The Ancestors’ Call: Three Mighty Cultural Icons, James Earl Jones, Frankie Beverly, Sergio Mendes

It is not often that the Cultural Community must endure the loss of three icons in the span of six days.  That happened this week, when first Brazilian bossa nova and jazz-funk legend Sergio Mendes passed on to the Ancestors at 83 years of age on September 5 after a bout with long COVID, then it was announced on September 9 that James Earl Jones had transitioned at the age of 93, and finally, R&B legend Frankie Beverly, the founder and leader of Maze, left this mortal plane on September 10 at the age of just 77, shortly after announcing his retirement from performing and embarking on a farewell/thank-you tour.

No amount of praise can adequately convey the impact these giants had on the cultural landscape, particularly in the Afrikan American community.  So we will simply give a brief summary of each, in the hope that this brief tribute will be found to be acceptable by our New Ancestors.

Sergio Mendes, February 11, 1941 – September 5, 2024

I remember listening to classic tracks from Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66 on my father’s old stereo in the 1960s.  Songs like “Fool On The Hill” and perhaps his most famous release, Jorge Ben’s “Mas Que Nada”, lit up the air in our house with their Afro-Brazilian rhythms and melodic vocals.  “Mas Que Nada” would be covered and remixed by numerous Brazilian, Afrikan and World Beat artists, and Mendes himself issued a remix of the track in 2009 in collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas that reimagined the song in both Hip-House and Brazilian-House versions.

Wikipedia may occasionally be criticized because of the collaborative way in which it gathers and presents information, but in certain areas it is useful for providing summaries of important issues, and especially brief biographies of historical, political and cultural icons.  Here is what Wikipedia had to say about Sergio Mendes:

Sérgio Santos Mendes (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈsɛʁʒju ˈsɐ̃tuz ˈmẽdʒis]; 11 February 1941 – 5 September 2024) was a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his band Brasil ’66. He released 35 albums and was known for playing bossa nova, often mixed with funk. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as a co-writer of “Real in Rio” from the animated film Rio.

Mendes was primarily known in the United States, where his albums were recorded and where most of his touring took place. He was married to Gracinha Leporace, who performed with him from the early 1970s. Mendes collaborated with many artists, including the Black Eyed Peas, with whom he re-recorded in 2006 a version of his 1966 breakthrough hit “Mas que Nada”.

James Earl Jones, January 27, 1931 – September 9, 2024

What Brother didn’t wish he could conjure a voice with the resonant baritone and gravitas of James Earl Jones?  What Sister didn’t feel just a little flutter when he delivered his lines on stage and film?  My first memory of seeing him in person (I only saw him twice as I can recall) was when I was in high school (I think) at a theater production of Othello in Washington, DC.  The second time, my wife and I traveled to New York City in 2008 to catch the Broadway stage production of Tennessee Williams’s “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” which featured an all-Black cast of Mr. Jones, Phylicia Rashad, Giancarlo Esposito, Terence Howard (making his Broadway debut) and Anika Noni Rose.

Here is a brief summary of Mr. Jones’s bio from Wikipedia:

James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor known for his film roles and his work in theater. He was one of the few performers to achieve the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony). He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1985, and was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009, and the Academy Honorary Award in 2011.

Born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, in 1931, he had a stutter since childhood. Jones said that poetry and acting helped him overcome the challenges of his disability. A pre-med major in college, he served in the United States Army during the Korean War before pursuing a career in acting. His deep voice was praised as a “stirring basso profondo that has lent gravel and gravitas” to his projects. Jones made his Broadway debut in the play Sunrise at Campobello (1957). He then gained prominence for acting in numerous productions with Shakespeare in the Park including Othello, Hamlet, Coriolanus, and King Lear. Jones worked steadily in theater, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a boxer in The Great White Hope (1968), which he reprised in the 1970 film adaptation, earning him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

Jones won his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as a working class father in August Wilson’s Fences (1987). He was a Tony award nominee for his roles as the husband in Ernest Thompson’s On Golden Pond (2005) about an aging couple, and as a former president in the Gore Vidal play The Best Man (2012). His other Broadway performances included Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008), Driving Miss Daisy (2010–2011), You Can’t Take It with You (2014), and The Gin Game (2015–2016). He received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2017.

