Boycott! Build! Secure!

This article does not necessarily reflect the views of the BAOBOB organization.

In the wake of so many deaths in this year alone of African people, we are left with the burning and burdening question of what do we do?

Do we protest? Protesting is archaic. We got to have action! But how do we organize? Video tape it! That doesn’t stop them from killing us. Kill them with kindness! It’s time to take up arms!

It’s not healthy to be in a state of such intense levels of undirected emotions. Just consider all the intrinsic ramifications that come from watching, on national television, on your morning Facebook feed, the image of another brother of ours being shot square in the chest to where you could see his heart beating its last pumps. Consider the trauma triggers for so many of us in the diaspora who have suffered from such violent oppression for so many hundreds of years, reliving the experience now in 2016. We are liable to riot. We are liable to have peaceful protest. We are liable to feel confused, helpless, and the other thing. In such emotional uproar, it is absolutely necessary to balance, guide and arm ourselves with the wisdom of our ancestry; there is nothing more powerful we can do. Without sankofa, the ability to analyze the past and apply it to the present for a better future, the most massive of riots will result in a field day for militarized police officers to capture (imprison) or murder us, and the most peaceful of protests will at best yield some policy reform. Either of which, from a political analysis, is reactionary; we are in pursuit of revolution. That is, a movement toward our lasting liberation over one toward our defeat or marginal success. As we seek revolution, we must, therefore, honor the teachings of our revolutionary ancestors to bring clarity to confusion and guidance to emotion.

Throughout our historic struggle for liberation in America, culture has been our strongest weapon. Whether it’s Marcus Garvey, Noble Drew Ali, Malik el-Shabazz or Huey Newton, there has always been a keen focus on decolonizing our cultural behavior, on building our economic and political activity, and even defending our culture against the oppressors at the cost of our lives. If culture is the strongest weapon we have against our enemy of capitalism and the resulting oppression of Black people, then it would be to our greatest advantage for us to sharpen and enhance that weapon. But what is culture, really?

To gain a deep understanding of culture, I encourage everyone to read “National Liberation and Culture” by our ancestor, Amilcar Cabral, leader of the liberation movement in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. In my attempt to synthesize without lecturing, Cabral states that culture is the ever-present expression of the kinds of relationships that prevail in society: those between man and nature and those amongst man ourselves. These relationships are fundamentally based on the society’s productive forces and the mode of production—the way in which the people produce what is necessary to survive and thrive as a society. When we look at capitalism in America, we are looking at the immoral usurpation and dominion of the people’s natural right to the productive forces and the source of the many sicknesses that cripples our selves and our relationships—our culture. Since it is a historic truth, Cabral explains, that foreign domination has the “vital need to practice cultural oppression, national liberation [revolution] is necessarily an act of culture”; it is the “organized political expression of the culture of the people who are undertaking the struggle.” In order to gain true liberation and establish our right to life as dignified human beings, Cabral indicates in his speech here that we must affect the many expressions of our culture with political organization and revolutionary intention. The revolution as it stands today for Black people in America is, in fact, an extension of the African Socialist Revolution; it is the (working class) people’s reclamation of the mode of production, the healing of the inhumane, capitalistic tendencies within and amongst ourselves and with nature, and the establishment of a true democracy that is committed to the perpetuation of those things. The oppression of Black people: the disenfranchisement, the mental enslavement, the racist violence, etc. will only come to a definitive end through the political process of revolution. This is true because only through revolution will the power to resolve our situation be rightfully placed in our hands and not in the “hands” of a capitalist government whose survival depends on our oppression!

I was on the bus with a friend when a brother asked me, “You hear about the brotha that got shot in Baton Rouge?” I had avoided watching it earlier on Instagram. “Nah, I haven’t.” He quickly showed me on his phone. Once I saw brother Sterling’s heart. Beating in his chest… It took a while to settle in. I was unusually sad. And it wasn’t just me. A friend I hadn’t spoke to in months called me to express the same feeling. All on Facebook, all on Instagram, so many sentiments, so many opinions, so much angst! Like many of us, I have been moved to do something. In asking myself, over and over again, the burning question of what do I and I do, the words “Boycott! Build! Secure!” came to mind.

