Neighbor Newspaper Vol. 14

NEIGHBOR NEWS AFRICAN & INDIGENOUS NEWS SERVICE

Neighbor Program News Service

August 6, 2021

$1.00

Black August

@taystyart

Vol. 14

Table of Contents

Black August - 3 Local News - 4 Reflections on Assata - 5 Neighbor News - 6 Poetry & Music - 8 The Importance Of Revolutionary Language - 9 How amerikkka Underdeveloped New Afrikans - 11 The Palestian Watermelon- 13 Ancestor Acknowledgement & Resources - 14 10 Point Platform & Program - 15 BTS: The Living Legacy of The BPP - 16

Land Acknowledgement

WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE NISENAN PEOPLE ARE STILL HERE AMONG US TODAY, THOUGH NEARLY INVISIBLE. WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE ON NISENAN LAND THAT WAS NEVER CEDED AND THE ORIGINAL TRIBAL FAMILIES HAVE YET TO RECOVER FROM THE NEAR GENOCIDE OF THEIR PEOPLE. AS A RESIDENT OR VISITOR IN NISENAN LAND, WE SUPPORT THE NEVADA CITY RANCHERIA NISENAN TRIBE IN EFFORTS TO STABILIZE THEIR PEOPLE AS WELL AS THEIR CAMPAIGN TO RESTORE FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

Thank You

Your support allows us to continue our work for the community

Black August Black August Memorial was founded in 1978 by the Weusi Gaidi Jamaa Political/Military Party (Black Guerrilla Family) in San Quentin State Prison. Black August Memorial is both a commemoration of Our fallen New Afrikan Freedom Fighters and a reaffirmation of the spirit of Black August Resistance which guides Our activities and motive force 365 days of the year. It is vital to the ultimate success of Our New Afrikan Revolutionary ambitions that we be conscious of WHY Our Komrades, Brothas and Sistas all made the ultimate sacrifice to stand in opposition to Our historic oppressor and fight against racist terror no matter the costs. At the heart of Black August Resistance is LOVE, genuine Revolutionary love for Our New Afrikan People and oppressed humanity the world over.

As New Afrikan Revolutionary Guerrillas, we understand that the ultimate expression of love is SACRIFICE. Black August Memorial is a celebration of the sacrifices Our fallen Freedom Fighters made willingly; Black August Resistance is Our collective acceptance and determination to make whatever sacrifices we need to make to advance Our Revolutionary cause and the welfare of Our New Afrikan People in relation to Our ultimate Liberation, and to resist ANY force in the way of that goal.

As we once again take up this celebration of sacrifice, do so with the understanding that our results will be directly proportional to Our efforts, so let Our efforts live up to and surpass the examples set by Our fallen Freedom Fighters...and let the oppressors of Our People tremble.

We will rage on into immortality. B.A.M./B.A.R., until we win or don't lose.

Guerrilla Love, Joka Heshima Jinsai & Abdul Olugbala Shakur

Join Neighbor Program's Political Prisoner of War Program Write captured Panthers & join them in their fight for freedom.

If you are interested in joining our PPOW program please send us an email at sacneighbor916@gmail.com

“Our resistance gave us an identity.

Our identity gave us strength.

Our strength gave us an unbreakable will.”

-Albert Woodfox (Angola 3)

August, in both historic and contemporary African American history, is a month of meaning.

It is a month of repression: • - August, 1619 – The first group of Black laborers called indentured servants, landed at Jamestown, Virginia • - August 25, 1967 – Classified FBI memos went out to all Bureaus nationwide with plans to “disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize” Black Liberation Movement groups.

• - August 1968 – The Newark, N.J. BPP office was firebombed.

• - August 25, 1968 – L.A. BPP members Steve Bartholomew, Robert Lawrence and Tommy Lewis were murdered by the LAPD at a gas station.

• - August 15, 1969 – Sylvester Bell, San Diego BPP, murdered by the US organization.

• - August 21, 1971 – BPP Field Marshall George L. Jackson assassinated at San Quentin prison, California. Three guards and two inmate turncoats killed, three wounded.

August is also a month of radical resistance: • - August 22, 1831 – Nat Turner’s rebellion rocked Southampton County, Virginia, and the entire South when slaves rose up and slew their white masters.

• - August 30, 1856 – John Brown led an anti-slavery raid on a group of Missourians at Osawatomie, Kansas.

• - August 7, 1970 – Jonathan Jackson, younger brother of Field Marshal George, raided the Marin County Courthouse in California, arming and freeing three Black prisoners, taking the judge, prosecutor and several jurors hostage. All, except one prisoner, were killed by police fire that perforated the escape vehicle. Jon was 17.

And in an instance of Resistance and Repression: • - August 8, 1978 – After a 15-month armed police standoff with the Philadelphia-based naturalist MOVE Organization, the police raided MOVE, killing one of their own in police crossfire, and charging nine MOVE people with murder. The MOVE 9, in prisons across Pennsylvania, are serving up to 100 years each.

August – a month of injustice and divine justice; of repression and righteous rebellion; of individual and collective efforts to free the slaves, and break the chains that bind us.

