Revolutionary War? Slaves Also Sought Freedom! from Justice Initiative

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is another commentary from Ms. Heather Gray of Justice Initiative.  This one deals with the issue of enslaved Afrikans and their struggle for freedom from enslavement in the United States as the country’s “Founding Fathers” were themselves fighting for “freedom” from their British colonial sponsors in the Revolutionary War. 
We have shared the analysis of Ancestor Frederick Douglass from his essay “What to the Slave is Your Fourth of July?” on this site.  This represents another, similar take on the issue of the meaning of slavery in the so-called Land of the Free.
African Demands for Freedom During the American Revolution
Was the American Revolution Fought to Save Slavery?
Justice Initiative
July 4, 2018 
Preface
Today, July 4, is when Americans celebrate their independence from what they considered the oppressive colonization of Britain. Yet, largely left out of the narrative is that during this same revolutionary period in the 1700s, enslaved Africans were also seeking their independence from the European slave holders and thousands attempted and/or achieved that goal.
While I sent out this article below about the American revolution in 2015, I think it bears repeating, as the theme itself, about the desire for freedom, is always powerful. It is also what we are witnessing with refugees today all over the world as they seek freedom from oppression.
The story is an intriguing one and British historian Simon Schama’s book “Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution” (2006) describes it all. But Schama also importantly infers that the American Revolution itself was likely fought or was ultimately won to preserve slavery. Another look at the revolution and its repercussions is essential.
My “European” Family Canadian History and Southern US Experience
In 1774, my family, the Keillors, left Yorkshire, England and sailed to Nova Scotia – one of Canada’s Maritime Provinces on the east coast. Within a year, some of my family members were fighting for the British Crown against the American colonists in what became known as the American Revolution. Soon, those in Nova Scotia would become the hosts of African slaves who escaped plantations in the South to also fight for, and/or assist, the British. 
My Keillor ancestors are on my mother’s side of the family. And yes, this is the same family as Garrison Keillor of NPR’s “Prairie Home Companion”.  Some four generations back our grandfathers were brothers. Interestingly, both of our great uncles wrote a history of the Keillor’s. In the mid to the late 1800’s, my Keillor ancestors started to move further west in Canada to Ontario and then some even further west to Alberta and British Columbia. My grandfather arrived in Alberta, Canada in 1905.  
My grandmother on my father’s side of the family would tell me of a Black tradesman who would come to their farm in rural Ontario in the late 1800’s. I had always assumed he (or his ancestors} was likely there thanks to the underground railroad, largely between 1840 and 1860, that led many escaping Africans to Canada, with estimates of up to 30,000. Africans escaping to Canada also intensified due to the threats of the U.S. Fugitive Slave Act in 1850.  
I subsequently learned some about the Black community in Nova Scotia. In the southern part of the United States (Atlanta), where I was raised after my father brought us from Alberta, Canada, I began to learn about our ancestors in Nova Scotia, little bits of the history of the province, and of Africans in Canada. For example, a Black female attorney I worked with was from Nova Scotia. A Black friend who taught at Morehouse College had roots in Nova Scotia. All of this galvanized my interest.  
I did not know the history of Africans from the American colonies who came to Nova Scotia as a refuge, and to seek land and economic opportunity after the American Revolutionary War.
African Freedom Initiatives
and the American Revolution

    

Schama’s book is enlightening in any number of ways.
Most of us know that the Civil War in the U.S. was largely fought because of slavery and that the southern plantation owners wanted to spread their slave cotton culture to the western territories, which was much to the chagrin of many northern political leaders, some industrialists and “free labor” advocates. Because they could not get their way, the southern elite seceded from the Union, made sure poor whites fought in the dreadful battle, and on the whole continued to grow cotton during the war and make profits while everyone else starved and/or died on the battlefields.  
What is rarely discussed in U.S. history is the role played by slavery in the American Revolution itself.
It is important to note that by the time of the Revolutionary War, the African population represented approximately 20% of the colonial population of approximately 2.5 million and in some colonies, like Virginia, Africans represented approximately 40%.
The South and the North were also divergent in many ways at the time. 
Regarding agriculture, the North was largely engaged in the small production of food.  By comparison, the South, with its large slave plantations, was engaged in the profitable export trade of tobacco, rice, indigo, grain, and, of course, “King” cotton, as well as exploitation of natural resources, such as timber. 
So, in the 1770’s, while some in Boston were throwing tea into the Boston harbor and complaining about being taxed without representation, the southern slave plantation owners were engaged in a thriving export trade with Europe and seemingly without much interest in disturbing any of it.
Africans had their Own Revolutions Against Slavery and for Freedom
Schama also wisely notes that before there was the “white” revolution in America against the British, Blacks were already engaged in revolutions of their own. Much also had been happening within the slave cultures in the 18th century from the American colonies to the Caribbean as Africans sought freedom everywhere and took advantage of opportunities. As Schama notes, not less than 5 petitions from freed blacks, calling for the freedom of slaves, were presented to the last colonial governors of Massachusetts.
Just prior to the American Revolution, there were slave rebellions throughout the Caribbean. Schama describes that after 1772  “Three ferocious and bloody rebellions were underway in Surinam, St. Vincent and Jamaica and all were widely and apocalyptically reported in the North American press.” This was largely in areas where the black population outnumbered the whites. (It is important to note that the significant Haitian Revolution took place later in the century from 1791-1804.)
From the 1500’s, Spain had a presence in Florida until 1763 when it traded Florida to the British for Spanish control of Havana, Cuba. Prior to that, however, the Spanish, in the early 1700’s, offered freedom to Africans enslaved in the British colonies if they came to Florida and became Catholic. The largest slave rebellion took place in 1739 known as the Stono Rebellion in South Carolina. The “Stono” slaves were headed to Florida. Before the armed slaves were stopped, 21 whites and 44 blacks were killed.

However, many Africans did escape and find their way to Florida. In fact, there were approximately 5 forts built by Africans in the Spanish territories in the 1700’s. Perhaps the best known is Fort Mose close to St. Augustine led by an escaped African who took the name Francisco Menendez. He had been enslaved in the Carolinas and was a Mandinga from West Africa. Menendez led several raids against the British colonies including Georgia, where he is reported to have played a leading role in the defeat of the British colonist, General James Oglethorpe, in battle. Menendez also appealed to the Spanish royalty to free all slaves in the Spanish territories. (See Jane Landers’ writings on this period)

The Freedom of James Sommerset in Britain and its Impact
As Schama notes, international news about slavery and legal decisions made in Britain, for example, spread like wild fire throughout the slave populations of the South in the late 18th century. By the time of the Revolutionary War, countless Blacks in the South and throughout the country, in fact, were aware of the political posturing and opportunities they perceived for gaining their freedom.
Also in the 1770’s, a major decision was made in the British courts that was instrumental, offered hope to slave communities, and had a tremendous impact. James Sommerset was the “erstwhile” slave of American Charles Stewart. Stewart brought Sommerset with him to London in 1769. In September of 1771, Sommerset escaped and found refuge. On November 26, 1771 Sommerset was kidnapped and imprisoned by Stewart on board a ship bound for Jamaica where he was likely to be sold. The abolitionist community in London went to work immediately in his support. In 1772, after countless deliberations, the British Lord Chief Justice Mansfield finally ruled in favor of Sommerset.  
“The state of slavery is of such a nature, that it is incapable of being introduced on any reasons, moral or political; but only positive law, which preserves its force long after the reasons, occasion, and time itself from whence it was created, is erased from memory: it’s so odious, that nothing can be suffered to support it, but positive law. Whatever inconveniences, therefore, may follow from a decision, I cannot say this case is allowed or approved by the law of England; and therefore the black must be discharged.”
Word spread like wildfire throughout the slave communities in America that Britain was freeing slaves. This was simply not the case as Lord Mansfield went to great lengths to try to stress the importance of this particular case and not a judgment of slavery overall. But the interpretation was broad and the perception was that freedom was more likely to be with the British than with the American colonists.
Impact of Mansfield Decision and Dunmore Proclamation on Slave Community and Slave Plantation Owners
Shortly after the Mansfield decision, the American Revolutionary War against the British began in 1775. Further, as the British were beginning to lose battles in the North early in 1775, they began to look to the South. The British also knew that the plantation owners in the South were nervous about the slave rebellions elsewhere and about possible insurrections on their own turf. The British wanted to make them feel even more nervous.
In light of that, somewhat like the Spanish in Florida reaching out to Africans, John Murray, otherwise known as Lord Dunmore and who was the last colonial governor of Virginia, issued a proclamation offering enslaved Africans freedom and land if they left the plantations and joined the British in battle.
So, to repeat. in the South, disrupting export trade by engaging in the Revolutionary War against Britain was not looked upon favorably by southern plantation owners, perhaps until the 1775 proclamation issued by Lord Dunmore.
Here is a description of the Dunmore proclamation:
Dunmore’s Proclamation
….In the official document, he declared martial law and adjudged all revolutionaries as traitors to the crown. Furthermore, the document declared “all indentured servants, Negroes, or others…free that are able and willing to bear arms…”
Dunmore expected such a revolt to have several effects. Primarily, it would bolster his own forces, which, cut off from reinforcements from British-held Boston, numbered only around 300. Secondarily, he hoped that such an action would create a fear of a general slave uprising amongst the colonists and would force them to abandon the revolution.The proclamation was, therefore, designed for practical reasons rather than moral ones, and for expediency rather than humanitarian zeal.  

  

Schama states that it is estimated that after Dunmore’s call, some 30,000 slaves had left Virginia; it is also estimated that two-thirds of all slaves in South Carolina had escaped. 
Furthermore, Schama notes that some of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence that declared “all men are born free and equal,” also lost slaves after the Dunmore announcement. They were: Thomas Jefferson (lost 30 slaves); James Madison, Benjamin Harrison (lost 20 slaves), Arthur Middleton (lost 50 slaves), Edward Rutledge (the youngest signatory who lost slaves as well). Then there was General George Washington.
 
