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<h1><b>Freedom
Song</b></h1><font size=3>
<a href="http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2006/12/14/freedom-song" eudora="autourl">
http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2006/12/14/freedom-song<br>
</a></font><h2><b>Building an Icon Out of Kuwasi Balagoon<br><br>
<br>
</b></h2><h3><b>by Jessica Loughery</b></h3><font size=3>Published:
December 13, 2006 <br><br>
On Dec. 13, 1986, Kuwasi Balagoon died in prison of pneumocystis carinii
pneumonia, an AIDS-related illness. He was a bisexual man and a part of
the queer liberation movement. A Black Panther who was a defendant in the
Panther 21 case. A member of the Black Liberation Army. A New Afrikan
Anarchist. <br><br>
And yet his name is nowhere to be found in our history books. <br><br>
"We had been reading some of [Balagoon's] writings as a point of
discussion, and we came to realize he wasn't getting enough
recognition," says John Prisk, volunteer organizer with the
Philadelphia chapter of the Anarchist Black Cross (ABC). Since this month
marks the 20th anniversary of Balagoon's death, Prisk and his colleagues
conceptualized an event to raise public awareness of Balagoon's life. A
Dec. 16 memorial dinner will feature readings of his essays and poetry,
along with a talk by writer Kazembe Balagun, who is currently struggling
to piece together a Balagoon biography from what little we know about
him. <br><br>
A short tour with the U.S. Army launched a 17-year-old Balagoon into
radical politics. Severe racism on an American base in Germany inspired
him to help start a collective called De Legislators, which actively
resisted mistreatment. <br><br>
Back in the States, Balagoon joined the Black Panther Party, and in 1971,
he was one of 21 people charged with conspiring to blow up New York's
Botanical Gardens. (The defendants were acquitted after just 45 minutes
of deliberation.) <br><br>
In and out of prison for much of the 1970s, Balagoon was tried with
comrades David Gilbert and Judy Clark in 1981 for his part in the
expropriation of an armored truck, which resulted in the deaths of guard
Peter Paige and police officers Waverly Brown and Edward O'Grady. He died
in the middle of his 75-year sentence. <br><br>
During his final years in lockdown, Balagoon wrote the inspiring
anarchist works groups like the ABC are trying to spread. Since his
personal philosophies often clashed with the defined positions of the
groups he associated with, Balagoon's desire for unbridled freedom from a
compulsory governmentneither protecting nor representing those it
controlledspeaks to many anarchists today. <br><br>
Musician and artist Not4Prophet will read Balagoon's poetry at the
memorial dinner. "The idea is [reaching] people with a message of
anti-authority," he says. <br><br>
Balagoon had no regard for consequences. "Never compromising is the
thread that runs through everything he did," says poet and activist
Walidah Imarisha, who will also read at the dinner. "He never
compromised who he was, who he loved or how he lived." <br><br>
While the Black Panthers left no room for anything other than strictly
defined masculinity, Balagoon openly loved both men and women. "He
knew that fighting for freedom meant irrevocably being yourself,"
adds Imarisha. <br><br>
He also knew that a fight for absolute freedom would be long, and that he
would not taste victory in his lifetime. "The most important aspect
of [Balagoon's] life I wish to highlight is his concept of choice,"
Balagun writes of the speech he'll deliver. "He focuses on the
notion that it is better to go to jail … than to accept injustice."
<br><br>
At Balagoon's final trial, he delivered his own closing statement.
"I will tell you now and forever that New Afrikan people have a
right to self-determination, and that that is more important than the
lives of Paige, Brown and O'Grady or Balagoon, Gilbert and Clark,"
he said. "And it's gonna cost more lives and be worth every life it
costsbecause the destiny of over 30 million people and the coming
generation's rights to land and independence is priceless."
<br><br>
Kuwasi Balagoon Memorial Dinner <br><br>
Sat., Dec. 16, 5-8 p.m., free, LAVA, 4134 Lancaster Ave.,
215-387-6155<br><br>
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<font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
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