- -Mumia Abu Jamal

Local African Events

Local African Markets

Zahirah featuring at Foreign Native's August Open Mic on August 1, 2021

Every 1st Sunday Every 1st Sunday Dre T hosts Foregin Native's Open Mic Night. This is a community space that all African People in Nisenan Land should be pulling up for. The vibe is dope & full of love. Come through hear some dope people kick some amazing art, get some food and vibe with a beautiful community being built in that space

Make sure you tap in with the local African markets coming up!!!

LOCAL POLITRICKS

Despite the top kkkop in the city being a Black man from Oak Park, the newly released report on Sac PD from the Center for Policing Equity revealed that the Sacramento Pig Department has constantly used force disproportionately against Black residents compared to white residents in recent years, and was significantly more likely to stop and search Black residents than white residents. This comes as no surprise to those of us who are terrorized by the occupying of our communities by the pigs. Just this summer we have seen an increase in pig violence with the Biden administration only increasing police budgets. With this type of police repression rising it is important to remember the words of Field Marshall George Jackson "settle your quarrels, come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, that generations more will live poor butchered half-lives if you fail to act. Do what must be done, discover your humanity and your love in revolution.”

NEIGHBOR PROGRAM BOOK CLUB: REFLECTIONS ON ASSATA Feel it all.

A world that refuses to feel at all, Fueled off of fumes like imaginary gunpowder if every wishful trigger was pulled I would arise from the smoke with a smile on my face and my child on my backBlack.

African.

Jonathan Jackson (Asé) Raging fire.

Mother Earth born volcanoes too When pressures intensify…..

Amerikka seems ready to be baptized in molten lava Before making us free If so Then let it be.

Let it be, Let it be.

And I will be Black African She who struggles And Loves her people In gratitude and thanks Assata Olugbala Shakur She who feels.

Can you reflect on what it was like for her..

To feel the truth growing inside like a tumor Until the only option is to go operational Organizational interests Birth family and friendships Where there has always been love but lack of consciousness Gives life to the most divine of all accomplishments.

Rose the life of Assata.

Beautiful like the sight of a Volcano erupting into our atmosphere While the original people watch from above in the stars these crooked cracked laws seize our persons But lava melts bars. by kali kalifa a.

R/EVOLUTION IS LOVE

this is the 21st century and we need to redefine r/evolution. this planet needs a people’s r/evolution. a humanist r/evolution. r/evolution is not about bloodshed or about going to the mountains and fighting. we will fight if we are forced to but the fundamental goal of r/evolution must be peace. we need a r/evolution of the mind. we need a r/evolution of the heart. we need a r/evolution of the spirit. the power of the people is stronger than any weapon. a people’s r/evolution can’t be stopped. we need to be weapons of mass construction. weapons of mass love. it’s not enough just to change the system. we need to change ourselves. we have got to make this world user friendly. user friendly. are you ready to sacrifice to end world hunger. to sacrifice to end colonialism. to end neo-colonialism. to end racism. to end sexism. r/evolution means the end of exploitation. r/evolution means respecting people from other cultures. r/evolution is creative. r/evolution means treating your mate as a friend and an equal. r/evolution is sexy. r/evolution means respecting and learning from your children. r/evolution is beautiful. r/evolution means protecting the people. the plants. the animals. the air. the water. r/evolution means saving this planet. r/evolution is love.”

SURVIVING TRAUMA: BY TOMMY HICKS III

In the article “An Untold Chapter in Black History” Safiya Bukhari briefly illustrates her time as a member of the Black Panther Party highlighting the violence members of the organization suffered. Bukhari goes on to report that “we had experienced the death and/or imprisonment of countless brothers and sisters who had struggled right beside us.” As she reflects on her experience as a member of the Black Panther Party she finds similarities in her brother's experience as a soldier in Vietnam stating “I wasn't even close to experiencing anything like that until I joined the Black Panther Party and came to realize that you didn't have to travel around the world to experience the ravages of war.” Although many will not suffer the same circumstances as the veterans who survive war; members of the Black Panther Party, and those who struggle for liberation, will find similarities in their psychological condition. Bukhari continues to briefly diagnose and describe trauma and its relation to members who have survived the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. This relation is best illustrated in Assata Shakur's Autobiography.

As Assata tells her story we are exposed to the conditions that will drive an individual to their radicalization, understand how to cope under oppressive conditions, and are allowed to experience a catharsis after tragedy. As we review the autobiography we begin to see Assata’s timeline, or her life story, as a tragedy turned inward moving from an external story that provokes sympathy to an internal experience that invokes empathy. The reader is left with no choice but to see themselves in Assata, relate to her story, and finally tasked with looking inward.

Assata’s story begins in the hospital where she suffers brutalization and tourture comparable to the tactics US military uses on POWs. Overtime we see the difficulties she will face while being railroaded in court, harassed, and even stripped of her child; all the while, we are slowly revealed a history of unresolved childhood and sexual trauma. Assata has a unique way of coping, constantly relying on her comrades for support, connecting with nature, and utilizing poetry. Although she is consistent in utilizing her skills she notes the difficulty she has when she is faced with her traumatic experiences stating “all of my reactions were super - intense… suddenly, I was flooded with horrors of prison and every disgusting experience that somehow I had been able to minimize.”