“…while George Washington was encamped in early 1776 on Cambridge Common, wrestling with arguments, pro and con, about the desirability of recruiting blacks, his own slave, Henry Washington, born in West Africa, was finding his way to the King’s lines.  Later in exile with other black loyalists in Birchtown, Nova Scotia, Washington would describe himself, movingly, as a ‘farmer’, but it was the Union Jack that protected his forty acres and his freedom” (Schama).
Not all of the escaped slaves fought for the British, and some fought for the Patriots, but they clearly left the plantations in droves.
Schama states that Dunmore’s strategy backfired in the North and in the South,  
“Instead of being cowed by the threat of a British armed liberation of the blacks, the slaveholding population mobilized to resist. Innumerable whites, especially those in the habitually loyal backcountry of Virginia, had been hitherto skeptical of following the more hot-headed of their Patriot leaders. But the news that the British troops would liberate their blacks, then give them weapons and their blessing to use them on their masters, persuaded many into thinking that perhaps the militant patriots were right. It is not too much, then, to say that in the summer and autumn of 1775, the revolution in the South crystallized around this one immense, terrifying issue. However intoxicating the heady rhetoric of ‘rights’ and ‘liberty’ emanating from Patriot orators and journalists, for the majority of farmers, merchants and townsmen in Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia (the vast majority of whom owned between one and five negroes), all-out war and separation now turned from an ideological flourish to a social necessity. Theirs was a revolution, first and foremost, to protect slavery. Edward Rutledge, one of the leading South Carolina Patriots, was right when he described the British strategy of arming free slaves as tending ‘more effectively to work an eternal separation between Great Britain and the colonies than any other expedient could possibly be thought of'” (Schama).
Demanding Freedom:
After the Revolutionary War – Freed Slaves in Nova Scotia
After the British lost their battle against the colonists, approximately 3,000 freed slaves made their way to Nova Scotia. But this is only part of the story. Thousands of slaves died in the Revolutionary War in battle, in illness and disease, and in absconded and sabotaged efforts to leave the colonies on ships. And for those who made their way to Nova Scotia, they were not welcomed with open arms, albeit many were given land but much of land was desolate in Nova Scotia and nothing like the rich soil of Africa or the southern United States. The British abolitionists then heeded the calls by some Africans to return to the African continent and ships were made available for the effort to sail to Sierra Leone. Many took advantage of this opportunity and that is another story in itself.
But the point is, Africans, like whites in the colonies, demanded their freedom and thousands took it whenever the opportunity availed itself. Word spread quickly throughout the enslaved population from colony to colony thanks to underground networks created by the Africans themselves – and many were, of course, listening to white conversation and reading the newspapers and were then acting upon the information. 
The other important question is whether or not the American Revolution would have been won were it not for Lord Dunmore threatening the slaveholders. It appears that plantation owners in the South rose up against the British during the American Revolution as well as against the North during the Civil War to save their slave economy. Perhaps it’s necessary to take another look at the American Revolutionary War.
Nevertheless, the African response for freedom during the American Revolutionary War was profound throughout the colonies and should be honored in the world history of revolutionary responses and demands for freedom.
References
Landers, Jane, Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions (Boston, 2010) Harvard University Press.
Schama, Simon,  Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution (New York, 2006) Harper Collins Publishers.
Heather Gray is the editor of the “Justice Initiative” and producer of “Just Peace” on WRFG-Atlanta 89.3 FM covering local, regional, national and international news. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia and can be reached at hmcgray@earthlink.net

The Forked Tongue Files: Maryland PoliTricks, June 2018 (Updated)

“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.  Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.” – Benjamin Franklin, 1959

The Maryland primary election season is fully upon us, with early voting already underway in the state of Maryland.  Political races are often confusing to the public, part of the reason voting turnout is so low.  We hear and see so many contradictory messages from candidates for office, and those currently in elective office seem destined to become embroiled in one scandal or another (with a few notable exceptions), resulting in a level of cynicism that has inspired many citizens, young and old, to simply swear off the electoral process altogether.

We are thankful to research efforts like those of the organization Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS), who recently published their 2018 Maryland Legislative Report Card (see accompanying post on this Web site) to grade and assess the effectiveness of the current crop of Maryland State Delegates and Senators, concentrating on those legislators from districts with large Afrikan or Afrikan-Descendant populations.  Their efforts and those of other local activists, publishers, broadcasters and commentators like the National Black Unity News, the Black Think Tank, BMoreNews.com‘s Doni Glover, and David Johnson Sr. do much to help  inform the community and counter the confusion and resulting apathy that often allow feckless and mendacious public officials to maintain their illicit grip on power.  But even with these stalwarts sounding one alarm after another, the political landscape often remains unnecessarily clouded by disinformation and innuendo, usually from the candidates themselves.

Since this particular post is more or less off the top of my head, I won’t present much in the way of researched material here.  But there are two examples of political primary races in the state of Maryland that spring immediately to mind that seem to exemplify the circumstances that have had a chilling effect on the will of the people to accept, or even believe in, the leadership and integrity of elected officials and would-be candidates.  We’ve also made a brief comment below on the Maryland Senate primary in the 41st District.

Update: Who is the “People’s Champion”?

If you talk to most of the Baltimore area’s community activists, there is one candidate in this Democratic primary who has been a truly consistent presence at grassroots meetings and a regular supporter of what many would call the “people’s agenda”.  That candidate is Jill Carter (pictured, below), daughter of legendary Maryland civil rights leader Walter P. Carter and the current front-runner for the Maryland Senate in the 41st District.  She is looked to by some to bring a measure of sanity and commitment to grassroots community issues, particularly those that impact the Afrikan and Afrikan-Descendant community, to the Maryland Legislature.  (Examples include stands against mass incarceration of youth, advocacy for police oversight, and her opposition to the Maryland Comprehensive Crime Bill.)  Her candidacy is being contested by 27-year-old J.D. Merrill, a former local teacher and school administrator and son-in-law of former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor Martin O’Malley.  A June 7 article in the Baltimore Sun and a June 21 article in the Baltimore Brew discuss some of the issues that have made this a contentious campaign.

Jill Carter has the backing of current Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, current City Council president Bernard C. “Jack” Young, several members of the Baltimore area clergy such as Dr. Heber Brown III and most of the prominent grassroots activists in the Baltimore area, earning an “A” grade in the recently-released 2018 Legislative Report Card issued by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle.  However, as Merrill professes that he will build coalitions among Baltimore area constituents (something Carter’s supporters insist she has already done), he has gained the support of a number of relatively powerful local foundations, former Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon, Baltimore City Council member Brandon Scott and one nationally known local activist in former Black Lives Matter organizer DeRay McKesson.

McKesson’s decision to endorse Merrill has led to some critical reaction from some local activists who questioned his decision to back Merrill as well as his commitment to local issues.  Apparently, McKesson had worked with Merrill in the Education Department and was impressed with his energy and grasp of the issues.  But Merrill is seeking the nomination against perhaps the candidate with the strongest record of community commitment in Carter.  His relationship to former mayor and governor O’Malley, who, despite his Democratic Party credentials and image as a liberal, had initiated the “broken windows” policing model that led to thousands of “stop-and-frisk”-style encounters and arrests of Black youth by police, have revived concerns by some that he might mirror O’Malley’s political platform.

As this campaign has veered into increasingly negative territory with Merrill impugning Carter’s voting record and Carter’s supporters accusing Merrill of trying to stir up fights to mask his own inexperience, the tension between the Carter and Merrill campaigns has heated up, as well as some conflict between community activists who have taken sides.  What impact will this have on the race?  We shall soon find out.

A Very Litigious State’s Attorney Race

The first is to be found in the race for the Democratic nomination for State’s Attorney for Baltimore City.  The two front-runners are the incumbent, Marilyn Mosby (pictured, left), and her main primary challenger, attorney Ivan Bates.  I know of respected people in the community, and among activists, who back both candidates. 

Mosby is held in high regard by some in the community because they see someone they can trust, perhaps in part stemming from her highly touted effort to indict and convict the six Baltimore police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray in April 2015.  Her detractors, however, have claimed that she had indicted the officers knowing the charges would not stick and result in all six going free, and others impugned her for appearing to target the three Black officers for greater responsibility for Gray’s death while the two White officers who chased him down on bicycles (immediately after which Gray appeared to have been seriously injured before even being placed in the police van) evaded the most serious charges.  Those detractors have implied that, in spite of the public repudiation of her efforts by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the police union’s alleged financial contributions to her campaign had supposedly influenced her actions all along.


Meanwhile, supporters of Bates (pictured, right) note his decision to leave a prosperous legal career to become State’s Attorney as evidence of his selfless commitment to serve the people.  His campaign commercials tout the fact that he had “never lost a case” when he was a prosecutor, as opposed to Mosby’s lack of experience as a District Attorney.  However, some backers of Mosby and the third candidate in this primary, former Baltimore City and federal prosecutor and Supreme Court clerk Thiru Vignarajah (also the brother of Maryland gubernatorial candidate Krish Vignarajah), have claimed that cases in which Bates was a prosecutor that were dropped should count as losses.  Supporters of Bates have countered that when the defendant was determined to be innocent, and the District Attorney chose to drop charges as a result, these cases were a victory for the justice system.  (We agree with this last sentiment, but district attorneys have long been criticized by activists because they were often graded on their conviction rates, not on their success at finding the truth even if it meant the acquittal of a suspect.)

So, who is speaking the truth here?  Is Mosby a champion of the people for her pursuit of the officers in the Freddie Gray case, or do her detractors, some of whom say she had failed them in their own quests for justice, have a strong point against her?  Does Bates represent a positive change for the pursuit of criminals and the subsequent reduction of a murder rate that has been steadily increasing, or do those who have voiced their own reasons for distrusting him present a strong argument?  And what impact will be felt if Thiru Vignarajah, who is reportedly trailing both of them by a wide margin in the polls and who some have accused of working against Bates, chooses to throw support behind one candidate or the other?

Mud Slinging in Baltimore County

The other race that seems not to have provided any clarity from public campaign efforts is that for Baltimore County Executive.  Specifically, the apparent pissing match between candidates Vicki Almond and Jim Brochin.

Almond (pictured, below) appeared to strike first with ads claiming Brochin was, essentially, “trying to fool the voters” into seeing him as a progressive Democrat, despite the fact that he supposedly had voted against gun-control legislation up to ten times and had received an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA), along with significant campaign contributions from them.  Brochin’s campaign struck back with ads that first touted his support for gun control measures that led to his “proud” receipt of an “F” from that very same NRA, and then alleged that Almond’s campaign was attempting to distort his record (“trying to fool the voters”) because of the massive contributions her campaign supposedly is receiving from developers and other big businesses.

