On October 12, Jamarhl Crawford, publisher and editor of Blackstonian: The Black Boston 411, addressed Occupy Boston’s General Assembly. Jamarhl spoke about how Occupy Boston can be more inclusive of issues facing Boston’s black community. It’s an important message that is well worth watching.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CGCSRQoxHo]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa3P8lYSQVI]
47 Responses to “Jamarhl Crawford of Blackstonian at Occupy Boston”
MIC CHECK
I said MIC CHECK
OCCUPY SALEM MA (the witch city) meeting coming up soon, to discuss protest planS. all are welcome to attend. will like to make protest this coming weekend. Join, participate and lets make real change. send your info to zeitgeistdominicana@yahoo.com.
If you send us some more info about this we’d be happy to write a blog post about it, tweet it, etc: jeaton@post.harvard.edu
I can’t even begin to express how happy I am that Jamarhl addressed the assembly. This is so important. Responding to his invitation to occupy Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan could be a watershed moment for Occupy Boston and race relations in our city. Please, please, please let him lead us to his neighborhood. Let them lead us to where they think it best our movement go for them. This is so very exciting!
Very eye opening and emotional. I give him alot of credit for reaching out and sharing the real life and facts his community deals with daily. It goes to show the pain so many people are going through, silently and invisibly. This was actually the best post I have seen on this site. I am happy I watched it.
I bet not 1 of them even realize that part of Crawford’s movement is boycotting ALL “Non Black” businesses as part of his Black Panther group.
Sorry, that link comment was directed towards this response. Thanks!
You can start here: http://www.nbpp-boston.com/chairmanjamarhl.html
Then you can follow the link to his site here: http://www.newblackpanther.com
The 2nd site (of which he is reported to be the “webmaster”) shows you their boycott agenda of all non-black businesses). How do you all feel about that one, hrmm? Their cause is their cause – understood. You can argue until you’re blue in the face on whether or not what they are doing is right or wrong for their own cause, but now you’re blending racial issues and racism into YOUR own camp.
So you guys first get the unions in your “camp”, who proceed to railroad your causes into their own agenda (ie. picket Verizon, block traffic, annoy the public – typical Union thug tactics), now you get Jamarhl into your camp (which now takes you along a path of “racism” causes (ie. boycott ALL non-white businesses).
It’s as if you’ll accept anyone and everyone with some anger and hatred toward something, especially if they have a bit of ‘power’. You guys need to step up and become your own ‘power’ and get a frontman / spokesperson, and stick to some sort of ’cause’, actually have speakers who are on the same page as you, and not become prey to others just looking to rally your troops for their own agenda! Do a little research on your speakers before the media does it for you and continue to make you look life fools.
No probably not a single one of them realize that. You on the other hand are an all seeing all knowing genius who could never be fooled by the likes of these crazy, vulnerable, honest, well meaning folk.
And anyway how would he even possibly go about that? Is there even a single non-white business they could use during their boycott. How would that even work? You guys will swallow any old hate bait from your puppet masters.
So if a black lefty promotes racism and hate, but a SWPL-tard like you thinks he couldn’t “possibly go about that”, he’s given a free pass by the left.
Good to know the left is consistent. Blame Whitey, forgive black lefties everything.
They rolly think whitey deserve it.
After all, leftism is nothing without its overarching “blame whitey” mentality.
You are right, I did not know he was Chairman of the Black Panther group or a part of any of the ideologies viewed on that site. I don’t believe in separation as a solution within any race, party affiliation, class, etc. and yes, racism goes all ways. I do believe that unless we ALL come together and realize our similarities rather than our differences we will ALL die together instead. Our world cannot sustain us splintered and fractured. You may not be able to see the science in it, but we are one living organism that can only survive if we start finding our common ground. As Carl Sagan said, “A world at war with itself is doomed”. http://youtu.be/I67Qu5HLCKU
Jamarhl is a very talented poet–see his youtube performance at the lizard lounge–and a very articulate spokesman for black issues. As for Howard Stern and his ilk–they don’t get it…yet. But they will soon. The conservative/reactionary establishment is just freaking out over this. They don’t know what to do. They thought they had it all wrapped up when they squelched the 60’s and 70’s movements, but people just went underground, and now they’ve re-emerged strengthened by the energy and insights of the newer generations, who are in fact now taking the lead in this new peoples’ movement. The reactionaries are screaming at the tops of their voices “What is their agenda? Is it women’s studies? Gender studies? What is it?” They just don’t get it. But they will soon.
lmao rofl. An angry “Blame Whitey” black guy speaking to a crowd of SWPLs. It’s both hilarious and sad that you think this revolutionary.
