been getting to caught up? Is this whats been happening in many of our churches? Is this a condition we’re struggling with?

The answer to those questions will require some serious reflection and thought. Our society makes it easy for us to move away off our square or foundation. Lets not get too caught up when we have mouths to feed and hearts to heel.

Something to ponder

Davey D

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Filed Under: 2010 Daily News Tagged With: Black church, church scandal, Civil Rights Movement, Cointel-pro, Cornel west, Creflo Dollar, dr cornel west, eddie long, In the Wake of Eddie Long-What's the State of the Black Church? Are we too caught up or are we fighting for justice?, In the Wake of Eddie Long-What's the State of the Black Church? Is it too caught up to fight for justice?, Jesse Jackson, Jesus Christ, Marc Lamont Hill, Prophetic tradition, Prosperity Gospel, reverend Ike, reverend Porkchop

Who Shot Ya?-The FBI Informant Civil Rights Photographer & the Murder of Dr Martin Luther King

September 25, 2010 By mrDaveyd

In recent days damning information has surfaced about the role a pioneering Civil Rights photographer named Ernest C.Withers played in the murder of Dr Martin Luther King. Withers who died in 2007 had long been rumored to be an informant for J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI even though he was very popular figure in Civil Rights circles. It’s been reported that under his guise as a photographer he was reporting on King’s movement up to the moment of his assassination and in the days that followed.

Like so many organizations that were fighting for Freedom including the Black Panthers, SNCC, The Nation of Islam then known as Black Muslims, SCLC to name a few were all under constant surveillance with orders from Hoover to disrupt and discredit their operations. Hoover considered many of them to be hate groups, terrorists and communist sympathizers.

Sometimes the surveillance came from FBI agents planting listening devices, recording phone conversations and following Civil Rights leaders in cars. Other times it came from sending Black agents into key organizations where they would earn positions of high rank and trust and later report back critical information. This was all done in addition to the FBI sending letters to various leaders where they would attempt to black mail, play one-off the other, make threats or play mind games like encouraging distressed individuals to commit suicide.

Martin Luther King

The murder of Dr King is especially troubling, because it demonstrated the lengths the FBI would go to stop a movement…. I think people should pause for a second before reading on and really think about this. Again the FBI operates from the money we pay to them via our taxes. They are here to serve and protect the people.

The second point is when you’re talking about an individual like Martin Luther King, you’re talking about a man who was calling for racially harmony and non-violence. He was challenging systems of Jim Crow and overt racial discrimination that I would imagine very few would support in 2010.

On the day of his death he was working feverishly on a Poor People’s Campaign for economic justice. How much more benign could one get? Sadly our government which to this day has buildings named after Hoover, the architect of these surveillance policies called Cointel-Pro stopped at nothing to get him. from the looks of things they got Withers to go along with the plan and several others.

Dick Gregory spoke about sinister forces at work that eventually killed Martin Luther King

Long time activist Dick Gregory spoke on the murder of Dr King and how there were all sorts of folks involved including the Black preachers in his entourage. I want folks to peep this video and pay close attention to the video he plays during his presentation. You can later on watch the rest of the lecture which is 3 or 4 parts. After you watch pt1, I want folks to read this excellent article from Margret Kimberly of Freedom Rider/ Black Agenda Report to get better insight into Withers and the damaging role he played.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiOq85bLFnE pt1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgTaP7Ye4eM&feature=related pt2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5n9LVfpAC8&feature=related pt3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp2dEBygjt0&feature=related pt4

Also as an added piece I am including the conversation Malcolm X had with the FBI when they tried to get him to turn on the Nation of Islam. I want folks to have richer context in which to understand the depth the FBI went in trying to compromise and intimidate our leaders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WdnRe1L6V8

Freedom Rider: Ernest Withers the Informant

by BAR editor and senior Margaret Kimberley

Margaret Kimberley of BAR

The long and infamous history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its attacks upon black Americans in their struggles for human and civil rights are by now well-known. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover actively worked to destroy any and all black activists beginning in 1919 when he pursued the political and personal destruction of Marcus Garvey. That subversion of legal rights and the democratic process continued for decades but operated at its fullest extent in the 1950s and 1960s.