A commentary  by Vincent DeMarco in the Baltimore Sun (“Brochin has been a friend to the NRA”, April 6, 2018, available at the Sun’s Web site, http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-rr-brochin-guns-letter-20180406-story.html) seems to back Almond’s claim that Brochin is not the progressive that his campaign paints him to be, stating that his early votes on gun-control measures, votes that severely weakened many of the provisions, allowed him to finally vote in favor of the legislation as “window dressing” without alarming NRA supporters.  Firmin DeBrabander, however, in an April 5 commentary in the same Baltimore Sun (“Could the Baltimore County executive race come down to NRA support?”, at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-op-0406-brochin-olszewski-20180404-story.html) states that Brochin (pictured, right) had once been a backer of the NRA but that changed after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012.  The same commentary claims that Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s support for the NRA continued even as Brochin was rejecting the NRA’s “increasingly reckless” positions against gun control.

Brochin’s attacks on Almond were bolstered for some by her support of the development of the Foundry Row shopping center in Owings Mills, as a number of community groups had opposed the rezoning of that area for what is now a shopping center anchored by a Wegman’s grocery store and features several other medium-sized chain stores and eateries.  Almond points to the success (so far) of Foundry Row and her re-election to the County Council as an indication that, in the end, the voters supported that project.  She also brushed off Brochin’s attacks (“Democrat Vicki Almond seeks to complete rise in politics by becoming Baltimore County executive”, http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-co-almond-profile-20180604-story.html).   

So, again, who is speaking the truth here?  Which one is the true “progressive”, if either of them is?  And will either of them do anything on behalf of the Afrikan and Afrikan-Descendant communities in Baltimore County?

These two campaigns, in particular, present a contrast to the Maryland gubernatorial race, which seems to have concentrated on the leading candidates — former NAACP Executive Director Ben Jealous (pictured, left) and Prince Georges County executive Rushern Baker (pictured, below) — and those seeking to catch them in later polling (former Michelle Obama aide Krish Vignarajah, author and former Obama administration official Alec Ross, state senator Rich Madaleno, and the Baltimore-based Jim Shea-Brandon Scott team) emphasizing their campaigns’ commitments to reverse the more objectionable aspects of current governor Larry Hogan’s direction for Maryland by backing gun control, legalization of marijuana, aid for the schools and improvements in the training and behavior of police rather than attacking each other.  But the odds are, even if the candidates for governor do not resort to negative campaigns against each other in the primaries, that tone could well change in the general election when the victor goes up against a Republican incumbent governor who has received an unusual amount of support from Democratic voters and Afrikan-American citizens and community activists.

The tone that had been set in the 2016 presidential campaign, replete with the name-calling, race-baiting, fear-mongering and hyperbole, apparently still has not worn off, with more and more candidates slinging mud at opponents in the apparent hope that the voters will stumble to the polling booth and cast a vote for them based on little more than confusion and the emotion-based decisions that spring from it.  While the race between Carter and Merrill seems to be swinging mainly on experience vs. youth and Carter’s respect among activists vs. Merrill’s connection to powerful local interests, both Bates and Mosby have followers and detractors among community organizers, those who see each of them as a hero or shero and those who have voiced distrust of their motives or outrage at their results in pursuit of justice.  Each of them can boast supporters from the ranks of community activists and community-based commentators and media personalities who have earned respect among the grassroots and from this Web site.  This only makes the task of assessing them more difficult without a healthy sum of hard and fast data that can be applied to both candidates.  Even in cases where one can research a candidate’s record, as with Brochin’s onetime status as an NRA favorite, one still emerges with some trepidation as to whether or not his post-Sandy Hook break with the gun lobby is a permanent one, or simply an expedient political calculation. 

It seems that, whenever the mud starts being slung, the primary casualty is clarity for the electorate.  Far too often in such cases, it is the principle of representative democracy that is the loser.  With each of the candidates accusing the other of trying to deceive the voters to “pump up” their effectiveness as fighters for the people, which in the end is just to win at any cost and to satisfy the big business and special interests that are allegedly bankrolling them, which, if either of them, can be trusted to tell us the truth once they are elected to a position of political power?

Images from the Memorial Service for Reggie “Ruffmic” Logan

Saturday, April 21 was the memorial service for New Ancestor Reggie “Ruffmic” Logan, also known as Bro. Anpu Ptah Amen.  The event was held at the Towanda Center, the primary meeting space of the Pan-Afrikan Liberation Movement (PLM), one of the most important Pan-Afrikan organizations in the city, an organization with whom he had worked closely over the years, and the primary sponsors of the event.

Bro. Ruffmic and Bro. Heru Ptah “Freedomwriter” MeriTef had formed the Conscious Hip-hop group Precise Science and exploded onto the scene with their CD release “Everybody’s Not Gonna Make It” in 2007.  The fusion of Hip hop styled raps with spoken-word poetry, mad beats with classic riffs and samples, and street cred with Pan-Afrikan wisdom created a unique blend of the History of Black Struggle and the bright future that lay before us if we would simply heed their words.

Bro. Ruffmic’s journey was tragically cut short on March 8th  at the young age of 47 years by a fierce battle with cancer, but his spirit remains alive with the strong organizers of PLM and all those who remember and loved him.  A number of local Pan-Afrikan activists young and old, attended the Memorial Service to pay respects to Bro. Ruffmic and lend support to his family.  Our words pale in comparison to those of Bro. Ruffmic himself, so here we share several photos from the event, including the shrine to Bro. Ruffmic that was built for the memorial service.

The Memorial Service Program.

Baba Imhotep Asis Fatiu speaks about Bro. Ruffmic.

From one of Precise Science’s videos.

Nana Akua Akomfo Ngingha Nyamekye pays tribute to Bro. Ruffmic.

Two lyrics from the Precise Science song “Fear”, perhaps one of their better-known tracks.

The Shrine to Bro. Ruffmic.

Lyrics from Precise Science’s “Mixtape” and “Love and Sacrifice”.

The Family shares a moment.

Bro. Thomas Ruffin on Taking Control of Our Local Politics

This is a continuation of the report on the Saturday, April 14 Pan-African Town Hall Meeting of 2018, which was held at the historic Arch Social Club, located in the Penn-North neighborhood of West Baltimore. The Town Hall Meetings have been held since 2007 by the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus to bring the grassroots Afrikan-Descendant community in Maryland together, hear their concerns, share SRDC’s plan for establishing the Diaspora’s voice in the international arena, and establish a representative delegation from the state of Maryland that would include State Representatives, Observers and a Council of Elders. In the year 2017, SRDC held five Pan-Afrikan Town Hall Meetings between June 24 and December 2, when a Maryland Council of Elders (MCOE) was nominated and confirmed. In 2018, there have been two Town Hall Meetings held, the April 14 session being the most recent as of this writing.

The April 14 meeting invited several speakers to make presentations. The part of the meeting that seemed to draw the most attention and concern was the discussion of the Maryland Legislature’s attempt to pass a relatively draconian Comprehensive Crime Bill and the community’s response. Bro. Thomas Ruffin’s discussion immediately followed that of Bro. Dayvon Love of Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, and while Bro. Dayvon’s talk concentrated on the effort to defeat Senate Bill 122, the Maryland Comprehensive Crime Bill, and their continued challenges to Senate Bill 101, the “watered-down” version that took its place and was passed in the Maryland Legislature, Bro. Thomas was more critical of the community’s relatively disorganized response to that and other efforts by the Maryland Legislature that run counter to the interests of the Pan-Afrikan Community.

Bro. Thomas Ruffin

“I’m one of the members of the board of directors of the International Association of Black Lawyers, and I’m the legal counsel for a small group that’s called the Maryland Coalition for Justice and Progressive Change. One of your friends and colleagues, Rev. Annie Chambers, is the Chairperson for the Maryland Coalition for Justice and Progressive Change, over in East Baltimore. And I certainly appreciate the gathering of the Pan Afrikan Town Hall Meeting … and also the work of the Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, and what Dayvon had to say.

“And one thing I want to disagree with Dayvon is, while he was putting a wonderful analysis over the struggle against the Maryland Comprehensive Crime Bill and the effort that changed it from Senate Bill 122 to a watered down version, what I believe to be Senate Bill 101, I want to say that we failed. I truly want to say that we failed. And I don’t want to talk about it as though we can live with the failure.

The “Browning of America” May Not Be As Rosy As We Think

“What I want us to think about is this: In about 28 to 37 years, the majority of the people in this country will be non-White people. In other words, White people, of European descent, will then be a minority compared to all the other races gathered together in this society. However, the genocide that’s being worked on us right now is such that, when we acquire the majority in terms of numbers in the population, we still won’t be in control of this society. White capitalist supremacy will be running it, and they mean to keep running it.

“Let me add on to that. If we think smartly about how we’re going to address that, and over the next 28 to 37 years we figure out how we’re going to oust White capitalist supremacy from being in power in this society, quite frankly, the way we’ve been so horribly oppressed and miseducated, we wouldn’t know how to run this society or its governance. I’m just being frank.

“Now, let me add on to that. If, in the next 28 to 37 years, we figured out all of that, that is, how to get rid of these devils, how to run the society, the economy, the health care system, how to provide for our well-being, how to provide for our uplift, these White capitalist supremacists wouldn’t stay here and be under our rulership. They will leave and go elsewhere.

“And so, then we have this other problem. Right now, the federal government — I’m not talking about the state government and municipal government, but the federal government in this society — has a debt of $21 trillion. In about 28 to 37 years, that debt could be double. It could be more than that. So, I’m actually estimating that it would be probably about $40 trillion, making a conservative estimate. So let’s say we oust them. We take control. We know how to manage the society, that is, how to govern. We know how to do it where they have failed us, or actually deliberately succeeded in oppressing us. We can turn that around. We would still be in trouble with this enormous debt that that they or some other society in the world would demand be repaid because they would be the holders of the debt. They would be the creditors.

“In other words, we would still be under their yoke, and — we were talking about South Africa. The society in South Africa, when they overthrew apartheid White supremacy, two things changed in that process. Just before that took place, the White people dismantled their nuclear weapons. In other words, they anticipated our taking control. So they did not want us to have nuclear weapons. And there’s a lot of different ways that can be interpreted but I’m just going to keep it to that one, because all this stuff they said that they thought that a new society ought to be cleansed of the evil of nuclear weapons didn’t apply to them when they were running the society, so I’m just saying they made sure we wouldn’t have nuclear weapons.

“Number two, the debt that they amassed in oppressing us stayed in place when we took over. That’s going to be our circumstance unless we figure out how to deal with it.