Jones made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove (1964). He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Claudine (1974). Jones gained international fame for his voice role as Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, beginning with the original 1977 film. Jones’s other notable films include The Man (1972), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Matewan (1987), Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Sneakers (1992), The Sandlot (1993), The Lion King (1994), and Cry, the Beloved Country (1995). On television, Jones received eight Primetime Emmy Awards nominations winning twice for his roles in thriller film Heat Wave (1990) and the crime series Gabriel’s Fire (1991). He also acted in Roots (1977), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), Picket Fences (1994), Homicide: Life on the Street (1997), and Everwood (2004).

Frankie Beverly, December 6, 1946 – September 10, 2024

How many of us didn’t wish we could sing like Frankie Beverly?  How many times have we practically begged the DJ (I should know, I’ve been a DJ for over 40 years) to play “Before I Let Go” by Maze, even after Beyonce had released her cover of the iconic song?  Maze and Frankie Beverly were a fixture from my college years in the late 1970s and early 1980s to the present day.  

Wikipedia said about him in a brief update to their page upon his passing:

Frankie Beverly (born Howard Beverly, December 6, 1946 – September 10, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and producer, known primarily for his recordings with the soul and funk band Maze.[1] Beverly formed Maze, originally called Raw Soul, in his hometown of Philadelphia in 1970. After a relocation to San Francisco and an introduction to Marvin Gaye, Maze went on to release nine Gold albums and create a large and devoted following. Beverly was the band’s writer, producer and lead singer. He was known for his distinctive smooth baritone voice and charismatic stage presence.

The song “Silky Soul”, from the 1989 album of the same name, was dedicated to the great Marvin Gaye, but the lyrics could just as easily apply to the great Frankie Beverly.

There was a man I knew
Who was smooth as smooth can be
His music his smile
And his sweet sweet melody
Do you recall that mentor
And the voice with the velvet touch
I’ll never forget how he moved us all so much

Do you remember
That special one that very special one
I do remember
How much he’s done
I can still here his sweet song

Silky silky soul singer (repeats)

“The R-evolution Is Black Love” Interviews Baba Nati of Everyone’s Place on Hand Radio, Wednesday, September 11, 2024

The Wednesday, September 11 edition of “The R-evolution Is Black Love” features an interview with Baba Nati, proprietor of Everyone’s Place, located on North Avenue in the Penn-North neighborhood of West Baltimore.

Everyone’s Place has been a staple of the Black Cultural Community in Baltimore City for several decades, and Baba Nati or recognized across the city and throughout the state of Maryland as a community treasure.  Show host Sis. Tomiko talks to him about his lifetime of work as an educator and activist in the Baltimore-area Pan Afrikan Community.  

“The R-evolution Is Black Love” can be heard every Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM on Hand Radio (https://handradio.org).  After the show airs, the show can be listened to in-demand in Hand Radio’s site as well as an updated version of this post and the Media Pages of KUUMBAReport Online (https://kuumbareport.com) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (https://srdcinternational.org).

The R-evolution Is Black Love
Wednesdays at 3:00 PM, Hand Radio

https://handradio.org
https://kuumbareport.com
https://srdcinternational.org
https://kweli.tv

 

 

“The R-Evolution Is Black Love” features Health Food Proprietor Coy Dunston of Secrets of Nature (Washington, DC)

The Wednesday, August 28 edition of “The R-Evolution Is Black Love” features Baba Coy Dunston, proprietor of Secrets of Nature in Washington, DC. Sis. Tomiko, host of “The R-Evolution Is Black Love”, interviewed him at his location about his introduction to healthy foods and the struggles he has endured to continue to promote healthy choices for the people. The program airs at 3:00 PM Wednesday, August 28. “The R-Evolution Is Black Love” can be heard every Wednesday at 3:00 PM on HANDRadio, https://handradio.org.

Following is a brief profile for the August 28 program:

Understanding the dire need for healthy food options, Coy Dunston, 76, opened up his shop in 1980 with the mission to save lives.

His passion for nutrition started in 1980, as a recent graduate of Antioch Law (now University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law).

“I took a break to go home just to see my mother,” said Dunston, who was born and raised in Louisburg, North Carolina. “She was complaining about itching and had gone to the doctor.”

Days later she was diagnosed with cancer at Duke University Hospital and was released for denying chemotherapy treatments.

“I felt an obligation to do something, I wasn’t going to wait for her to die. I started researching,” Dunston shared. “One day on the drive to D.C., I stopped to fill up my gas in Richmond. There was a guy there distributing an informational pamphlet about reversing disease and how to get well.”

Intrigued, Dunston attended the meeting advertised after seeing the words “Nature’s sunshine” on the paper. He was determined to learn more about the organization’s methods.

