[Pnews] Karima Al-Amin, tells of the US’ 47-year campaign to silence political prisoner Jamil Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown)
Prisoner News
ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Mon Jun 23 10:25:55 EDT 2014
Free Imam Jamil Al-Amin! His wife, attorney Karima Al-Amin, tells of
the US’ 47-year campaign to silence H. Rap Brown
<http://sfbayview.com/2014/free-imam-jamil-al-amin-his-wife-attorney-karima-al-amin-tells-of-the-us-47-year-campaign-to-silence-h-rap-brown/>
June 22, 2014
*http://sfbayview.com/2014/free-imam-jamil-al-amin-his-wife-attorney-karima-al-amin-tells-of-the-us-47-year-campaign-to-silence-h-rap-brown/*
/*by the People’s Minister of Information JR Valrey*/
The fiery H. Rap Brown, chairperson of SNCC, minister of justice for the
Black Panther Party and one of the original four targets of the FBI’s
infamous COINTELPRO to neutralize Black power, is presently entombed in
the federal prison at Florence, Colorado, one of the world’s 10 worst
prisons. Pursued relentlessly since the ‘60s, he was wrongfully
convicted in 2002 of shooting two deputy sheriffs – the prosecutor
bragging that they finally got him after trying for 24 years.
Now a campaign is underway to demand proper medical care for recent
severe health problems, his transfer to a facility closer to home in
Atlanta – where, in the ‘70s, as Imam Jamil Al-Amin, he founded a mosque
and has since demonstrated how to revitalize a Black community – and his
ultimate freedom. His wife, attorney Karima Al-Amin, who has been with
him since the ‘60s, tells his story on the Block Report. Listen to the
interview at https://soundcloud.com/blockreportradio and read the
transcript here.
*Minister of Information JR*: Today we’re going to be talking about the
prisoner, the Imam Jamil Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown. Our
guest is his wife, lawyer Ms. Karima Al-Amin.
Ms. Karima, can you tell the people a little bit about the history of
your husband before he became Jamil Al-Amin? Can you tell us a little
about his history as H. Rap Brown?
*Karima Al-Amin*: Well, you know in 1967, in fact May 1967, he was
elected chairperson of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee, and he succeeded Stokely Carmichael, who became Kwame Ture.
So when he took over SNCC in May 1967, the organization was and had
always been dealing not only with civil rights but human rights, and it
was an organization that had always promoted fighting against oppression
and improving the conditions of African Americans, but they also
concentrated on global issues, especially back then.
I remember in 1967 they were supporting Nelson Mandela and ANC (African
National Congress) and the armed struggles that were going on throughout
the continent of Africa. So he was not only a national figure but he was
also an international figure. And as such the U.S. government and also,
under the directorship of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI had instituted in
August 1967 the COINTELPRO program, which targeted four organizations
and five individuals.
The initial targets were my husband as H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael,
Elijah Muhammad, Martin Luther King and Max Stanford, and the four
organizations were SNCC, SNLC, The Nation of Islam and RAM
(Revolutionary Action Movement), which Max Stanford headed. So under
that program, and we know what has happened under that program: It was
an effort to neutralize leaders and organizations, to pit them against
each other, to destroy the movement. And essentially it was successful,
because there were assassinations; there were killings.
They hauled my husband in and out of jail to make sure that he was not
on the outside to speak as he was going around the country speaking. So
that was his background. He’s from Louisiana and he had always witnessed
the inequities and he was committed to make a change.
*M.O.I. JR*: Why did he get the nickname “Rap”?
*Karima Al-Amin*: Well, he was always known to do exactly that: rap.
When I was growing up we would always, when someone was talking and
speaking and doing what’s called “playing the dozens,” that meant that
they could rap. His ability to use words and make those words very
potent – that became known as rap.
*M.O.I. JR*: Can you tell us a little about the history of the H. Rap
Brown law?
*Karima Al-Amin*: In February 1968 my husband went out to California to
a rally. It was a Free Huey Newton rally. He was there, with Stokely
Carmichael and James Foreman, representing SNCC, and at that time it was
announced that each of them would have a title. My husband became
minister of justice for the Black Panther Party, and that was an effort
really to show unity between the organizations and also within the movement.
