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In the words of Paul Robeson:

“To be free -to walk the good American earth as equal citizens, to live without fear, to enjoy the fruits of our toil to give our children every opportunity in life – that dream which we have held so long in our hearts is today the destiny that we hold in our hands.”

In Princeton, New Jersey on April 9, 1898, Paul Robeson was born to a former slave, the Rev. William Robeson. His mother, a teacher, died shortly thereafter when he was only five years old. Three years later, the Robeson family moved to Westfield, New Jersey. In 1910, Robeson’s father became pastor of St.Thomas A.M.E. Zion Church and the Robeson family moved to Somerville, New Jersey. Paul Robeson attended Somerville High School. There, Robeson excelled in sports, drama, singing, academics, and debating. He graduated from Somerville High School in 1915.

Robeson was awarded a four year academic scholarship to Rutgers University in 1915, the third black student in the history of the institution. Despite the openly racist and violent opposition he faced, Robeson became a twelve letter athlete excelling in baseball, basketball, football, and track. He was named to the All American Football team on two occasions. In addition to his athletic talents, Robeson was named a Phi Beta Kappa scholar, belonged to the Cap & Skull Honor Society, and graduated valedictorian of his class in 1919.

He went on to study law at Columbia in New York and received his degree in 1923. There he met and married Eslanda Cardozo Goode, who was the first black woman to head a pathology laboratory. Robeson worked as a law clerk in New York, but once again faced discrimination and soon left the practice because a white secretary refused to take dictation from him…Read More

A Message from Leonard Peltier

August 24, 2007April 28, 2024RBG Street Scholar Leave a comment

WOUNDED KNEE 1890 & 1970s Leonard Peltier, Aquash, FBI

Thursday, August 23, 2007
A Message from Leonard Peltier

Greetings Brothers and Sisters, I hope my message finds you in the best of health and spirits and that each one of you is enjoying your summer and looking forward for the Fall Season. I have always enjoyed the Fall Season. I still remember the vivid colors of the leaves changing and falling in preparation for our Winter. This Sept 12, 2007 I will be 63 years old, and I can no longer say I am a young man eh? Behind bars I have aged from a youth into an Elder. As the seasons have passed I have become an elder, my children have grown, and my grandchildren are now young men and women, and lately I became a Great – Grandfather. This year will mark more than 31 years of my unjust imprisonment. Your thoughts, supports, letters, cards, prayers, and energy have kept me strong. I thank you for the lovely cards, and letters that I have been receiving, for I enjoy hearing from you! Some of you have been writing me for the past 32 years and through your letters have included me in your family gatherings, festivities and in your life as the years have passed. I thank you! Many of you are writing me to tell me about the activities and events that are being held in my honor, and your efforts of joining me and the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee in our ongoing campaign towards my freedom. On a sad note I also receive letters from supporters who identify themselves as loyal Peltier supporters and yet in their letters their advice is for the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee to be closed and how inappropriate it is for me or the LPDC to be asking for support and help so that we can continue our ongoing work towards my freedom. I once wrote in a message a few months ago that we are all climbing the same mountain, just on different sides at times. As I read my letters from supporters that write to tell me of their ongoing work towards my freedom and state that we are all working together, I feel inspired and know that each one of us is working in unity and solidarity from all sides of the mountain until we win this ongoing struggle for my freedom. As for the “supporters” who write me and offer their advice on closing the LPDC office, and for the committee to stop raising funds for our legal campaign, I wonder which mountain they are climbing? Are they maybe working with an organization that for the past 32+ years has falsified affidavits, withheld evidence, and has withheld documents in their efforts to keep me wrongfully incarcerated? One would start to wonder… My case has been fraught with government misconduct since the beginning. The Government among other wrongful acts manufactured false evidence, withheld evidence and coerced witness. We now know that the FBI used confidential informant sources to compromise attorney/client communications they illegally used to develop strategies for conviction. The FBI permitted informants to attend both my trial and that of my co-defendants. The FBI however refuses to produce the name(s) of their informants and has been given unfettered discretion by the courts to keep this information from my legal team. On June 8, 2007 my legal team, attorneys, Ron Kuby and David Pressman filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit an appellate brief asking the Court to review and release some 11,000 pages of documents that have been withheld for over 30 years. Indeed, a document recently produced by the FBI and recently introduced to a Magistrate Judge established that the FBI intentionally took actions to try to avoid producing documents in discovery in my case. But again, this seems to have had no impact on the Court. The United States Federal Courts have recognized overwhelming evidence of FBI misconduct in my case which has already been revealed, yet it has continued to allow the FBI to use exemptions under FOIA to shield its illegal tactics in this case, depriving me of my rights to a fair trail. I urge all of you who believe in justice to join my fight and cry out for the production of all documents related to my case. Why is the FBI still withholding documents? Why won’t they produce all documents to me? To me the answer is obvious. I believe the answer is obvious to you also. The new legal team, attorneys Ron Kuby, and David Pressman, the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee and I thank you for your support and help.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier

