Imagine A Black Nation In Memory of Imari Obadele

By Marvin X

Related RBG Studies Collection

RBG-Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika (PG-RNA) Historical Studies Collection
The Republic of New Afrika (PG-RNA), was/is a socio-political Nationhood Movement that proposed three objectives. First, the creation of an independent Afrikan in American-majority country situated in the southeastern United States. A similar claim is made for all the black-majority counties and cities throughout the United States. Second, the payment of several billion dollars in reparations from the US government for the damages inflicted on Afrikans and their descendants by chattel enslavement, Jim Crow segregation, and persistent modern-day forms of racism. Third, a referendum of all Afrikans in Americans in order to decide what should be done with regard to their citizenship. Regarding the latter, it was claimed that Afrikans in Americans were not given a choice in this matter after emancipation. The vision for this country was first promulgated on March 31, 1968, at a Black Government Conference held in Detroit, Michigan. Its proponents lay claim to five Southern states: (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina); and the black-majority counties adjacent to this area in Arkansas, Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida. Collection Icebreaker Video: RBG-SS MMxtp -04- B.I.G.Nel-R.B.G.ft.RBG SS "Green, Red and Black"

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Imagine A Black Nation

In Memory of Imari Obadele
By Marvin X Source: http://www.nathanielturner.com/imagineablacknation.htm

What happened to Nation Time, the dreams, visions, revision, disillusion, a time of hope unfulfilled, Driftin and Driftin like that Charles Brown tune, no more imagination beyond a return to ancient Kemet, the land we fled four thousand years ago, thus an impossible return, for who can go home after four thousand years, except a mad Jew, and we see what terror he caused upon return. But it is a mental drift, the most terrible kind, most wretched because it tears at the heart as well as the mind, thus we are drenched in sweat upon awakening from the nightmare of imagination and must face the bright sun of reality. Shall we drift from here to eternity, for how can we avoid synchronizing our dreams with reality, finally and forever, standing on solid ground as we move into the future of a thousand tomorrows. Imagine a nation, a land of soul people who are healing their wounds from centuries of terror, who blame no one except themselves for the terror, for the ship and whip, the cross and lynching tree, yes, the strange fruit of the last supper in paradise, before entering the door of no return. Imagine a nation, somewhere in the South where our people died, where we can honor their bones and blood shed in the sun and night, where their spirits still dance in the swamp and river bottoms, the plantations and huts still standing, where spirits go wild in the wind and in the stillness of summer. Imagine a nation, perhaps Up South in the wicked cities that defied the hope and dreams of generations, maybe there we shall declare ourselves free and claim sovereignty, a place called the Republic of Pan Africa, like Brooklyn. where we have gathered for the first time in four thousand years, de facto capital of the Diaspora, coming from Mississippi, North and South Carolina Africans, Jamaica and Haitian Africans, Nigerian, Ghanaian and Senegalese, bound together again, this time forever on Fulton Street and streets too many to name.

Imagine A Black Nation In Memory of Imari Obadele

By Marvin X

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And yes, there is pain and rivalry, jealousy and envy, love and hate in the night, but we are there in the sun, in the snow, a nation not yet standing, not fully sensing our power, strength, the full strength of a mighty nation forced together again, not since fleeing the pyramids and pharaohs, the murders for succession, the flight of queens with sons and daughters who did not assume the throne. And there was drought and famine forcing them up the Nile, the mighty Congo and Niger. Imagine, the Republic of Pan Africa, not the nationalism of fools, but the product of engineers, planners and builders who began with a thought centuries ago in the cane, cotton and rice fields, the woods of Nat Turner, Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, the railroad of Harriet Tubman, the womanhood of Sojourner Truth, but caught, yes, as [James] Cone said, between the cross and the lynching tree. But it was the thought that refused to die, yet resurrected every season like the Nile, the dream of the homeland where we must be taken in once again. Have we not paid for this land with sweat, blood and tears? It is ours so claim the portion we desire, stand upon the ground and cry liberty or death, but have we not died a million times, even now at this hour we crucify ourselves for failing to stand tall as full men and women, our children annihilate themselves like Buddhist monks on fire in Vietnam, only because we have not passed on ancestor tales of liberty and freedom, discipline and work. Imagine a nation, days of absence from our animal selves, and the donning of our divinity, wherein we hate each other no more, never again, the jealousy, the Willie Lynch syndrome, Yacoubs children playing with steel, some genetic defect in our divine nature. Imagine a nation, removed from those we cannot live with in peace, thus we part from them and their wickedness, taking with us only the genius of our minds, for look at the fruit of our labor under the sun, surely we can do the same for ourselves as we did for the master, transcending the pyramids with our original creations for now and tomorrow. But the question is not if or when America falls, but what is the post-American plan for North American Africans? Will they finally acquire the sovereignty as a nation of self-determined people, will they secure a land base with access to the sea and mineral rich for their centuries of free and nearly free labor under the sun? Or will they sit with dicks in their hands and hearts racing while other ethnic groups secure the division of this stolen property. Surely the Native Americans will want their fair share, the Latinos, the Asians, and poor whiteswill the so called Negro sit around waiting for the Master to return, or will he go about, finally and without hesitation, doing for self, reconstructing his fallen cities, getting control of the infrastructure, water, electricity, roads, schools, work places, airports.