When he came back from there in February 1968, he was arrested because
they said he went out there to California without having permission from
a judge in New York City because he was essentially under house arrest.
So he was in jail when Martin Luther King was assassinated in April 1968.
Because of all of the protests wanting to get him out of jail, he was
released. But two weeks after that, Congress – who had been calling for
he and Stokely Carmichael to be thrown in jail and the keys thrown away
– the Congresspeople, or representatives, voted to make an amendment to
the Fair Housing Bill.
It was passed in April 1968, a few weeks after Martin Luther King’s
assassination, and it was called the Rap Brown Amendment, which is still
on the books. It made it a felony to cross state lines or send telegrams
– at that time telegrams or any modes of communication – to speak with
the intent to cause a riot.
As a result of the Rap Brown Amendment passed in April 1968, there were
about 80 convictions, I believe, after that. The first group charged
under the Rap Brown Amendment was the Chicago 8 – as in seven plus Bobby
Seale – Wounded Knee, the Native Americans, all the anti-war protests.
So it’s a host of cases that we know of. But I didn’t even realize that
was the law that they used to charge so many of the anti-war and the
freedom fighters.
*M.O.I. JR*: Can you talk a little about his transition to Islam and his
life as a political prisoner prior to when he became a Muslim?
*Karima Al-Amin*: Well, essentially he’s always been a political
prisoner, although he does say that’s he’s not a prisoner of war, but
he’s a prisoner at war. But he’s always been a political prisoner
because of the targeting of this government against him.
He was arrested after being sought for 19 months. In March 1970 he did
not appear for the trumped-up charges of inciting a riot in Cambridge,
which stemmed from his speech in July 1967. The interesting thing about
that case: It was a case that they convicted him on to serve five years
in prison and then later on it was dismissed because one of the
Watergate writers and investigative reporters, Bob Woodward, revealed
that those charges were trumped up.
He did not appear for a trial in Bel Air, Maryland. At that time, two
SNCC workers, Ralph Featherstone and Che Payne, were blown up in a car
bomb explosion and he did not appear for that trial. And as a result of
that, they put him on the Ten Most Wanted List and he was not seen for
19 months.
Then he was he was captured in New York City and shot by a policeman and
then he went to Rykers Island, which is one of the, I just read, one of
the 10 worst prisons in the U.S., or jails actually; that’s what it is,
a jail. So when he went there, there were brothers in the Muslim
movement who would have him – he would go to classes with them and what
would happen, he would then go to classes and then he converted.
He became a Muslim in December 1971 when he was in Rykers. And that was
the beginning of his conversion.
*M.O.I. JR*: Can you talk a little about the communities that your
family helped to create in Atlanta and his role as a Muslim imam?
*Karima Al-Amin*: OK. When he got out of New York State Prison in
October 1976, I had moved already here to Atlanta and we were able to
get him paroled here to Atlanta. As soon as he came out – that was
October 1976 – the next month, November 1976, we made Hajj; the two of
us went to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage that Muslims make.
And he started immediately identifying a neighborhood or location in
Atlanta where we could form a Muslim community, and that’s what we did.
By July 1977, he had formed a Muslim community in the West End area of
Atlanta, Georgia. When we got into the neighborhood, the neighborhood
was what people would consider typical of a lot of the urban areas: It
was just littered with activity with drugs and prostitution and drive-by
shootings.
And as a result of his efforts and the efforts of the brothers and
sisters of the community, we were able to actually purchase houses in
the area where Muslim families would move in to. And then we were able
to pull up and he was able, singlehandedly almost, along with the
members of the community, to clean up the area.
*M.O.I. JR*: Before we get into his current case, can you talk about why
the police would have a problem with someone like the Imam cleaning up a
neighborhood like the West End of Atlanta? I mean many people would
think that the police would appreciate the work that Imam Jamil Al-Amin
was doing. Why was it to the contrary?
