WE ROCKED DA KKKOURT FOR CISCO!
Yeah, we rocked it, yall. Like folks did out in San Francisco for the
former members of the BPP out there arrested for 35 year old bs. Because,
of course, anything arresting, accusing, prosecuting any of us is bullshit
when it aint dealing with the issue of the Original Sin: White Supremacy
killing people, raping lands, enslaving, massacres, etc. WHAT!
Anyhow, lemme tell you: Yesterday, March 6th at the Manhattan Kriminal
Kourt was just phenomenal. I would say that with the recent koutroom
showing for the arrested member of the MXGM-New York Igwe Williams last
month and our arrogant, belligerent expression of love for his release
next very next day, we have finally been announcing to the powers-that-be
that “uh’uhn…IT AINT OVAH YOU FASCIST MUTHA… POWER TO THE PEOPLE! Yeah,
that was last month and that was yesterday. Not just one time in one day,
but twice. And for our Elders Herman and Iyaluua Ferguson to be there. If
you sorta closed your eyes you would have seen that bright-shining torch
in the air. Not once, but twice.
First kourt, 4th floor: Obviously the docket got a lot of folks who have
to come before this young-ass black woman judge for all kinds of minor
so-called offenses. Young black woman judge, dam that hurts. She is the
result of a Black Power movement’s defeat, of a revolution’s defeat. She
is the face of (drum roll please) Neo-colonialism. Need I say more? Yeah,
I gotta… So, the kourtroom is full, half us, the Beautiful Ones of the
Revolution, and the other half is the Beautiful Ones caught up in legal
madness. We there at 9:30 a.m. yall. Ready on what had to have been the
coldest ass day new york imperial city. very fitiing for what is called US
Justice and cold ass robotic kourt guards disrespecting The Beautiful
Ones.
So come on now with the story! OK, so here we are. The family of Cisco
Torres is there including his two sons whom some of us aint seen since
they was kids. They be handsome young men now. Proud young men. Cisco and
Carolyn, right on to ya upbringing work in the midst of a young men
destroying system, especially young black and latino men. Panama Alba is
there. Puerto Rico is there. Black Nation Elders Herman and Iyaluua are
there. Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and the New Black Panther Party is
there. Laura Whitehorn and Naomi Burns are there which was de ja vu for us
as we looked at each and remembered “being there” for Cisco and the New
York 5 back in the early 1970s and now here we are again, still “there”
and still revolutionary supporting our comrades who stood up for us so
courageously. Pam Africa is there. The Anarchist People of Color and
Zapatista-inspired folks are there. Mumia folks are there. Resistance in
Brooklyn is there. In other words, we turned out this fuckin’ kkkourtroom.
Kourtroom Number One.
So, as we patiently waited and waited watching the show of justice we get
word of kourt strategy. They are gonna drag it out, hoping that we get
tired and leave, have to go to whatever plantation-job we gotta go to,
whatever. Not this day, Miss Young black woman judge with your stylish
short-cut hair and fashionable attire. Who ever said neo-colonial flunkeys
cant look stylish? Sad, sadsadsad… Anyway, next we find out that they just
brought Cisco in from Rikers via the traditional motorcade we were so used
to back in The Day. But the kourt lies and say that he aint been brought
in and that it may be a while before he is. Sounds like they want us to
leave. NOT. We right there. We right there yall. This is for Cisco and his
family. This is for Iyaluua, Herman, all our ancestors and the Political
Prisoners. This is for our young folks. this is about a tradition of
arrogant, rebellious slaves in massa’s kourtroom letting Urojuan, Nat
Turner, Nehanda, Fidel and any of the world's freedom fighters know… WE
HERE AND AINT GOING NO WHERE. In the meantime, as we watch the folks who
are going before the judge, you would think that white folks must have
secretly implemented a moratorium on kriminal offenses ‘cause
overwhelmingly only folks coming before THIS judge are folks of color! And
the few white who did, aint none look rich, privileged, etc.