“I thought ‘Wow, this has to be a message to me.’ I was flabbergasted; I had not heard of anything they were talking about. I immediately got involved. My mother and I started fasting, taking the herbs and doing the things you are supposed to do,” he said. “She lived for 10 years after that. That’s how I got involved in this business.”

Proven successful in this new lifestyle, Dunston set out on a fast track to educating the masses on healthy options, starting “Yours Naturally” on 16th and K streets NW with the knowledge needed to provide treatments to cure illnesses and ailments. He promoted a strict regimen of “no dairy, no sugar, no meat.”

“But the question was ‘where are you going to get that,’” said Dunston. “This was the 1980s, no one was selling vegetarian food like that back then.”

“I was there about 10 years and around the eighth year I moved around the corner to The Washington Post’s building where I saw an opportunity to open up a kitchen, my first kitchen,” he continued.

The meals created were served lovingly and filled with natural nourishment — a stark difference from Dunston’s diet while being raised as the son of a sharecropper.

After the broadcast, the program can be listened to below and on our Media Page.

The video of Sis. Tomiko’s interview with Baba Dunston should be available for viewing at this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2xttw7qaakpt06jsyqzhe/Revolution-is-Black-Love-Secrets-of-Nature-video.mp4?rlkey=fnhmg8vo738le6yd7ha3cye1h&st=ao8x5swq&dl=0

Garvey Day 2024 in Various Parts of the Diaspora

This Saturday marks the birthday of The Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey (17 August 1887 – 10 June 1940), the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL).  All around the world, Afrikan People celebrate his birth on this day.  Below we share the announcements of just a few of the commemorations of The Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey on this day.

Panama City, Panama

First, in Panama, where local activists and Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) Facilitators Ras Bukie and Empress Yesury Nurse, longtime adherents of Garveyism, are holding a commemoration at then statue of Marcus Garvey that they had led the effort to have erected in a public park in the area of Panama City.  The event is scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM Eastern Time (US).  See the flyer below for details, including a Zoom link for those who would like to participate online.  The text of the flyer is in Spanish here, but the link should be easy to follow nonetheless, and English speakers will also be present at the commemoration.

Baltimore, Maryland’s Garvey Day Celebration

Baba Charlie Dugger has held cultural and educational events in the Baltimore, Maryland area for several decades through his organization Camp Harambee (The People), including the annual Marcus Garvey Day celebrations of the birthday of the Pan-Afrikan giant and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). Now Baba Charlie Dugger is sponsoring the 2024 Garvey Day celebration, in West Baltimore’s Harlem Park, as always.  The commemoration starts at 12:00 Noon and is scheduled to go until 7:00 PM.  See the flyer below doe details.

Harlem, New York

New York is where the historic UNIA Convention was held which had drawn upwards if 25,000 participants (Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association – Black History Month 2024), in an era ling before we had social media and Web sites to inform the populace.  A special commemoration is planned in Harlem.  This year, Harlem is again hosting its Garvey Day celebration.

The R-Evolution Is Black Love features Grandmother Walks On Water, Wednesday, August 14 on HANDRadio

The August 14 edition of The R-Evolution Is Black Love features Special Guest Grandmother Walks On Water, who will talk with show host Sis. Tomiko about their continuing series on Generational Curses.

The R-Evolution is Black Love is heard every Wednesday at 3:00 PM on HANDRadio (https://handradio.org).  Be sure to tune in at 3:00 PM this Wednesday.

If you miss the show, it will be posted on the KUUMBAReport Media Page shortly after the initial broadcast.

The R-Evolution Is Black Love
HANDRadio (https://handradio.org/)
KUUMBAReport (https://kuumbareport.com)
Kweli TV (https://kweli.tv)
We Buy Black (https://webuyblack.com)

“The seed you plant in love, not matter how small, will grow into a mighty tree of refuge” — Afeni Shakur

“I believe in the sweat of love and in the fire of truth” — Assata Shakur

 

The R-evolution Is Black Love: A New Podcast by Sis. Tomiko

Sis. Tomiko is back on the airwaves with her new podcast “Th R-evolution is Black Love”.  Following up on the legacy of Africa500, this new show airs on Hand Radio (https://handradio.org) every Wednesday at 3 PM Eastern Time (United States).

The first two shows, airing on July 24 and July 31, featured Special Guest Dr. Dana Reynolds, Founder of Mount Meru Holistic Earth in New Jersey.