“Now, how can we deal with that, how can we figure it out, when they deliberately underfund our four historically Black universities in this state, and we argue about ‘well, why in the world are we freeing Black men who are thugs in prison?’, while they keep us divided so those men, who ain’t Black politically speaking, they get locked up, and then we get divided in our society between different groups that are struggling with each other, in competition for wealth and power, while they [White capitalist supremacists] maintain [the] wealth and power?

Twisting Fighting Crime into a Policy of Genocide

“So what I’m trying to say is … what we’re dealing with here, we’ve rhetorically described many times as genocide. But the truth is, that’s exactly what it is. In this state, there are about six million people. Twenty-nine percent of those people in this state are Black people of Afrikan descent. But we make up 71% of people in Maryland state prisons. See, that doesn’t make any sense. And when they talk about being tough in crime and tough on gun violence, let me add on to this.

“First of all, the greatest threat by way of killing in this society, when you take out warfare and you take out abortion … is suicide. It’s not ‘Black-on-Black crime’. It’s not even murder. As a matter of fact, when you break down suicide, the greatest threat in this society by way of killing is White male suicide. More White men each year killed themselves than all the homicides in the society put together. Yet, they come together smartly in oppressing us to aim us at fighting crime, which means fighting us, but they don’t address this White male suicide problem.” [Editor’s note: We looked up the official death statistics in the United States, and sure enough, the number of suicides is three times the number of murders in the United States every year.]

“As a matter of fact, just think about it. … If Dayvon was the Speaker of the House, and I was the President of the Senate, and the Governor started talking to us, I’d say ‘You know what we’re going to do? What we’re going to do is, we’re going to have a prophylactic, so whenever a man loses his wife to divorce, or loses his children in a child custody battle, or whenever he is about to lose all of his wealth through a financial collapse or the loss of his business, that man … is going to be put in a mental health facility for two months for observation. That’s going to be a prophylactic against suicide. Because we have a horrible problem in this state with male suicide. And by and large, most of the people who will be locked up … will be White men.  See, we don’t talk like that, but they do. They literally do.

“In that Senate Bill 122, [we say], ‘should we really fight against something like that? That’s fighting crime, and crime is right here on the street.’ Everybody’s seen it; people nodding on that heroin. If we came in here and parked our cars, we’re hoping our cars are still intact. We can go all through that. And, like I said, they are not, politically speaking, Black. But Governor Hogan ain’t Black. … Tom Miller ain’t Black. … These people never will prescribe an answer for our problems. This lady [in the audience] rhetorically said, we have to answer our problems ourselves. I’m saying for real, we literally have to answer our problems ourselves or these problems will beset us until the end of time. And that’s what’s prescribed for us, for us to suffer like this until the end of time.

“We Forgive Everybody”

“So let me go on, because I just want to be clear. When Dayvon said that the Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle were observing what the Maryland General Assembly might do before the General Session started, and then they saw all these Crime Bills and saw them flip up, where were the two members we know to be Black in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee? One was running for County Executive in Prince Georges County, and the other I believe is running for State Attorney General. Victor Ramirez — well, I call him Black — he’s running for State Attorney General. Anthony Muse is running for County Executive. And when they are running for a high ranking position in the police state, they’re not serving us. But even if they are … they should have been mobilizing, at the least, the Black and Hispanic Caucus against this. See, that’s where we fail. The Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle are in there fighting against this. They should have had more and we should have been there. … They should have brought us in, and we should have been chasing them down to be there. We ignore Annapolis every single year, and it’s only three months. We ignore it like it’s way away. I’ve seen people in Baltimore march at Town Hall over a problem that’s only resolved in Annapolis. And it doesn’t make sense. I’ve seen us get flipped by these fakes who are in the Black Caucus, whether it’s local or statewide — same thing happens nationally — and we keep getting flipped. And we act like that’s not the problem. No. It’s a serious problem. So, let me just take us to what I’ve passed out.”

Bro. Thomas now referred to a listing of the votes in the House of Delegates and the Maryland Senate on Senate Bill 101, which was the parts of the original Comprehensive Crime Bill (Senate Bill 122) that were repackaged and finally passed in the Maryland Legislature.

“If you look at it, the first page is the vote on Senate Bill 101. If I’m not mistaken, Senate Bill 122, the Comprehensive Crime Bill, ultimately became Senate Bill 101. That was a watered down version of what Dayvon was talking about earlier. And what Dayvon talked about earlier, he didn’t even touch on it. This thing is so dastardly, this is what they wanted to do. … They wanted to outlaw drug treatment for those who are locked up for a violent crime. Now, I want to get this straight. I beat you because I’m a heroin addict. I’m a fool on heroin. I’ve skipped ever being Black. I beat you. You survive. … I’ve got five years. For that whole five years, I’m in prison, and I don’t get drug treatment. I don’t even get diagnosed to see if I have a drug problem. And I’m walking in, asking for heroin. I’m looking for fentanyl. I’m begging for Vicodin. And you’re beat in bed. And they don’t address, what you say, the root cause of the problem. No, no, no, they ain’t doing that! … That piece of shit [bill] was just what it was, a piece of shit, and we got divided over their piece of shit, rather than planning for what we ought to put through the Legislature. And if the poor folk [in the House and the Senate] won’t put it through, we get them another job [by voting them out]. See, we don’t operate on that. We forgive everybody. Anthony Muse, Victor Ramirez, Catherine Pugh. We forgive everybody, and they mean evil to us.

“I’m going to be real clear. The Lieutenant Governor, we grew up together. We went to John Carroll High School together. He’s a wonderful Brother. Boyd Rutherford is a wonderful Brother. Now, I’ve said that. He and my brother were close friends, and by that and by our relationship, we became close friends. But — I’m not talking about him being a Republican, I’m not talking about him being Lieutenant Governor — I’m saying when he does not oppose the genocide directed against us, he’s no longer politically Black. Why do we forgive everybody? And they mean evil and genocide to us. That doesn’t make sense.

“How can we lift ourselves up when Coppin State is an inferior third-class university? Not because the talent’s not there, because it’s not funded. They put all the money — that’s supposed to go to Coppin State, Morgan State, Maryland Eastern Shore and Bowie State University — in College Park. And to University of Maryland Baltimore County. I mean, that school actually had a competitive basketball team. Towson University. University of Baltimore. How in the world have they got all the money, it’s always with White people, and we’re still loving White people so much we’re trying to give our money to them? And that’s what we do. We give our money to them.

Bro. Thomas distributed a listing of the recent votes in the Senate and the House of Delegates on Senate Bill 101, the watered-down version of the original Maryland Comprehensive Crime Bill, SB 122. “These are the people who voted against us, the ones who voted ‘Yea’ for the Crime Bill. This is the House of Delegates. Now, [Dayvon] was right. The Black Caucus in the House of Delegates basically turned [against the Crime Bill]. Why? Because they were on the job. Why? Because the Maryland Coalition for Justice and Progressive Change was on the job. Why? Because the Prince Georges County NAACP was on the job. If the whole Black Nation was on the job the [watered-down Crime Bill] wouldn’t have passed. … It wouldn’t have passed if we were about our work, but we’re not about our work. And that’s a horrible problem. So, let me lay out, basically, how I suggest we get about our work. I’m going to use Baltimore as the framework.”

Beginning to Take Control of the Local Politics in Our Community

“There are six legislative districts in Baltimore. Each legislative district should have a team, under the leadership of whatever it is. It could be this, our ‘Pan-Afrikan Medallion’ [pointing at the Spokes of the Wheel diagram], our Council of Elders, but it’s got to be competent. Each district should have at least 20 to 30 people, but it should have a few hundred. And what they do is watch Annapolis.

“House of Delegates, District 41. Angela Gibson, Samuel Rosenberg and Bilal Ali. There should be a team of people who do nothing but watch them and the Senator from that district. And before January starts, we should be imparting to them, in writing, what our legislative agenda is. And make it clear that they do not depart from that agenda. We can’t do that without unity. So when we talk about unity, there’s a meaning for unity and when we don’t have the meaning behind that unity, sometimes we fail. Sometimes we have the meaning, and then you run up to [someone like me who says], ‘I’m trying to make money as a lawyer. I don’t have time for that.’ … Okay, when we run up against that kind of handkerchief-head we’ve got a problem. And if I don’t understand that the wellbeing of the Black Nation provides for my prosperity — similarly, if the Black Nation doesn’t realize that if I’m working hard, like Dayvon and the Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle are working, and the Black Nation doesn’t patronize me — when we’ve got that kind of backwardness, we’re failing ourselves.

“So, let’s look at District 41. Samuel Rosenberg; he doesn’t serve us, and I’m not saying that because he’s White. … We need to target Rosenberg to get another job. Similarly, Nathaniel Oaks in the Senate. He did resign [after being indicted on nine counts of federal fraud and bribery], good enough. … We need to think on what Black man, or what Black woman [we can promote for public office] who is well-educated, dedicated to our wellbeing to the utmost, who can serve excellently in the Senate and follow our agenda. Jill Carter is a candidate. … Jill is extraordinary, but is she the one? There are thousands of people out here, and we’re going to start with her and just stop with her? No. Say if I … want to run, [but] you all never scrutinized me or came to me and said ‘Thomas, we want you to run’, you all hadn’t come to that and I just sought that for my [interests], you don’t know whether I’m doing that for my career uplift or whether I’m doing it for the wellbeing of the Black Nation. … So, Rosenberg needs another job, and we need to scrutinize Bilal Ali and Angela Gibson. … [District] 44A, we look at the same thing. Did Keith Haynes [or Curt Anderson] do enough for us? So, if he is a handkerchief-head, we get him another job. And that takes planning.

“There are six districts. Each district should have at least 30 working in unity. Not one group from one organization. All the organizations come in. That means you may even get the conservative-minded Black folks. But they’ve got to be dedicated absolutely for our uplift. They have to be radically for our uplift. They can be conservative, but radically for our uplift. … Also, we’ve got to have people who are going to study. I mean, study the legislature and the legislative process. …”

Campaign Contributions: Legalized Bribery

“[Baltimore City and Prince George’s County] are the two counties where we have a substantial majority. I mean, a kick-butt majority. But we don’t run either Baltimore City or Prince George’s County, not now, not ever, and we don’t run the agenda for the people who represent Baltimore City or Prince George’s County, not now and not ever. We have to change that. And that takes a long-term plan.

