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Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. Assaulted by Oakland & Emeryville Police on Eve of Chief Bratton Hearing

January 22, 2013 By
Fred Hampton Jr

Fred Hampton Jr

Apparently the State is not happy with the fact that Chairman Fred Hampton Jr of the P.O.C.C./BPPC is building bridges and doing work in Oakland with like-minded community organizations dedicated to improving life conditions for oppressed, repressed and terrorized citizens in the city of Oakland and beyond.

Tonight, at approximately 4pm, The Chairman and three of his comrades were trailed by police into the Target shopping center in Emeryville, just outside of West Oakland. Initially, they were stopped by two Oakland Police vehicles (IN EMERYVILLE). The police flashed their lights and ordered the passengers to both put their hands up and roll down the windows.  As this was occurring, another 10-12 police cars arrived and blocked off the entire parking lot.

The passengers were separated and one of the sisters in the vehicle was pulled from the car, slammed against a police SUV and her arm twisted.  Her arm was so badly injured that an ambulance later took her to a nearby hospital. BEFORE THE COP HAD EVEN OPENED THE CHAIRMAN’S WALLET HE SAID “Are you still at the same address in Chicago?” THEY KNEW WHO HE WAS BEFORE THEY PULLED HIM OVER. THIS IS A CLEAR INDICATION OF HARASSMENT IN RESPONSE TO POLITICAL ACTIVITY.

When asked why they were being pulled over, it was explained to them that a robbery had occurred in which a cell phone was stolen and the phone had been tracked to the Target parking lot. NOT THEIR CAR BUT, THE PARKING LOT. The Chairman pointed out that there were some 300 additional cars in the lot and so why their car but, received no answer.

The police then brought the supposed ‘victim’ of the robbery to the scene and paraded each one of the passengers in the Chairman’s vehicle in front of a bright light for the ‘victim’ to look at. S/he identified no one.

Following this, the police attempted to just walk away as if nothing had happened.  The Chairman and additional passengers requested and received the Sergeants name and are planning to file a formal complaint.

It should not be overlooked that last month, The Chairman sat on a panel examining the MXGM report “Every 36 Hours” that focused on the execution of Black men, women and children by police, security guards and vigilantes every 36 hours in Amerikkka. Additionally, last week, The Chairman joined hundreds of community members in speaking out against the hiring of William Bratton as consultant to the OPD at a City council Public Safety meeting. It should also not be overlooked that a follow up City Council meeting to address the Bratton issue is being held tonite  (Tues Jan 22 2013).

For more info and updates on this please go to http://chairmanfredjr.blogspot.com/2013/01/please-spread-widely-apparently-state.html

Here’s a recent intv we did w/ Chairman Fred about the plight of political prisoner Leonard Peltier,  Gun Control and killings in Chicago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qu8Cl0sfRQ

 

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Turning Outrage Into Power-National Hip Hop Political Convention

August 16, 2006 By

National Hip Hop Political Convention-nhhpc

Turning Outrage Into Power
By Malik Cooper, WireTap

Alternet — August 16, 2006

www.alternet.org/story/40441/

Saying hip-hop is global now isn’t telling you
something you don’t already know, unless you have been
living under a rock since Planet Rock first dropped.
But using the art form for political gains is something
new, and spearheading this movement is the National Hip
Hop Political Convention (NHHPC).

The 2006 NHHPC in Chicago — the second biennial
convention — opened on July 20 and over the course of
three days engaged over 1,000 participants in the
debates over issues like misogyny in hip-hop, media
justice, the aftermath of Katrina, grassroots activism,
organizational leadership and electoral politics. The
convention closed with a concert on Saturday featuring
Dead Prez, Chicago Poets and Boots Riley among many
other artists.

