Jamal Joseph and the Black Panther Letter to Black Celebrities
Veteran of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army Jamal Joseph joined us to discuss his reasons for signing the recent letter from original members of the BPP to Black celebrities.
On this subject, emancipatory journalism at its sublimest.
A prescient example concerning the role of Black celebrity and its role in the struggle, would be the formidable- Melvin Van Peebles; actor, filmmaker, playwright, novelist and composer.
“According to Melvin Van Peebles, Black Panther Party co- founder Bobby Seale made his “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song”, a movie about a ghetto hustler, required viewing for prospestive Panther members because of the film’s revolutionary values.
Melvin Van Peebles asserted that in the late ’60s the FBI, in league with the mafia, allowed hard drugs [ cocaine, heroin ] to flood the predominantly African American inner city in an attempt to defuse political interest and organizing.”
[ Paul Willistein, The Morning Call. May 6, 1995 ]
Very much appreciated brother.