#OperationShutdown and Drawing Political Lines by Dhoruba bin-Wahad

After receiving this flyer promoting a NBPP “round table” to be conducted in Early August, in Atlanta, I in consultation with comrades across the country believe that the present conditions demand a full disclosure of both the origins of the NBPP and the role they play and have played as an encapsulated organization of the racist Right and how that’s used by Rightwing agendas to demonize all perceptions of Black revolutionary traditions and Historical legacy of organizations such as the original BPP. While it is of little concern how racists misrepresents legitimate people’s movements and revolutionary leaders. However, when this misrepresentation is a matter of encapsulation, misdirecting, and confusing both activists and non-activists who are sincere, its paramount that the truth is laid bare for all to see. This is one of those times. With a young generation of activists on the front lines who think the NBPP has some history or continuation with the original BPP, and therefore enjoy credibility from this misperception – the time is now to set the records straight. Too many older activists have went along with NBPP charade as a revolutionary Black Nationalist Pan-African formation on the one hand, and Black community self-defense force on the other and have collaborated with them on a number of events, programs, and Black Power displays that have resulted in absolutely nothing concrete or enduring other than to boost the egoes of their professed leaders. Undoubtedly some will decry my actions now and characterized me as a “hater” or an envious little old man as one of the NBPP leaders said when I and other’s attempted to persuade them to actually grow some “political analysis other than “hate whitey” and initiate concrete survival programs and support Political Prisoners, none of whom by the way endorse the NBPP and its arrogant posturing leadership. Recently I wrote about the “stealth history” of revisionism. I pointed out that distorting the legacy of Black radical traditions was a real strategy of COINTELPRO aimed at disconnecting the struggles of one generation from the the other. When I responded to the Charleston NAN initial misrepresentation of the original BPP as the equivalent of the KKK and NAN responded with an apology for the confusion, NAN leaders then went on to lambast the NBPP and their leaders using the same tone as racist government and rightwing media. However, the routine opportunism the NBPP has displayed ever since it was hijacked from Texas community activists in the early 90s by disgruntled NOI followers of Khalid Muhammad should not continue to go unchecked. Neither the history of the initial NBPP or the current disarrayed formation with that same acronym had anything to do with the historical BPP/BLA or their ideological orientation. Finally, on the posted flyer are a few individuals who’s political commitments, and practice are genuine. But one, Fred Hampton Jr. the son of my slain Comrade had his name placed on this flyer without his knowledge. This tactic is typical of the NBPP whenever it wants to grab public attention from a controversy or thrust themselves in the forefront of “the movement”. It’s for this reason as well that I think the time is right to draw clear lines of demarcation between the detractors from the liberation process and contributors. Like the Black comprador class who’s role in controlling Black rage and misleadership are becoming common knowledge, groups like the NBPP and its cultish narrow nationalism must also become common knowledge. Social Practice is the criteria for truth here and using that gauge read the following from the original founder of the NBPP Aaron Michaels and it was dated in 2013 when old BPP members clashed with NBPP leadership around the fiasco of the “Million Youth March for Trayvon Martin and in commemoration of the anniversary of the first “million youth march” called by Khalid Muhammad to which only a handful of people actually attended despite a loaded speakers list (most of whom also never showed up after initial “endorsement”). It is no coincidence that once more the NBPP leaders are faking another summit in anticipation of Black August, Attica Rebellion Memorialization, and a repeat of the Million Man March scheduled for October. I should remind everyone reading this extensive post to be mindful that without principled Unity, their is no unity at all.

To: Dhoruba Bin Dhoruba Bin-Wahad

PEACE…

Brother Dhoruba, it has come to my attention that there are a number of issues that have been long standing in regards to the New Black Panther Party and its origins, as well as whose suppose too be in charge of the organization to date.

First, too all the brothers and sisters who have been involved with the organization that I created, and continued to try either in part or whole in making it an organization of principles and not “personalities” I salute you all. I must also add my discontent with the two mendacious individuals who have claimed the leadership of the organization without first of all talking with me first.

