A Letter to Huey
P. Newton[1]
I’m quite sure
people will look upon my attitude and sentiments and look for hypocrisy and
hatred in my words. My revolution is born out of love for my people, not hatred
for others.
-Immortal
Technique[2]
It should also
be understood that the racial sparks that are ignited here in America today
could easily turn into a flaming fire abroad, which only means it could engulf
all the people of this earth into a giant race war. You can't confine it to one
little neighborhood, or one little community, or one little country.
-Malcolm X[3]
Hello Huey,
Of course, you do not
know me personally since you died five years before my birth. Yet, I have no
doubt you have known me many times over in your interactions with young men and
women eager to learn and engage in the struggle against oppression. I know you
because you have earned your place among the ranks of the greatest
revolutionaries through your creation of the Black Panthers, and the progress
they’ve made in the fight for rights both human and civil. You were the epitome
of a leader who lived for, and was willing to die for the people. One whose passion
stemmed from his love of the community and an unbreakable commitment to their
survival within an oppressive empire, as well as their ultimate victory over
oppressive forces[4].
You also had a mind that could comprehend complex concepts of philosophy and
strategy[5].
That intellect, fused with your relentless pursuit of justice, allowed you to
attack the issues of race and class in all their forms from the superficial
symptoms to their deepest roots[6].
These characteristics are incredibly important in explaining why I admire you,
but the most impressive aspect of your fight, and the one I try and emulate
most, was your ability to translate these complex ideas to the people so they
could understand them. You knew that there is no revolution without the support
and participation of people[7].
In fact, you hold that a revolution must be in the interest of the majority
population for it to be successful[8].
You were not trying to be the messianic leader of helpless and defenseless
sheep, blindly following you into a bright new future. You wanted to be part of
a united pack of panthers, empowered to control their collective destiny and
bring about the change that they need
in accordance with the reality they
face. This is what made you an outstanding organizer as opposed to a purely
grand thinker.
Your mastery of the
“zoom-factor” (to use our modern terminology) allowed you to contemplate
contradictions (to use your terminology) arising from the collisions of social
forces, like race and class, from both the short term survival perspective of
the local community and the long term perspective of radical systems change.
Because of this dynamic vision, I am sure you would not be surprised at the
current state of affairs in our world. The growing North American Empire you
spoke of in your speech to Boston College has only increased its grip on the
wealth and power of peoples all over the world. Our international system based
on the economic, political, and territorial sovereignty of nations is crumbling
under the establishment of the capitalist’s reactionary intercommunalism[9]. The
United States invades and colonizes anywhere in the world imposing its culture,
politics, and economics. The attempts of oppressed people to liberate
themselves have been crushed by the Empire, such as the Orange Revolution in
Ukraine, or appropriated by violent terrorist organizations like ISIS. The
possibility of a worldwide coalition of oppressed peoples is slowly fading
along with the power of unions and other collective power institutions. The
western ideology of meritocracy, individuality, and materialistic obsession has
spread to nearly every corner of the Empire though the newest technological
revolutions of the internet and cellphones. I tell you this: they have divided
us, but we are not yet conquered.
In the same speech at Boston College, you provided a
solution that doubled as prophecy. The concept of “negation of negation” finds
me hopeful for a budding revolution. While the technology of our oppressors has
enslaved us and built their power, it will no doubt be instrumental in the
downfall of the current powers as we continue to use it to identify our enemy
and organize resistance[10].
It can be the bridge between the local struggle and its international ramifications.
We can use social media and the internet in general, to better understand our
conditions and rethink our analysis so we arrive at the correct conclusions[11].
You taught me to demand comprehensive solutions
through the Black Panther’s Ten Point Plan to help the community survive.
Instead of the impractical separatist-based Black Nationalism, your work was
based in helping oppressed communities gain control over their own institutions
where they resided[12].
You recognized that this is not just a political struggle waged in the realm of
theory, but an existential struggle for the right to survive in our day to day
lives[13].
You taught me that immediate solutions to practical problems cannot be
overlooked because survival is a prerequisite for any further action. Like they
did Malcolm, they demonized you for this stance. They characterized you as a
purveyor of violence because you demanded the right of oppressed people to
defend themselves in the name of simple survival. They only focused on your
guns to instill fear in the people. They don’t ever talk about the free
breakfast programs the Panthers organized for impoverished school children or
the free health clinics that were run in Panther offices[14]. You
understood that while the enemy has the means and intent to destroy your body,
the only way to face such destruction with dignity and self-respect was arm in
arm with your brothers and sisters, charging ahead to clear a path for those future generations and spurred on by the memory of those who have fought before [15].
Your legacy lives on in the people’s collective memory but not so much as in
our day to day fight against the oppressive forces of this world.
Power to the people,
Theo
1/26/2015
[1]
Martha Wright Edelman, “Letter to Dr. King”.
[2]
Immortal Technique, “The Poverty of Philosophy,” Revolutionary Vol. 1, (Viper Records: September 14, 2001).
[3]
Malcolm X, “The Black Revolution,” (1964).
[4]
Huey Newton, “Commencement Speech,” (presentation, Boston College, Boston,
Massachusetts, November 18, 1970.
[5]
Mark A. Stein, “Newton’s Deeds Inspired Hope, Mourners Told,” (Los Angeles
Times: August 29, 1989).
[6]
Newtown,” (1970).
[7] Huey Newton, “Commencement Speech,” (presentation, Boston College,
Boston, Massachusetts, November 18, 1970.
[8] Huey Newton, “Commencement Speech,” (presentation, Boston College,
Boston, Massachusetts, November 18, 1970.
[9] Huey Newton, “Commencement Speech,” (presentation, Boston College,
Boston, Massachusetts, November 18, 1970.
[10] Huey Newton, “Commencement Speech,” (presentation, Boston College,
Boston, Massachusetts, November 18, 1970.
[11] Franz Schurmann, Forward to To
Die for the People: The Writings of Huey P. Newton by Huey Newton, ed. Toni
Morrison (City Light Books: San Francisco 1979).
[12] Massiah, Louis. Interview with Huey Newton. Eyes on the Prize. PBS, May 23, 1989.
[13] The Black Panther Party, “Ten Point Program” (October 15, 1966).
[14] Massiah, Louis. Interview with Huey Newton. Eyes on the Prize. PBS, May 23, 1989.
[15]
Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Between the World and Me,” (Speigle and Garu: 2015) 69.
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