*Karima Al-Amin*: Well, because we maintain and it is true that even
when we started the community – and throughout the years it was known
that the community or the neighborhood was changing to be a better
neighborhood not only for Muslims but for everyone living there – no
matter what, he was still a target of the FBI, even though you would
think that the officials would be happy about it.
I know that Andrew Young was happy about it. His daughter moved right
there in the community within a few steps maybe or yards from the
mosque, and he was very happy that she was there because he felt that
she could be very safe there. But in the meantime, we always had – and
we’re seeing this in our discovery and the documents from the FBI; I
have a request in now to the FBI and they said that they would release
22,000 pages of documents that they have on my husband – other forces
that went beyond Atlanta police or Atlanta officials that were really
dictating how my husband would be treated.
When we look at the documents, they were planning so many stings, trying
to get him on every possible charge that they could. And when we look at
the documents, we see that they were actually saying, well, this did not
work, so let’s try this.
So we had something that was a little greater than just the Atlanta
area. He was traveling internationally; he had made so many contacts
that people from around the world and people within this country were
contacting him. In many cities, communities were trying to replicate
what was being done here.
So they considered this very, very threatening. Also, Islam back then,
like it is now, is so misunderstood. It’s a continuous effort to get the
people in this country to view Islam and Muslims as the newest boogey
people, like the boogeyman, and that everyone should be afraid of
Muslims. So that was the backdrop that we were faced with.
So naturally everyone should have been happy – and local people were
happy in the community that he was cleaning up the community – but he
was considered and is still considered a threat to this country. He’s
still being punished for the 1960s, and I don’t think I can make it any
plainer than that. He is still being punished by this government.
The prosecutor in the Atlanta case after the conviction said after 24
years we’ve finally gotten him, which means he was counting back to the
day when he walked out of a prison in New York City. So this case in
Atlanta – and I think we’ll probably get to it – but this case in
Atlanta was and is an extension of the targeting.
*M.O.I. JR*: Well, let’s just start right there. What is the case that
he caught in Atlanta? I think it was 2000, 2001. Or should I say the
case they pinned on him.
*Karima Al-Amin*: Right. It was March 2000. Actually in May 1999 he was
caught coming out of a restaurant driving a vehicle with a drive-out
tag. Drive-out tags were legal then and they’re legal now. Once a car is
purchased, then you don’t have a tag because you have not actually
obtained one yet, but it’s a drive-out tag with the name of the person
you got it from.
He was stopped, which was not considered a valid stop, but he was
stopped; and when he was stopped, apparently they looked up the vehicle
and said the vehicle had been reported stolen, which naturally he did
not know. Then with that charge, he was let out right away, but it was
scheduled for court in January 2000; it happened May 1999. By January
2000 it was scheduled to go to court.
There was a snowstorm and his case may have been called, but he did not
know when it was going to be called. Apparently by March – this was a
couple of months afterwards; that was January – by March, the county
where he was arrested with this vehicle charge, the county had put out a
warrant for his arrest for not showing up for the court appearance.
And a week before the incident – the incident occurred March 16 – but
apparently a week before, some of the sheriff’s deputies said they would
go ahead and pull the warrant. They had gone out to the area, so they
say, to arrest him because of this warrant.
March 16 at 10:00 at night, they apparently appeared in front of the
store to try to arrest him. It’s so complicated and I’m trying simplify
it as much as I can, and I hope I’m not leaving out some of the
important parts. But at least what we know is that one of the sheriff’s
deputies ended up being killed and the other one being shot. The one who
was shot was the one who said that the Imam was the one who did the
shooting, and he had the Imam as having gray eyes.
The description that evening changed – the height changed, the clothing
changed – but these gray eyes were always the eyes of the Imam. But
actually he does not have gray eyes, so the description was off.
The surviving sheriff’s deputy and the one who died, before he died, he
said that they knew that they had shot the perpetrator. And naturally,
when the Imam was arrested four days later in Alabama, in Whitehall,
Alabama, there was no indication of any physical injuries on him.