This letter is being written in hopes that anyone who read’s it, will get a better understanding and appreciative vantage point of all the sacrifice that had gone into re-creating the basic ideas of the founding beliefs of the voter registration movement which promoted the voter registration organization known as Black Panther Party from Lowndes County, Alabama and attributed to the idealistic formation of the Oakland, California group known as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.

There are many tactical points that will be added to this lengthy letter, so that whomever reads it can at least follow the historical points and true history of this organization, and not “believe the hype” and non-sense of “Tweedle Dee-and Tweedle Dumber” (bka “The Ass-Holes from Down Under”).

First of all the New Black Panther Party was created in Dallas, Texas in October of 1987, after much research and contemplation; two and a half years later I met Dhoruba Bin Wahad, (a formerly incarcerated political prisoner) who became a comrade and special consultant of mines, and even greater ally of the New Black Panther Party. His unusual insight and first- hand experience with the COINTELPRO Program as well as the cruelties of the American legal system, law enforcement and the FBI opened the continued conversation for the need of an organization such as the New Black Panther Party; and in the continued political climate that all people and especially African-American’s were continuing to live in America.

I am going to add another point of view to this letter besides my own; an individual who continued to stay in the NBPP after I decided to diminish my role and leave the organization to keep confusion from being the growth of the this organization; Robert Williams took the task of being the Chairperson of the NBPP in Dallas and then a nation position before Malik and Hashim even became members of this group.
One of the problems this organization has is people who have joined it “want to be revolutionaries”, but have no military experience at all; which is part of the holistic problems and issue’s that continues to plague the NBPP to date.
I will add Robert William’s info into this letter, as historical record for those who were around at the time of the inception of the NBPP and continue to try to meander thru this group, and working in dim light.

From this point forward I will allow Robert Williams to give you some of the historical evidence that has taken place over the years; some of those issues allowed Khalid Muhammad to be invited to join the NBPP ranks, and there-by become the National Chairman of the NBPP…

Robert Williams Historical Perspective below has been added to this document to make sure you follow the truth, and not lies that are being perpetuated by the “So Called Leadership” of the NBPP…

“It was at one of these school board meetings that I was exposed to the impact the NBPP Truly had. During one of the meetings the school board members tried to stop a parent from continuing to voice concerns after the 3 minute buzzer and the NBPP had enough of the community from being silenced and took a forward position and told the board to let them speak and started a chain reaction thru-out the crowd and the school board responded by letting them speak. It was from that meeting onward that the NBPP begin to take action in the school board meetings and at one point shutting down a school board meeting… It was at this meeting the community went up to the board members seats and conducted their own school board meeting for the evening.
This action changed the way the school board meetings were conducted and they proceeded to get the Dallas Police involved to regain control of the meetings. It was also at this time the current school board president Bill Keever, began to prove his ineffectiveness for conducting school board leadership, and his board presidential duties.

The NBPP and the community called for his removal from office, due to the political positioning of the NBPP and the community at this time; the media began to attend the school board meetings and they began to get national press. Because of the NBPP’s position on self-defense and discipline with small arms Khallid Muhammad was visiting Dallas, Texas he was introduced to the NBPP; whom he asked to handle his personal security. Khallid did not trust the NOI and needed an armed defense team that wasn’t relicked to religious ideology. It was this time that Aaron Michaels was introduced to Khallid Muhammad by way of another organization called the “community Think-Tank” whom Hashim was a member of. Aaron and Khallid began to forge a friendship and working relationship… Khallid Muhammed would alwys aske for the NBPP to for his security if he was coming into the Dallas, Ft. Worth area, which garnered the NBPP with local and national press, because of the ideological differences Khallid had begun to talk about concerning many issues dealing with “white people” in general…
The NBPP had already established chapters in other cities including Indianapolis, Washington D.C. Fort Worth, and Houston; we merged with the Panther Vanguard in L.A. after a meeting with the leadership in 1996 ( Kwaku Duren, Boko Abar, and Tago) and formed the “New Panther Vanguard” movement. This collective was short lived because at the same time we were forming with the West Coast Panthers, brothers and sisters on the East Coast wanted to join and started working with Khallid Muhammad.