What’s wrong with the Black Panther Party? They advocate for the real issues in the black community as they did in the 60’s. The Socialist Party also should enjoy full legitimacy in this country as it has in other advanced countries. The only reason it hasn’t is because reactionaries have monopolized the discourse here for decades. That monopoly is over now. Our one independent US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont happens to be the ONLY US Senator who consistently represents the real interests of ordinary, ie, non-rich Americans, the 99% or 95% however you want to calculate it, and he is a self-confessed socialist. By the way socialism doesn’t eliminate capitalism. It just regulates it as it ought to be regulated so that it doesn’t lead to the excesses we have experienced in recent years. That’s called social democracy, a mix of capitalism and socialism which has worked well in Europe until recent times when casino capitalism threw a wrench into the system. That’s what caused the current banking problems in Europe–loans made to the southern tier countries in Europe which were insured with derivatives, so that the loaners took unreasonable risks. Social democracy isn’t even in the discourse in this country and there is a reason for that–thought control from the top. The discourse even in supposedly elitist and left-influenced media like public radio and tv has almost never considered alternatives to the type of capitalism we have here in the US, and when people like Bill Moyers did manage to break through the virtual ban, their programs didn’t last long. For the last thirty years we radicals have been getting our news on the alternative media, the only media we can trust.
If you have to ask “what’s wrong with the black panthers”, you have more issues than simply occupying space illegally. Riddle me this, Batman: what’s wrong with the KKK?
Hey Doug,
Typical response of someone who can’t think outside of their preconcived views, which are often just the rehash of what they here on right-wing radio. I wanted to right-wing react to Michael’s thoughts on socialism but if you truly look at what happened here and in Europe he is correct. Typically the people that don’t want to consider socialism are law enforcement or other military minded supporting folk, which is funny considering their entire employment is socialism.
Answer my question, what’s wrong with the KKK?
Maybe that the kkk teaches bigotry and hatred against people based on their race or the colour of their skin.I would call that wrong.
The Black Panthers are nothing more than the KKK of the black left, son.
Try reading “Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers” one day to see what this racist gang likes.
Seriously, you people are hilariously dumb.
“What’s wrong with the Black Panther Party? They advocate for the real issues in the black community as they did in the 60′s.”
Unfortunately, the New Black Panther Party is very, very different from the original Black Panthers. Whereas the original Black Panthers was an organization formed to deal with the problems in black communities, providing services that the government should have but failed to, the New Black Panther Party is simply a black nationalist/black supremacist organization.
I have grave concerns about working with this group – I fear they are trying to co-opt our momentum for their own agenda.
Link please?
I will venture to say the campers downtown will not be heading to Rox, Dorchester or Mattapan. Will they get free police details to protect them there like they have now? It’s also a little far from campus.
Stop talking nonsense. The Boston Brownshirts would never live in black neighborhoods. Mommy & Daddy wouldn’t pay their rent!
Ocuppy Dudley? What day is this? i need to put in my calander as “no line at the Social Security Office Day.”
You know how racist these groups are
Occupy Boston- I’m w/ yall nearly 100% but having Jamarl Crawford come and talk to you about reparations or berate you for standing up for animal rights will not further your cause. Also FYI – Crawford group is the “New” Black Panther party. They’ve been denounced by original Black Panthers for xenophobic and racist rhethoric.
It also makes a lot of people on the sidelines shake their heads when you contrast this video with Occupy Atlanta’s video where they refuse to let John Lewis, an actual civil rights leader, speak at their GA.