To listen to the July 31 show, click below:

 

 

 

 

“Black August” Black Women’s Defense Cooperative Town Hall Set for Saturday, August 24 at TNAT in East Baltimore (Updated)

UPDATE: A list of confirmed presenters has been added.  See the updated flyer in this post for details.

Black August is here.  This is an important time of year for the Black Struggle and for Pan Afrikan Organizing, and there is much to inspire us and to shake us out of our collective slumber in the month of Black August.  The Haitian Revolution began on August 22, 1791.  Nat Turner’s Rebellion was launched from August 21-23, 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia.  We celebrate the birthday of The Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey on August 17, 1887.  (We will share the announcement of Marcus Garvey Day in Baltimore, Maryland, which is organized every year by Baba Charlie Dugger and Camp Harambee The People, when that announcement is made.  The anticipated date for Marcus Garvey Day in Baltimore is Saturday, August 17, the actual birthday of The Honorable Marcus Garvey.)  We also remember Black Panther Party Field Marshal George Jackson, who was assassinated on August 21, 1971.  And so much more.

“Black August began in the 1970s to mark the assassination of the imprisoned Black Panther, author, and revolutionary George Jackson during a prison rebellion in California. It is a time of reverence to honor political prisoners, freedom fighters, and martyrs of the Black freedom struggle. This month, we celebrate all the political prisoners who have helped us understand that prison is political and that our collective freedom depends on abolishing the state’s capacity, through incarceration, policing, and surveillance, to disrupt communities and diminish principled struggle against the unjust status quo. The month of August is also rich with the history of Black resistance outside, from the Haitian Revolution to the Watts rebellion and the Ferguson uprising. Black August is a reminder of the power in unity, and a mandate to continue joint struggle.”

– from Black August – A Celebration of Freedom Fighters Past and Present | Center for Constitutional Rights (ccrjustice.org)

“As detailed on the Black Collective website, ‘Black August is honored every year to commemorate the fallen freedom fighters of the Black Liberation Movement.’ Rather than simply being retrospective, the month is intended to be forward-looking, encouraging participants ‘to call for the release of political prisoners in the United States, to condemn the oppressive conditions of U.S. prisons’ and to engage in other liberation-aimed political activities.”

– from Blavity News and 5 Things To Know About Black August: An Unforgotten Part Of Black History (yahoo.com)

“Black August was first established in the 1970s by incarcerated Black activists who were fighting against systemic racism and oppression in the United States. These activists wanted to create a month-long tribute to the Black freedom fighters who had come before them, and to draw attention to the ongoing struggle for Black liberation.

“Today, Black August is celebrated in various forms by communities and organizations across the United States and around the world. It is a time to reflect on the rich history of the Black community, and to celebrate the strength, resilience, and creativity of Black people in the face of ongoing challenges and struggles.”

– from The Origins and Principles of Black August: Understanding its Significance | Black August (black-august.com)

The time is now to get to work organizing our community.  In fact, the time has been “now” for as long as we have been aware of the concept of time.  But many of us have been asleep or hunkered down in our homes and our safe spaces, especially since the onset of the COVID Pandemic.  Now it’s time to come out of our safe spaces and get back to organizing.  We’re following up on our recent July 13 Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meeting in Baltimore to continue the momentum that we’re building post-COVID. 

Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meeting: Saturday, August 24, 12 Noon, Temple of New African Thought

The next Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meeting of the Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition (MPACC) will be held on Saturday, August 24 at the Temple of New African Thought (TNAT), 5525 Harford Road in East Baltimore.  The Town Hall is scheduled to begin at 12:00 Noon and will conclude between 4:00 and 5:00 PM.

The topic will be the building of the Black Women’s Defense Cooperative, featuring presentations from Sisters of Pan Afrikan (Black) Communities of Baltimore, Philadelphia and the surrounding area.  Issues concerning personal self-defense, community defense and security, and general emergency preparedness will be addressed.

For more information, email cliff@kuumbareport.com.