Toni Zeidan-Co-director, Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
email: info@leonardpeltier.net
website: http://www.leonardpeltier.net/
Address: 3800 N. Mesa
A2
El Paso, Texas 79902
Online donation site:
http://www.freedomwalk.com/

posted by Leonard @ 7:49 AM

Website: http://www.leonardpeltier.net

Upon the Ashes of Babylon Parts 1-3 and Other Poetic Teachings: Muslim Spoken Word Artist, Amir Sulaiman

April 25, 2007October 27, 2024RBG Street Scholar 1 Comment

Last Updated 10-24-24

Image credits: https://www.amirsulaiman.com/

11 Video Playlist

Trk# 1-3 is an entire talk entitled “Upon the Ashes of Babylon” from a powerful Muslim spoken word artist, Amir Sulaiman. The event was part of Islam Awareness Week 2006 at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, AB, Canada. Amir’s words manifest a quiet confidence which I find compelling. He has a way of framing issues which is really cathartic and healthy… it reminds me of how I felt when I read Malcolm’s speeches for the first time.

A native of Rochester, New York, writer, activist, and educator Amir Sulaiman is a member of Goodestuff Entertainment, an Atlanta based collective providing culturally relevant programming. With a political consciousness that is profound without being preachy and stately without being stand-offish, Sulaiman has garnered the respect of such notables as Kevin Powell who invited the riveting performer to open for his State of Black Men in America Tour Kickoff held at Rev. Dr. Barbara King’s Hillside Chapel and Truth Center. Even media mogul Russell Simmons sat in awe as Sulaiman dropped science to a fervent audience during a recent taping of HBO’s Def Poetry. In addition to writing and recording, Sulaiman gives presentations and workshops. His presentation, The 40 Year Itch: The Harlem Renaissance, The Black Arts Movement and Modern Spoken Word, grounds the burgeoning spoken word movement in cultural, historic, and literary roots. He also molds the minds of youth teaching the elements of poetry, the power of voice, and style development. In his Communication Workshop, he explores the intricacy of human language and the process by which ideas travel from one mind to another. Sulaiman was an active participant in Goodestuff Entertainment’s First Annual Southern Poetry Conference held at the historic Auburn Research Library as well as the Atlanta Congressional Debate.

Amir Sulaiman began writing poetry at the age of twelve. In 1996, he began performing at colleges, universities, bookstores, and coffee shops as a student at North Carolina A&T. In his sophomore year, he released his debut poetry collection Words of Love, Life, and Death. This early work distends across the broad canvas of truth, struggle, relationships, and poetry. During his tenure at NC A&T, Sulaiman’s work was published in literary journals and collections including The Hazmat Review, All That Jazz, and Sauti Mypa. After obtaining a B.A. in English from North Carolina A&T he moved to Atlanta, G.A and released his breakthrough CD “Cornerstore Folklore”. Bolstered by the success of Cornerstore Folklore Tour– which reached such cities as D.C., NY, Oakland, San Francisco, Norfolk, Richmond, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Raleigh, Greensboro—Sulaiman began whispering in the same breath of elders like Amiri Barka and solidified himself as a voice of light in the midst of a dark day.