Reparations Organizers Targeted by FBI to Speak in Oakland

Months after the U.S. Department of Justice filed baseless charges against the “Uhuru 3”, the Uhuru Solidarity Movement (USM) hosts a U.S.-wide speaking tour titled, “No to FBI War on Black Liberation!”

On October 2nd, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, two Uhuru Solidarity leaders who work under the leadership of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) to organize white people in solidarity with the Black community’s demand for reparations, will join APSP Chairman Yeshitela on the platform at the Oakstop event space on Broadway in Oakland. Chairman Omali Yeshitela is the founder and leader of APSP.

The program is part of USM’s annual national “Days of Reparations to African People” campaign that raises funds for Black Star Industries, the APSP’s economic initiative to build the foundation of a liberated, anti-colonial, African workers-controlled economy.

Along with Chairman Yeshitela, Hess and Nevel were indicted in April on bogus charges of being “Russian agents” for their decades-long activism fighting for reparations to African people and opposing U.S. wars. Collectively they are known as the “Uhuru 3.” The DOJ’s charges against the Uhuru Movement have sparked international outrage as a dangerous attack on free speech.

The U.S. Peace Council writes, “It is clear that the charges against the Uhuru 3 are politically motivated in that they are being applied selectively. The United States’ charges against the Uhuru 3 set a dangerous precedent threatening the First Amendment rights of all people.”

Dr. Cornel West has stated, “It’s part of the war against black freedom movements… I think it’s very important to do what one can and all that one can to defend the rights and liberties of our brothers and sisters at the African People’s Socialist Party.”

Chairman Omali Yeshitela is the primary target of the FBI raids and federal charges. In the 1960s, he worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee registering black voters in the South. He went on to build the Uhuru (black freedom) Movement with activist branches and economic development programs throughout the U.S. and Africa. In the 1980s, the Uhuru Movement was headquartered in Oakland, where they were known for fighting against police violence and for housing rights.

Chairman Yeshitela is a prolific author and theoretician, with a new book out, “The Verdict is In: Reparations Now!” chronicling the 1982 World Tribunal on Reparations that he organized in Brooklyn. He has traveled the world speaking and building the international movement against colonialism.

Jesse Nevel, Chair of USM, calls for people to “join this campaign to defy the U.S. government’s attempt to once again destroy the Black Revolution as they did in the 1960s, when the FBI waged a reign of terror and murder against the leaders and organizations of the Black Power movement, with a notorious, brutal counterinsurgency program known as COINTELPRO.”

The October 2nd event begins at 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public, with free advance registration recommended. Oakstop is located at 1721 Broadway in Oakland. For more information or to register, visit Uhuru Solidarity.