“[Senator Robert Zirkin, sponsor of the Maryland Comprehensive Crime Bill] received donations from 2,446 people, from about $50 to about $6,000. We don’t do that. Let me get this clear. If we don’t engage in ‘legalized bribery’ of these people, we lose. Bobby Zirkin was not flipping because that White Jewish community and the rest of White capitalist supremacy in that county were well behind just what Dayvon was saying — a program to exploit us for their satisfaction and wellbeing. We offer no defense, and we will never offer a defense, if we’re not engaged. … Don’t do it illegally. Understand that a campaign contribution is a bribe. You never use that word when you’re talking to a public official; then it becomes illegal. You never say, ‘I’m giving you this so you’ve got to do this.’ You never do that. What you do is you go to their meetings. We have to go to all these Delegates and Senators and tell them what our agenda is. We take one person from each of our districts and say ‘This is what we’re doing.’ … And we don ‘t go with 18 people. We go with two or three. And we rotate around. And we do the work. If you do the work, it begins to show.”

Unified Power

“And when the handkerchief-head doctors, lawyers, preachers, congregations and other business folk follow along, and when the community, that part that is not so dysfunctional that it cannot operate for its wellbeing, follows along, we begin to amass unified power that can rock and roll in Annapolis, when it’s only three months and one week. We do not work that three months and one week. White capitalist supremacy does. Because we don’t do that, we lose.”

Bro. Thomas reiterated his admonition that “you don’t trust people who have betrayed you before” in charging that most of our Black elected officials have, in effect, been White elected officials due to their failure to implement a Black Community-based agenda. “We have to do that in Baltimore here with the Mayor and the City Council. … When the Mayor is talking about giving beaucoup crazy money to Amazon, and nothing to us, we need to tell [her] we’ve got a problem. … We’ve got the same problem in DC. … These people have sold us out so mightily that we are sinking in our own failure. That stops when we unify smartly. Not just unify. … That stops when we’re not just smart but we unify, and that stops when the unity and being smart is on a smart program and agenda.”

 

 

Maryland’s April 14 Pan African Town Hall Discusses the 2018 Maryland Crime Bill

On Saturday, April 14, the second Pan-African Town Hall Meeting of 2018 was held at the historic Arch Social Club, located in the Penn-North neighborhood of West Baltimore. The Town Hall Meetings were originally started in Maryland in 2007 by the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus (SRDC) to bring the grassroots Afrikan-Descendant community in Maryland together, hear their concerns, share SRDC’s plan for establishing the Diaspora’s voice in the international arena, and establish a representative delegation from the state of Maryland that would include Representatives (from whom might come Diaspora Representatives to conferences of world bodies such as the African Union), Observers (who would take the place of Representatives in the event they are unable to continue) and a Council of Elders. Other states where this plan has been put into motion follow a similar procedure, holding their own Pan-African Town Hall Meetings as they are able.

From 2007 to 2016, the Maryland SRDC held Town Hall Meetings at a rate of approximately one or two per year. In the year 2017, SRDC picked up the pace in Maryland, holding five between June and December. At the December Town Hall, a Maryland Council of Elders (MCOE) was nominated and confirmed. In 2018, there have been two Town Hall Meetings held, the April 14 session being the second. They are now co-sponsored by SRDC and the MCOE, with the MCOE’s chair, Baba Rafiki Morris, presiding over the sessions.

The April 14 meeting invited several speakers to make presentations. Bro. Dayvon Love of Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS) spoke about the recent legislative effort around the 2018 Maryland Comprehensive Crime Bill which was largely defeated by opposition from activist organizations and the Legislative Black Caucus (though the Democratic Party leadership was able to “sneak” some key provisions into an unrelated expungement bill). Bro. Thomas Ruffin of the International Coalition of Black Lawyers also spoke about the Crime Bill, but also about the need to increase the pressure on local legislators and politicians to force them to enact policies that benefit the community instead of injuring it. Rev. Dr. Mankekolo Mahlangu spoke about her experience as an activist and freedom fighter in /south Africa in opposition to the apartheid regime and gave a tribute to recent Ancestor Winnie Mandela. And Baba Mukasa Dada (Willie Ricks) spoke about the history of revolutionary resistance.

This was perhaps the most successful Town Hall Meeting in the 11 years in which SRDC has worked to organize in Maryland, with members of a variety of neighborhood, civic and revolutionary organizations in attendance. This article will provide details on the presentation about the 2018 Maryland Comprehensive Crime Bill by Bro. Dayvon Love of Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS). Future articles will discuss some of the other presentations made that day.

Dayvon Love, Director of Public Policy, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS)

“We are a grassroots think tank that explicitly advocates for the interests of Black people in the political arena.

“I’ll just talk a little bit about our fight against the Crime Bill … and I’ll talk a little bit about the work with the Baltimore City Youth Fund.

“In terms of the Crime Bill, this past summer, there was an effort in Annapolis, and a lot of our legislative work takes place in Annapolis. There was an effort in Annapolis in response to the high homicide rate in 2017 to develop this comprehensive package on crime. And one of the things we know throughout history, particularly in the 80’s and 90’s, is that the typical response to crime was to increase the length of time that folks are incarcerated, throw more people in jail. And we have essentially a couple of decades of data that shows that just throwing people in jail not only doesn’t solve the problem, but actually makes things worse.

“And we anticipated that there were going to be a bunch of ‘tough on crime’ measures that would come down through the political establishment and leadership, and so we knew that one of our legislative priorities this session was to fight back against any type of ‘tough on crime’ policies, particularly those kind of policies that focused on mass incarceration.”

The Original Comprehensive Crime Bill: SB 122

“So, what ended up happening, the session began, the Governor [Larry Hogan] introduced three pieces of legislation. One piece of legislation increased mandatory minimums from five years for a crime of violence with a gun … to a mandatory ten, and wanted to increase the maximums from 20 to 40. He also introduced a piece of legislation that made it so that juveniles were automatically charged as adults for a series of crimes. And he also introduced a piece of legislation that had what were called ‘gang statutes’. So, attempting to throw more time on folks who they thought were affiliated with a gang.”

The Promotion of the Crime Bill through the Maryland Senate

“So what ended up happening, we have a Republican Governor, but our Legislature, State Senate and House of Delegates, are controlled by the Democrats. So you have [Thomas V.] ‘Mike’ Miller who is in charge of the State Senate and you have Speaker Michael Busch who is in charge of the House of Delegates.

“What happened on the Senate side was that Bobby Zirkin, who was the chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee — he is a Democrat who represents the area of Baltimore County that is Pikesville-Owings Mills. What he did was he took pieces of the Governor’s packet and mixed a bunch of other measures in. Measures that he thought might make folks like us and other organizations satisfied. So he included funding for programs like Safe Streets. But he combined that with some of the measures around increasing mandatory minimums. And so Zirkin created this bill that was Senate Bill 122. So the Governor supported it after they pieced it together. It was pieced together in a back room.

“So, every bill has to have a hearing when it comes from the Legislature. What [Senator Zirkin] did was that, after the Governor’s bills were heard, he took an unrelated bill — so Senate Bill 122, when it came into the Legislature, was a completely different bill. What he did was, he amended the bill to change the name and change what it did, so that by the time it got to the Senate floor, it was this Comprehensive Crime Bill. So we didn’t get a chance to actually speak out against the bill. We spoke out against the Governor’s bills, but he manipulated the procedure in such a way that we didn’t get an opportunity to testify against this particular bill. It flew off the Senate floor quickly, and so then it was in the House.”

Criticisms of SB 122

“So, there are a couple of problems I want to outline in terms of how we should address crime. Because, the thing that we kept getting was, if this isn’t the way then what is the way? And so, there are a couple of things that we put forward. One of the things was, we said, if you talk to a police officer, most police officers know who the people are that are driving by [and shooting]. The issue is that the police department is inept and corrupt in terms of their ability to actually get good charges on the people that folks know are committing violence in our communities. And as many of you are aware of the Gun Trace Task Force, they founded that unit within the police department that was robbing people, planting guns on people, selling drugs. And so, a part of what we said was, if you really want to address violence, you have to address the police and the ways in which, in many ways, they increase crime, contribute to it, and have a police force that can actually make people feel confident that witnesses will be protected. So those are the two things that we said, that plus investments in things like Safe Streets, community-based anti-violence programs.

“So our argument was, if you’re serious about addressing crime, those are the things that we should do. The other problem is [with] increasing mandatory minimums from five years to ten. What we argued was that increasing those sentences, you’re not going to get the people [who are] doing violence. You’re going to get the people on the periphery. The people that just happen to get caught up. And those are the folks that are better served outside of prison, outside of incarceration.

“So that was the big push in our criticism as to why this crime package was problematic. And again, what Zirkin preserved in his version was the increase in mandatory minimums from five years to ten, and increasing maximums from 20 to 40.”

SB 122 Meets Opposition in the House of Delegates

“So it got over to the House. It went through an arduous committee process. The Black Caucus — for those who don’t know, Maryland is a third Black — we have out of the almost 200 representatives, we have about 55 representatives. So there is a pretty substantial Black Caucus. To the Black Caucus’ credit, they took an official stance against the Crime Bill. And when they took an official stance against the Crime Bill, the Latino Caucus followed suit and took a stance against the Crime Bill. And so that functionally killed the Crime Bill in the House. So it was a big victory. It was one of the few times the Black Caucus used its power in order to do something in the interest of Black folks. We look forward to working with the Black Caucus in the future to cultivate that power.”

Democrats Sneak Pieces of SB 122 through the House

“What the leadership did was that this was the Thursday of the week before Session. The Democratic Party leadership had a closed-door meeting with the Black Caucus, trying to force them to change their vote. Fortunately the Caucus stood strong, and decided not to change their vote. So what the leadership did was that they took a piece of the mandatory minimums provisions in the bill that we killed, put it in an unrelated expungement bill, so the piece about increasing mandatory minimums from five years to ten years, they amended it onto an unrelated bill on the floor of the House and rushed it through, all in the same day. So there were legislators who had not even read the updated bill because they just pushed it so quickly.”

Pushing Back Against the House Maneuver

“And so, we’re going to approach some lawyers to try, because one of the things is that we think they’ve violated the Maryland Constitution. You’re not supposed to be able to amend a bill on the floor in a way that makes it different than how it comes into the Committee. So we’re going to try to have some litigation, at least to let the leadership know that they just can’t change bills around.

“So overall, we were successful in stopping Senate Bill 122 but they were able to get that one piece and provision in there. We were able to stop the increase in the maximums. But I think it was a really good show of force and power of the Black Caucus in the Legislature which typically they don’t use very often. But it just goes to show the kind of power that they have.”