NHHPC was founded in late 2002 when some elders pulled
organizers from all over the country for the first
national convention in New Jersey that aimed at
creating a political agenda for the hip-hop community.
I first got involved at this time, as we worked at
finding the issues of our community. Born and raised in
California’s Bay Area, I had been speaking publicly
since a young age, but became really active when I
finished filming MTV’s Real World series. After the
show I traveled as a motivational speaker to colleges
and got involved with youth organizations committed to
the fight against Big Tobacco. Through a good friend I
got invited to the Bay Area’s Local Organizing
Committee (Bay-LOC) meeting, and began to get involved
in hip-hop politics.

Like other local organizers around the country, we went
around our community with issue sheets for people to
fill out, which we used to create a state agenda.
During the state convention individuals from over 30
states and Puerto Rico came together and created a
national agenda. By February 2005, a group of different
LOC members had a retreat in Atlanta and formed a
national body with a steering committee whose goals
were to help bring local groups together and facilitate
any national work that needed to be done.

After Bay-LOC returned to California, we began to
organize a local Hip Hop Summit at Laney College in
Oakland in September 2005. One day of workshops and a
concert, which included performances from Dead Prez and
E40, attracted thousands. We had support and speeches
from Rep. Barbara Lee and Bay-LOC’s own Dereca
Blackman, and handed out voter guides, which we rewrote
in new language that identified with the hip-hop
generation.

Around the same time, the Chicago-LOC began working as
a host committee for the next convention. It was up to
them to handle the event program, and the event’s
success can only be attributed to their hard work.

The convention itself started with a dialogue between
organizers of past movements like Civil Rights and
Black Power, including Fred Hampton Jr. (Prisoners Of
Conscience Committee), Cliff Kelley (WVON Radio Host),
Angela Woodson (Federation of Democratic Women), and
writer and activist Amina Norman-Hawkins. Organizers
both young and old felt this was needed, since many
believed the torch was never passed on to the new
generation.

Hip-hop politics today — as I see it — identifies
strongly with the Black Power movement; the lyrics in
conscious rap resonate with ideals of Malcolm X and
self-determination. The Bay Area especially identifies
with the Black Panthers since its roots are found here.
But all over the globe — and even in early days of
hip- hop, when most music came from New York — lyrics
focus on the social ills and mistreatment of people of
color in this country. The same “@#%$ the system”
attitude gave birth to gangsta rap. And although the
majority of it now focuses on the material and the
misogynistic, early pioneers of the art form told the
world what was going on or was absent in their
neighborhoods. In other countries like Brazil,
Venezuela, Cuba — today more than ever — hip-hop
serves this same purpose.

Not everyone at the convention represented a LOC, and
with the alliance building that had been taking place
since the NHHPC’s inception, I saw other hip-hop groups
like the Hip Hop Congress represented there in full
force, leading workshops and hosting the concert piece.
The League of Young Voters had a huge presence, and not
only helped raise money for the convention but also
taught workshops on branding the hip-hop political
movement, lobbying, base building and electoral
politics.

The first day’s workshops seemed geared at creating
better methods of organizing the organizers. Panels and
workshops focused on alliance building, using art for
activism, political prisoners, organizing against war
and occupation, hip-hop and gender politics,
nonviolence strategies, and the use of electoral
politics.

On that Friday afternoon, a jam-packed room of folks
from all over the country listened to Kali Acunu
(Jericho Amnesty Movement), Troy Nkrumah, (chair of the
NHHPC steering committee), and chairman Fred Hampton
Jr. (Prisoners Of Conscience Committee) talk about the
many political prisoners that are currently
incarcerated. Harman Bell, Kamau Sadiki, Zolo Azania
Ojora Lutalo, Rodney Coronado, and Veronza Bowers were
a few of the names mentioned. Rapper Immortal Technique
event came in and voiced his support on the issue, and
it definitely was one of the most informative panels.