Imagine A Black Nation In Memory of Imari Obadele

By Marvin X

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Long ago he called for Black Power, with the coming fall of America, he will have the opportunity to fulfill his dreams. Oh, it cannot happen? America is too strong. Firstly, you have no real idea how strong America is just as you have no idea how strong you areyou are so full of fear you cannot and never have been able to think straight. Every thought you ever thought has been wrong simply because it was not thinking outside the box of Americana because you have been confined to the box and never had a chance to consider the configuration of your society except for your 19th century thinkers and dreamers, and your 20th century thinkers and planners. Garvey and Elijah Muhammad. Imari dreamed of the Republic of New Africa. But where is Egypt, Rome, Greece, Great Britain and the Soviet Union? Does the Chinaman have a chance today--you haven't heard that racist remark recently, for the Chinese have a very good chance to rule the world. so why do you think America shall remain forever and forever in its present condition? It will absolutely change because its ethnic minorities will soon become the majority, so why are not your leaders planning for the future and our well-deserved fair share? If and when America, as did the Soviet Union, falls apart, what do you want? A job? A job, a job! You mean after 400 years of free and nearly free labor, you only desire a job? Are you crazy, are you totally insane or just lazy, like a whore awaiting marching orders from her pimpnot knowing the pimp is dead, he was killed in a shootout with rivals. Your leaders, why are they running around licking the behinds of the the Democratic and Republican parties rather than establishing an independent political entity that will take us into the future? They shall be charged for their shortsightedness, their myopia of the mind. As sister Zetha Nobles said recently, our goal should not be to achieve parity with white Americans (which is mediocrity, at best), but with India and China. We should forget about equality with Americans and see the global picture and imagine our role in it. But we are so blinded by white supremacy that all we see is white, white, white. Look around, the world is no longer white. Power will not be white in the not so distant futurecan you look ahead a few days and plan accordingly or shall you sit on your behinds awaiting the crumbs from the fall of America? Imagine a nation! Source: BlackbirdPressNews * * * * *

Imagine A Black Nation In Memory of Imari Obadele

By Marvin X

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Related Historical News Report Snippets

Imari Obadele Father of Reparations" dies in Ga. The Associated Press ATLANTAImari Obadele, the former leader of the Republic of New Africa separatist group, has died. He was 79.Obadele's daughters, Marilyn Obadele and Vivian Gafford, said Tuesday that their father died of massive stroke Monday in Atlanta. Known as the "Father of Reparations," Obadele was a staunch supporter of Malcom X and eventually became President of the Republic of New Africa, which sought to establish its own nation in the South. He was president when, in 1971, city police and FBI agents battled RNA members who were inside a fortified home in Jackson, Miss. One police officer was killed and two others were wounded in the shootout. Obadele spent more than five years in prison for conspiracy but was not charged with murder. Funeral arrangements are pending. Picayune Item * * * * * I just received the sad news that one of our tallest trees in the forest of Black intellectual Nationalism has unfortunately made transition. Dr. Imari Abukari Obadele was the founder of the Republic of New Afrika that came out of the 1968's convention of Black government held in Detroit. Dr.Obadele and his brother (Milton) were both friends of Malcolm during the early mid sixties. They were the ones who brought him (Malcolm) in to Detroit to give that historic speech that we love so much called "Message to the Grass roots." After Malcolm's assassination they developed what was called the 'Malcolm X Society' that led to the Republic of New Afrika (RNA) in 1968, then Chokwe Lummumba emerged out of that group to form the New Afikan Peoples Organization (NAPO); all of this led to the Provisional Government of New Afrika and the Five States formation in the South (South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, forgot fifth one), all under the constitutional right to develop a self-determined Plebiscite political independent states. In short, I don't believe we utilized Dr. Obadele's call to "Free The Land" the way he outlined everything in his wonderful autobiography. Dr. Obadele went back to school, after brief time in jail because of being setup, and achieved his doctorate degree, I think in Government. Also, it was Dr. Obadele who founded The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N'COBRA), which further augment his fight for reparation. Dr. Obadele has written numerous books and articles on Government, 40 acres and a Mule, Reparation, and others. Also, he even wrote a very valuable book on Ancient Egypt in which some of the African-centered community either neglects or don't appreciate (I never hear any one cite it as a source of reference).
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Nevertheless, Dr. Obadele has left his mark in our movement for liberation in this country by example! Libation Poured!Hannibal Cassanova