So we did go to trial in 2002 and the jury was being selected. They were
supposed to be selected Sept. 12, the day after Sept. 11, 2001, so it
was against that whole background that this trial was taking place. And
as a result, the jury convicted him of the charges, even though now,
what we’ve found out afterwards, is that there was someone who confessed
to it. We’ve done an investigation.
The trial attorney that the Imam had did not do the investigation that
should have been done as far as his confession is concerned, so now we
are at the stage of a federal habeas, and that certainly is part of our
argument.
The easiest way for me to explain the case it that it just stinks, from
top to bottom, and throughout it all the Imam has maintained his
innocence. And based on that and based on the information that we do
have after trial, we’re moving along with every possible appeal that we
can do to bring out the wrong that was done.
The major thing, No. 1, is not only the confession but the actual lying
about the Imam’s description too. He does not fit that description;
therefore, the deputy must have seen someone else.
*M.O.I. JR*: Can you describe the description, because the Imam has a
very distinct description? Can you just describe how the Imam looks vs.
the description – you know, give us a few characteristics so the people
can see how off it was?
*Karima Al-Amin*: Well, he’s 6 feet 5 inches; his eyes are brown. One
interesting thing is on the warrant the surviving sheriff’s deputy said
he had no idea who he was. He said he was 28 at the time. I thought he
was in is 40s, but apparently he was about 28, and he said he had never
even heard of H. Rap Brown or Jamil Al-Amin.
But on the warrant it said that his eyes were gray. So at the trial,
this deputy got on the stand and said that his grandmother had told him
always look a person in his eyes. And he looked him in his eyes and saw
his gray eyes.
Now the Imam always wears glasses. Even if this officer had looked in
his eyes, he said nothing about glasses, but he said he knows for
certain that his eyes were gray. The description also: He (the shooter)
was a shorter person and the clothing that they described changed over
the days.
And so when he (the Imam) was arrested and when he saw the clothing that
he had on him, then (the description of) the clothing from that evening
changed. So that’s why I said the entire, the ENTIRE case – and I don’t
have a better word – it is just a travesty.
*M.O.I. JR*: Can you talk about Georgia moving the Imam to basically the
mainland Guantanamo Bay, one of the worst prisons in the United States?
*Karima Al-Amin*: Right after the conviction of March 2002 the Imam was
moved to Southeast Georgia, Reidsville State Prison, and while he was
there, he really had a lot of influence especially on the younger
inmates. Parents used to come up to us and say they were happy that the
Imam was in the same facility because he was really helping their sons.
So he was there from March 2002. In 2006 there was an effort by Muslims
at Reidsville to have Imam Jamil be the imam for all of the Georgia
incarcerated Muslims. When the facility found out about it, they said
that would give the Imam too much influence and too much power. And they
wanted him to stop the effort even though he hadn’t initiated the
effort. But he said, well, it’s no problem, so he said he would ask the
Muslim inmates not to go forward with the effort.
The FBI then went into the institution and then they ended up coming up
with a report, “The Radicalization of Muslim Inmates in the Georgia
Prison System.” And right after that at the end of July 2007, Georgia,
based on a March 1990 agreement that they had with the Federal Bureau of
Prisons, Georgia gave him up to the feds without a federal charge,
without a conviction or a sentence.
But to house him, Georgia pays Florence ADX, the Admax, per day for them
to keep the Imam there. We have asked for Georgia to take him back.
Georgia says that they will not because he’s too high-profile and
Georgia also is saying that they had nothing to do with his placement at
ADX. They just gave him up to the feds.
The feds are saying, well, we’ll send him back. Georgia said yes, and
then Georgia said they had nothing to do with the placement – that the
feds could have put him in another facility. But this goes back to what
we have always said, that he’s still being punished for the ‘60s, that
he’s still being punished not only for what he represented in the ‘60s
but also now as a Muslim.
But he is there locked down for 23 hours in the Florence ADX, which is
on every list for being one of the 10 worst prisons in the world, not in
the U.S. but in the world, so that’s why we have been attempting to try
to have him removed from there.