The purpose of the FBI Counter Intelligence Program, COINTELPRO was, in Hoover‘s words, to “expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize” what Hoover called “hate groups” but which were in fact organizations fighting for full citizenship rights. The most infamous COINTELPRO action was the murder of the Black Panther Party Chicago chief Fred Hampton. An informant, William O’Neal, joined the Black Panther Party under FBI direction, served as Hampton’s bodyguard, and was then instrumental in planning his killing.

Commercial Appeal, Withers was an FBI informant who gave extensive information on King and other activists in Memphis, their movements, and their conversations. Withers reported to the FBI on the day of King’s assassination and in the days following.

Unfortunately, Withers died in 2007 without ever being confronted with the longstanding rumors of his activities. His colleagues are left to their own devices in trying to understand why he acted as he did. They are also left trying to decide how and, in some cases, whether to judge Withers for his betrayals.

“He actively sabotaged the work of others and endangered their lives, livelihoods and a movement which was bigger than any one person.”

The human response of wanting to defend someone thought to be a friend may be understandable on a personal level, but should never be acceptable politically. The charges against Withers are well documented and in all likelihood he was an informer and was paid by the FBI. This means he actively sabotaged the work of others and endangered their lives, livelihoods and a movement which was bigger than any one person, even those who may still feel a personal connection to Withers.

Whatever the justification for their activities, informants like Withers should never be forgiven and their acts should not be justified. Sadly, many of the people personally victimized by Withers are defending and rationalizing his actions. He had a large family to support, he may have been threatened, the information he gave probably did little harm, etc. Andrew Young’s comments about Withers are the worst of all. “I don’t think Dr. King would have minded him making a little money on the side.”

Andrew Young has been the king of the cringe-worthy comment for some time now, but this remark is appalling even for him. As one of King’s closest confidantes, Young should know better than anyone the damage caused by FBI’s actions against King. They tapped his phones, recorded his conversations and encouraged him to commit suicide. Because there was no timely investigation into the King assassination, we will never know if the FBI was directly involved. The fact that Withers was located in Memphis and reported on King’s activities and movements up until the very moment of his death is in and of itself suspicious. The revelation of Withers’ activity should be a reminder of the extent to which the state dedicated itself to destroying any organized effort at black empowerment.

The muted response to the Withers revelation is sad proof of the lack of study of the movement, its fall and its aftermath. If this world-changing phenomenon were considered in the light that it ought to be, there would be unified revulsion expressed about Withers and a meaningful discussion of how the movement ended. The killing of Martin Luther King meant the effective end of one of the most successful mass movements in the history of the world. It is difficult to imagine that the information Withers provided to the FBI was not in some way connected with King’s death. For that reason alone, the outrage surrounding this revelation should have been loud and clear.

“It is difficult to imagine that the information Withers provided to the FBI was not in some way connected with King’s death.”

The Withers case should not be seen through the window of the past. It is a warning to us in the present and a reminder that the police state apparatus is ever present.

J Edgar Hoover may be dead but his legacy and damning Cointel-Pro policies live on today

The Withers case should not be seen through the window of the past. It is a warning to us in the present and a reminder that the police state apparatus is ever present. Should the civil rights movement be reactivated and organizing for change become the norm once again, there will be another COINTELPRO, under a different name no doubt, but the activities will be revived and some “friends” will turn out to be wolves in sheep’s clothing.

We now have a government which gives itself the right to order the assassination of American citizens and which claims the right to order anyone arrested and incarcerated without charge or trial. Black Americans have been entrapped in dubious, false flag terror cases created out of whole cloth by the government and its informants. The past is prologue and Ernest C. Withers will not be the last person used to sabotage his own people.

An energized, well organized movement for political change is what this nation needs most. That movement should learn the history of past movements, including the errors, and the betrayals that brought so many people and organizations to premature death. Individuals brave enough to speak truth to the powerful should be able to do so without repeating past mistakes or falling prey to the snares which brought down so many in the past. Ernest Withers should be remembered as a traitor. Yes his photos are iconic but they are now tainted and cannot be rehabilitated for the sake of sentimentality. The revelations about Withers are indeed frightening and rightly cause paranoia and anger. Those feelings cannot be submerged. They should be discussed openly. If they are not, then there are more Ernest Withers’ in our future and more destroyed movements.