Who let the trolls in ?
Trolls please. Is it free speech or not? No one said the protest co-opted him or he co- opted the protest. He just spoke. Anyone can. Doesn’t mean everyone has to agree. You could even speak but I doubt you have the balls to air your fascist ranting in public. Except at a tea party meeting. Or in the trailer.
Whorefinder your just something else. Do you fantasize about Sarah palin dominating you? You have a chance now dude. Shes into cheatin and shit she just doesn’t recommend it for anyone else. True righty.
No right, no left, no race, no class, no party affiliation! Rise above it and don’t react like they expect you to. I know it is difficult. As long as you react in the same left/right pattern we cannot move forward. “Anything that separates cannot be truth”. Let this movement be about “truth”!
Fuck this idiot. Occupy your own shit if you want to. I also like the white people proving how not racist they are by calling out like they’re at a Baptist church.
I just want to see these uneducated babies camping out in Roxbury. They wont go there. They would poop their pants.
I’m largely in agreement with the sentiments expressed in Crawford’s speech @occupyboston, particularly that more effort could be made to engage people of color and working class people of all ethnic groups in their own communities. The points he made are very relevant to the situation faced by people of color in our society, which isn’t surprising because capitalism is a system that’s built on the exploitation worldwide of people of color and the working class of every ethnic group.
But, Crawford is a member of the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), which is of no affiliation to the Black Panther Party of the civil rights movement. This group does nothing to organize communities, while it espouses black separatism (which shouldn’t be mistaken with black nationalism). The NBPP has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as “a virulently racist and anti-Semitic organization whose leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews and law enforcement officers.” (http://tinyurl.com/6cyv8ot) One of the founders of the Black Panther Party, Bobby Seale, has also spoken out against the New Black Panther Party in a CNN interview describing them as “xenophobic” and “racist”. ( http://tinyurl.com/6ak666p)
By racism, we talk about institutionalized oppression. We do not mean boycotts. Whiteness is the norm in society, and white people, all of us, benefit from the racist institutions in this society.
People of Color attempting to resist this oppression by organizing, say, a boycott of white businesses that, through unearned power and privilege, put black businesses under is not an example of racism. Not even hatred of white people by people of color is racism: MLK did not want to end the prejudice in the heart of every white person, he wanted to end the institutional power and privilege that white people have over people of color.
I have seen troubling things about the New Black Panther Party, but none of them prevent this man from having the right to be heard by all of us, and none of them prevent him from helping us do what is right, which is to struggle to be more representative of some of the most oppressed members of the 99%.
The speech given by Jamarhl Crawford of the New Black Panther Party was undoubtedly rousing, and the messages it contained, regarding the inclusion of people of color, are something the @occupy movements in this country should take into account. But, the speech gave no indication of the racist, xenophobic, and anti-Jewish beliefs that this ‘black separatist’ hate group espouses. Furthermore, they are in no way connected to the Black Panther Party of the civil rights era – see Bobby Seale of the actual Black Panther Party (BPP) speaking out on CNN against them and explaining what the BPP stood for, i.e. the organizing of black communities as part of a larger movement for social change: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VALtpXOKJ4w
But they’re black! We’re progressive! Progressive stack! Let the anti-semitic voices of color be heard!
Respect for taking the time to put that straight. As a supporter of this protest I am ashamed to say that I actually almost allowed the propaganda to cause me to question in this instance. While every ounce of my being rejects racism or bigotry in any form I still believe I have underlying unconscious racist tendencies simply because of the society we live in and the constant stream of garbage we are fed. I just learned a sore lesson I will not forget. Utterly ashamed of myself.
maybe some other people did too hopefully.
@Jamarhl can you repsond to my points, rather than focus on the right-wing/racist comments, which don’t represent the views of @occupyboston. I think it’s entirely misrepreseting the views of the protestors, the vast majority of whom supported your calls, as having an “underlying racism”. I stated above that I largely agree with the points you made in the speech, and I also agree that the plans for Occupy the Hood should be carried out. I think that the Occupy movements in general could do a lot more to engage people of color and the working-class of all ethnic groups.