And not only because of it being one the 10 worst in the world, because
we feel for all of the inmates who are there, but the fact is that it’s
a continuation of an extreme punishment and we all know there are
studies that say that after a person is in solitary confinement for five
years that there is a psychological damage that is done, so we feel not
only for the Imam but for all those who are held in solitary confinement.
*M.O.I. JR*: Recently, there’s been an alert by the Imam’s defense
committee that he was having medical problems that the prison system was
not catering to. Can you tell the people a little about the history
behind that, what’s going on with the Imam now, and what it is that we
can do to help?
*Karima Al-Amin*: Right. It was back in October 2013 when we visited the
Imam, we noticed that his jaws were swollen. Apparently he had a dental
issue that had not been treated and then when we went back in May of
this year, a month ago, we noticed that his jaws were still swollen. He
was trying to get dental treatment and they would not give him any
antibiotics.
He started developing not only chest pains but breathing difficulties.
It started becoming very difficult for him to breathe. In addition to
that, because of the abscess – because he had developed abscesses – and
then the fluids were beginning to drain and go into his lungs, his chest
area. He started having the breathing problems; he started to not be
able to swallow.
So right after we left in May, he put in to see a physician, and to date
a physician has not examined him. He has swollen feet – the top and
bottom, the ankles, are all swollen – and within the last two weeks he’s
lost 25 pounds. So the concern is about what toxic fluids that have
seeped into his bloodstream, the breathing.
He’s 70 years old. In the prison system now, and I’m speaking about the
federal system, the age of the population is increasing. And naturally
it’s increasing, because the sentences that people are receiving are
life sentences. And although they may not want to have a nursing home,
they’re going to have to do something to meet the needs of the elderly.
If the prisons cannot address the needs of the elderly inmates, then
there’s a need, if they don’t let them out, which is the desired result,
then they need to have facilities with adequate medical equipment,
premises and medicines to treat the elderly, and that’s what we’re
calling for. If ADX cannot address the medical needs of the Imam, we’re
asking them to release him to another facility with the adequate
resources to take care of the elders.
*M.O.I. JR*: What can people do to help in general with the Imam’s case?
*Karima Al-Amin*: Well, a lot of people have been writing and have been
calling inquiring about his health. There is a website you can go on
with the federal Bureau of Prisons. You can click on inmates; a lot of
people have been doing that. And we have some congressional reps who are
also concerned and they have been inquiring.
So I think the thing is that when we have those that we care for and
love and you have them incarcerated and those in solitary confinement,
and your voices can’t be heard, we have to serve as their voice or
voices. The Imam has always said to people, do whatever is easy for you.
So whatever is easy for a person to at least speak out or inform people,
then we would appreciate that assistance. Also people can Google him,
they can Google. There are petitions online so we would encourage people
to do that.
*M.O.I. JR*: Where do you prefer for people to get more information if
they would like to read up on the Imam and his history?
*Karima Al-Amin*: When I get on(line), I just put his name in and things
come up every time I do that that I have not even seen before. There are
bulks of interviews that he has done with people over the years and I
think those are really very informative, and I think it’s important for
people to do that.
You know we have to educate our young, who absolutely have no idea what
some of those who are incarcerated, what they have gone through and why
they’re incarcerated. So we really would advise those who are older to
try to educate those that are younger so we will have informed people.
*M.O.I. JR*: Thank you, Ms. Al-Amin, for being with us right here on the
Block Report. We appreciate you for standing up in your husband’s
defense, but not just because he’s your husband but in defense of
someone who has given a lot over the last 50-60 years to our
communities. So we salute you, we appreciate the Imam’s contributions
and hopefully our listeners will get involved with the campaign to free
the Imam.
*Karima Al-Amin*: We certainly thank you and we extend our appreciation
and our love to those who have been with us for at least the last 14
years of his incarceration and before that. Thank you.