Below is a “printer-friendly” version of the flyer:

 

 

 

Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition Holds Pan Afrikan Town Hall at Temple of New African Thought in East Baltimore

July 13, 2024 saw the “rebirth” of the effort to bring out, organize and harness the voice of the Pan Afrikan grassroots community so that our voice can be included in the larger effort to bring that Pan Afrikan voice to the World Stage.  The first Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meeting since 2019 (post-COVID) was held at the Temple of New African Thought (TNAT) at 5525 Harford Road in East Baltimore.  The meeting was organized by the Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition (MPACC), a broad coalition of Pan Afrikan organizers and activists from the areas of spirituality, culture, economics, education, political organizing, law, prison outreach, grassroots organizing, revolutionary Pan Afrikanism and more.  (More on the Cooperative Coalition can be found on this site under the heading “Spokes of the Wheel”.)  These activists hail mainly from Baltimore City, but several are also located in Laurel Maryland, Randallstown Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia, with occasional participants from Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Chicago Illinois, Detroit Michigan, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas and Panama.  The Cooperative Coalition hopes to spark similar efforts across the United States and throughout the Diaspora, either as local Cooperative Coalitions that then link together or by expanding directly from Maryland into a national or global Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition.

The plan for the July meeting is to regain momentum for these Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meetings throughout the entire global Pan Afrikan community that had been dissipated when the COVID pandemic struck in 2020, and to move the work of organizing our community forward once again, led by the voice of our grassroots communities.

Purpose of the Town Hall

The Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meetings, originally organized in Baltimore starting in the summer of 2007 by the Maryland Organizing Committee of the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) under the direction of the SRDC Secretariat, brought together members of the grassroots Pan Afrikan Community to bring out, organize and harness the voice of the community so that we can be included in the larger effort to bring that Grassroots Pan Afrikan voice to the World Stage.  SRDC had started holding these Town Hall Meetings in California, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Washington State in 2006 and early 2007, with other groups doing similar work in Central America and Europe.  The overall plan for the Town Hall Meetings was to accomplish the following goals within our local communities:

  • Explain the strategy of bringing our voice to the World Stage
  • Discuss the role of the African Union (and, later, the United Nations and other international organizations) in the pursuit of that strategy
  • Discuss issues that are important to the local community and show the connection of those issues with the international work
  • Build a Local/State Pan Afrikan Agenda with the Community
  • Have the Community nominate & elect a Representative Delegation who will be able to speak for them (Council of Elders, Representatives, Observers)
  • Discuss how the Representative Delegation can work with other Delegations from throughout the Diaspora to bring a voice from the people to international gatherings of the AU, UN and other bodies

The effort in Maryland was designed to bring that local voice to SRDC’s national gatherings (Summits) with other local communities across the United States and elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere.  The local Pan Afrikan Agendas would come together to form a larger Pan Afrikan Diaspora Agenda, which would then be taken to the African Union, the United Nations and the Organization of American States (OAS) through civil-society organizations they have established to hear the concerns and the ideas of “non-state actors” from our grassroots communities.

The Town Hall Meetings in Practice

From 2007 through 2017, Maryland averaged about one Pan Afrikan Town Hall Meeting per year, plus an annual Kwanzaa presentation when SRDC was invited to participate in weeklong Kwanzaa celebrations by the Baltimore-based Pan African Liberation Movement (PLM), a strong Pan Afrikan grassroots organization in the Baltimore area.  These meetings continued in Maryland despite occasional indifference from several African Union officials, the United Nations’ failure to effectively respond to those it considered “stateless” (Afrikan Americans, for example, do not possess an official state of our own, even though we often refer to ourselves as “a nation within a nation”) and the resulting discouragement among Afrikan Diaspora populations that often resulted from the lack of progress toward our organizational goals.

In 2017, SRDC “cranked up” the frequency of the Town Hall Meetings, with five in the second half of that year which resulted in the formulation, with the community who attended them, of a Maryland Pan Afrikan Agenda document and the establishment of what would become the Maryland Council of Elders (MCOE) in January of 2018.

In 2018 and 2019, MCOE and SRDC held seven more Town Hall Meetings in which guest speakers made presentations to the community on political issues, international meetings if the United Nations and the history and legacy of Pan Afrikan organizing.

The COVID Pandemic, with the constant reports of family, friends and celebrities falling ill and sometimes dying from the disease, the overrun hospital emergency rooms , the stressed-out medical personnel and the sense of insecurity and paranoia that gripped the populace, interrupted the momentum that had been built up from those Town Hall Meetings, as public gatherings as a whole were curtailed in favor of occasional virtual meetings over Zoom, Google Meet and other online providers.  As a result, the progress gained by the steady in-person Town Hall Meetings was slowed until COVID was essentially brought under control.

Sis. Kim Poole and Sis. Tomiko.