Understanding hypervigilance and flashbacks as symptoms of PTSD Assata tells of other physiological symptoms, stating “I had been incapable of crying. I felt rigid, as though chunks of steel and concrete had worked themselves into my body. I was cold.” Assata lives as an example of the real life mental health consequences associated with revolutionary work. She also serves as an example of how necessary it is to continuously work and heal ourselves. She asks, albeit indirectly, for us to look at ourselves even during the most difficult times, to continue to struggle, to persist, and through unity we will achieve liberation.

Neighbor Program Turns 1 As I reflect on what is the 1 year anniversary of Neighbor Program, it struck me to recall our history and as my elder Billy X constantly tells me “document it.” And so this is the story of what birthed Neighbor Program and the growth to date; although I cannot yet tell the end story I am sure with all faith in God and the Ancestors that there is so much more for us to do and our story is far from over.

To me, Neighbor Program started the day my father got his draft notice from the selective service system which served as a method of kidnapping a young New Afrikan away from his community and his life. My father had graduated Balboa High in San Francisco in June 1966 and enrolled at San Francisco City College where he lettered in football and had a job at a local restaurant when he received this letter in the Spring of 1967. This timing put my father in the middle of Khe Sanh in January 1968, just as the Tet Offensive was beginning. After being kidnapped and forced to fight for his life for 13 months, he was brought “home from the bush within 72hours” with little resources. Within a few weeks of being home, he was recruited by several members of the Black Panther Party which again sets the historical precedent and is part of the story of Neighbor Program.

I was raised up in and around the politic; as a kid I used to dream of being able to fight for my people like Malcolm X, Steven Biko and all the Panthers my dad was constantly putting me on game about. My pops loved listening to “Rap and Stokely” speeches and forced me to read “Soul On Ice” during the summer before I finished middle school, and those lessons gave me a general foundation to understand the Panthers and the 10 Point Program. Understanding those Black Radical theories and my own internal growth behind them is the ideological base for Neighbor Program. That along with my lived experience brought me to a consensus that I no longer believed in equality but that I wanted freedom for my people.

Before Neighbor Program started I had led some marches, done some organizing and speaking in 2014 and 2015 around Black Lives Matter but realized that walking in the streets, pretending to die in front of the pigs, and chanting “hands up don’t shoot” wasn’t exactly going to change anything and I wanted a new approach because I didn’t want to beg the establishment for crumbs when they were the reason we were suffering. My college teammate Delency Parham co-founded Peoples Programs (People’s Breakfast Oakland) and had another college teammate of ours in their program and I watched them consistently show up for Black people in Oakland which inspired me to want to serve. After inconsistently trying for a year or two to find someone who I could team up with to start our own breakfast program I had somewhat given up on the idea until the pandemic. I watched my brothas in Oakland start serving the people three times a week and decided I couldn’t stand on the sidelines of organizing any longer and asked if any of my close friends on IG wanted to contribute to the food donations I was doing; and Neighbor Program was born.

I had a former college classmate say she was down to help, my tattoo artist was also willing and after we posted we were taking donations there was no turning back. At our first official distro we served over 220 meals, which seemed like so much and we didn’t really have a structured route because the most meals I had served before was 100 and that was at one camp. In the beginning I would just drive through the city with a car caravan following my every move; pulling over to give out meals to any unhoused person I saw but we quickly learned that wasn’t time efficient. As we have grown in this last year it has been hard to slow down and reflect on the growth but in order to know where you are going you must remember where you have been.

None of the people who came together for our first distro are with us still, and that’s how things go; some people come, some people go, but Program is made better through all of our collective efforts. I never made any qualms about what it was we believed in and that was made clear by adopting the Panthers 10 Point Program my father taught to me all those years ago. The Panthers 10 Point Program serves as our ideological foundation and that did chase some people off, but it grounded us in history. A history where the blueprint has already been set; this is why you have seen us grow with new programs, because they align with our ideological beliefs and what our elders have taught us must be done; with the main one being to politically educate our people and organize them around their indigenous identity, history and culture.

That was how our political education classes were born, during the uprising last summer I kept asking those I saw organizing “what is yall goal? What do y’all want?” Most answers were vague such as justice, accountability and defunding the police. This led to me deciding to host small political education classes on zoom during the summer with the goal to push into Black and Brown Indigenous neighborhoods and community centers to teach but with the pandemic in full swing there was no way to be in person. I felt like if people were made politically aware, the new energy would be transferred into material action for the people. Once we saw the response to the zoom classes, the next step was to create political education that was able to be read. I reached out to my comrade Emok and another New Afrikan scholar in the area and our paper was born; initially as Sac Voices. We wanted to model our periodical after The Black Panther paper and since our first issue we have continued to grow not only our readership but our own politic and our understanding of revolutionary art and propaganda.

During this last year we watched a huge population of the city of Sacramento turn out consistently to speak up about issues only to have their voice and effort drowned out by the establishment. We even advocated for people to call city council within our first year but it became evident that even at the local level, electoral politics would not provide us solutions and so we ran our first official Neighbor School session after the election in an effort to capture the political momentum and excitement and that launched us into the public in a new way. Neighbor School brought us into a new space organizing political education and to ground ourselves in the politic we decided we would begin a book club to root the community and ourselves in the politic and promote learning together. It was around this time our first major shift came; as we read Jalil Muntaqim’s “We Are Our Own Liberators” it became clear that there were structures that needed to be added and through the tireless work of my comrade Emok those structures were created and implemented.