Saturday, July 21, seemed to begin with many issue-
based workshops and panels on education, criminal
justice, health and wellness, Katrina, immigration,
gender rights, white privilege in hip-hop, and media
justice. The media justice panel included Lisa Fager
(Industry Ears) and Davey D (Hardknock Radio/Breakdown
FM), who talked about a variety of subjects like the
media’s control over hip-hop and net neutrality. The
immigration and gender rights were two new issues added
to the 2006 agenda. I led the panel on gender rights,
whose purpose was to expose some of the misogynistic
rap lyrics in a social context, allowing participants
to better understand why the popular rap pushed by
record executives and radio stations seem so focused on
portraying negative images.

After the panels were over, a concert was thrown with a
battle between local folks. Using all the elements of
hip-hop, from rapping, break dancing, DJ-ing and
graffiti, crews took to the stage to compete for a
$1,000 prize. Afterward, local conscious artists like
Akbar, and national artists like Dead Prez and Immortal
Technique gave amazing performances. Even Chicago’s
rain and thunder could not clear the crowd formed at
Mandrake Park.

Sunday was a day for the national steering committee to
hear the voices of participants. Delegates representing
different LOCs, artists and organizers for different
groups were allowed to change the agenda and recommend
action steps that the LOCs can take home and start
implementing. The location for the next convention will
be announced soon. Will it be back East in New York,
down South in Atlanta, out West in the Bay Area, or
will newly formed but highly active Las Vegas LOC take
the 2008 to its Red State? We shall have to wait and
see.

The organization as a whole has a talent at balancing
the varied political views of its members, some of
which seek to fight for social justice through
electoral politics, while others seemed more determined
to fight through grassroots activism. The way these
varied ideologies have still found a way to work
together for a common goal is why the NHHPC is still
going and growing strong. The structure with no leader
but still led strong through the local organizing
committee gives this organization a type of strength
that I have not seen in many other organizations that
function more top-down. I believe this unique model
will help keep their work relevant, and the
organization intact.

===
For more information about the NHHPC, or to learn how
to start a LOC (Local Organizing Committee) in your
area, go to HipHopConvention.org.

[Malik Cooper is the national spokesperson for the
NHHPC, as well as a Bay-LOC member. He also owns a
silk- screening and embroidery shop called People’s
Choice Printing.]

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Filed Under: archive articles, Hip Hop and Politics Tagged With: , , , , , ,

An Open Letter to the Hip Hop Community About Immigration

April 20, 2006 By
dbanner1newparis

An Open Letter to the Hip Hop Community About Immigration

by Adisa Banjoko
original article-April 20 2006
 
Below is a speech I gave in Watsonville, CA on April 17th 2006. I was invited to come down and speak by the Watsonville Brown Berets. Fred Hampton Jr. of the P.O.C.C. and Immortal Technique also represented HARD that day.
               
It was an amazing display of racial, political, religious and Hip Hop unity. There were b-boy circles, tons of performers, spoken word poets and vocal performers. Mexican, Black, Asian, White, Arab and Native Americans all came together in peace. There was no violence and no threats of violence. I must commend the Berets on making everyone feel welcome, secure and for running an efficient schedule. I dont have the official numbers but I estimated about 700 people to have been in attendance.
 
With me representing the west, Fred Hampton Jr. representing the Midwest and Immortal Technique repping the east- it was an unprecedented display of nationwide unity on the issue of justice for immigrants and justice for the youth. I was honored to have been a part of this event. I hope more people do their homework and research on the Brown Berets, the Black Panthers and why unity between Black and Brown is so important in this these times. My speech was entitled Keys to the True Unification of Black and Brown Peoples. Big shout out to Anas, JR, Mike Perry, Tomas, Scape Martinez and my man Apakalips from the Universal Zulu Nation. The beauty and power of this day will live in my heart forever, inshallah. 
 
Peace,
Adisa Banjoko
www.lyricalswords.com
 
As Salaam Alaikum,
 
My name is Adisa Banjoko. I am the author of Lyrical Swords Vol. 2: Westside Rebellion. It deals with Black and Brown unity. It deals with a lot of political and social issues that we face every day. I speak in a lot of places. Some times its prisons, sometimes its universities. Today I am honored to be here with the Brown Berets. I am honored to be here with the beautiful people of Watsonville.
 
