“The only politics in this country that’s relevant to black people today is the politics of revolution… none other.”

H Rap Brown, born Hubert Gerold Brown in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on October 4, 1943, is a prominent figure of the Black Liberation struggle. He became active in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s, becoming Chairman of the organization in 1967, succeeding Stokely Carmichael. During the six months which the SNCC joined forces with the Black Panther Party, he was known as the Minister of Justice of the alliance.

Brown gained notoriety as a fiery, dynamic, revolutionary speaker and poet, being charged with “incitement to riot” as the result of a speech that he gave. He became one of America’s Ten Most Wanted after failure to attend trial for this charge and others. He was ultimately sentenced to spend five years in the notorious Attica Prison in New York after being found guilty of a supposed robbery at a bar.

In prison, he spent time among adherents and eventually converted to the Islamic faith, subsequently becoming involved with the “Dar-Ul-Islam” movement and changing his name to Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin. Upon his release, he moved to the black metropolis of Atlanta and opened a grocery store, becoming a renowned community and Muslim activist.

In 2000, Al-Amin found himself charged with shooting two Fulton County Sheriff’s deputies, killing one and maiming the other. In 2002, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Despite this, he continues to remain a heroic and revolutionary figure, inspiring succeeding generations of people to fight for liberation.

Sources:

https://diva.sfsu.edu/bundles/189468

http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/dnd.html

http://americanascherrypie.tripod.com/id3.html