The year 2024 brought a renewed focus on holding in-person Town Hall Meetings, either because the pandemic had lessened in its severity, or because better treatments had been developed to render COVID less deadly, or simply because the people became tired of the isolation that had been endured over the previous three to four years.  In-person gatherings from African Liberation Day and Race 1st Rallies in West Baltimore’s Lafayette Square Park in the summers to Town Hall Meetings co-sponsored by the Maryland Council of Elders (MCOE) and Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) since the fall of 2023 began to bring out the community again.  At this point, the Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition (MPACC), which had been meeting over Zoom for just over two years, began holding the Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meetings once again, this time as a cooperative effort of SRDC, Aging People in Prison Human Rights Campaign (APP-HRC), The National Black Unity News and other organizations and activists with whom we have been meeting over the previous two-plus years.

The July 13, 2024 Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall officially began the process of picking up where the effort had left off in 2020.

The July 13 Town Hall

This event, as was mentioned above, took place at the Temple of New Afrikan Thought (TNAT), located on Harford Road in East Baltimore.  We thank Dr. Ausar Winkler for making TNAT available for this important community event, as he has for several Pan Afrikan organizations in the area. 

The event started with a brief introduction of the Central Committee of the Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition:

  • Sis. Tomiko is a Cultural Anthropologist specializing in systemic & institutional identities, culture of racism, historical & generational trauma, healing paradigms & models.  She is the Founding Director of Aging People in Prison-Human Rights Campaign (APPHRC), which works for the release of aging men & women incarcerated in US prisons.  She is the Principal Organizer of SOLITUDE, an international human rights think tank studying the impact of intergenerational incarceration and loss of human resources to Black women of African descent in the US over the last 500 years.  In November 2023, she led a delegation to the Organization of American States Inter-American Human Rights Council (Washington, DC) to discuss the impact of the last 40 years of mass incarceration on Black Women.  In April 2024, she led another delegation of experts to the Third Session, UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent in Geneva, Switzerland.  She is a major supporter and champion of the Community Defense Proposal and the Emergency Preparedness Plan.  She is also an Executive Committee member, Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition.
  • Baba David Murphy is the Publisher of The National Black Unity News, founder and manager of the Black Information Portal and widely known as the “Networker of Networks”, supporting journalists, columnists and podcasters through the paper, its associated Web site, and regular podcasts.  Baba Murphy is also a Founding Member of BlackMen Unifying BlackMen, a grassroots organization that has built unity among Black Men through monthly breakfast meetings at Black-owned establishments for over nine years, as well as an annual event to honor Black Men who have made major contributions to the community.  He is a member of the Maryland Council of Elders as well as the National Black Council of Elders, bringing information, wisdom and guidance to the Pan Afrikan community in Maryland and across the country.
  • Bro. Cliff Kuumba is the Maryland Facilitator of the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) which seeks to elevate the grassroots voice of the Pan Afrikan diaspora to the world stage through international organizations such as the African Union, United Nations, Organization of American States and independent Pan Afrikan Conferences and organizations; is a member of the North America Regional Coordinating Committee of the Pan African Federalist Movement (PAFM) whose mission is the building of a federalized Afrikan Continent (55 Afrikan nations, Afrikan countries in the Caribbean and Central America, and Black populations in countries around the Diaspora) as the United African States; and is the moderator of the Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition and serves with Sis. Tomiko and Baba David Murphy on the MPACC Central Committee.  Bro. Cliff is also the Editor of KUUMBAReport Online.

Several special presentations were also made:

Baba Bomani Uhuru Jihad Shakur and Dr. Ausar Winkler, Proprietor of TNAT.

Baba Bomani Uhuru Jihad Shakur is a Conscious New Afrikan Citizen living in the New Afrikan Population District of Dr. John Henrik Clarke Town.  He is a New Afrikan Revolutionary Nationalist, New Afrikan Propagandist, New Afrikan Ourstorian, Author, Poet, Advocate of New Afrikan Political Prisoners, New Afrikan Prisoners of War, New Afrikan Political Exiles, Captured New Afrikan Citizens and Political Prisoners/Prisoners of War from the Black Liberation Movement.  He is the Vice Chancellor of George Jackson University, Acting Spokesperson for George Jackson University, Host of George Jackson University Radio and a member of the Black August Organizing Committee.  Baba Bomani has been a Conscious New Afrikan Citizen since 2002, as well as various associations in other organizations and collectives.  He has traveled from the state of Georgia to be with us today and share some of his knowledge, experience, expertise and wisdom. 