Commercial appeal

http://www.commercialappeal.com/withers-exposed/

Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She maintains an edifying and frequently updated blog at http://freedomrider.blogspot.com. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.com.

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2010 Daily News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Civil rights era, Cointel-pro, commercial Appeal, Coomercial appeal, Dick Gregory, domestic spying, ernest withers, FBI Informant, Freedom Rider: Ernest Withers the Informant, Malcolm X and the FBI, Margaret Kimberley, Martin Luther King, Poor People's March, Who Shot Ya?-FBI Informant Ernest C. Withers & the Murder of Dr Martin Luther King, Who Shot Ya?-The FBI Informant Civil Rights Photographer & the Murder of Dr Martin Luther King, William O'Neal

An Important Sobering Article: The Decline Of The Conscious MC-Can It Be Stopped?

August 3, 2010 By mrDaveyd

The Decline Of The Conscious MC: Can It Be Stopped?

by Cedric Muhammad

“This is the way of an artist
a purging, a catharsis
the emerging of a market
a genre on my own…”

– “Water Walker” by Djezuz Djonez
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBXSIan1l8o)

Cedric Muhammad

As many AllHipHop.com readers know I have been promising to write about what I have loosely described as the death or demise of the conscious MC. Last week, I received the final bit of inspiration I needed to pull the trigger – a thoughtful email from a regular and very careful reader who always makes great points, challenging me. Here is what I received in reaction to “Movement Music: From Coke Rap To Community Development” (http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/07/27/22311557.aspx) from “V W”:

“Do you really believe that some artists i.e. Rick Ross are truly thinking on that level of intellect? Are they really trying to start a movement? Or is it just a marketing tactic to sell more records and ringtones? You can say I am “profiling” but Ross just doesn’t come across as that type. If Jay Electronica or Lupe did a track like “B.M.F.” I’d be more inclined to think so. Even his “Free Mason” track with Jay-Z didn’t sit well with me. I’m waiting on an article about that (wink wink).”

Here is my response to “VW” which is a great place to start my critique of what is wrong with the current corps of ‘conscious MCs’:

“I believe your e-mail indirectly frames the challenge quite well – the balance between an artist’s personal intellect and a marketing strategy. ‘Movement’ potentially is a catch-all for both.

A street artist doesn’t have to have intellect to accept a righteous movement. And a conscious artist doesn’t necessarily understand how to market a righteous movement.

I wonder why the street artist is held to a standard of EFFECTIVENESS that the conscious artist is not.”
This is the first of five reasons why the American-based conscious MC of today continues to be irrelevant, while continuing to long for the golden era – (loosely identified as 1986-1992).

No Movement Energy (Conscious Artists Hustle The Struggle Too). In my response to ‘VW” I was responding to an important and common criticism of the more street-oriented mainstream rappers for shouting out crime figures and gang leaders and glorifying negative or destructive behavior. In their eyes, Rick Ross is the latest artist to ride this practice into commercial success. But what I have always felt is that conscious artists are hustling hard too. They shout out influential leaders and revolutionary icons like Che Guevara, Patrice Lumumba, Brother Malcolm X, Minister Farrakhan, and Fidel Castro; and cite Teachings, Lessons, and quote books for their personal commercial benefit. Yet, just as I don’t see street rappers doing much in the streets – even the minimum good that real gangsters have done; neither do I see conscious MCs doing the good works or taking the real-life stances of the icons they celebrate on wax (or mp3). With the exception of Dead Prez and Immortal Technique – and David Banner in a different sense –