So, OK, we jumped the gun. Anxious energy. When we knew that they were
getting ready to bring Cisco out we stood up, fist ready to go up and
through the ceiling. Judge says, SIT DOWN, SIT DOWN. WE’LL HAVE NONA THAT
HERE. Or something like that. And man, lemme tell you, it was a moment of
heart-warming pride. Aint nobody sit down and we stood long enough to make
our point. WE HERE FOR CISCO. WE HERE FOR OUR DREAMS. We here FOR EACH
OTHER. Powerful. Too much so for Miss Judge. Miss young black woman
dispenser of white supremacist justice. So, what did she do? She flexed
her muscles, activated her robotons and refused to have Cisco brought out!
She was angry and her robotons pushed their own angry “I hate you”
buttons. Boy, technology. But its cool ‘cause we made our point. So,
people’s attorney Tarif Warren, after that short proceeding, brought us
all outside the kourtroom and explained to us that we had now to go to the
11th floor for the next part of this show, and that if folks could stick
around it would be great. Of course, we here. So its 2-2:30 and we on the
11 floor. Family, friends, and our wonderfully diverse group of proud
hell-raisers.
Second kourt, 11th floor. We go into the kourtroom, damn-near filling it
up. But as we march in we notice that there are robotons just lined up
along every wall. Oh shit – THEY SCARED. Why else? Why else make a
conscious decision to show overwhelming force to us? Why else decide to
use this big-ass kourtroom JUST FOR Cisco? The power of an idea: Freedom.
And the power of an idea whose time has come…again? Yeah, it warms my
heart. I look up two rows ahead of me and see the backs of Herman and
Iyaluua. I whisper to my young comrades: them's our Elders. from back
there with Malcolm. COINTELPRO went after Herman way back then. They
claimed he and others were gonna kill all the uncle tom leaders. we
laughed that laugh that said, “right on to the killing.” But also clearly
understanding the connection with this day. I looked to my left and saw
Esperanza Martell and Panama, long-time Puerto Rican independence
fighters. The New Black Panther Party members were keeping a keen eye on
the roboton set-up and a young Trotskyist who thought it was still OK to
disrespect any political event by pushing their organizational shit. NOT
TODAY. And with all that, we sat and we waited. But not long this time.
They announced his name, we saw that door open and this time not until we
actually saw him… WE STOOD UP FOR HIM. OUR FISTS THRUST IN THE AIR. POWER
TO THE PEOPLE LIKE WE JUST AINT CARE. In my mind I said, Yes! I looked at
Cisco and even with handcuffs on, he smiled a smile that took some of us
back to them days. He’s in a zone. a familiar zone, a combat zone, a zone
of utter defiance. I love my comrade. Kourtroom Number Two left in
ideological ruins, ha! Love does that y’know.
After the legaleze around this extradition hearing - rule this case that -
and Tarif doing what he does best, they take him out, and WE STAND UP. AND
HE SMILES BACK. Power to the people! We march back past the robotons (see,
I aint called them pigs once!) and out into the hallway for Tarif to give
us the victory summary and all. He explained that there was no sense in
fighting the extradition. It was gonna happen. But he had to get certain
thing said and on the record. He let us know that on the 12 of this month
that Cisco will be extradited to San Francisco and that he is ready, as
are The Beautiful Ones out there. The attorney who will represent him out
there was here with us as well. Tarif thanked us for being there. The
Torres Family thanked us. They did not have to: WE LOVE CISCO and we are
proud of him and of ourselves because we have chosen not to give up the
fight. And yeah Tarif, Cisco represents that unity of African and Latino
People.
Tarif ended this day well. He is so much the people’s attorney and we who
were/are PPs of the broad Panther movement, whatever alphabet we fought
back from, we know his love for us is unconditional because his love for
his people’s liberation movement is unconditional. The last thing he said
after instructing us to take the political lead as his job was as legal
technician, was to share the simple words of BLA New Afrikan soldier
Mutulu Shakur:
LETS GET THE PARTY STARTED!
Right on.
Free all political prisoners!
From the ground up, lets do it.
FREE THE SAN FRANCISCO 8 LIKE A FREE HUEY P. NEWTON/ANGELA DAVIS REMIX
Ashanti Omowali
Jericho National Co-chair
March 7, 2007
--
Free All Political Prisoners!
nycjericho@riseup.net •
www.jerichony.org