Those structures have served us well in becoming an efficient organization, being able to function at an extremely high level. This set the stage for the growth we were able to make by growing additional programs, special events, and more.

After a failed partnership for a community garden we were blessed by an elder with farm land and the Assata Shakur Freedom Farm was created. Our farm is coordinated by my comrade Laz and it has been amazing watching this plot of overgrown weeds and dead plants turn into a space that provides produce for 25 families in Seavey Circle twice a month as part of our Free Food program where we serve groceries to families. We have served over 10,000 meals during our first year, and that in itself is a testament to all the hard and tireless work of so many people who have been involved in Neighbor Program’s first year.

Thank you to Emok, Laz and Tommy, our current core team; thank you to Elise for helping to get this thing off the ground; thank you to all the volunteers and Neighbors In Training members throughout this year; thank you to People’s Programs for supporting our work; thank you to Billy X - a Black Panther veteran; thank you to find out farms; thank you to Ms Tynya, thank you to Ms Barbara; thank you to everyone who has donated; and a major thank you to my wife and my kids, y’all have been so supportive and have been just as much as a part of this first year as anyone else.

As we went out for distro today I prayed for a great day, asked our team to ground themselves in their humanity and a radical love for other human beings. Today was one of those days I prayed for; we were able to connect to those we served, we allowed ourselves to really be in community. We spoke with a Black man who told us his story of how the pigs forced their camp to move without any social services after giving a 4-day notice on Friday July 2nd knowing things would be shut down due to the amerikkkan federal holiday. Then the brotha went into a speech about how to cure the issues we often see, “make everything free” was his solution - socialism in praxis leaving us with gems “You wanna solve crime and these issues …Make everything free …instead of working 9-5 slaving away for the corporations leave 9-5 open to pursue our intellectual pursuits or artistry which will be benefit for all of humanity.”

We went to another stop and I pulled up on an OG who was nodding off while trying to shoot up and I reminded him of our plan to go to the Black Panthers 55th year celebration in Oakland but told him I couldn’t take him if he was putting poison in his body and left him a meal and told him I loved him, when we came back from serving our other neighbors at the stop he stopped me and with tears in his eyes told me “thank you nephew I love you.” This is what Neighbor Program was built to do, to see everyone’s full humanity. This first year has had all types of ups and downs and we still have so much to figure out and accomplish but I am grounded in my faith that love will triumph over evil, that our people will be free and in the words of Assata “the cowboys and bandits don’t own the world.”

Peace, Love, Freedom, All Power To The People & Neighbor Power To The Neighbors

Poetry

Poetry

By Darius Simpson

By Darius Simpson

OK SO MAYBE THE RALLY WON’T GET US FREE

STOP THE VIOLENCE!

i’ve drummed at more protests than celebrations by protest i mean we had a target and goals without permits marched to the rhythm of tears beating the pavement’s skin what’s clear is we’ve been here before and will again what’s clear is there will be war until we win the war if there is no war maybe the u.s. will sand castle crumble if there is no u.s. maybe africa can sleep with both eyes closed maybe cuba can get a decent shot at a sunday afternoon maybe our movements coming to a standstill won’t be surrender maybe the rally won’t get us free on this here tuesday but listen for a few hours my lungs heave with a sticky thickness besides grief and thousands of pissed off cardboard posters bounce beside me and yes we have to organize outside mobilizations but dammit they killin children over there and over here and last night and the week before last and since the first settlers colonized and don’t that mean we got to burn somethin and don’t that mean we don’t stop til sunrise blossoms into burnt orange horizon haze and ain’t that physics or human nature or the least we could do for our babies there is entirely too much ash in this oxygen there are simultaneously not enough fires on the west coast this evening i say coast and think of river borders and sea blockades i think of dense populations in open air prisons i think of gas mask keffiyehs and bandana bandages i think of rocks making dents in literal canons my comrades remind me there is work to do and i notice my hands are not nearly dirty enough.

said the skeleton to the gravedigger said the election polling station to the empty stomach said the increased police budget to the rising homicide rate said the momma chicken to the unhatched eggs said the trigger finger to the back of the head said the firing squad to the rope-burned ribs said the battering ram to the door hinges said the swat team to the slave patrol said the manager to the cracked mirror in the break room said the CEO lunch date to the dirty dish rag said the metropole to the colony said the five fingers to the face said the diversity committee to the negro™ said the negro™ to the nigga said no one to the White House said no one to the cost of living said no one to the 6am eviction squad said no one to the juvenile detention center said no one to the lethal injection fluids said no one to the prison guard’s handcuffs said no one to the governor’s garden party said no one to the landlord’s checking account said no one to the university’s new student center said no one to the rotten roots below the apple tree.

Neighbor Playlist

Poetry

By Asia

I REFUSE & ACKNOWLEDGE I refuse to believe that a life where each individual is full, happy, and satisfied in every way is not attainable I acknowledge that myself and those around me have the power to make it happen

Riata Dada - EST Gee HIM - Rexx Life Raj If Pain Was A Person - Moneybagg Yo Organic Respect - Larry June Trenches - Morray In Town - EST Gee & Lil Durk Rose Bowl - Rexx Life Raj Words Of Wisdom - 2pac Tidal Wave - NJOMZA & Ari Lennox Bigger Than Life Or Death - EST Gee Bodega Bay Freestyle - Rexx Life Raj Capitol 1 - EST Gee Intercepted - Larry June & Money Man Law Of Averages - Vince Staples Forreal - EST Gee Lockheed Martin - Rexx Life Raj Nobody - Nas & Ms Lauryn Hill Red Lobster Biscuits - Rexx Life Raj

The Importance of Revolutionary Language Written By Thai Hill

Glossary: 1. Capitalism: a mode of production based on private ownership of the means of production (factories, machinery, and raw materials).