I have felt no movement energy from any of the artists who have emerged over the last 10-12 years who were categorized or style themselves as ‘political’ or conscious. And certainly nothing like X-Clan, Public Enemy, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. & Rakim and Poor Righteous Teachers whom I believe all realized it was as important to inspire and make people feel the urgency of the moment, as it was to just share information. My point to “VW” was that you don’t start movements just based upon an artist’s intellectual development. The vast majority of conscious artists don’t have movement energy – while many street artists do – because they (conscious artists) don’t respect marketing nor do they respect the laws that govern the human mind which revolve around the use of language, symbolism, and how efficient the brain and mind must be in categorizing and classifying information and concepts. And because people really don’t think until they are forced too (see Volume 3 of my book on ‘search behavior’) it is possible to get an ‘ignorant ass street rapper’ to lead a conscious movement, not based upon intellect in terms of the books he or she has read, but because it is an act of creative self-preservation. Remember, the movement energy was so strong in the 80s that even Eminem was rocking African medallions! You weren’t even relevant if you didn’t have some form of pan-African sensibility (or could fake it).

David Banner

So this is more about marketing and understanding mass psychology than it is about making superficial judgments on face value of an artist’s personal level of positivity and negativity. And when the ‘conscious’ artist and activist understands that, she or he will understand the authority and credibility that groups like the Black Panthers once enjoyed and which – on a lesser level – the ‘gang’ approaches today on the street. But finally it is important to accept the fact that most artists no matter what they talk about on a track find it hard to accept a real leadership profile. In fact I have never met a rapper who wanted to be a leader as much as they wanted to be an artist. Not one. The closest was David Banner who I arranged to meet with his Congressman – Bennie Thompson, for a high-powered discussion on community development in his hometown of Jackson and his state of Mississippi. A conscious artist can sincerely desire to be a leader of a movement but unless they surround themselves with individuals who also want that for them and not just great ‘celebrity art’ it will not happen. Lyrical content is not enough. An artist must want to serve the people more than rise the ladder of celebrity status.

The I Have To Be The Smartest Person In The Room Syndrome (Ideology Matters More Than Strategy). If there were one major criticism that I would make of 95% of all conscious artists it is that they make music only for themselves or people who already think like them, or agree with them. Preaching to the choir is one of the best ways to limit your appeal leading to what I call ‘demographic death’ (have you ever noticed how all of the conscious artists in the Northeast are in their 30s and 40s and have no following among teenagers? They could all learn something from the example of Wise Intelligent and his latest ‘Djezuz Djonez’ project:http://www.djezuzdjonez.com/. Another talented artist to watch is the always witty and on message Jasiri X: http://www.youtube.com/user/jasirix).

Why did 50 Cent as opposed to a conscious rapper team up with Robert Greene to write a book?

Too many conscious rappers allow their ‘book knowledge’ to overpower their street knowledge, natural grasp of wisdom and common sense. That is why conscious artists aren’t very strategic (even though they shout out and quote great revolutionary warriors), while the more mainstream artists can be (why didn’t a political activist-artist rather than 50 Cent write a book with Robert Greene?). They allow ideological purity to become more important than effectiveness and influence. In my book I write about the Ideologue – a person who is loyal to principle and sincere but who literally can’t think on their feet, make any kind of necessary compromise in negotiation, and who mistakes a change in language with a deviation in core principles of belief or ‘dumbing down.’ In addition we all have insecurities and I find that many of us use book knowledge as a way to keep people from seeing our own imperfections, flaws, and shortcomings. In a sense, ‘being smart’ is a shield that keeps some of us from ‘being real.’ It also is the only way some of us would get attention, admiration or respect, we mistakenly feel. If conscious artists would develop their personalities or let more of it show, their popularity would increase.

And here, again we run into a problem because it appears that the ‘conscious’ audience actually demands that you remain unpopular in order to be authentic. It is crazy – the less people that claim you, the more ‘real’ you are in the eyes of the supposed ‘alternative,’ ‘underground,’ artistic fan base. Many in the underground rap community write to me to tell me I have failed to mention a particular artist they like (but which very few people have heard of). Many of these artists have been around for years and their following has not grown beyond the underground circuit. What I realize more and more each year is that the ‘underground’ wants to be just that – not in the mainstream (and that is fine if they can accept that means their audience will not grow beyond a critical mass) and because of that any ‘conscious’ artist who seeks their constant approval has to accept the marketing limitations that come with the endorsement and association.

