The Black Community as Internal Colony: Afeni Shakur, 1970

The Black Community as Internal Colony: Afeni Shakur, 1970

Afeni Shakur is best known as the mother of the hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur. What is less well known is that she was a member of the Harlem chapter of the Black Panther Party, a dedicated revolutionary who served time in jail for her political activities. Freedom Archives says her work “shaped the political discourse of Black Liberation movements in the 70s.” Visit their article on Afeni to hear excepts of her speaking.

In 1968, 21 members of the Harlem Chapter of the panthers were arrested on alleged bomb conspiracy charges, with bail set at $100,000. The following is part of a letter that Shakur wrote from prison in January 1970, decrying the colonial jail system and the entire U.S. state apparatus that has oppressed people of color since colonization arrived on this continent, and brought the first enslaved Africans shortly thereafter.

Featured image: Afeni Shakur speaks at a Black Panther Party Rally. Image via Freedom Archives.


By Afeni Shakur

We know that you are trying to break us up because we are the truth and because you can’t control us. We know that you always try to destroy what you can’t control. We know that you are afraid of us because we represent a truth of the universe. We are not being tried for any overt act nor for [the] attempt to commit any overt act–we are being tried for bringing within our minds the focusing of the ideas of centuries and trying to bring this knowledge into a workable plan to liberate our people from oppression. We are being tried only because we know you and because we are not afraid of you. We know of your history of lies, deceit and slavery. We know that you now have 80% of the world in slavery. We know how you turn nation against nation, tribe against tribe, brother against brother. We know that you are blood-thirsty, pitiless and inhuman. We have seen you justify the most inhuman crimes–the worst of which was the destruction of men’s hearts and minds. We know of your greed. We know that 10,000 army bases does not make this a “free world” except free for your exploitation and imperialism. How many civilizations have you destroyed?

In this country we know that we are not 2nd class citizens–we know that we are not citizens at all. We know that the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments did not liberate us–that they only legalized slavery and expanded the Dred Scott decision to include the Indians, Spanish speaking and poor whites. We know that things have not gotten any better–but only progressively worse. We know that this is the rich man’s courts, laws, and justice. It is his skies, and air–we can only look at it and breathe it if he says so. We know that wealth is not the fruit of labor but the result of organized protected robbery. But you teach the poor workers to be honest. We know that the Almighty dollar which everyone is taught to revere is only guaranteed by slavery and exploitation. We know that we live in a world inhuman in its poverty. We know that we are a colony, living under community imperialism. The U.S. that we see is not one of freedom, beauty, and wisdom, but of fear, terror, and hate. This is a nation of your laws, run by your police, and based on protecting your economic strength. The poor are politically, economically and legally non-existent that is why in jail, 80% of the inmates are non-white and all are poor. Yet even your sociologists and criminologists admit that 80% of these are innocent.

We see that inhuman treatment but are told that we do not. We see men beaten to death in jail but are told that they died of “natural causes” but we are liars. Just as we are always presumed guilty. We heard the judge tell us that “The law didn’t apply to us,” but it isn’t in the record–and of course we lie. We are born criminals and liars. We know we are innocent but we are liars. The people know we are innocent but they don’t count. The prisoners know we are innocent but they too are liars. The guards and even the captains of the guards know we are innocent but they can’t testify. They will lose their jobs. We can prove we are innocent. But we wonder does it really matter. We can prove it in detail and we will, but just in general the charges against us in this indictment are ridiculous and are contradictory to our basic beliefs. We have never been asked as a people whether we wanted to be governed by your God, your laws, your justice, your customs, your speech, dress, and ethics. We do not. We have no respect for them. We have no respect for your laws, taxes, your gratitude, sincerity, honor and dignity–you have no respect for them yourself. You don’t respect us–thus we don’t respect YOU…

 

Fifteen Arrested at Senator Charles Schumer’s Office to Stop the Spectra AIM Pipeline

Fifteen Arrested at Senator Charles Schumer’s Office to Stop the Spectra AIM Pipeline

Solidarity Rallies at all eight of Senator Chuck Schumer’s Offices as New Yorkers from Across the State Call for a Halt to Spectra’s AIM pipeline

     by ResistAIM

New York City –  Today at 9:00 AM, New Yorkers rallied to demand action from Senator Charles Schumer to stop the construction of a high pressure, fracked-gas pipeline that poses a major threat to more than 20 million people. Two hundred and fifty people gathered and heard from health professionals, indigenous leaders and residents of the Hudson Valley where the pipeline is being built. Fifteen people were arrested after refusing to leave unless Senator Schumer took action. Allied organizations held solidarity actions at Senator Schumer’s offices in Peekskill, Rochester, Binghamton, Albany, Long Island, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Washington DC. Groups in Massachusetts, where the pipeline is also being built, gathered to pressure Senators Markey and Warren.