I came today to talk about peace and unity. Peace and unity is something that we absolutely have to have in this moment, dealing with the Bush administration and the things we face today. The Black people of America cannot do it alone. The Latino people cannot do it alone. The Arab cannot do it alone. The Muslim, the Christian and the Jew cannot do it alone. The Buddhist cannot do it alone. We have to be unified in this moment.
 
Peace and unity are both byproducts of knowledge. Meaning that when I fist got into knowledge of self, as an African American, I was only focused on that. It took me a moment to learn about the beauty of the Mayan people, of the Aztec people, of Cesar Chavez and Delores Huerta.
 
I had to do that to be a true humanist. You have to read about humanity! If all I read about is me, and all I care about are the struggles of the Black man- then Im going to have a very small window [to see the spectrum of life through].
 
We have to take the time to defend one another. We cannot be afraid to defend one another. I am here defending you. Defending what you stand for. Defending your rights. This is your land. I wont pretend that its not. I stand here today as a descendent of slaves. I descendent of SLAVES.
 
I am Muslim. But the Dali Lama was here in the Bay Area just the other day with Hamza Yusuf from the Zaytuna Institute. They built upon the peaceful nature of both of these faiths. My faith has been demonized by the press.
 
 Since 911, many people from Saudi Arabia, many people from Pakistan, many people from Palestine, Iran and Yemen were harassed. They were sent to prison and abused by this Bush Administration. This was because of their faith, because of their race.
 
We must make America live up to its words on paper. Not just for my sake. Not just for your sake. Its for the sake of all people who walk on this soil. We deserve this justice. We are not asking for anything that is not already on paper. We are not asking for anything we dont already know that belongs to us here. It belongs to us here!
 
When you look at the ghettos across America, were very lucky to be on the west coast. Out integration levels are much higher than in other places like NY. The Blacks and Latinos dont always mesh [out there]. Thats tragic.
 
But thats why the Bay Area is so special. Thats why we have to seize this moment right now. Thats why we cannot hesitate to defend one another in this moment. My father is originally from New Orleans- from the Magnolia projects. My mother is originally from Monroe Louisiana.
 
But when my father came to the Bay in his youth, he grew up in the Mission District. As a young boy I was always around Delores Park. I was always around 24th and Mission. I was always around my Latino peoples.
 
I dont have another frame of reference for Latino peoples than my brothers. I have no other frame of reference. Its the first brotherhood I knew.  
 
Whether you are Mexican, Nicaraguan, Panamanian, Brazilian, Puerto Rican- we are all in the ghetto together! Oppressed by the same people. Struggling to get the same knowledge- that they hide from us in the schools. Struggling, to not be abused by the police. Struggling to find work and provide for our families, for our children and be safe.
 
Unity is the key. Arab unity. Black unity. Latino, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist Jew. The realest of us. THE REALEST OF US! We are all attacked by this administration. But there is another enemy.
 
Before I get to the other enemy I must mention that these people who attack usWho dont like events like thisThis is why todays event is so important. These people dont respect our history and they dont want our children to know it. They dont want your children to know their beautiful history- of Aztlan. They dont want my children to know the beautiful history of Africa.
 
But this other enemy- they are people within BOTH of our cultures. We have to work against the people who look like me- but they are against Black and Brown unity. We need to work against the people who look like YOU- but they are against Black and Brown unity. Because they can hurt this more than the Bush Administration, more than right wing republicans. More than any of them! We need to cleanse our own people, of the bigotry, and the fear [that causes distrust in our hearts].
 
I will take it on, on my side. But I need you to take it on, on your side so we can be truly united. I spoke just a few weeks ago at San Quentin Prison. I was on the exercise yard and I spoke to every group of people on the yard. Two minutes after I left there was a fight on the yard between Black and Brown. This is unacceptable.
 