In the spirit of our ancestors who have pushed the line for liberation, and the critical understanding that we must affect the culture, we must move to “Boycott! Build! Secure!” We must practice it personally and propagate it through dialogue, social media, events, etc. with the intention of sharpening the weapon against oppression that is our culture. This does not take the form of a temporary campaign but rather the cumulative process of integrating new concepts into our cultural behavior. The revolution will not be overnight:

• Boycott: Money spent on an organization is an investment into the success of what that organization represents. In your every day life, as much as you reasonably can, practice and propagate divestment from the systems that represent our own oppression! Let’s continue to increase our awareness of where we invest our energy with our dollar, and see boycotting as an intentional attack against our oppressors.
• Build: Cabral indicates, “culture is…the more or less conscious result of the economic and political activities of that society”. As we divest from the enemy, let’s build and enhance our culture politically and economically! Build the political consciousness through study groups that focus on revolutionary ideology. If everyone committed their selves to study, everyone would be able to carry out revolutionary ideology within their respective organizations. The revolution will not come from one person or one organization, but the potent political consciousness of the masses. Build our economy by purchasing everything that you need, within reason, from local, Black owned businesses with the intention of reclaiming the mode of production! This includes even the local artists producing within the very lucrative entertainment industry. Let our businesses express our unity and divestment of capitalism through a co-op structure and build our communities by employing our own and supporting social justice movements.

A wise man told me, don’t build what you can’t secure. Historically we have always been able to achieve some form of cultural independence, but not without swiftly being bombed or assassinated thereafter. In our movement to boycott and build our own, we will be met with opposition that we either will or will not be prepared for. For that moment and now, in the face of the modern day lynching by killer cops, the most revolutionary thing we can do as people of African descent, considering our politico-economic position in America, is to wove security into our culture. As self preservation is the first law of nature, it is our right and duty to take up arms and practice self defense against anyone who threatens to take our lives. Shooting videos has done a fine job of reawakening our awareness of our situation, but it has only given us the semblance of justice. When I saw the Sterling lynching, I noticed that the brother didn’t have to die that like that. Both cops had their back turned to the camera. The cameraman could have easily defended his brother like a real brother should, cop or no cop. Ever since the Panther Bill and other scare tactics, we have effectively been disarmed in spite of the reality that our neighborhoods are being occupied by trigger-happy police. What I’m going to do: obtain my firearm card and start going to the shooting range with friends with the intention of working security into the culture. To the point where going to the shooting range is as culturally normal as going to an open mic or kickback. Then I’ll move to even obtain my Carrying Concealed Weapon (CCW) license because what’s the good of having protection if you can’t use it when necessary. Then, if a cop or anybody for that matter tries to unjustly threaten my self-perseveration or that of a brother or sister of mine, I’ll be prepared to protect it by any means necessary. As this is a life or death, freedom or oppressed situation, I expect more of us to do the same. I’m not implying that having a license will stop us from being killed or captured by their “justice” system, but it is reactionary to give them another excuse to capture us. I’m also not implying that we should get guns to go out killing cops—that is also reactionary! While I appreciate his spirit, Gavin Long, the ex-military brother that killed 3 policemen, could have taught 30 more of us how to properly defend ourselves! And I’m sure 3 more policemen were hired in their place. What I am saying, is what Malik el-Shabazz and others have already demonstrated for us: to prepare ourselves for the moment to defend ourselves through the enhancement of security culture in tandem with revolutionary ideology. We know from history, however, that as the strength of our movement to “Boycott! Build! Secure!” increases, so too will the opposition. In the words of our ancestor, Martin Luther King, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” When shit hits the fan, every other people in America, except for African people, will have the backing of their nation. Who will have our backs? The height of our cultural security will come when we are politically sound enough to delegate with political leadership in Africa to corral their support. In fact, they are waiting for it. “Boycott! Build! Secure!”

With so many different ills of our society, the revolution is certainly multi-faceted. There are movements against police brutality, against human trafficking, against housing displacement, against the racist prison industrial complex, against the killing of our environment, against Black on Black violence, against GMO foods, you name it! All of these ills have their grotesque roots in the system of capitalism, and therefore all of them should align themselves with the end of capitalism. Through our various talents, passions and causes, we are all called to make a contribution to the movement. But if we do not underscore our efforts with the political education of our ancestry, all said efforts will be subject to an endless cycle of repetition. Political study groups are key. Every individual of every business and organization should be required to study revolutionary ideology and be proud to do it! That way we don’t have to look or wait for the next anybody! As a cultured people, we will have in our minds and souls, and so through our organized actions, the spirit and wisdom of our ancestors who have fought for liberation and brought us thus far. In the words of our ancestor Frantz Fanon, “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.” Our situation today is certainly a sad one. But let us not pretend like it is a new one. Let our emotions be our fuel and our education be our guide to put an end to injustice, permanently.

Boycott! Build! Secure!  Boycott! Build! Secure! Our mission will become clear.              Boycott! Build! Secure!  Boycott! Build! Secure! The revolution is here.

 

PS – Just as the revolution for Africans in America is inextricably connected to the African Socialist Revolution, whether we see it or not, so too is the African Socialist Revolution part of the Global Socialist Revolution (Kwame Nkrumah).  Therefore, in America, we must certainly build ourselves first, but with the understanding that we must build ourselves first in order to effectively contribute to the national working class movement already at play. Division is the math of the enemy and racism is one of their primary dividers.