Several groups read a statement from Courtney Williams, a Peekskill resident whose home and children’s school is in the blast radius of the pipeline. “Senator Schumer, I speak on behalf of the HUNDREDS of people at every one of your offices in New York and the millions threatened by this pipeline: You must stop making excuses for your inaction. Spectra’s AIM Pipeline is a man-made and entirely avoidable disaster in the making and YOU have the power to stop it!” Leigha Eyster, a born-and-raised resident of Yorktown Heights where another section of the pipeline is being built, was present at the rally as well: “I’m here to take a stand against the AIM Pipeline project. It’s a great risk to my community and to New York City as well. We’re here because we need Senator Schumer to act. We need him to go to FERC Commissioner Norman Bay, we need him to go to President Obama, and we need to see action, not just words.”

Spectra Energy’s AIM project is a 42” gas pipeline that is only 105 feet from Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant’s safety infrastructure and 400 feet from an elementary school. The pipeline would bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New England, despite a report from the Massachusetts Attorney General that shows no need for this gas. Pipelines are prone to accidents; according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), there were roughly six pipeline incidents every week in the United States in 2015, and the number of pipeline incidents is increasing with newer pipelines. Spectra’s AIM Pipeline poses a serious threat to public health and safety, not only to those who live in the immediate area, but to all New Yorkers. As Peekskill resident Nancy Vann said, “There is simply no safe way to put this pipeline into operation next to Indian Point.”

Furthermore, this project locks us into more fossil fuel use at a time when we must move toward renewable energy for the sake of our climate. Senator Schumer has filed his opposition to this project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), but FERC still has not halted construction. Resist Spectra and allies from across the state are demanding that Senator Schumer go to President Obama, go to FERC Chairperson Norman Bay, and ask his colleagues in the Senate to oppose this project. They are also demanding that Schumer meet with Senators in other states and conduct a press conference demanding that FERC issue a “stop work” order NOW.

Peekskill is not the only part of the state that is being overrun by fracked gas infrastructure. Rallies in other parts of the state called on the Senator to be a voice for those who have been shut out of the process, and for communities where gas projects are being built against the communities’ wishes. “The Spectra Pipeline Project must be stopped if our children are to inherit a planet with clean water, clean air, and a livable climate,” said Renee Scholz from Mothers Out Front in Rochester. “I live in Rochester and recognize that this is an emergency not only for the 20 million people within the evacuation zone, but also for our state, country and planet. Senator Schumer is in a position to demand FERC issue a stop work order permit so this project is halted immediately, and I beg him to do so, now, before it is too late.”

In Binghampton, Lisa Marshall from Mothers Out Front spoke at a solidarity rally. “As a scientist and as a mom, I have no choice but to get on my knees and beg Senator Schumer to stop this project.” Diane Folk from Corning, NY, agreed: “As a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, I have to take a stand to improve the environment of our nation.”

In Buffalo, 35 people gathered at Senator Schumer’s Buffalo office, where David Reilly Ph.D Professor at Niagara University spoke. “We—the people—need to learn from Standing Rock. We need to reject the impulse to push our risks to another neighborhood, to another location. We need to say NO to the idea that these fossil fuels should ever leave the ground. We need to be unified in our message—from the Spectra opposition to the Northern Access Pipeline to the Dakota Pipeline—that we refuse to give in to the pressure from fossil fuel industries.”

In Peekskill, 40 people gathered, sang and rallied outside Schumer’s Peekskill office, where Erik Lindberg of Peekskill spoke. “Senator Schumer has never held a press conference on this issue that threatens millions of his constituents. This is a man who has held press conferences and introduced legislation on everything from dish detergent pods to powdered caffeine to robo calls interrupting family dinner. Yet, he has never had a press conference on the risks of the AIM pipeline.”

“We fought Kinder Morgan’s pipeline that was slated to cross Rensselaer and Albany counties – and we won. Now we are supporting other New York communities that are fighting pipelines. Our climate demands that we take action. Senator Schumer, we need to you to take immediate action to stop the Spectra AIM Pipeline,” said Ruth Foster, member of Stop NY Fracked Gas Pipeline, a group from the Capital Region that held a rally in Albany.

Andra Leimanis spoke in Syracuse: “We ask that Senator Schumer step up his opposition to the Spectra AIM Pipeline before it’s too late. It’s time to GO BIG: call President Obama, hold press conferences alongside others in congress who have constituents endangered by FERC’s reckless pipeline approvals. Building more pipelines when we need to be rapidly reducing the amount of carbon and methane released into the atmosphere is dangerous. Building a pipeline next to an aging nuclear facility is insanity.”

Concerned New Yorkers gathered at Schumer’s Long Island office in Melville as well. “Schumer has spoken out against this pipeline and has written a letter to FERC but we need more action. We need him to actually stop this. He keeps telling us that he’s done what he can but that’s not acceptable. He needs to do more. It’s ridiculous to think otherwise.” Kevin O’Keeffe, Long Island resident involved in stopping the Port Ambrose LNG facility in 2015.