* * * * * On January 18, 2010 genius giant of the New Afrikan Independence Movement, Dr. Imari Abubakari Obadele I transitioned to the ancestral realm. It was the Washington, D.C. community that welcomed Brother Imari after his release from unjust incarceration orchestrated by the once secret and illegal COINTELPO (FBI counterintelligence program against the Black Liberation Movement). He spent several years living and rebuilding in Washington, DC. Brother Imari was an ardent follower of Malcolm X, indeed it was Imari and his brother Gaidi (formerly known as Richard and Milton Henry) who brought Malcolm to Detroit in 1963 when he delivered his prolific speech, "Message to the Grassroots." Malcolm often said that if the Henry brothers ever needed him, he would be right there. Obadele is a founder and former President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika, and a founder and leader of NCOBRANational Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America. He received his PhD after imprisonment, and retired from teaching at Prairie View in Texas, living in Baton Rouge with his wife, Johnita. He is the author of numerous books and pamphlets, including Foundations of the Black Nation, War in America, Free the Land, Reparations Yes, The Malcolm Generation, America the Nation State, and others. Join the Washington, D.C. area community in a Memorial Tribute to Dr. Imari Abubakari Obadele, on the day of the assassination of Malcolm XSunday, February 21, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. If you are interested in saying a brief reflection at the Tribute through words, song, or poem, please contact 888-245-4789 and leave your contact information and a representative from the committee will get back to you. See video of January 30 Obadele funeral service in link below. In the words of Brother Imari . . . FREE THE LAND!
Source: Kalamu and Facebook

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Imagine A Black Nation In Memory of Imari Obadele

By Marvin X

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Imari Obadele, who fought for reparations, dies a 79Mr. Obadele was born Richard Bullock Henry in Philadelphia on May 2, 1930, one of 12 children. He was an avid Boy Scout and as a young man helped his brother Milton start a civil rights organization that had W. E. B. Du Bois as a speaker. When Milton moved to Detroit, Richard followed. Richard worked there as a newspaper reporter and as a technical writer for the military. In 1963, he refused to let his son Freddy go to school and learn from textbooks he considered racist. Richards brother was a close friend of Malcolm X, and after Malcolms murder in 1965, Richard and Milton Henry helped form the Malcolm X Society to promote his views. Malcolm, in the face of continuing bloodshed in the civil rights struggle, had become increasingly frustrated with the philosophy of nonviolent resistance espoused by Dr. King and others. The Henry brothers began to embrace black separatism. In 1968, they and others formed the Republic of New Afrika and adopted African names; Milton became Gaidi Obadele. (Obadele is a Yoruba word meaning the king arrives at home.) At the groups inaugural meeting in Detroit, about 200 delegates signed a declaration of independence and a government in exile was set up. Mr. Obadele was chosen information minister, and he published a handbook, War in America. A paramilitary unit, the Black Legion, to be clad in black uniforms with leopard-skin epaulettes, was formed. In March 1969, a gun battle erupted between police officers and the Black Legionnaires outside a Detroit church, leaving one officer dead. The militants were tried but not convicted in a trial that drew conflicting testimony about the confrontation. The Republic of New Afrika splintered the next year, with Milton, or Gaidi Obadele, saying he now rejected violence. Imari, who had now been elected president, led about 100 followers to Mississippi to build a black nation. After a deal to buy 18 acres from a farmer collapsed, the group established a headquarters in a house in Jackson.
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The local police and F.B.I. agents raided the house on Aug. 18, 1971. Some news reports said the purpose of the raid was to arrest a suspect in the Detroit killing. Others said the goal was to stop treasonous activities or to search for arms. Each side said the other fired first in a gun battle that left one officer dead. Though indicted in the killing, Mr. Obadele was found to have been 10 blocks away during the raid and charges were dropped. But in a related proceeding, he was convicted of conspiracy to assault a federal agent and was sent to prison. Mr. Obadele later earned a Ph.D. in political science from Temple University. He taught at several colleges, including Prairie View A&M University in Texas. He is survived by his daughters Marilyn Obadele and Vivian Gafford; his sons Imari II and Freddy Sterling Young; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In 1983, Mr. Obadele was a defense witness in the trial of Cynthia Boston, a Republic of New Afrika member who was convicted in the holdup of a Brinks armored car in 1981. On the stand, he defended armed struggle. We cannot tell somebody who is underground what to do, he said. If people feel that they must attack people who have been attacking and destroying and harming our people, then that is a decision they have to make. NYTtimes * * * * * I met Imari through my participation in NCOBRA and became friends with him. He was a passionate and forceful advocate of his vision,. It is not mentioned . . . but he was also a strong fighter for the equal participation of women in the movement; a viewpoint not common among the boiler plated nationalists of the time. He published a book on women in the reparations movement. I was mesmerized by the relationship he and Johnita displayed. I told them once if I were ever to find someone, I'd want to have a relationship just like theirs. Apparently all wasn't as it seemed. But he was a brilliant guy. His contributions long will be remembered. Rest in peace, Bro. Imari.-DamuJean Damu

Imagine A Black Nation In Memory of Imari Obadele

By Marvin X