Mansa Obi - POW's lyrics

Imam Jamil Al-amin I think the movement is a leaderless movement whereas we might influence people we do not control people. It's an evolutionary process, you know like people go through different things. The ma**es of people become involved and then leaders are chosen. Right now you have a vanguard struggle that is occurring, where groups are fighting about discussing political ideologies which are relevant which should be incorporated into the struggle or will be incorporated into the struggle. That's not to be misinterpreted with you know like the revolution, because it's just a phase of revolution. Politics is defined by the geographical and influential spheres of this country. it's irrelevant to black people and it's irrelevant to the ma**es of people, the vote has been used a as tool of oppression against black people. ???? raises a very good point when he says, what better way to enslave a man than to give him the vote and call him free? You see it does not profit black people or poor people anything to have the vote and not be able to select a candidate they want to choose. How can you choose between---there is no choice. Evil is evil there is nothing in between that. I think the vote can only be used as a tool of organization. You can only use the vote to organize our people. Now too many people believe you can put someone in office and that these people would be responsive to our needs it's naive, politically naive because even if one of the black candidates who ran for office was to take the office of president, then black people must be prepared to fight against that person. Because you see the system mandates the action of the individual, the individual does not determine how this country will function. This country works off the military industrial complex which means that it's profitable to wage war and unless you devise another plan, another scheme to sustain to boost this economy then it's gonna be necessary to wage war. Whether you know, a black individual is in office or a white individual is in office. We're talking about a complete a change in system, the system dictates the response of individuals. You see individuals do not influence politically, economically or socially. They're added to the functioning of the system. I think there has to be a reevaluation of politics. There are definitions of politics that are relevant to black people. Chairman Miles says that politics war bloodshed and war is an extension of politics then black people have to begin to address themselves to the politics of revolution. Cause we're caught up in revolutionary struggle whether we want to believe it or whether we want to be or not. So I think you know black people have to begin to think in revolutionary fashion and create and construct in politically revolutionary platform. In terms of struggle and who will comprise the revolutionary front of the struggle it will be oppressed people. You see black people are in the vanguard position of the struggle because we've been the most dispossessed. However there are other oppressed people in this country. Mexican American, the Spanish American communities---the Puerto ricans, American Indian, Japanese Americans and even poor whites. But racism, I don't believe that racism will allow for white to form alliances with the revolutionary groups in this country. This brings on a whole discussion on control you see and how you control because anything that you don't control is used as a weapon against you. Now in terms of black people occupying positions, America has created a type of neocolonialism in other words the man has set up a puppet regime these black people they are responsive to the needs and the whelms of the Democratic party and not the ma**es of black people. As president went to tell Stokes or Hatchet or Walter Washington to send black people to concentration camps then there would be no discussion because they would see it as their job because they hold a position, that's you know responsive, that's sensitive to the Democratic party. My contention is that black people have not made progress in this country. America has given blacks some concessions out of political necessity. They gave Thurgood Marshall position on the Supreme Court to appease black people. In other words, we didn't put Thurgood Marshall there, they can take Thurgood Marshall whenever they get ready. We put Adam in office they took Adam out. they gave black people an astronaut and they k**ed him. So what happens is that it has to be viewed in the light of concessions. The very fact that the man can concede a position to you tells you that you do not have a position of power where you can demand or mandate something. .I think news media and media in general are very negative in terms of any revolutionary movement or any movement that you know forces the change of the status quo. Now media has always been an enemy of black people, because what media has done is media has always singled out people who has vanguard positions or vanguard attitudes, And, tried to make these people an enemy of the ma**es of people. In our case make people enemies of black people. Malcolm X would be a good example. More Negroes feared Malcolm X than white people, because news media told black people that Malcolm was bad. Muhammad Ali, the reason why Muhammad Ali could be given the maximum sentence and the maximum time and the black community did not revolt, is because Muhammad Ali had been made an enemy of black people. Adam Clayton Powell could be legally lynched, politically lynched, and black people did not revolt, because the man had told black people Adam Clayton Powell was an uppity n***a. He had legitimized his own action through news media. So the news media is a tool of oppression. Now in terms of myself as an individual whether I get coverage or not doesn't make any difference. In terms of ideas, in terms of the flux of ideas or the flow of ideas, I see that the press has deliberately created a vacuum in terms of deliverance of attitudes or positions to the black community which is to be expected. We can not rely upon white news media to convey black revolutionary messages, so the press is doing their job.