Finally, allies in Massachusetts rallied at the offices of Senator Warren and Senator Markey. “We here in Central Mass opposing the Northeast Access project know it’s time to join together across pipeline projects to say no to these projects that hurt local communities and us all while making money for the fossil fuel industry” said Michelle Wenderlich, local organizer for Food & Water Watch.

The people have spoken. The time is NOW for Senator Chuck Schumer to lead on this issue to protect all New Yorkers.

 

Climate Activists Shut Down National Grid Office in Brooklyn, Demanding National Grid Stop its Support of Spectra Energy’s Dangerous AIM Pipeline

Climate Activists Shut Down National Grid Office in Brooklyn, Demanding National Grid Stop its Support of Spectra Energy’s Dangerous AIM Pipeline

By ResistAIM

Brooklyn, NY – Concerned New Yorkers blocked the doors of National Grid’s downtown Brooklyn office at noon on Monday, August 29 to protest their support of Spectra Energy’s AIM Pipeline, a -brooklyn-demanding-national-grid-stop-support-spectra-energys-dangerous-aim-pipelinehigh-pressure methane gas pipeline that will bring fracked gas from Pennsylvania to New England. Members of 350Brooklyn.org350NYC.org, and ResistAIM  came together to demand that National Grid end their contract agreement with Spectra Energy. The pipeline’s route runs 105 feet from infrastructure critical to the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in New York’s Westchester County. “National Grid is risking the safety of the 17 million people who live within 50 miles of the aging Indian Point reactor so it can sell gas in other parts of the country and the world,” says Mimi Bluestone of 350Brooklyn, one of eight people arrested as part of the day’s action. “Our governor and our US senators have called on the federal government to withdraw its authorization for this pipeline. But without National Grid’s end-of-pipeline agreement to buy this gas, the project could not be economically viable.”

Both elected officials and local residents have repeatedly raised concerns about the pipeline’s safety.  This past February, Governor Andrew Cuomo asked the pipeline’s builder, Spectra Energy Corp of Texas, to suspend the project pending an independent safety analysis. “The safety of New Yorkers is the first responsibility of state government,” Cuomo said in making the request.  In May, New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has jurisdiction over the pipeline, to halt construction pending such a study. Spectra Energy and FERC have denied the governor’s and the senators’ requests.

The AIM (Algonquin Incremental Market) pipeline is designed solely to deliver natural gas to New England; New York is simply a “pass through” state.  The pipeline will enter New York in Rockland County, pass under the Hudson River, and then cross Westchester County en route to Connecticut. Built in the 1970s, Indian Point Nuclear Power complex remains active and contains decades of spent radioactive nuclear fuel, while over 17 million people live within 50 miles of Indian Point. National Grid, a British multinational, expanded into the United States beginning in 2000 by buying a number of local utilities in New England and New York, including the successor to Brooklyn Union Gas.  It is a major potential customer for the natural gas that the AIM pipeline would transport to New England and so has the power to determine the financial viability of this project. Last week, National Grid withdrew its petition for a 20-year contract on Spectra’s Access Northeast project; however, National Grid is still expected to purchase gas flowing through the AIM Pipeline and so activists in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York are continuing to call on National Grid to cancel the contract.

The AIM pipeline is scheduled to be completed in November 2016, which calls for immediate action. On Monday evening, following the arrests at National Grid, concerned New Yorkers are gathering at the Brooklyn home of Senator Charles Schumer to encourage him to stand with New Yorkers by making a public appearance to denounce the pipeline and calling for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – more details can be found HERE.

350.org is a national organization working to keep carbon in the ground and to build a new, more equitable low-carbon economy.  Its affiliates like 350NYC and 350Brooklyn work on local issues related to climate change. ResistAIM is a coalition of environmental advocates, Westchester residents and concerned New Yorkers that have been taking nonviolent direct action to stop the AIM Pipeline since November 2015.

A map of the AIM pipeline’s route: http://www.spectraenergy.com/Operations/US-Natural-Gas-Operations/New-Projects-US/Algonquin-Incremental-Market-AIM-Project/

A map of the pipeline’s proximity to the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant: https://sape2016.org/2015/07/16/nuclear-regulatory-commission-withheld-and-misrepresented-critical-information-used-to-evaluate-and-approve-the-siting-of-the-spectra-aim-pipeline-alongside-indian-point/

For Cuomo’s position: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-29/cuomo-seeks-halt-of-spectra-algonquin-gas-line-for-safety-review

For Senator Gillibrand and Schumer’s position: https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/schumer-gillibrand-urge-ferc-to-suspend-construction-on-aim-pipeline-expansion-until-independent-health-and-safety-studies-are-conducted

For 350NYC: https://350nyc.org/

For 350Brooklyn: http://350brooklyn.org/

For ResistAIM: www.resistaim.com