Baba Bomani’s presentation stressed specific provisions we all need to be ready to make in response to an emergency, such as:

  • “Bug-out bags” so that important documents and supplies (food, medicines, identification, clothing, defensive weapons) will be at a person’s fingertips in the event of an emergency requiring an immediate evacuation
  • Alternate sources of power: battery, solar cells
  • Provisions in case of emergency (Food, Medical supplies. Tents, blankets and other provisions) stored in the home or on the premises in case of the collapse of the power grid or isolation from food sources
  • Phone trees and communications to look out for each other

Baba Thomas Ruffin, Esq.

Baba Thomas Ruffin, Esq. is a Washington, DC-based lawyer who has regularly lent his legal expertise and personal time to the pursuit of justice, in particular for the efforts to win the freedom of a number of Political Prisoners that resulted from the US government’s efforts to destabilize and destroy the Black Liberation Movement in the 1960s and 1970s.  He serves on the board of directors of the International Association of Black Lawyers, and he is the legal counsel for the Maryland Coalition for Justice and Progressive Change, which is chaired by local activist and Elder Rev. Annie Chambers in East Baltimore.  Baba Ruffin has been a participant in the building of the Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition since its founding in January 2022, and has made strong contributions to the development of the Coalition over that time, including the proposal for a Cooperative Community Defense Plan, which he traveled from Washington, DC to share with us. 

The essence of his proposed Cooperative Community Defense Plan includes the following elements:

  • License, certification and training in defensive weapons to respond to terrorist or vigilante attack
  • Adequate provisions in case of an emergency that causes a disruption to the electrical grid or to food and water access
  • Property: where to go in an emergency?  Identifying safehouses and similar locations 75-250 miles from the location of an environmental or civil defense emergency
  • An up-to-date passport in case of the need to leave the country in response to a national emergency or civil defense disaster
  • Phone trees and communications to look out for each other

Mama Marcia Bowyer-Barron.

Mama Marcia Bowyer-Barron is a longtime Baltimore City Resident and member of the New Shiloh Seniors Community.  She is a member of the Maryland Council of Elders which was founded in December 0f 2017.  She has been a contributor to the mission of the Maryland Organization of the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC), and she is a participant in the building and advancement of the Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition. 

“MotherMarci”, as many of us in the Maryland Pan Afrikan community call her, gave a presentation about the plan to build a Pan Afrikan Senior Advocacy Network to accomplish the following objectives:

  • Basic Needs of Seniors: Shelter, Food, Clothing, Phone
  • Health and Medical Care, Response to Senior Emergencies
  • “Buddy Care”, Regular Well-Being and Status Checks
  • No Senior should be suffering or struggling with poverty, homelessness, illness or isolation
  • Lift Our Seniors from “Survival Mode”
  • Senior Entrepreneur Expos
  • The intent is also to replicate this program in other areas.

Baba Leon Waters, appearing from New Orleans via Zoom.

Baba Leon Waters is the curator of the community-based Louisiana Museum of African American History, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the founder of the Hidden History Project, www.hiddenhistory.us.  Baba Leon Waters has educated the New Orleans community and Afrikan history students about the historic 1811 Slave Revolt, sometimes referred to as the “German Coast Uprising”, considered the largest slave revolt in US history, which took place from January 8-10, 1811 on the east bank of the Mississippi River and swept through seven plantations covering three modern-day parishes in Louisiana.  Baba Waters is a direct descendant of the Afrikans who led and participated in the Revolt, as recounted in the book On To New Orleans: Louisiana’s Heroic 1811 Slave Revolt by Baba Albert Thrasher, available at www.hiddenhistory.us.  Baba Waters has led numerous 1811 Slave Revolt tours in which the path of the revolt is followed as a reminder to participants of the importance of resistance to enslavement and tyranny.  Baba Waters was also instrumental in the organizing of the largely-Afrikan community in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, riding out the storm when it hit in September 2005 and then gathering together local activist organizations to fight against the forced removal and gentrification efforts that were taking place, particularly in New Orleans’s hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward.  Together with Baba Malcolm Suber and Baba Kali Akuno, Baba Waters helped organize the week-long September 2007 Hurricane Katrina Tribunal, which brought together an international panel to hear analysis and testimony about the city, state and country’s failure to adequately prepare for and respond to the hurricane, as well as atrocities that took place in its wake.  Baba Waters still lives in the New Orleans area and continues to bring knowledge and a commitment to struggle to the community.  He wrote an essay about his experience in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the effort of the local and national political ruling class to use the disaster to reshape the area through gentrification, “State Terror and White Supremacy Triumph ‘Temporarily’ in New Orleans”, which can be read here.

Baba David Murphy.