The Baltimore City Youth Fund

“Quickly, on to the Baltimore City Youth Fund: the Youth Fund was voted in, by the voters, in November of 2016. Three percent of the City’s budget goes into a fund specifically for children and youth that amounts to about $12 million a year. Adam Jackson, who is the CEO of LBS, was the co-chair of the Task Force. The Task Force outlined the framework, because the voters who voted on the Youth Fund voted on its existence, but there wasn’t a specific structure that went along with it. So the Task Force was responsible for developing the structure by which the Youth Fund would be produced.

“We were very clear that we wanted these dollars to go to organizations that traditionally don’t get the dollars. One of the things that we’ve been very big critics of is the Nonprofit Industrial Complex in this town and the way that the White-led big-box nonprofits suck up all the money and create a dynamic where, unfortunately, a lot of folks that are doing the work don’t have the resources to sustain the work at a level that can properly serve our communities. So we just had a series of design sessions. We’re going to be in the process of recruiting folks in the community that are going to be a part of the process of making decisions about where money goes.

“And a Request For Proposals will be going out towards the end of May. The onboarding of residents for making decisions about the Fund will happen around June. Decisions about the resources will be made towards the middle to end of July. And money will start flowing in the fall.

“So those are the two major efforts that we’ve been working on.”

Questions and Answers

Q: How does LBS determine organizations to receive funds through the Youth Fund?

A: “A part of what the task force decided was, you have a lot of folks that are typically in the position of making decisions that are like non-profit professionals, people whose credentials come from whatever academic schooling they went through. Or their relationships to the corporate sector. What’s very explicit in the task force is that people who are making decisions about money are people that are practitioners, people that are in close proximity to the community, people that have immersed themselves in the community in such a way that they have an understanding of the assets and strengths that exist in the community and in the neighborhoods. So that’s the general frame that we’re looking at. Trying to challenge the way in which folks who have good ideas, who have been around for a while, people who understand the community … get shut out of the process. So that’s the overarching piece, but we’re still in the process of, and we’ll probably have it by the time the RFP comes out, we’ll have point by point, exactly what those criteria will be.”

Q: Why is the community so involved with Crime Bills but they don’t go to the root of the community? What about those of us who are seniors or others who are afraid of crime? Why not build a new police station at Pennsylvania and North Avenues to clear the criminal element from the very corner where this establishment, the Arch Social Club, is struggling to survive and thrive? Victims of murder, assault and home invasion are being overlooked. Problems that cause people to go to jail are not being dealt with. What about the “little person” who is a victim of crime and who is afraid to testify against criminals?

A: “Three things. The first is that when Martin O’Malley was elected mayor and there was a time of unprecedented violence, he ran on a tough-on-crime approach. Part of the problem wasn’t to address crime. The problem was that politically, he was giving our community two choices: more police or less police. So a big part of what we’ve advocated for are community-based anti-violence programs where you take people that were formerly involved in that, people who are credible messengers, and have them be at the front line in terms of resolving a lot of conflicts. I’ve been involved with a lot of young people who have been engaged in violence, but it wasn’t people who were hardened criminals. These are people that don’t have the networks, they don’t have the support system necessary to be able to address those conflicts before they escalate into what they become. And you just have a lot of young folks that don’t have mentorship, don’t have people in their lives. … So this isn’t to excuse folks who engage in those acts of violence but I think there’s one piece of it where police should be like the last resort. And a part of why it was important for us to do the Youth Fund work is to direct resources to people that will be better at getting people from committing these acts of violence. Safe Streets and other programs like that.

“So that’s one piece. Another piece is that, you mentioned witness protection. I testified in front of the [Legislative] Committee, saying that increased resources to witness protection would go a long way. So when I talk to police officers off the record, the thing that all of them consistently say is that, if they could just get witnesses to go to the [witness] stand [and testify], they would be able to put away a lot of the people they know are committing the murders. When I talk to the legislators about investment in witness protection, what they say to me is ‘Dayvon, that’s just a political fight that I don’t know that we can win.’ And of course, my response back to them is, ‘Well, if you’re serious about addressing violence, that’s part of the fight that has to be made.’ And they’re talking about dollars. Dollars that go to witness protection. … This year, the city of Baltimore is going to break half a billion dollars in investment in public safety. So to me, there’s no reason you can’t take some of that $500 million and put it towards witness protection so that you can get the folks who are actually committing the crimes.

“And then lastly, one of the things in Annapolis, you’re dealing with legislators [for whom] being in Penn-North is foreign to them, so they don’t really understand the dynamics. And so one of the things we try to explain to them is that we’re all concerned about crime and violence. Increasing the time a person has to spend in jail from five to ten, that doesn’t deter crime. What that does is, it produces more people that are exposed to the criminal element [in prison] longer. What the studies suggest is that the certainty of getting charged, arrested and incarcerated is a bigger deterrent to crime than the length of your sentence. So you can say that you’re going to get 15 years. that’s less of a deterrent than the certainty of getting caught. So one of the things we said to the Committee and to the Legislature is, if you really want to address crime, then you have to address the police ability to get the folks that are committing the crimes. And to be honest, what we said to them was, increasing the sentence is a political ploy to get the White folks in the County to feel good without actually addressing the problem.

“And one other thing I also want to note. The first quarter of this year, from [the first quarter of] 2017 … homicides are down 30%. And that’s important, because what’s going to happen is, the Legislature is going to try to claim credit for it [when crime goes down]. So it’s really important for people to know that the efforts that a lot of people in this room are engaged in are the efforts that are actually having an impact, not the efforts that the leadership is going to try to take credit for.”

Q: With regard to the strategy of the passage and resistance to the Crime Bill and the political strategy of developing programs to stop crime and prevent our children from becoming cannon fodder on the streets, how do you envision a “clean” way to ensure that our children are employed and have a vision of a future beyond what exists now? Especially since the oppressor does not want to discuss that? With some 50% of 18 to 24 year old Afrikan American males in Baltimore unemployed, how do we prevent that reality that our oppressors don’t want to discuss and is the real driver of crime? What kinds of programs, besides Safe Streets, are you talking about for our children?

A: “Two things. One, to the political part of the question. One of the adamant supporters of the Crime Bill was the Greater Baltimore Committee [GBC]. For those who don’t know, that’s the collection of corporate White power in Baltimore City. It’s interesting, because earlier last summer, we were fighting the City Council, [which was] trying to push through a bill where just the possession of a firearm gave you a mandatory one year [imprisonment]. That’s coming from the GBC. The GBC has their eye, as many people know, on gentrification. And the homicide rate last year, for them, was an inconvenience in terms of their efforts at trying to gentrify parts of Baltimore City. So that’s a big reason as to why it became such a big issue. What that also speaks to, to your point in terms of a comprehensive look at the problem, the GBC has been an opponent of major efforts around employing Black folks, and has been a major barrier in terms of sharing economic power.

“An example of that is that it took the [April 2015] Uprising [after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody] for them to even begin to discuss things like expungement for a lot of people that had criminal records. And one of the big barriers to getting gainfully employed is having that record. Nicole [Mundell] is the Executive Director of Our For Justice, who works directly with folks who have been through the criminal justice system, and who has worked for years to try to get the Legislature to consider expunging records. You think about someone who did something when they were in their teens, now they’re in their 40’s, still have this record and can’t get a job. And the GBC, it took the Uprising for them to even start discussing it, but expungement legislation is extremely hard to get passed down in Annapolis, because a lot of those lawmakers see that ‘those are criminals; why are we giving criminals another chance?’, instead of understanding that a lot of people who have records, if you think about what the Department of Justice, what a bunch of organizations have found, is that a lot of people get pushed through the criminal justice system and have a record, just because the police were over-policing. So really getting them to understand that is a big piece of it, dealing with folks that have criminal records.

“In terms of the larger picture, I think it’s really about sharing economic power. And taking it.  Which is a much bigger and larger fight. … And that’s why we did the Youth Fund, it’s a small example of taking resources and being able to control them and invest them in our community. Our hope is that we can take that model and it can be in other processes, other government agencies. So that, say, with [the Department of] Housing and Community Development, there are a lot of issues with Park Heights and the slots money, so taking that process and putting it there. Our hope is that this process will become a means by which other agencies will have to be able to spend money in a way that [resources] will actually get to the community.”

Q: Even with expungement, there will still be gaps in a person’s employment that will lead to questions from employers, so the discrimination will continue. Second, we have to get through the issues of relationships with legislators and lobbyists. Third, we need to address the underlying traumas, the “adverse child experiences” between the ages of 2 to 7 years, as well as traumas to families and family systems. Groups like the Center For Urban Families (CFUF) are also working to deal with these issues as progressive 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations that are [often excluded from the Nonprofit Industrial Complex and are] looking for funding. Who are you looking at partnering with and directing resources to in order to change the paradigm?

Q: How about the traditional Black Cultural Organizations like the Eubie Blake Cultural Center, the Great Blacks In Wax (GBIW) Museum and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum, which have been underfunded in this “separate-but-equal” government infrastructure in Maryland? Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) had to sue because of unequal funding. Cultural organizations have also been denied millions of dollars in bond money every hear from the city and the state that has gone to the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Maryland Science Center, etc. Cultural tourism is a big part of economic development, particularly for the Black community to the extent that we can build up our cultural institutions and create jobs and economic opportunities, something many of us would be interested in working with you on through the task force and associated committees, as well as having you work with us in our efforts. Have you looked at a pathway for gifted and talented Black students in this city to pursue to actualize their talent through Black Cultural Organizations like Eubie Blake, Reginald F. Lewis and Great Blacks In Wax? There isn’t currently a pathway for students who are not coming out of the School for the Arts to actualize and realize their talents.

A: “In terms of the specific pathways, one of the things I’d be interested in talking to you further about, one of the things that happened at the beginning of the [Legislative] Session is that the Baltimore City delegation will look at capital improvement projects. On the budget, the governor usually gives delegations a certain amount of capital dollars for infrastructure development. Actually, in the 2017 or 2016 Session, I began to notice that they would have [funding for] Walters [Art Gallery], B&O [Railroad Museum], and Black institutions were absent from that list, and in fact there were some legislators that actually brought it up. So I met with the Director of Planning around that question. There’s a Sista that works in the Department of Planning. She and I have talked about, maybe next year, looking at how we can make sure things like Eubie Blake, Arena Players and others are in that list of entities that get capital improvement projects. Unfortunately, how it works is kind of an insider system, so the people who know who to talk to and have folks inside the legislative process automatically get stuff put on the list that get capital dollars. But I think it’s certainly something to explore, probably in the summertime, to establish a group of folks to look at what capital needs there are so we can go early to our legislators and have them put those things on the queue.”