A lot of left leaning conscious emcees like to quote Karl Marx but have never actually read him which does a grave disservice to their cause

It’s All Political Now (Eff The Science of Business). This is something I have been building on for years – the influence that mistaken or limited interpretations of Karl Marx (and the terminology he popularized) have had in causing many progressives and socialists to confuse historic and natural economic, business and trade and commercial activity with ‘capitalism.’ My personal litmus test for this continues – out of all of the great communist influenced opinion leaders of our generation in Hip-Hop that I have met or built with not one of them has really read the Das Kapital or Capital book series of Karl Marx. I don’t blame them, it is thousands of pages worth of material and my engagement of Volumes I and III has taken place over months and years, not days and weeks. But I’m sorry, with all due respect to the sincere Leftist – reading the history of the Cuban revolution, watching independently-produced documentaries, listening to progressive talk shows, and having a basic acquaintance with the terminology of the Communist Manifesto is great but it does not automatically make you an economic historian or anthropologist capable of explaining every aspect of reality and human cooperation through the lens of socialism. Entrepreneurial activity and economic pioneering (which is actually what produced Hip-Hop) is rooted in universal order and natural law and has nothing to do with any ‘isms’ – capitalism or socialism. This confusion actually causes conscious artists to disrespect their natural ally – economic understanding which would inform their lyrics and business moves.

As many of you know I have written about this in a controversial piece called ‘The “Consciousness” Of Wu-Tang Clan, Suge Knight and Jay-Z”(http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=529). Rallies, elections and protests are important, but they don’t substitute for an economic blueprint.

‘They’ Did It To Me (‘So What That I Have No Swagger Or Progressive Business Team …I’m Not Hot Because The ‘Industry’ Is Against Me’). This is the factor that hurts the most to write. But I must be honest. Most conscious artists because they lack a full economic consciousness and disrespect the science of marketing too often blame the corporate industry establishment for their own shortcomings. Don’t get me wrong I know the 10% is real (no one over the last decade has written more about the hidden hand and COINTELPRO-like activity in rap than me), and that there is a ceiling that exists for artists willing to speak certain truths and associate with certain truth-tellers and revolutionaries but anything that you are a reaction to, in fact, controls you. And many conscious artists are ‘controlled’ or limited by their fascination and resentment of the success of ‘mainstream’ corporate America-approved artists.

Take a look at what I wrote about the music industry’s power pyramid and ‘caste system’ (http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/chris-lighty-is-not-a-sell-out-the-music-industry-caste-system-hip-hoppreneur-%E2%84%A2-commentary-november-4-2009/) where I explain that in certain ways conscious artists are unsuccessful not because anyone is stopping them but because their career planning betrays their lyrical content and they fail to build the kind of team infrastructure that will market them in a way that is in harmony and alignment with their marketplace brand-reputation-image as ‘political,’ ‘conscious,’ or ‘positive.’ It is the most backward thing to see so-called revolutionary artists who rail against the industry publicly trying to attract the kind of business team that the mainstream corporate-approved artist has. It is as if the conscious artist lives in a world that only exists in their head. They preach independence but won’t get a lawyer or business manager from outside of the music industry. They claim to have an ‘alternative’ image but won’t hire a publicist who does ‘non-industry’ things. They rap about Africa but have no real on the ground connection in Africa. The street and mainstream artist is partially more successful than the conscious one because their creative work; brand-image-reputation and team infrastructure are in better harmony and alignment.

They preach independence but won’t get a lawyer or business manager from outside of the music industry. They claim to have an ‘alternative’ image but won’t hire a publicist who does ‘non-industry’ things. They rap about Africa but have no real on the ground connection in Africa. The street and mainstream artist is partially more successful than the conscious one because their creative work; brand-image-reputation and team infrastructure are in better harmony and alignment.