As we made national headlines with the church burnings in Greenville, Texas we continued to make national press with ongoing issues within the Dallas Independent School District and its school board.After the nurder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper Texas, Aaron Michaels and the NBPP were about to make the move into that city; Khallid Muhammad called Aaron Michaels to make sure they showed up together to deal with this situation; and Khallid wanted to make sure he had a show of force with armed NBPP members, because he knew that’s how “we rolled”… This would solidify the NBPP in the history books and on nightly television.

It was also during the organizing of this event that I first meet Malik Zulu Shabazz who stood in as the defense attorney during the event and it was my penal code manual he used to review Texas Laws for the field actions in place. We also had Quanell X. on board from Houston, Texas as the community liaison for the maneuver; he eventually became the Chairman of the Houston Chapter and once Aaron and Khallid decided that he needed to become a member of the NBPP if he wanted to have avoice within the organization; then Quanell X. was appointed National Minister of Information. Aaron agreed to be the National Minister of Defense and “gave” Khallid the position of National Chairman.
In the structure that was in place prior to Khallid taking the NBPP National Chairmanship; but Aaron and Khallid’s power within the group were equally distributed the Minister Of Defense and Chairman had the same level of power.I, Aaron and David Foreman began to see the organization going into a different direction had. The moment Khallid publicly announced his appointment the organization began to grow exponentially. All the former NOI membership that supported Khallid left the ranks of the NOI and instantly became NBPP; without understanding “why they were joining” or the NBPP’s internal structure. We grew from organizing 6 chapters to over 20 chapters; this big jump in membership was great on the surface but came at a destructive cost. Consider the fact that Khallid’s influence was so strong that masses of NOI membership religiously blindly followed Khallid form one uniform to the next, the NBPP was not based in religion and Khallid had to fill the void of this transition with a religious messiah leadership personality. In order to baby step this process Khallid started by changing the original 14 point platform of the NBPP to a 10 point platform with a “Spiritual Afrocentric Ideology”, in order to allow a religious over-tone to be employed and accepted when prior to this process, we did not have one in place.Above you see many of the reasons for the disarray of the NBPP, and its membership that is intrinsically lost, as it continues to stumble 11 years later after the death of Khallid Muhammad… Ladies and gentleman, brothers and sisters today is the day that you wake up and smell the coffee, because it is burning on the stove !!!

And last of all I never gave the leadership pf the NBPP to Malik or Hashim, it was never theirs to try to lead or re-shape. Malik Zulu Shabazz has never created any specific program or originated a true ideological platform in his life; as far as I can tell he is a “community prostitute” and continues to whore the true ideas of the organization that I and others have created, and also diminishes the life and legacy of brothers and sisters from the African-American community and other struggles across the board. And when myself , David Foreman asked Hashim Nzingha to join the NBPP (before the camera’s ever showed up in the hood and he saw stars, hummers and cash signs rolling around in his head); he said that he wouldn’t join because he “was afraid he might get shot” ! Now all of a sudden he’s found the courage to be a great leader? Give me a freakin break… I doubt it very much he has that much courage !!!

None of these brothers exhibits a clear understanding of the struggle of poor and oppressed people or an understanding of their own races problems (whether they are economic, political, legal, military or otherwise).

Dhoruba, once again this letter should have been written a long time ago; and because of the positioning of these “knee-gros” and their fake-ass ideology, the NBPP has been listed as a terrorist group and not a “freedom fighting” organization working on behalf of people… To the caution of anyone thinking about working with this organization, I say to you…
“Take your resources, your time and energy and work with organizations that are working for the freedom and liberation of all people including poor and oppressed people, and all people of color… Live up to the true creed of “ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE” !!!
Stay away from bullshit, and anything that smells like bullshit… And when these 2 “knee-gros” approach you for money, aid or a drink of water and say that they want it so they can help the people; you already know from their background and history with the African-American community that they are lying; so don’t waste your time…

PEACE !
Aaron Michaels,
Founder of The New Black Panther Party