/The People’s Minister of Information JR Valrey is associate editor of
the //Bay View/ <http://sfbayview.com/tag/minister-of-information-jr/>/,
author of “//Block Reportin’/
<http://www.blockreportradio.com/events/891-block-reportin-the-book-q-now-available-for-sale.html>/“
and the newly released “//Unfinished Business: Block Reportin’ 2/
<http://www.blockreportradio.com/events/1623.html>/“ and filmmaker of
“//Operation Small Axe/
<http://www.blockreportradio.com/events/892-operation-small-axe-now-available-for-sale-online.html>/“
and “//Block Reportin’ 101/ <http://www.blockreportin.com/>/,”
available, along with many more interviews, at
//www.blockreportradio.com/ <http://www.blockreportradio.com/>/. He can
be reached at //blockreportradio at gmail.com/
<mailto:blockreportradio at gmail.com>/. This interview was transcribed by
Adrian McKinney./
*How we can help the Campaign to Free Imam Jamil Al-Amin (H. Rap
Brown)*
Imam Jamil Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown), the organizers report, is aware of
the response to the campaign and sends his greetings and thanks to all
who have and are advocating on his behalf.
Still there is much to do. Calls and signatures must continue until our
beloved brother has received the required medical attention. His release
is paramount and we must not cease until he is returned to us and his
family a free man.
We have made progress. Continue the efforts no matter how small: Call,
write, publicize, hold rallies and keep the Imam’s name continuously in
the media’s eye. Support this critical effort for a man who fought to
make life better for us all.
*Sign the petition*: “The Forgotten Imam: Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (H. Rap
Brown)
<https://www.causes.com/campaigns/5158-the-forgotten-imam-jamil-abdullah-al-amin-h-rap-brown?utm_campaign=search_widget>.”
As of June 22, the petition has gathered 4,289 signatures, but the
Imam’s words and work have helped millions, so spread the word.
*Keep the pressure on: Read, respond, repost and retweet –
*#SupportImamJamil. From the Muslim Alliance in North America comes this
appeal:
“Call the Bureau of Prisons, at 719-784-9464, NOW. If you are told that
information can only be given to family members, say that you are not
asking for information but are simply expressing concern that Mr. Jamil
Al-Amin, No. 99974-555, receive the health care he needs. Leave a
message if necessary that includes his name and number. We want the
Bureau of Prisons to know that the public is concerned, aware and
watching their treatment of Imam Jamil.
“Create an email and fax flood. Email FLM/execassistant at bop.gov
<mailto:FLM/execassistant at bop.gov> or use the form at
http://www.bop.gov/inmates/concerns.jsp
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0014KeNlFU7dgz-a5YLXQ_qsrAFWO4UQIwY_kvuVD8qUfdtf9hCuig7fof2Bnu8Flbh7Dp22ef-Bn0mPgQjFWFUQLao31Q1h4V9otPJzgWda5TUZKUCjnyI9-7i8J7KQQN_WWezXh0l-Pf0DHEGwLXzT5eXkJUFjpx_pMom2ETDa3iT8qY-3Q8pE-0LGRYStfmJ&c=O-ugbG-lYU64luUJgFWpWOcYjCnQaQKIl1vx75vVxwCJy7WfgdI-Jg==&ch=dD3eFM-bZHCz_639YW7mDpHr81a8EYgn69wEfLMQhk_E_Hu4ISJpxQ==>
(location Florence ADMAX USP). Fax 719-784-5290. In your own words,
express concern that 1) Mr. Al-Amin is suffering after-effects of
delayed dental care: weight loss, inability to eat, swollen feet,
respiratory problems; and 2) he has not been examined and treated by a
physician as is absolutely necessary given his condition, and as is his
right.
“Please continue to pray that Allah (God) grant Imam Jamil complete and
full recovery of health and freedom from imprisonment. Ameen. May Allah
(God) reward your efforts.”
*To learn more about the Imam*, read “Rap Sheet: H. Rap Brown, Civil
Rights Revolutionary – Cop Killer or FBI Target?
<http://illumemagazine.com/zine/articleDetail.php?Islam-On-Trail-Feds-Jamil-Amin-14010>”
and “On the Left Side of History: Political Prisoner Imam Jamil Al Amin
<http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/left-side-history-political-prisoner-imam-jamil-al-amin>.”
--
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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