Baba David Murphy, who we introduced you to at the beginning of this article, spoke about the importance of building an independent Black Media network as the Publisher of The National Black Unity News.  The degree to which the lack of positive images of Blackness in the media had built up his feelings of anger as a young man, and the community healing he has witnessed as a result of his work with The National Black Unity News and the work of other providers of constructive, positive information for the people, were and are a constant motivation for him to continue with his important work.  The newspaper is currently published quarterly, and it serves as an outlet for numerous commentators, Black businesses and podcasters that include Bro. Vernon Streeter of Unity TV and Mama Kim Williams and Mama Cynthia Jahi, who assist homeowners facing financial difficulties with their business.

The holding of this Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meeting is important for a variety of reasons, perhaps the most important of which is that it marks a return to a level of community engagement that we had not seen in over three years.  TNAT has been host to several important community events over the last year, from the UNIA Barca-Clarke Chapter No. 106 in Baltimore City, from the Pan African Liberation Movement (PLM) and from a number of other organizations and individual activists.  TNAT also features the Diasporan Soul Cafe, which offers a variety of delicious dishes that take one back to the communities of Afrika and the Caribbean, including curry dishes, ginger beer, sorrel bisap and vegan meals that are sure to please the palate.  Music from Afrika and the Diaspora soothes the soul, while a variety of books, Afrikan masks and health items rouse the spirit, spark the intellect and lead one to a sense of balance.  When you are in East Baltimore, be sure to check out the Temple of New African Thought, get some nourishment from the Diasporan Soul Cafe and stimulate your mind by interacting with others or checking out one of the events that are held in the space.  The Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition will be scheduling more Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meetings in the year 2024 and beyond, and the Temple of New African Thought will surely be an important meeting place for us and for other organizations, a prominent fixture on the Pan Afrikan community landscape.

State Terror and White Supremacy Triumph “Temporarily” in New Orleans, by Leon A. Waters

Below is the essay by Baba Leon Waters, Curator of the Louisiana Museum of African American History, titled State Terror and White Supremacy Triumph “Temporarily” in New Orleans, written on July 3, 2015, just under ten years after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Louisiana.  Baba Leon Waters had ridden out the hurricane when it struck in 2005, and this essay comes from his experiences in the ten days of the immediate crisis, his forced removal from the city by armed police afterward, and what he found upon his return five weeks later. 

State Terror and White Supremacy Triumph 'Temporarily' in New Orleans-(7-11-24)

 

UPDATE: Maryland Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meeting Set for Saturday, July 13 in East Baltimore

The Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition (MPACC), in cooperation with Aging People in Prison Human Rights Campaign (APP-HRC), the George Jackson University (GJU) and the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC), will hold our first post-COVID Pan Afrikan Community Town Hall Meeting at the Temple of New Afrikan Thought, 5525 Harford Road in Easy Baltimore, on Saturday, July 13 from 12 noon to 4 PM.  

  • We will briefly introduce the Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition.
  • We will share ideas for a Community Cooperative Defense Plan.
  • We will discuss issues of Emergency Preparedness and how the community can be ready to respond to emergencies.
  • We will explain and discuss the process of organizing and establishing our grassroots voice on the world stage that was started by SRDC in 2007, continued until COVID and will be resumed this year.

Confirmed guests include:

  • Baba Bomani Uhuru Jihad Shakur, George Jackson University, Host of George Jackson University Radio, Black August Organizing Committee (Emergency Preparedness Plan)
  • Baba Thomas Ruffin, International Association of Black Lawyers and the Maryland Coalition for Justice and Progressive Change (Community Cooperative Defense Proposal)
  • Baba Leon Waters, Louisiana Museum of African American History, New Orleans Historian of the 1811 Slave Revolt and Hurricane Katrina Tribunal
  • Rev. Mother Marcia Bowyer-Barron, Maryland Council of Elders, Pan Afrikan Seniors Advocacy Network
  • Baba David Murphy, Publisher of The National Black Unity News, Maryland Council of Elders, National Black Council of Elders, Founding Member of BlackMen Unifying BlackMen

Other Important Information

  • Free admission; Diasporan Soul Cafe at the Temple of New African Thought will be selling healthy delicious food on the premises.
  • For more information, contact Bro. Cliff at cliff@kuumbareport.com Also, announcements concerning the Town Hall and the Maryland Pan Afrikan Cooperative Coalition can be found on the Web Site of KUUMBAReport Online, https://kuumbareport.com and of the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC), https://srdcinternational.org.