Q: About the Crime Bill, the parole system in Maryland is really messed up. As you look at amending crime legislation, you also have to look at parole, because people can’t qualify for parole because of some of those felony convictions. The other issue is the “Ban The Box” legislation. It should also be part of the reform effort because you can’t even get an interview if you have to check that box that you’ve been incarcerated.

Q: How would you compare your work to that of the Lowndes County Freedom Party in terms of getting things done?

A: “I’m finishing a book where I’m talking about Ella Baker’s style of organizing. And one of the things that we encounter in our work is that we have two major paradigms: the Industrial Areas Foundation, more of a Saul Orlinsky-based organizing, and what we call the Ella Baker paradigm of organizing. One of the differences is that we, because of our relationships to folks in our community, identify strengths, identify institutions and organizations that are already currently doing work, and our methodology is to connect with folks that are doing work and to have our specific lane in the realm of Policy. So to that extent we’re different in the sense that we’ve picked a particular lane … in terms of addressing public policy, but we borrow a lot in terms of the idea of building connections and relationships to organizations that are in our community that already exist, not feeling the need to create new organizations all the time. But try to connect the folks that are already doing work and to build power based on the strength that already exists in our community as a way to expand to larger communities. So, that’s the 90-second version of a question that takes a long time to answer.

“I’ll give you an email address and a phone number. Our email is info@lbsbaltimore.com; that’s the best way to get us. Our phone number is 443-838-3773.”

Coming soon: Bro. Thomas Ruffin on Controlling the Politics in Our Community

The New Gambia Invites the “Art of Possibility”

His Excellency President Adama Barrow with Sis. Kim Poole.

by Kim Poole, Founder, Teaching Artist Institute

Nestled along the Atlantic coast and bound by Senegal is the next frontier of creativity and innovation. On March 3rd 2018 the “New Gambia;” as coined by the current Barrow administration, officially adopted the Teaching Artist Institute(TAI) as lead partner in development and implementation of a five-year master planning in Art for Social Transformation for the country. The five-year master planning tool will use the core tenets of civic engagement, governmental transparency, cultural diplomacy, and symbolic landscape study to stimulate sustainable development in areas collectively identified by Gambian stakeholders as major developmental priorities.

According to His Excellency President Adama Barrow, the [emerging economy] is “fertile ground for sustainable development and surrounded by fresh water from the river…With 87% of our food imported and so many of our youth unemployed, with the proper infrastructure we could grow our own rice and employ our youth too. We need to change the culture of agriculture.”  This is a very different development approach from that of former President Yaya Jammeh, who ruled the country for 22 years as a dictatorship until voted out of office in December of 2016.  As the conversation continues, it is apparent that President Barrow understands both art and culture beyond just the aesthetic value.

The Teaching Artist Institute (TAI), an organization dedicated to utilizing art culture as an approach to innovative community development, acknowledges that society is improved as a result of its ability to creatively process conflict and is preparing to address the “culture of agriculture” mentioned by President Barrow and many potential areas of growth in the Gambia. The Washington, D.C.-based organization, under the fiscal sponsorship of Jah Kente International, is currently in operation in Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, Jamaica and throughout the USA where founder Kim Poole resides. Poole says “the ‘Imagineering’ team is stocked with stakeholders from every sector who are prepared to give artists a seat at decision making tables for the sake of Gambia and future countries.  This is an opportunity for our young organization to make a real difference and prove ourselves.” Slated to begin work on July 1, 2018, the five-year plan will ultimately produce an entire arts and cultural district focused on innovation, mixed use facilities and preservation.

This future “no drive zone” is positioning itself as one of the hallmarks of what the New Gambia will represent, celebrating a diverse buy-in from both grassroots and grass tops communities. The first phase of five-year master plan implementation will be announced by President Barrow himself at the opening ceremony of the Second International Conference on Art for Social Transformation entitled ARTIZEN, taking place July 14th and 15th 2018 in the capital city of Banjul.

It is apparent that this bite size country has a huge appetite for progress and is setting a new standard for the role of artists in community development on the world stage.

Hello from the Other Side: Rhythm People Coalition Represents the African Diaspora at the African Union’s First Pan African Writers Conference

Kim Poole at right, with Kelley Settles (third from left), Anita Diop (fourth from left), Teaching Artists and African Union Commissioners.

By Kim Poole, Teaching Artist Institute

ACCRA, Ghana – The first of its kind, African Union’s Pan African Writers Conference, under the theme “Promoting African Literature and Reading: The Role of African Writer in Embracing African Identity, Shared Values and Integration,” was held on March 7th – 9th, 2018 under the auspices of the AU’s organ on Social Affairs. With writers, professors, publishing houses and governmental bodies present from each member state across the continent in overwhelming numbers, organizational members of the Rhythm People Coalition (RPC) served as much needed representation from the African Diaspora. Under the leadership of Professor Anita M. Diop, Founder of the African Roots and Heritage Foundation based in Detroit, Michigan USA, the Sixth Region Diaspora Caucus founded by Dr. David Horne of Los Angeles, California USA, the Institution of Financial Unity founded by Angela Sayles of Cleveland, Ohio USA, and the Teaching Artist Institute based in Washington D.C. USA, the Rhythm People Coalition served the Diaspora well. The Diaspora was well received and because of that Professor Anita M Diop was duly elected to serve on the first Bureau for the AU Pan African Writers Conference representing the Sixth Region.

Professor Diop began her presentation with a ground-breaking exposition on the role of African women writers and the importance of promoting narratives depicting African women, such as art activist Katherine Dunham, who she vividly describes in her book Katherine Dunham: An African American Cultural Icon. Ending her address with an ode to the cultural impact of the recent Black Panther superhero film, she continued by asking participants to pledge to the ideals of the mystical African Country portrayed therein by declaring “Wakanda Forever.”

On day two of the conference a special presentation was offered by sister organization and leader of the Rhythm People Coalition, the Teaching Artist Institute entitled “We Are the Rhythm People.” Embodying the “We Are the Rhythm People” Campaign, Soul-Fusion Performer and Teaching Artist Kim Poole sang a proud rendition of “Hello” by Adele with words that in many ways outline the seldom-found communication between Global Africans. This much needed break in the conference agenda included a video of the Rhythm Resolution description, highlighting an urgent need to establish cultural exchange programs, global observation days and funding streams to support such efforts. Using Rhythm as a symbol of the universal connection of Pan Africans, Sis. Poole ended by chanting out to the crowd with the roaring declaration and oath of the Rhythm People Campaign, stating that “beyond geographic location, language, class, tribe, in the beginning was heart drum, with this vibration we gave rhythm to the world, on this beat we sing life, We Are the Rhythm People.” Indeed, the Rhythm People Coalition’s impact has demonstrated the necessity for Diaspora based organizations and perspectives in African centered initiatives.

A Celebration of Life for Bro. Reggie “Ruffmic” Logan

I have not known what to say ever since learning of the transition to the Ancestors of Bro. Reggie “Ruffmic” Logan, otherwise known as Bro. Anpu Ptah Amen, on March 7. From Precise Science’s breakout CD, “Everybody’s Not Gonna Make It”, to the various “Mixtape” CD releases and Ruffmic’s solo effort “Who Me?”, many of us in the Pan-Afrikan activist community had come to look for inspiration from Ruffmic and Bro. Heru “Freedomwriter” Ptah MeriTef.  The duo, often accompanied by Bro. “Flo” and DJ WaH-Heed on the Wheels, had traveled across the country to perform for adoring crowds and to spread their knowledge and uplifting pro-Afrikan message.  Precise Science had also performed regularly at the annual Pan Afrikan Day of Solidarity, hosted by the Pan-Afrikan Liberation Movement (PLM) in Baltimore, and featured in their shows a variety of talented vocalists, lyricists and musicians to deliver uplifting and self-affirming messages and knowledge to the people, as well as promotion of the Guerilla Republik apparel and philosophy which were woven into their performances.

Learning of Bro. Ruffmic’s health challenges of the past year created concern, but I never knew how serious his condition was. Those of us who were anticipating the possible return of Precise Science will now have only our memories of the unique concentration of lyricism, knowledge, wisdom and true commitment we had learned to expect from what had to be one of the most relevant artistic collaborations in the history of Hip Hop and of music in general.

The Pan-Afrikan Liberation Movement (PLM) is sponsoring a Celebration of Life for Ruffmic at 4100 Towanda Avenue, in Baltimore, on Saturday, April 21 from 3 to 7 PM.  This comes on the first Saturday after what in Ancient KMTic (Afrikan) tradition would be the 42-day period in which the ka (spirit) of the recently deceased visits the 42 primary ancestral deities (Netcheru), testifying to each how he has followed the 42 currently-acknowledged Declarations of Ma’at. These Declarations, in which the person’s ka states that he has refrained from some undesired or sinful act (“I have not killed another in anger”, for example), have often been called the “Negative Confessions” by Western Egyptologists who do not understand the depth of Ma’at and its Declarations.

I do not know specifically what the program for the Celebration of Life will be, but I will not be surprised if it incorporates a dramatization of Bro. Ruffmic’s ka making these visits to the Netcheru and, upon completing these visits, sees his heart judged on the Scales of Ausar and found to be “as light as a feather”, unburdened and unbound by the sins and evils so often attributed to man, and thus being determined to be worthy of admittance into the Halls of the Honored Ancestors. I have seen this ceremony done on three occasions: first, for my friend Dr. Kwame SabakhuRa in the summer of 2000; then for Dr. John Chisell a few years later; and finally for Baba Osei Owusu in 2012. If there are elements of this ceremony during Bro. Ruffmic’s Celebration of Life, we as a community will see the opportunity to truly raise him up in the honor his great service to his people deserves.

Local Black Lawyers, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle in Opposition to Maryland’s 2018 Comprehensive Crime Bill

The following is an urgent call for the community to become involved in an imminent Maryland legislative effort which, according to several activists in the Pan-Afrikan Community I have spoken to, must be stopped.

