By shelz.

But H. Rap said freedom got a strap! “Freedom Got an AK”  ~ Da Lench Mob

It was a jarring tune. It made fans of the group want to go get dreads and kick cops in their shins.  We never did, but in the days of Africa medallions and Public Enemy albums going platinum, J- Dee’s evocation of such a powerful name was moving, even if for only the duration of the song.

Both J-Dee and H. Rap Brown are serving a life sentences for murder these days. I guess bondage has an AK too. Brown’s story in particular is shaded by extreme irony.

When the news of the shooting broke, it was hard to reconcile a cop killer with the friendly man in the West End who spoke against gambling and drugs in the beleaguered Atlanta neighborhood.  You just couldn’t imagine that guy drawing down on two black Sheriffs who were there to serve a warrant for a simple traffic violation.  Especially considering those Sheriffs were young black men, the same demographic Brown was so passionate about saving.  It didn’t make much sense.

The local authorities made sure we all knew that Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, the nice man in the robe who ran the neighborhood grocery store, the man who was accused of killing these Sheriffs was formerly known as H. Rap Brown, Justice Minister of the Black Panther Party.  It was a name he had discarded long ago after converting to Islam during a stint in Attica, but on the news every night, the former life was a good percentage of what was presented.

Not that most black people cringe in embarrassment when the Black Panther party is mentioned.  On the contrary, it’s a chest swelling experience.  We see optimistic youth, steely perseverance, resolve and fearlessness.  It’s a bravery our community has little of these days and waxing nostalgic is an exercise in remorse,  not for what the Panthers did, but for us allowing the fight for equality to whither at the vine. It was a passion Al-Amin carried till he was carted away to lock down.

The idea of the Black Panthers did scare those who didn’t understand the movement, so plenty of Atlanta residents simply assumed Al-Amin must have been guilty because of his violent past and the associations he kept as a young man. How did they know he was violent? Because in most pictures the media posted of him, he was armed.  Case closed.

But back to our story.

Once Al-Amin was aware he was being charged with the murder of Deputy Ricky Kinchen and the attempted murder of Deputy Aldranon English, he fled to Alabama.  When the authorities finally tracked him down, he still had the murder weapons in his possession.  Really?  A former Panther?  That didn’t make any sense either. It seemed he would have been smarter than that.  The Benz he allegedly pulled up to the murder scene that night was found riddled with bullets. It was all so neat and obvious.

Except English was sure he wounded the man who shot him when he returned fire.  Al-Amin had no injuries. There was also the issue of Otis Jackson, who confessed to the murders.  He later recanted and was swept under the rug. On March 9, 2002 Al-Amin was found guilty, deemed too hard to handle for GA’s correctional system and shipped out to Colorado, thousands of miles from all support.

Today is Al-Amin’s birthday and he will spend this day just as he has spent his last 8 years: behind bars and paying his debt to society.  Some think the debt was incurred the night he shot and killed that Sherriff. Others believe he is paying for his militant youth, but we will never know for sure. The man who led SNCC, The Black Panther Party and the African American community at large into radical rebellious territory has lost both his freedom and his AK.  The West End community who called him Imam weeps, as does the family of Deputy Kinchen. May he rest in peace.

Freedom got an AK?  Maybe not.

Da Lench Mob – “Freedom Got An AK”

Da Lench Mob – Freedom Got an A.K.

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