biography_books

More than any other black leader, H. Rap Brown, chairman of the radical Black Power organization Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), came to symbolize the ideology of black revolution.

This autobiography—which was first published in 1969, went through seven printings and has long been unavailable—chronicles the making of a revolutionary. It is much more than a personal history, however; it is a call to arms, an urgent message to the black community to be the vanguard force in the struggle of oppressed people. Forthright, sardonic, and shocking, this book is not only illuminating and dynamic but also a vitally important document that is essential to understanding the upheavals of the late 1960s. University of Massachusetts professor Ekwueme Michael Thelwell has updated this edition, covering Brown’s decades of harassment by law enforcement agencies, his extraordinary transformation into an important Muslim leader, and his sensational trial.

The 2002 paperback reprint is available new and used on Amazon 

Revolution by The Book by Imam Jamil Al-Amin stresses that real revolution begins within us upon our recognizing the sovereignty and preeminence of God as Creator and Lord. This produces a radical and fundamental change that frees our minds and allows us to perceive and accept Divine authority. The results are renunciation of the temporal, and submission to God’s universal, timeless Truth.

In the late 1960s, he was known as H. Rap Brown, Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, (SNCC), Minister of Justice of the Black Panther Party, and on the FBI's most-wanted list. Today, he is Jamil Al-Amin, a devoted Muslim dedicated to the principles of the Holy Qur’an and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Imam Al-Amin, the youngest of three children, was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1943. His father worked as a laborer for Esso Standard Oil. His mother taught children at an orphanage and also worked as a maid. As a youth, the 6'5" Brown was an excellent athlete, excelling in basketball and football. The name given to him by his parents was Hubert Geroid Brown.

The street named him Rap. He had a scathing dexterity with the language, combining profound intellect with blunt coarseness. "We played the Dozens like white folks play Scrabble ... a mean game, where you try to totally destroy somebody else with words."

Influenced by many writers committed to the struggle of Blacks for freedom, the nineteen-year-old H. Rap Brown found Howard University inspiring and motivating. He had attended Southern University for a while but spent summers with his brother who attended Howard.

Look for Me in the Whirlwind: From the Panther 21 to 21st-Century Revolutions (Paperback)

By Dhoruba Bin Wahad, Jamal Joseph, Sekou Odinga, déqui kioni-sadiki (Editor), Matt Meyer (Editor), Imam Jamil Al-Amin (Foreword by), Mumia Abu-Jamal (Afterword by)

Available from Charis Books & More for $26.95

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Description

In 1969, 21 members of the militant New York branch of the Black Panther Party were rounded up and indicted on multiple charges of violent acts and conspiracies. The membership of the NY 21, which includes the mother of Tupac Shakur, is largely forgotten and unknown. Their legacy, however—reflected upon here in this special edition—provides essential truths which have remained largely hidden.

About the Author

Mumia Abu-Jamal is probably the best-known political prisoner in the Western world and author of Live from Death Row. Imam Jamil Al-Amin, also known as H. Rap Brown, is known for his autobiography, Die Nigger Die!. Living in both Ghana and the U.S., Dhoruba Bin Wahad writes and promotes Pan Africanism. Jamal Joseph is a writer, director, producer, poet, activist, and educator. déqui kioni-sadiki is a radio producer, and educator. Matt Meyer is an NYC–based educator, organizer and author. Sekou Odinga was a founding member of the New York chapter of the Black Panther Party.

In the opening days of the trial of Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (the former H. Rap Brown), the late Coretta Scott King, founder of the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, released a statement that read in part: “For justice to be faithfully served there must be no rush to judgment and the defense must be allowed to present all of its evidence, just as the prosecution must uphold the highest standards in meeting the burden of proof.”

Unfortunately, there was a rush to judgment, with exculpatory evidence favoring the accused deliberately left out of the judicial process. As a result, someone who many believe to be an innocent man has now marked 20 years of unjust imprisonment. Among those who question the legitimacy of Al-Amin’s conviction and life sentence is another “civil rights icon” who testified as a character witness on behalf of the accused during the sentencing phase of his trial. Former US Ambassador to the United Nations (and mayor of Atlanta, GA), Andrew Young, recently spoke of “a case that weighs heavy on my heart because I really think he was wrongfully convicted. I’m talking about Jamil Al-Amin, H. Rap Brown.”

The Imprisonment of Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin examines the history of this controversial figure – from his days as a young firebrand during the 1960s, to the transformative work on himself and the communities he served in later years as a Muslim cleric. Through such voices as Karima Al-Amin, Esq.; Dr. Harry Edwards (principle founder of the 1968 Olympic Project for Human Rights); well-known and accomplished academic, Dr. Cornel West; respected Muslim cleric, Imam Khalid Griggs, and others, we get a glimpse into the man who came to symbolize one of the most turbulent decades in American history, and the power of faith-based revolutionary transformation.

Through the pages of this book we also get a glimpse into the years of unwarranted surveillance of Imam Al-Amin’s lawful activities, leading up to the tragedy of March 16, 2000 – a still controversial tragedy that resulted in the death of one sheriff’s deputy and the serious injury of another – as we seek to explore the provocative question: Is the imprisonment of Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin the result of a never-ending government conspiracy?

Available new in paperback from Amazon