This creates a class society. Through capitalism, the ruling class (the wealthy owners) exploit the poor (the workers).

2. Socialism: the means of production are owned collectively by the people. Under socialism the everyday basic needs of the people are met. Free housing, free healthcare, free education!

3. Decolonization Program:this term was created by New Afrikan Revolutionary and Former Black Panther Jalil Muntaqim.

Decolonization Programs are the material programs that start the process of decolonization by building alternatives to the state.

4. Co-Optation: The act of appropriating or removing the intended purpose or meaning of a movement. Co-optation usually involves a larger or more established group taking from a smaller group or person. in this case we are using the word to describe what we’ve seen liberals and the state do to revolutionary actions, language and imagery.

5. Liberal: A political identity that claims to value social change, while still upholding the principles of white supremacy and capitalism.

For example, the democratic party.

6. Mutual Aid: Communities working cooperatively to meet their material needs. Defined in 1902 by anarchist philosopher Kropotkin.

The concept Kropotkin described was not new and was practiced by Afrikan and many other indigenous societies long before him.

The Black Panthers practiced the concept of “Mutual Aid” through their survival program — but used it to spread political understanding and support for revolution.

7. Defund- To take away. To lessen. To withdraw.

Organizations and individuals that are guided by Black (Afrikan) revolutionary theory and practices need to be mindful of the language we use — as language is one of the first means by which liberalism attacks. If we are not intentional in aligning our language with revolutionary action and organizing it is liable to be co-opted by the state. Even the most radical of theories such as prison and police abolition can be twisted and watered down by politicians, news outlets, and infiltrators — to the point that they are no longer recognizable.

This concept was demonstrated with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic as media platforms, organizations, and individuals used the language of “Mutual Aid’’ to describe communities organizing to meet their needs while the amerikan state left them to die.

However as the pandemic continued, the language of “Mutual Aid’’ was used so loosely that it often lost connection with radical action, organizing and political analysis. California pigs even went so far as to claim officers from neighboring counties were offering “Mutual Aid ‘’ to the Oakland Pig Department by helping to put down the uprisings of the summer. As many organizers used the language of “Mutual Aid’’ they failed to connect grassroots efforts to protracted (ongoing) struggle and historical context.

There was not enough effort made to connect the term “Mutual Aid” to the next phases of organizing that are necessary to destroy capitalism and white supremacy — the systems that make mutual aid necessary in the first place. The language we choose to describe our struggles must contain material analysis of our conditions that points the masses to action — to revolution.

To contrast this we can look to the language put forth by the Black Panther Party (BPP) to describe a similar concept to “mutual aid”. The BPP organized “Survival Programs Pending Revolution” (commonly referred to as “Survival Programs”). Survival Programs ranged from free breakfast, to legal support, medical care, and nearly everything in between. Similar to many of the mutual aid projects we see at this moment. The BPP explicitly stated that without people, there could be no revolution — and there would be no people if they could not survive. Hence the need for Survival programs.

By choosing pointed, intentional language, the Panthers were able to contextualize their actions in the minds of the people — it was understood that this free meal was a step towards revolution. At all points of action the end goal was revolution. Additionally, the term “Survival Program” was an indictment of capitalism and the white supremacist state. The word “survival” itself made it clear that Black folks were dying — that they were under siege. The term “Survival Program” is much better guarded against state co-optation because for the state to wield such a term would be to admit that Black people are experiencing genocide at their hands.

The term “Survival Program” was evolved upon by former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army member, Jalil Muntaquim.

Muntaquim went on to explain the need for “Decolonization Programs”, these programs not only meet the material needs of the people as Survival Programs did, but also prepare New Afrikan communities to support themselves independent of our euroamerikan colonizers pre and post-revolution. Decolonization Programs build the necessary infrastructure to support cutting ties with the euro-amerikan colonial empire, which New Afrikans currently depend on for food, medical care, and other basic necessities. Decolonization Programs further develop upon the foundation of Survival Programs by centering the need for decolonization as well as our human right to national independence and sovereignty. Similarly to “Survival Programs’’, there is an ideological understanding that accompanies “Decolonization Programs’’.

To understand the need for decolonization is to understand our current position as colonized peoples just as to understand our need for survival is to understand our current position as a people in danger. Both the terms “Survival Program” and “Decolonization Program’’ contextualize our current conditions into a history of anti-Afrikan colonial terror, and our next steps into a future of revolutionary action. It is key that we Afrikans understand that we are colonized and merely surviving. This understanding is not to depress us or inspire pessimism — but it is impossible for us to reach our destination if we do not understand where we are. We cannot embrace revolution until we recognize that we are colonized survivors and have been since the first stolen Afrikan was brought to this land. Until that understanding is reached we are open to liberal misleadership sold to us by the likes of Black billionaires and other wolves in sheeps clothing. We must be in agreement about the need for Decolonization Programs and national sovereignty in order to secure the freedom of all Afrikans across the diaspora.