Mos def

Made In America. (The U.S.-Based Conscious MC Lacks Music, Message or Model To Attract The World). On a musical level, of the major ‘conscious’ artists, Mos Def is the exception here. Keep your eyes on him as he continues to experiment with new sounds that will expand his appeal abroad. But for the most part, consciousness in rap, from a creative standpoint has become a religion that has not updated its sermons to be equal to the time. Its political message has not been updated. In other words, if I don’t live in America the conscious artist has very little to offer me that I can relate to. This reality is why the most interesting, progressive, radical and innovative political rap is coming from regions of the world outside of the U.S. – Central and South America, Palestine, and Africa – who claim to inherit the legacy of the conscious rap of America from the latter 80s and early 90s. And these artists aren’t just quoting political leaders like we do here – they are influencing them, even entire elections like in places like Senegal. In Palestine rap is resistance. And that’s the difference, much of the conscious rap here is non-threatening and really establishment-oriented, as much as it tries to act like it is not.

When American progressives hear an album like ‘Distant Relatives’ by Nas and Damian Marley they are ‘inspired’ and encouraged and brag about the album on an artistic level but it doesn’t inform or engage any existing movement that they or ‘conscious’ U.S.-based artists are at the vanguard of; while for those who are part of movements pertaining to real issues in Africa, like Brian Chitundu, the Interim National Youth Director, of The Citizens Democratic Party of Zambia [www.thecitizensdemocraticparty.com], ‘Distant Relatives’ is a soundtrack for the work they are already doing to change the political climate of a nation that Britain once colonized. In a sense the American-based political rap community is romanticizing over revolution more than they are doing revolutionary work. It is why I have said that I feel in fact America has colonized rap, and the rest of the world is now liberating it (http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/what%E2%80%99s-next-for-hip-hop-the-end-of-its-american-colonization/). Here the disconnect between the intellectual and scholar whom the American conscious rapper claims and the struggle that the conscious rapper abroad (and even the street rapper based here) lives is apparent. One of my favorite readers from Africa (who also studies entrepreneurship and anthropology) – ‘Dalitso’ – made this point in relation to what I wrote last week regarding Rick Ross:

“One of my biggest critiques with alot of “Hip Hop intellectuals” is they don’t understand that the [street] artist’s message (which like you show in your article) is a [threat or] source of concern for larger America. Just the same way public intellectuals are the voice of “educated society,” artists are the voice for us – the wretched of the earth. There is a difference between an artist struggling to get out the environment and a scholar struggling to graduate. They both rep their alma mater when they ‘graduate’ but neither can understand the other until they suspend their beliefs and critical listening to the realities that they have each endured to become who they are without condescending attitudes, that’s why few artist can cross over or few “hip hop intellectuals” can be taken seriously – neither has a monopoly of truth. But when knowledge from both sides of the spectrum can be pooled together it creates multiple avenues of addressing an issue and most importantly like Jazz its movement music.”

My personal experience shows me that many more of the youth, street artists, gang members and artists from overseas are open to ‘listening to realities’ without ‘condescending attitudes,’ than the American-based ‘conscious’ artists and intellectuals who act like they know it all, and can be very close-minded. And largely because of that attitude and willingness to learn new languages, these other artists are becoming more and more relevant and influential.

My personal experience shows me that many more of the youth, street artists, gang members and artists from overseas are open to ‘listening to realities’ without ‘condescending attitudes,’ than the American-based ‘conscious’ artists and intellectuals who act like they know it all, and can be very close-minded. And largely because of that attitude and willingness to learn new languages, these other artists are becoming more and more relevant and influential.

My experience is that the ‘conscious’ rapper despite their inability to build a mass following, rather than introspectively asking ‘what can I learn and do in order to be more effective?‘ very often arrogantly looks down upon those who may have less information than them (in terms of academic education, political history, and current events) but who are much more effective at reaching the masses through symbolism, music quality, personality, and the creation of caricatures and charachters.

What matters now, in 2010, is not that you are ‘conscious,’ ‘progressive,’ or ‘political’ in terms of knowledge but that you are relevant with a personality that can transcend language, borders, creed, class and color. When progressives criticize President Barack Obama purely on political policy grounds and remain confused as to why he is so popular and appealing around the world, even though he is the American Emperor, it is because they don’t understand that he is reaching people with a personality and cultural identity that is universal and cosmopolitan. It is the same thing that made Muhammad Ali popular and claimed by the world, and what makes Minister Farrakhan a respected international leader. They authentically – through cultural kinship, religion, or careful use of language represent an identity broader than their current place of residence. If political and ‘conscious’ artists would suspend their knee-jerk ideological criticism of the President long enough (again, this is one of their hang-ups – ideology matters more than strategy), they would see that the Personality of Barack Hussein Obama is what the conscious artist needs, from a marketing standpoint.

