In Memoriam: Khallid Abdul Muhammad
Column written 2/21/01
The news of the passing of former Nation of Islam spokesperson and, more recently, chairman of the new Black Panther party came as a shock several days ago. The on-again, off-again reports of his demise led many to once again distrust the media sources that he was so critical of during his lifetime. One is reminded of the words of Sigmund Freud, who said, 'Toward the person who has died, we adopt a special attitude: something like admiration for someone who has accomplished a very difficult task.'
When one considers the adjectives 'racist' and 'anti-Semitic' that always preceded his name, one is reminded of the power of the media, not only to shape debate, but to craft consciousness. For there are members of state legislatures and of the Congress who have not only used hateful speech, but have more importantly used public power to condemn others. I remember the Pennsylvania General assembly passing a resolution condemning Muhammad as a racist. Then in an act of naked hypocrisy, this same body did nothing when one of it's members referred to blacks as niggers and jungle bunnies. Similarly, when members of the U.S. Congress talked about blacks in Africa being cannibals, it was hushed up and swept under the carpet. These apparently, are not worthy of resolutions of condemnation, they represent the norm in racist America.
It is true that Khallid's words hurt many people's feelings. But when his words become emblematic of racism and the acts and deeds of powerful government officials, when they become mere business-as-usual, something is wrong somewhere. Dr. Khallid Abdul Muhammad never stopped a car driven by whites. He never forced the occupants out of their vehicles to lie face down in the mud at the point of a gun. He never passed a bill that condemned the poor to more wretched poverty, homelessness or hunger. He never consigned brilliant young minds to shuttered and and dilapidated ghetto schools. He never commanded the bombing of an Arab, African or Caribbean nation to divert attention from a scandal in his bedroom. We react to his words because they spring from a deep well of rage that exists in millions of black hearts. To ignore that rage and focus on one man's words is to turn a deaf ear on their real meaning.
Khallid Abdul Muhammad gave angry voice to many in the country who have every right to be angry. It is insane to ask people to suffer oppression in silence. There are millions who will long remember him with warmth and respect for daring to speak his mind without fear or favor. I am one of them.
Ona Move,
Mumia Abu Jamal
February 21, 2001
Text © copyright 2001 by Mumia Abu-Jamal.
All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission of the author.International Action Center
39 West 14th Street, Room 206
New York, NY 10011
email: iacenter@action-mail.org
web: http://www.iacenter.org
CHECK OUT SITE http://www.mumia2000.org
phone: 212 633-6646
fax: 212 633-2889
To make a tax-deductible donation,
go to http://www.peoplesrightsfund.org
Share this page with a friend