But, you haven’t given any type of rebuttal to the point I made that the NBPP’s ‘black separatist’ views have led it to be a racist and xenophobic hate group as defined by the Southern Poverty Law Center: http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/new-black-panther-party. And, you can’t just divorce yourself entirely from that group because you have reisgned – besides you’re still listed as the chairman on the website, so you can hardly blame someone for thinking you were still a member: http://www.nbpp-boston.com/
I think your repsonse here, particularly in regard to the business boycott, shows that your analysis of the causes of inequality in regard to people of color is overhwelmingly to do with race and doesn’t take class into account. This is pretty typical of ‘black separatists’, or ‘lesbian separatists’, or any other type of separatist politics. To understand the desperate position of people of color in this country and worldwide, you need to take account of both race and class.
Ignoring class means you may just end up with a position that supports a business elite, which happens to be black, but which still goes on supressing the black working class. When an analysis of both class and race inform your politics, it allows for the organization of communities of people of color (around interests that affect them personally), and still allows you to indentify with the class interests shared with workers from other ethnic groups. Without this class analysis, it is very easy for groups espousing race politics to drift into racism and xenophobia. This is outlined very well by Bobby Seale of the civil rights era Black Panther Party in his interview on CNN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VALtpXOKJ4w
I love how all you have so much information and how so much if it is so very wrong.
Number #1 I resigned from the New Black Panther Party in March of 2010
and it is posted as publicly.
Number #2 Whats the difference between the KKK and Black Panthers (New or Original) ummmmm… 5000 lynchings that occurred, torture, bombings, burning of entire towns, etc. Show me the line of white people who are getting beat up, assaulted and killed by any Black group.
Everything that we have presented for Occupy The Hood is clear and straightforward. It may not be for everyone, and if you feel uncomfortable or don’t want to come or support. Then by all means DONT COME. Simple as that you do what you think is right and we will continue to do what we think is right. This is not new we have been organizing for decades.
I do love how all this discussion though really proves the underlying racism in this society and in the Occupy crowd. No one likes to be critiqued or challenged about their culture/heritage but we have a history that is undeniable and can not be ignored. I’m not making this stuff up. Racism is not bigfoot, you can actually prove it. And white people have a history of violence towards people of color, not the other way around = Fact.
oh and also
a Black Boycott of all white businesses is not some nefarious anti-whitey plot it is an age old method of protest, like the bus boycott or like boycotting a product (ex: malt liquour) that you know has detrimental effects on your community.
Its called leveraging the economic power of a disenfranchised people in order to call attention to economic disparities and highlight the buying power of Black people in the US, who are the highest consumers in many major industries and somehow do not reap any benefits of their economic contribution.
put that in your pipe and smoke it.
The SPLC has some problems of its own. However, I personally saw the so-called New Black Panther Party at a protest in DC some years back and they were vile. Almost like a caricature of the original group. Maybe it was a COINTELPRO operation, but I doubt it.
Talking about white privilege is one thing (and please keep talking) but coming down to the Occupation to throw some condescendingly back-handed compliments and using the ‘Occupation’ name despite keeping nothing of the group process are really frustrating. Occupy the Hood is a great idea for deepening a broad movement for change. But I don’t think jettisoning the whole notion of direct democracy is legitimate if you’re going to adopt the name. Who’s going to lead this Occupy the Hood if you don’t go by consensus?
“And white people have a history of violence towards people of color, not the other way around = Fact.”
I absolutely do not agree to the “not the other way around” part. Current day statistics do not support this statement. Do your research, people. Do not depend on the media to report what really goes on. They have an agenda. Use your own minds and refuse to be guilt-tripped by a manipulator.
Regarding racism, Jamarhl, it’s something that goes deep in this country and always has and, perhaps, always will.
As you said:
“Racism is not bigfoot, you can actually prove it. And white people have a history of violence towards people of color, not the other way around = Fact.”
Pre-Civil Rights era this was undeniably true. But today black on white crime is far more prevalent.
