An Anatomy of a Failed Black Manhood
By Abdul Olugbala Shakur, Prisonersolidarity.org
Jan. 23, 2007


Preamble
My Kolonial slave title is James Earl Harvey, but I am known my New Afrikan
Freedom name, which is Abdul Olugbala Shakur. At the age of 17, a young
black teenage girl was gang raped by three white male sailors, so I retaliated for this vicious act and as a result I received a life sentence; which I don’t regret. Though the government attempted to criminalize my actions as part of a typical crime wave, they were forced to acknowledge that no personal items were ever taken from any of the targeted individuals.

People, you may disagree with my beliefs, but I believe we are obligated to
protect and defend black womanhood. The only thing I regret is that we didn’t
get the bastards who actually did the rape. For the past 24 years I have been in isolation (solitary confinement), for the purpose, no doubt, of destroying my revolutionary spirit and black manhood. Many may/will disagree with my diagnosis. Most likely, it will be those brothas who clearly show symptoms of a failed and broken manhood.

1. When I look at the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, I see our failed black manhood. We as men knew our communities were not adequately prepared
for a natural disaster, and yet we made no efforts to prepare them. We have
placed the lives of our children, women and elders in the hands of a
government that we knew didn’t give a damn about us. It was very disturbing
to watch grown black men standing around helplessly while our children,
women, elders and handicapped suffer. And our response is to blame a racist
government that we knew didn’t care if we lived or died. Who do we blame
for our failure to prepare our people and community?

2. When I see ‘Pig’ brutality and how they abuse and disrespect our communities, I see our failed black manhood!

3. When the government inadequately funds the schools in our communities, I see our failed black manhood!

4. When the government shuts down the schools in our communities, I see our failed black manhood!

5. When I see the high unemployment rate among our People, I see our failed black manhood!

6. When I see poverty in our communities, I see our failed black manhood!

7. When I see black on black violence, gang violence and crime in our communities, I see our failed black manhood!

8. When I see alcohol and drug abuse among our youth, I see our failed black manhood!

9. When I see teenage pregnancy and promiscuity among our youth, I see our failed black manhood!

10. When I see our young People disrespecting our elders, our culture and
community, I see our failed black manhood!

11. When our young People hate and despise their own blackness, I see our
failed black manhood!

12. When our black sistas butcher their natural black beauty with blond hair, colored contact lenses, nose jobs, breast implants, lip and butt reductions, I see our failed black manhood!

13. When I hear our youths use the word nigger or nigga, I see our failed black manhood!

14. When I hear other races use the word nigger, I see our failed black manhood!

15. When a brotha or sista physically, emotionally and/or psychologically
abuses their children, I see our failed black manhood!

16. When a brotha physically, emotionally, and/or psychologically abuses a
sista(or any woman), I see our failed black manhood!

17. When a brotha discriminates against a sista because she is too dark, light, thin or large, I see our failed black manhood!

18. When I see a struggling, single black mother, I see our failed black manhood!

19. When I see fatherless black children, I see our failed black manhood!

20. When a child is abducted from our communities by a child molester or by
anyone with bad intentions, I see our failed black manhood!

21. When our young girls and women become victims of rapists, serial rapists or serial killers, I see our failed black manhood!

22. When I see a sista prostituting her body, I see our failed black manhood!

23. When I see, sista dancing in a strip club, I see our failed black manhood!

24. When I see, a sista’s physical beauty being prostituted and perverted in music videos, I see our failed black manhood!

25. When a pimp is permitted to publicly display his presence without getting run out of our communities, I see our failed black manhood!

26. When I see R&B singer R Kelly urinating on a sista, I see our failed black manhood!

27. When I see HIV/AIDS illnesses are devastating our communities, I see our failed black manhood!

28. When we fail to protect or defend our communities, I see our failed black manhood!

29. When we fail to protect and defend our communities from racial violence, I see our failed black manhood!

30. When I see a lack of genuine black unity among our people, I see our failed black manhood!

31. When our young People know more about Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan,
and Oprah then they do Nat Turner, George Jackson and Assata Shakur, I see
our failed black manhood!

32.When our young People have no knowledge of self or heritage, I see our
failed black manhood!

Many brothas will resist my Anatomy of a Failed Black Manhood. Even in your
resistance and denial, I see our failed black manhood! When we as black men fail to accept responsibility for our families, community and People, we fail our manhood. Many of our young black men think they have their manhood, or equate being gangsta with manhood; when in fact, they are weak as Jello pudding. Marcus Garvey is a man! Nat Turner is a man! Martin Luther King Jr. is a man! George and Jonathan Jackson are men! Minister Louis Farrakhan is a man! Dr. Donald R. Evans Sr. is a man! Bunchy Carter is a man! Fred Hampton is a man! Bishop Eddie Long is a man! Pastor John Cherry is a man!

Bishop T.D. Jakes is a man! Baba Herman Ferguson is a man! Chairman Chokwe
Lumumba is a man! Kwame Nkrumah is a man! Need I say more?!

Abdul Olugbala Shakur (s/n J. Harvey)
D.4.112 C-48884 (SHU)
Pelican Bay State Prison
P O Box 7500
Crescent City, CA 45532

You may contact Mr. Shakur directly by writing to him at the address listed above. The following link offers tips for writing to prisoners: https://prisonersolidarity.org/TipsForWritingPrisoners.htm

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