As we build organizations to help lead the masses we have an even greater responsibility to maintain alignment between our words and our goals. If we as leaders are unclear, the people will only be further misled and confused. The consequences of vague language and unclear leadership can be found here in Oakland. In July, $18 million dollars was diverted away from an increase to Oakland Pig Departments budget — however, due to vague language used by community organizations, politicians, and media this was held as a win for defunding. The joy that followed largely overlooked that OPD’s yearly budget still increased by $9 Million (standing at a staggering $337 Million per year). Furthermore, the spending of the $18 million will still be at the state’s judgement. On July 10th, the Oakland Department of Violence Prevention, a recipient of the funds ‘diverted’ from OPD, participated in a rally with the Oakland pigs spreading copaganda and good press for the department. Already we see how the state plans to spend this money helping to boost the public perception of the police. In the confusion surrounding OPDs effective budget increase, the state was able to funnel money into its own programs, quell community outrage and appear ‘progressive’ by twisting the loose language of “defunding”.

This phenomenon of state trickery amidst “defunding’’ is nothing new. For example, last year during a widespread call for defunding, the Minneapolis school district agreed to community demands to remove police from their campuses, however, it has been revealed that the school district is hiring former police and corrections officers. These agents of the state will perpetuate the same violence onto the students of Minneapolis as the police department did all while appearing “progressive”. The realities of oppression being masked by the illusions of progress is the evil of liberalism at work.The state’s ability to twist narratives and demands is in part the responsibility of individuals who have overstated victories, omitted facts and allowed theories such as “defunding” and “mutual aid” to be separated from their radical lineage.

Amilcar Cabral, a revolutionary of Guinea-Bissau, stated “Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories.” As we are guided by revolutionary politics we bare a commitment to revolutionary honesty. In the moments where the state concedes petty resources we need to be transparent with the people and consistently explain that these small crumbs do not add up to victory. We cannot liberalize our language — when we do we are conceding, moving the goal post, accepting the short end. Material progress begins with our commitment to our demands and our commitment to our language. We as organizers (in and out of Oakland) need to push the hard lines of the Black radical tradition. We must call for abolition. We must call for revolution.

Free The People!

Free The Land!

How amerikkka Underdeveloped New Afrikans In a way, underdevelopment is a paradox. Many parts of the world that are naturally rich are actually poor and parts that are not so well off in wealth of soil and sun-soil are enjoying the highest standards of living. When the capitalists from the developed parts of the world try to explain this paradox, they often make it sound as though there is something “Godgiven” about the situation. One bourgeois economist, in a book on development, accepted that the comparative statistics of the world today show a gap that is much larger than it was before. By his own admission, the gap between the developed and underdeveloped countries has increased by at least 15 to 20 times over the last 150 years. However, the bourgeois economist in question does not give a historical explanation, nor does he consider that there is a relationship of exploitation which allowed capitalist parasites to grow fat and impoverished the dependencies Walter Rodney We would be foolish and historically inaccurate to dismiss the underdevelopment of Black People/New Afrikan People inside the amerikkkkan system in the same fashion that Rodney highlights europe’s underdevelopment of Africa. In his classic work Rodney draws on extremely detailed histories of The Continent and europe to solidify his case and support his analysis. As we analyze Rodney it is nearly impossible to not see the parallels to amerikkka, a european settlerkkkolonial state, has underdeveloped the Black community inside the kkkolony. It is with this understanding that allows us to understand our true identity as Africans - with amerikkka being a settler-kkkolonial development of europe. By acknowledging europe’s history of underdeveloping Africa, we can better resist the underdevelopment of New Afrikans inside the kkkolony.

One of the first ways Rodney highlights how europe underdeveloped Africa was through the unequal trade relations between the two; with Africa and Africans being exploited and developing Europe’s kkkapitalist markets while stunting the development of their own economies. This is ever present in the amerikkkan kkkapitalist system where Black labor is exploited to make ungodly profits while the workers are left with crumbs and no real resource to develop themselves or their economic interest. “Colonialism was not merely a system of exploitation but one whose essential purpose was to repatriate the profit to the so called mother land.”

The 2018 data reveals that Black median household income is $20,000 less than the average and 2021 data shows that Black folx unemployment rate is over 3 percentage points higher than the amerikkkan average and 4 percentage points higher than those considered white. These economic factors and conditions have made any type of real development of group economics nearly impossible, and any large-scale attempt of creating group economics is terrorized and neutralized by white supremacist forces inside and outside of the amerikkkan legal system. From Tulsa to Rosewood, amerikkka has shown little regard for Black economic systems and structures and resort to violence of all kinds and means to destroy our success. This violence also manifests itself today in the form of gentrification as well. data from 2012 through 2017, NCRC once again found that gentrification and displacement was highly concentrated, and that most low-income neighborhoods, and the vast majority of cities, continued to deal with a chronic lack of investment…For the most part, Opportunity Zones (OZs) were indeed the places in the most dire need of investment.