As I wrote in “Barack Obama: Diasporic Personality, Cultural Entrepreneur, American Emperor” (http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/%E2%80%9Cbarack-obama-diasporic-personality-cultural-entrepreneur-american-emperor%E2%80%9D-remarks-given-by-cedric-muhammad-at-the-george-mason-university-%E2%80%98fall-for-the-book%E2%80%99-fest/):

“He’s mobile, cosmopolitan, sophisticated and a risk-taker. He embraces change – both technological and demographic. He deftly moves in and out of different perspectives and civilizations, which by the way dovetails nicely with the Aloha Spirit (which he absorbed in Hawaii, where he did middle and high school). His socialization skills and ability to adapt to different cultures is uncanny. But this also makes him the ultimate challenge to rigid forms of identity (tribe, race, religion, ethnicity, political ideology, partisanship, and nationalism). He is foremost a universalist. He resists and pushes back any time he is pigeon-holed or stereotyped.”

Here again, Immortal Technique and Dead Prez stand out.

Immortal Technique

Immortal Technique – who is originally from Peru is as capable of building on the block in Harlem, as he is speaking at Saviours’ Day (which he did in 2008) as he is appearing on international channel Russia Today (giving an interview after the flotilla incident which brought Israel and Turkey at odds publicly:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9WCrIWLKBY). And peep how Immortal does so while rocking his official T-shirt and a Yankees hat! His brand-image-reputation are in alignment.

And who but M1 of Dead Prez could be at the center of something as powerful as the Ni Wakati project (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVW4cTnpa6I) produced by the brilliant Michael Wanguhu that brought together rappers from East Africa and America for a real on-the-ground connection and collaboration? Although Dead Prez are socialist in political ideology, they respect something that I believe is even more powerful – cultural kinship. And I hope we will never forget the leadership and ‘creative risk’ Dead Prez took in doing a song with Jay-Z (the artist the conscious rap community may love to hate more than any other). I was one of the few willing to publicly praise them for ‘Hell Yeah’ (Pimp The System) remix (http://www.blackelectorate.com/articles.asp?ID=1087) and I still rock the hot ‘Revolutionary But Gangsta’ T-shirt in support.

It will be Diasporic personalities who are political but also marketable, like Queen Yonasda and Ana Tijoux, that will make it hot – in both the states and abroad this decade (http://allhiphop.com/stories/editorial/archive/2010/05/11/22213013.aspx).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_9Y-4PaU2U

It is so sad to see, at times, how superficial the conscious rap community can be.
Their/our narrow-mindedness actually repels artists more than it attracts them or influences them to say and do better.

If the decline of the conscious-based MC in America is to be stopped it will begin not with blaming a platinum artist or ‘the system.’

It must start with an honest look in the mirror.

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He’s a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and currently a Member of the African Union’s First Congress of African Economists. Cedric’s the Founder of the economic information service Africa PreBrief (http://africaprebrief.com/) and author of ‘The Entrepreneurial Secret’ (http://theEsecret.com/). He can be contacted via e-mail at: cedric(at)cmcap.com

original story: http://www.cedricmuhammad.com/the-decline-of-the-conscious-mc-can-it-be-stopped/

It’s NO LONGER Smart to be DUMB!

Filed Under: 2010 Daily News, Political articles Tagged With: An Important Sobering Article: The Decline Of The Conscious MC-Can It Be Stopped?, Ana Tijoux, Cedric Muhammad, Cointel-pro, Communist Manifesto, Conscious Hip Hop, David Banner, Dead Prez, Hip Hop intellectuals, Hip Hop scholar, Immortal technique, mos def, Muhammad Ali, The Citizens Democratic Party of Zambia, The Decline Of The Conscious MC: Can It Be Stopped?

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