I was just talking to them right before it happened. I said Yall need to be going back to the Brown Berets and yall need to be going back to the Panthers. Understand that I was speaking on the same soil where George Jackson and Jonathan Jackson were killed. We need to get back to that [ way of living together].
 
But a lot of the conflicts that do happen between Black and Brown happens because of drugs. It deals with crack, it deals with meth, it deals with ecstasy. It deals with things that dehumanize both of our people. Drugs have been used to destroy Black and Brown people.
 
We have to keep our children out of gangs. We have to be dedicated to that. We have to keep our children knowing that there is more beauty in knowing about Aztlan than knowing about the blunts. We have to let them know there is more beauty in then knowing about Africa, than knowing about crack, and thizzin and going dumb. We need to get smart in this moment.
 
We need to get smart in this moment! We need to fight in this moment! We cannot be afraid in this moment!
 
Cesar Chavez, Delores Huerta the Brown Berets the Black Panthers are better than any drug they can try and feed our children.
 
We have to be open enough to learn about other faiths. I do my best to read about other faiths all the time. I am a nonviolent man of God. I follow a Prophet of Peace. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. But I am not afraid to die for this. Im not afraid to die for anybody in this room. Im not afraid to die for the truth that Malcolm, that Martin that all of these freedom fighters before us- [loud applause roar]. If they did not do it, WE would not be here today. Lets be honest about that.
 
But yo, nothings going to hold me back, or block me. They gonna have to pop me to stop me. This is why Im here.
 
The corporate media machine does a great job of brainwashing our children. Of having our children wish that they were in jail. Of having our children on dope and violent against one another. They make it easy for them to fight against one another. We have to start taking the time privately and publicly to start squashing that.
 
An organization that I represent is called Project Islamic H.O.P.E. Its based in LA and led proudly by Najee Ali. If you go to www.islamichope.org you can see that hes working with the Mayor of Los Angeles to host a beautiful Black and Brown unity conference (June 3rd 2006).
 
I hope everybody goes to that. One day will not solve this. We have to make sure we are working tomorrow. We have to make sure we are working next month. We have to make sure that we are reading and reaching out.
 
I was just talking to my brother, Anas, on the way down. He said Look we have to utilize the internet. All of the organizers before us never had the ability to use the internet as a tool to organize. Just to find out our respective histories, let alone have direct contact. We have to use all levels of technology and all levels of online and offline strategies.
 
But you know brothers like Davey D promoted this event real hard. He was one of the ONLY people who went down to LA and supported yall in that march. Im sorry that more African American leaders from the old guard havent supported you. I dont know whats going on with them. I dont know what it says about their original intent that more of them did not step up and openly support you in Los Angeles.
 
But I am here. The young Muslim leadership is here. The young Black leadership is here. This is our time and I am with you. My people are with you. I promise you that. My man Apakalips from the Universal Zulu Nation is with you. Shamako Noble from the Hip Hop Congress is with you. Artists like Paris, T-Kash, Aya De Leon, Immortal Technique, Dilated Peoples, Nate Mezmer, Self Scientific. Follow those artists! Support those artists! They love you. They are rappin for you right now. You must support them.
 
Dont let your kids watch BET. Dont let your kids sit down in front of MTV. We have to be honest about this. Right now my man D Labrie from East Oakland is gonna spit this piece called Black & Brown. I told him I was doing this event, he kicked it to me over the phone and I had to have him come down and let you hear this. Thats my time. ALLAH U AKBAR! God is the greatest. May God bless ALL in this room so we can unite and fight every day.   
 
Adisa Banjokos next lecture is entitled Lyrical Warfare: Hip Hop,Religion and Politics in the New Century, at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania on Monday April 24th @ 7 PM. Rapper One Be Low will be ripping the mic at the close of the lecture. For more information email pr@lyricalswords.com .
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Filed Under: April '06-Articles, Essential Hip Hop Articles, Hip Hop Articles 2006, Political articles Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,