Economic inequality was higher, home values and incomes lower and fewer families owned their homes than in any other part of the city. Despite the fact that 69% of gentrified neighborhoods were either in or adjacent to an OZ, the majority of Opportunity Zones were in fact those places that needed the most help…Homeownership in both gentrifying neighborhoods and OZs was significantly lower than in the rest of these cities as well. Often, the people who lived there, overwhelmingly people of color, were not benefiting from the investment that flowed there. As the Philadelphia Federal Reserve found, renters are more vulnerable to displacement as their communities gentrify, and unlike owners, they reap none of the rewards that rising home prices and rents can bestow.

National Community Reinvestment Coalition The strategic use of gentrification has continued to keep the New African community underdeveloped within the kkkolony. This form of violence has historical roots in the scramble for Africa, where African lands were partitioned off and given to kkkolonizers in order for their economic development. All the while this land is being taken for european gain, Africans are being captured and enslaved for european profits; mirroring the reality and plight of the New Afrikan community inside the kkkolony. The prison industrial complex and mass incarceration is big business and serves the interest of the europeans and their neo-kkkolonial agents.

Now some may argue that Black People built this country and have a stake in amerikkka, and point to the “freedoms'' we have inside amerikkka but I say in the spirit of Rodney that the underdevelopment of our people globally is due to kkkolonialization and that the total sum of kkkolonialism has done much more harm than good for the masses of Africans. Yes, there are Black billionaires like Jay-Z, Oprah, Bob Johnson and Robert Smith; just as there were neokkkolonial Africans who sold out the masses for personal profit; we like to calm these folx the Black bourgeoisie or the Black Elite. These Africans serve as propaganda for the kkkapitalist-imperialist to point at and justify their oppressive system by uplifting the exception while the masses are left to be slaves to the system.

How amerikkka Underdeveloped New Afrikans

By Jordan McGowan

power is the ability to defend one’s interest and if necessary to impose one’s will by any means available Walter Rodney Through the underdevelopment of the New Afrikan people there is no solidified power, no ability to defend our interest or even our identity. This has led to our forced assimilation and accepted genocide, to the point where New Afrikans have acted as agents of our Holocaust - as neo-kkkolonial agents such as Obama, Harris, and the such are praised. However, according to Rodney, “the presence of a group of African sell-outs is part of the definition of underdevelopment”, which is why it is so essential for us to understand who and what are the source of our underdevelopment in all aspects of our people.

The plight of Black People inside of amerikkka comes from the plight of Black People across the world - the continued genocide and war against our people at the hands of the kkkapitalist-imperialist european fascist. Whether on The Continent, Haiti or Turtle Island; the underdevelopment of Africa and Africans is due to kkkolonization and the only way we can develop into our full capacity is to eradicate every imperialist force, emancipate from every kkkolonial overseer and erase any neo-kkkolonial agent opposed to our liberation. It is only through careful research and analysis that we must arrive at the logical conclusion: we are African and our enemy has a history of underdeveloping us; so why would we contribute to our suffering? We must reject kkkapitalism which is another word for fascism, which has led to our oppression.

Free The Land Free The People

Red, Green, Black, and White The Palestinian Watermelon

By Hiba Elkhatib Occupation is not only the confiscation of livelihood and materialistic possessions, but it also forces you to start finding new meanings in objects that symbolize the items that were stolen from you. August 3rd marked international watermelon day and while this may be just a fruit for some, it is a symbol of resistance and resilience for Palestinians. In 1967, Israel forbid the public display of the Palestinian flag and its colors, and to go against this order resulted in imprisonment at the very least. Therefore, Palestinians were once again challenged to creatively express their national pride through other means, and to this day, Palestinians are still routinely banned from flying and publicly displaying the Palestinian flag. Watermelon, a widely popular and conveniently grown summer fruit in Palestine, is used instead as it incorporates all the flag’s colors and is a hidden yet understood way of communicating Palestinian pride. The use of watermelon goes deeper than just symbolizing the flag, it has a history of suffering from colonization itself. Palestinian farmers in Jenin are known for the size and taste of their watermelons, and similar to most aspects of Palestinian life, the Israeli regime infiltrated this part of Palestinian excellence and started to bring new seed companies into the market post-1948. Yet, the people of the land cultivate it the best, so the difference in the produce became clear. Similar to the use of rocks in the Palestinian fight for liberation, Palestinians would use the watermelons their oppressors produced to throw at Israeli offense force tanks and would save the watermelons Palestinian farmers produced to eat. The Palestinian watermelon has become a light-hearted way of protesting a gruesome regime and its suppression of Palestinian livelihood. It is used in Palestinian artwork and in the streets of Palestine as a form of protest and resistance to Israeli apartheid. Most recently, we’ve been reminded of this creative expression of resistance through its use in the protest against Israel’s attack on Sheikh Jarrah. As Palestinians are being shadowbanned on social media, the watermelon is being used as a way to get around censorship while still being able to fully show solidarity with the Palestinian people. Once again Palestinians show us that the love for your people and land outweighs the tactics of your oppressors.

Artist Profile - Shawntay Gorman

Ancestor Acknowledgement

By Mason Forbes Neighbor Ancestor Acknowledgement We take this moment to honor and acknowledge our Ancestors, as we understand that we are one with them and their spirits live on through us.

We ask that they hear and accept our praise and reverence as we seek their continued guidance and heed their direction, trusting that with the wisdom and clarity they provide no feat is insurmountable.

