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by Jihad Abdulmumit
On Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, after hearing from over 30 witnesses and receiving hundreds of documents, a panel of International Jurists found the US government and its subdivisions GUILTY of Genocide and Gross Human Rights Violations.
The verdict was rendered after a weekend of testimony given at the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center in Harlem, New York. This is the old Audubon Ballroom where Malcolm X was assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965. His legacy of calling for the civil rights struggle to be elevated to the rightful call for human rights and placed on the international stage has been honored and continued through this Tribunal.
The day after and what follows now is a call for all activists, academics, clergy of all faiths, professionals, athletes, entertainers, families, students, incarcerated individuals, business folks, health care providers, environmental activists, water protectors and community organizations et al. to join in the post-Tribunal call for building a Peoples’ Senate.
Now that the facts and evidence of genocide have again been proven, we the People must resolve to build our own mechanism of liberation and self-determination in 2021.
Now that the United States government and its states are being held accountable, we the People must no longer act as bystanders.
Rather, we the People must seize this opportunity to build a level and quality of true representation not experienced for centuries, perhaps since Black Reconstruction.
The facts and evidence of genocide have again been proven.
Five decades later after joining the Black Panther Party at 16 years old and organizing breakfast programs, building free clinics, conducting community political education classes, selling the Panther papers, standing poised to defend the community against police violence, and eventually going underground, I realize that every so often major opportunities present themselves for the Movement to progress and grow exponentially.
The massive protests in the wake of the George Floyd murder were a recent opportunity. Millions took to the streets. Beyond the emotions and beyond the protests, what was the long-range plan, and what was the strategy for building self-determination and infrastructure in our communities? Can we sustain our movement for self-determination? Now we have another opportunity.
The Tribunal Coordinating Committee and its chief attorney, Nkechi Taifa, will continue to hold the United States liable legally and politically – however, the onus of work now resides with the People.
The will and strength of the People will be reflected in many ways by the support given to building upon this guilty verdict.
We now have more international attention on our plight of genocide than before. The day after belongs to the People!
Jihad Abdulmumit of the 2021 International Tribunal Coordinating Committee is also chairperson of the National Jericho Movement. He was born in 1954 in New Jersey, joined the Black Panther Party at 16, then went underground with the Black Liberation Movement and served 23 years in federal penitentiaries. He earned an MBA in health services and now lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife and three children, working as a health care provider in a free clinic. Jihad, who is also a playwright, and his wife have a community theater company called For Our Children Productions. He can be reached via jihadbdulmumit@gmail.com and @jihad_abdulmumit.