Attorney Thomas Ruffin’s Analysis of the Maryland Comprehensive Crime Bill, or Zirkin-Hogan Bill

The following message comes from DC/Maryland-area attorney Thomas Ruffin of the International Association of Black Lawyers:

STOP PASSAGE IN MARYLAND OF “COMPREHENSIVE CRIME BILL OF 2018” (SENATE BILL 122)

The community is called to action to stop the Maryland General Assembly from enacting Senate Bill 122, or what the legislature calls the “Comprehensive Crime Bill of 2018”. The House Judiciary Committee in Annapolis was scheduled to mark up the bill on March 27, 2018. Whether you acknowledge the problem or not, Senate Bill 122 hearkens back to the mass incarceration of Black people that Professor Michelle Alexander rightly labeled the “New Jim Crow”. If enacted into law, the “Comprehensive Crime Bill of 2018” shall bring further ruin to poor Black communities that already suffer from police state murder, horrible public schools, dilapidated roads, massive poverty and unemployment, severe underfunding of the four historically Black universities in Maryland, high rates of alcohol and drug addiction, and an alarming crisis with mental illness. Instead of dealing with these issues, Governor Larry Hogan and the Maryland General Assembly propose to exacerbate these problems by enacting tougher penalties for drug and gun offenses.

As of today, Senate Bill 122 would create grossly unfair advantages for state prosecutions, and these unfair prosecutorial advantages would target poor Black boys and men living in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County.  For example, Senate Bill 122 would give state’s attorneys a pretrial right to appeal a court order throwing out illegally obtained evidence.  In contrast, Senate Bill 122 provides no pretrial appellate right for defendants wrongfully denied a motion to exclude illegally obtained evidence.  Moreover, these pretrial appeals would be extremely expensive, such that most defendants would be unable to afford an effective opposition to the government’s pretrial appeal.  As for the government, its pretrial appeals would be fully funded by the state.  In addition, Senate Bill 122 would jack up Maryland prison time in a racially bigoted way, such that offenses punishable today with up to three years in prison for a Black man or woman would be punishable with ten to fifteen years in prison under Senate Bill 122.  The legislation would similarly establish mandatory minimum sentences, such as five to twenty years in prison for first offenses and ten to forty years in prison for second offenses.  Senate Bill 122 also would add a number of arbitrary standards for jacked up sentences for illegal drugs, and, after creating these arbitrary standards, Senate Bill 122 proposes sentences of from five years to twenty years in prison for a first drug offense and from ten years to forty years in prison for a second drug offense.  Yet, the bulk of the drug prosecutions that would be pursued under Senate Bill 122 would be directed against poor Black and Latino men living in such areas as Baltimore and Prince George’s County, not against wealthy pharmacists, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies peddling fentanyl and other opiates to an addicted public.

Since Maryland police historically target Black people for prison, the public policy proposed in Senate Bill 122 would in effect be geared towards exacerbating the mass incarceration of Black men and women from poor neighborhoods throughout the state.  As of today, while Black people make up about 29 percent of Maryland’s population, Black people constitute 70.9 percent of the state’s prison population and about 76 percent of the Maryland prisoners with life sentences.  Indeed, in April 2014, Maryland prisons incarcerated about 21,149 people, with about 14,884 of that total being Black people of African descent.  This statistic, quite frankly, confirms the racist bigotry of Maryland penal policies. BSenate Bill 122 or the “Comprehensive Crime Bill of 2018” proposes to make these statistics dramatically worse.

Interestingly, Senate Bill 122 appears to be horribly drafted.  After all, Senate Bill 122 would exempt police officers, corrections officers, sheriffs, and sheriffs’ deputies from prosecution for carrying a firearm “with the deliberate purpose of” murdering “another person”.  Yet, this same bill would allow the arrest and incarceration of others for up to fifteen years in prison for carrying a firearm “with the deliberate purpose of injuring or killing another person”; even if no one actually fired a weapon.  Needless to say, this disparity between a police officer carrying a firearm with a murderous intent as opposed to a civilian carrying a firearm with a murderous intent has no reasonable basis.  After all, a jealous cop carrying a firearm for the sole purpose of murdering a spouse would be protected from prosecution under Senate Bill 122.  On the other hand, a battered Black woman whom police failed to protect from her abusive husband would be subject to up to fifteen years in prison if, while fleeing her spouse, she acquired a gun for the sole purpose of protecting herself.  Indeed, the abused woman would face up to fifteen years in prison even if she never fired her weapon.

Oddly enough, Senate Bill 122 offers no protection against police brutality.  In other words, Senate Bill 122 responds to the police torture and murder of Freddie Gray in Baltimore with tougher sentences for the Black community whom racist police prey upon.  To be sure, Baltimore police broke Freddie Gray’s spine on April 12, 2015.  That act of violence resulted in Freddie Gray’s death, a sadistic murder for which no police officer has been punished.  As part of this racist trend, Maryland police killed fourteen Black people in 2015 while, in contrast, killing three Whites. In 2016, Maryland police killed another eleven Black people, while Maryland police killed merely five White people during the same period.  Senate Bill 122 offers no protection against this spate of racially bigoted police state murder.  Quite frankly, Senate Bill 122 offers no protection against the increasing number of “hate crimes” and mass shootings that lawfully armed individuals, including White nationalists, perpetrate in American society.  Instead, Senate Bill 122 offers to incarcerate a generation of Black or Latino men and women, and to do so during the 2018 election year so as to make the image of incarcerated Black and Latino men political fodder during Governor Hogan’s reelection campaign.

With these thoughts in mind, I ask that you work with me and others in an ever growing coalition aimed at blocking passage of Senate Bill 122.  To stop this legislation, we need to lobby this weekend and next week in person, by telephone, and by email so as to persuade House Speaker Michael Busch and the members of the House Judiciary Committee as chaired by Delegate Joseph Vallario of Prince George’s County to vote down Senate Bill 122.  For your information, I list below the state delegates whom we should target for intense lobbying as a black community.

Keep this in mind: We have no time for, nor can we afford, apathy in the face of genocide, whether from a legislative onslaught such as Senate Bill 122, or from something as detrimental as racist slavery and lynchings. Join me now in this fight against injustice.

Sincerely,
Thomas Ruffin, Jr., Member
International Association of Black Lawyers

RUFFIN LEGAL SERVICES
153 Galveston Place, S.W., Suite 4
District of Columbia 20032
(202) 561-2898

CALL, WRITE, & TELEPHONE THE FOLLOWING MARYLAND LEGISLATORS:

House Speaker Michael E. Busch
michael.busch@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3800

Delegate Joseph F. Vallario, Jr. (Chair of House Judiciary Committee)
joseph.vallario@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3488

Delegate Kathleen M. Dumais (Vice-Chair of House Judiciary Committee)
kathleen.dumais@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3052

Delegate Curt Anderson (Baltimore City)
curt.anderson@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3291

Delegate Vanessa E. Atterbeary (Howard County)
Vanessa.Atterbeary@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3471

Delegate Frank M. Conaway, Jr. (Baltimore City)
frank.conaway@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3189

Delegate Angela C. Gibson (Baltimore City)
angela.gibson@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3283

Delegate Jazz Lewis (Prince George’s County)
jazz.lewis@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3691

Delegate David Moon (Montgomery County)
David.Moon@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3474

Delegate Dan K. Morhaim (Baltimore County)
dan.morhaim@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3054

Delegate Susie Proctor (Prince George’s & Charles Counties)
susie.proctor@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3083

Delegate Pam Queen (Montgomery County)
pam.queen@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3380

Delegate Carlo Sanchez (Prince George’s County)
carlo.sanchez@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3340

Delegate Charles E. Sydnor III (Baltimore County)
Charles.Sydnor@house.state.md.us
(301) 858-3802

Text of the Maryland Comprehensive Crime Bill

If you’re interested in reading the actual bill, it can be found here:

http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2018RS/bills/sb/sb0122t.pdf

Because it’s scheduled to go to markup in the Maryland House of Delegates on March 27, you’ll have to check this out right away and/or be a fast reader (I’m a notoriously slow reader).

Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle sponsor Trip to the March on Annapolis Tuesday, March 27

The organization Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (https://www.facebook.com/LBSBaltimore) has long been an important source of analysis of the Maryland legislative agenda for the grassroots community.  They sponsored a trip to the Maryland State House for the March on Annapolis for Jobs and Justice on Tuesday, March 27.  The Crime Bill was among the issues being confronted, and we hope to provide a more detailed analysis from Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle soon.

 

FREE Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Learn more: http://bit.ly/2po4Fzu

#MDGA2018

#EyesOnAnnapolis

#MarchAnnapolis

 

Pan Africanist Congress Sends Condolences to Family of New Ancestor Hugh Masekela

Hugh Masekela – 04 Apr 1939 – 23 Jan 2018 (age 78)
Trumpeter

Hugh Ramopolo Masekela was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and singer. He is considered the “father of South African jazz.” Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as “Soweto Blues” and “Bring Him Back Home”. He also had a number 1 US pop hit in 1968 with his version of “Grazing in the Grass” – Wikipedia

Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) sends its heartfelt condolences to the family of Hugh “Bra Hugh” Masekela who was other wise known as “The father of SA jazz” by his followers and music lovers. We are saddened.

We have been aware of Masekela’s battle with cancer and we are convinced that he fought a good fight. We are sending our deepest condolences to Bra Hugh’s lovely family, his big base fans and the entire humanity across the world. His passing shocked us as the PAC.

Today marks the tragic chapter of our lives, we are witnessing sorrow, a sad day which compels us to live without Bra Hugh but only listen to his rich music. We do not only regard Bra Hugh as an artist but more importantly as a freedom fighter.

Bra Hugh fought tirelessly for his country to be granted a political emancipation, he awaken the world and gave consciousness to the atrocities that the country was undergoing at the time, and for that we thank him.

We are also thanking the entire family of Masekela for having borrowed us our “Son of the Soil” Bra Hugh to not only entertain but to inform the globe about many issues which are currently headaches to many people.

Bra Hugh is a courageous and fearless figure that we ever had in this country, he did not quit fighting for his people after the realisation of political freedom which we obtained in 1994. Through his music he was vocal about issues of HIV/AIDS, Alcoholism, Gender-Based-Violence, poverty, inequality and many other atrocities that we are subjected to everyday.

Rest In Peace Bra Hugh. Your music will guide us in every decision we make as a country drowning in conundrums.

Enquiries
Kenneth Mokgatlhe
PAC National Spokesperson’
061 8173 781
k.mokgatlhe@pac.org.za