We are washed and made anew in waters of their blessing, rising cleansed of all impurities, all blockages that might prevent us from fulfilling our purpose in this lifetime swept away.

We recognize their sacrifices and take refuge in the protection offered by the spiritual fortress they have built around us on a foundation of revolutionary love.

We ask them to grant us strength and good fortune, blessing our swords, shields, and hearts as we struggle for the right to determine our own destinies and that of our communities, striking down any enemies that may stand in our path.

We ask that they connect us with those who wish to join our cause and unify us as we channel our collective energies towards our major political objective, to build a new world where radical love for human beings is found.

Neighbor Power to the Neighbors & Divine Love to All

Artist Profile

New Podcasts

Black Panther 10 Point Program & Platform 1. WE WANT FREEDOM. WE WANT POWER TO DETERMINE THE DESTINY OF OUR BLACK COMMUNITY. WE BELIEVE that Black people will not be free until we are able to determine our destiny.

2. WE WANT FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR OUR PEOPLE. WE BELIEVE that the federal government is responsible and obligated to give every man employment or a guaranteed income. We believe that if the white American businessmen will not give full employment, then the means of production should be taken from the businessmen and placed in the community so that the people of the community can organize and employ all of its people and give a high standard of living.

3. WE WANT AN END TO THE ROBBERY BY THE CAPITALIST OF OUR BLACK COMMUNITY. WE BELIEVE that this racist government has robbed us and now we are demanding the overdue debt of forty acres and two mules. Forty acres and two mules were promised 100 years ago as restitution for slave labor and mass murder of Black people. We will accept the payment in currency, which will be distributed, to our many communities. The Germans are now aiding the Jews in Israel for the genocide of the Jewish people. The Germans murdered six million Jews. The American racist has taken part in the slaughter of over fifty million Black people; therefore, we feel that this is a modest demand that we make.

4. WE WANT DECENT HOUSING, FIT FOR THE SHELTER OF HUMAN BEINGS. WE BELIEVE that if the white landlords will not give decent housing to our Black community, then the housing and the land should be made into cooperatives so that our community, with government aid, can build and make decent housing for its people.

5. WE WANT EDUCATION FOR OUR PEOPLE THAT EXPOSES THE TRUE NATURE OF THIS DECADENT AMERICAN SOCIETY. WE WANT EDUCATION THAT TEACHES US OUR TRUE HISTORY AND OUR ROLE IN THE PRESENT-DAY SOCIETY. WE BELIEVE in an educational system that will give to our people knowledge of self. If a man does not have knowledge of himself and his position in society and the world, then he has little chance to relate to anything else.

6. WE WANT ALL BLACK MEN TO BE EXEMPT FROM MILITARY SERVICE. WE BELIEVE that Black people should not be forced to fight in the military service to defend a racist government that does not protect us. We will not fight and kill other people of color in the world who, like Black people, are being victimized by the white racist government of America. We will protect ourselves from the force and violence of the racist police and the racist military, by whatever means necessary.

7. WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO POLICE BRUTALITY AND MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE. WE BELIEVE we can end police brutality in our Black community by organizing Black self-defense groups that are dedicated to defending our Black community from racist police oppression and brutality. The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States gives a right to bear arms. We therefore believe that all Black people should arm themselves for self- defense.

8. WE WANT FREEDOM FOR ALL BLACK MEN HELD IN FEDERAL, STATE, COUNTY AND CITY PRISONS AND JAILS. WE BELIEVE that all Black people should be released from the many jails and prisons because they have not received a fair and impartial trial.

9. WE WANT ALL BLACK PEOPLE WHEN BROUGHT TO TRIAL TO BE TRIED IN COURT BY A JURY OF THEIR PEER GROUP OR PEOPLE FROM THEIR BLACK COMMUNITIES, AS DEFINED BY THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. WE BELIEVE that the courts should follow the United States Constitution so that Black people will receive fair trials. The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives a man a right to be tried by his peer group. A peer is a person from a similar economic, social, religious, geographical, environmental, historical and racial background. To do this the court will be forced to select a jury from the Black community from which the Black defendant came. We have been, and are being tried by all-white juries that have no understanding of the "average reasoning man" of the Black community.

10. WE WANT LAND, BREAD, HOUSING, EDUCATION, CLOTHING, JUSTICE AND PEACE. AND AS OUR MAJOR POLITICAL OBJECTIVE, A UNITED NATIONS SUPERVISED PLEBISCITE TO BE HELD THROUGHOUT THE BLACK COLONY IN WHICH ONLY BLACK COLONIAL SUBJECTS WILL BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING THE WILL OF BLACK PEOPLE AS TO THEIR NATIONAL DESTINY. WHEN, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

WE HOLD these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. **That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. ** Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. **But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. **

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to all who contributed their time, effort and work to this issue of Neighbor Newspaper. Thank you to the Black August Organizing Committee (BAOC), People's Programs, The People's Coalition, Foregin Native, Sanokfa Market, Sacramento African Marketplace, as well It's About Time BPP. Thank you to all the writers who contributed & a huge shout out to Shawntay Gorman for the dope cover art. Check out some more of her work under the artist profile and be sure to follow her at @taystyart. For this issue, we made a conscious effort to uplift the BPP's original 10 point program to root ourselves in historical understanding.

Behind The Scenes: The Living Legacy of The Black Panther Party