You asked a rhetorical question about crime. “Do we commit more crime than the average person?” Well, the answer, sadly, is Yes, you do.
This isn’t a contest to see who’s historically worse (slavery alone kills any argument to the contrary). Although we’re all effected by history, let’s not look for a scapegoat. We have to look to ourselves and hold ourselves responsible for our own actions. Black, white, Latino, Asian, whatever. I’m tired of victims.
Every leader of any race never identified themselves as a victim. This is one thing that turns me off about the Occupy Movement, and I hear a lot of the victim in your speech and in your writing…
If we refuse to believe that we have autonomy over our actions, then we may as well call it quits. Life isn’t a picnic and oftentimes we are human not because of life, but in spite of it.
There is violence against whites. I got a front tooth knocked out and two others broken from being attacked and stomped by a black gang. I then stood up and was going to fight them some more but they ran off before the police came. I went to the protest against police brutality the Progressive Labor Party held in Dudley back in 2003. My son has autism so he has been put in the segregated all black schools since he was three because that is what Boston does. When he was three he was bussed clear across town past all the white and Asian schools to the Lee school with pit bull attacks on the street in front. A man was kicked to death in front of the school while a teacher and students watched. I really did love that school. Jamarhl told me the other night he lives right nearby. I would take the 22 bus. At my son’s next school I would take the 23. Those buses had some grumpy dudes. There is something that is so seductive about the inner city. All over the world kids of all colors look to the American inner city. Most of you reading this are probably young so you would not know how it was in the 70s and 80s before they started locking everyone up and destroyed it all. And I think inner city Boston is a strange case not like other places. There is a real puritan strain going way back with folks like Malcom X. Probably it has always been that way. And there is a lot of creativity here. I really hope we all do something sometime like at Dudley outdoors. We had 90,000 Jews living in Boston in the 1960s and now hardly any. A lot of Boston has been physically mangled or destroyed. Dudley and the City Hospital area which was obviously the heart and soul of modern Boston had the Orange Line subway taken away, the West End razed etc. My whole thing is that we need to massively expand the city like it should be. We need 20 story high buildings like the Bronx and better roads and subways. We need put in a subway on Blue Hill Ave. Originally it had a major trolley line. Franklin Park is supposed to be more in the center like central Park in New York.
As much as some folks at Occupy Boston have concerns about allying with Jamarhl and his message, I think he should be very concerned at what the American Left has to offer his cause. Much of the Left are followers of ideology. They hold a dream of infusing their young with fresh enthusiasm and sometimes this works but when these kids get older and don’t believe in the practicality of these ideas anymore they tend to also forget the people they had been supposedly advocating these ideas as the solution for.
Whether you like his message or not Jamarhl is in the business of representing the interests of a certain group of people, the most poor and oppressed. If the economy or social conditions changed or his understanding of the problem and the best way out of it changed he would easily be able change his mind and still be what he is, an advocate for the people he cares about.
My opinion is that what is in the interest of the poor here and in other countries is to allow the present carbon fuel based heavy industry to expand unhampered by carbon restrictions or green energy schemes and develop the next generation of nuclear reactors especially the Thorium reactor. There is no way we can restrict the expansion of heavy industry and still meet the aspirations of the poor here and in around the world. (Or preserve the natural environment and deal with or prevent climate change. You see me at Occupy Boston always barefoot. I have always been a green.)
And some socialist scheme to enforce equality in the distribution of wealth in an economy of falling heavy industrial capacity? Do you think anyone who has skin in the game is going to believe that post dated check? They already got 2.3 million jammed up in prison no problem. What kind of future world could we find ourselves trapped in if we follow the Green Left and their allies down that road?
Then don’t follow the imaginary green left and do your own fucking thing instead of trying to co-opt Occupy Boston.
You seem saying both that the green left at Occupy Boston is imaginary and that my speaking out about the dead end failure the green left leads to is co-opting Occupy Boston. That is a logical contradiction isn’t it? And you are using a bad word at 8:30 in the morning. What is up with that? We can fix the situation so people have a warm dry place to sleep. I find that Occupy Boston is very inclusive. There are people of all political views.