Exclusive Interview: Haki Shakur Educates the People About The New Afrikan Independence Movement
Richmond, Virgina native, Haki Shakur, has been on mission to spread awareness about what it means to be a New Afrikan and what better to state to start the movement in than Virgina. New Afrikans consider it to be part of the Black Belt South. During slavery, most Black people lived there then migrated away and are now returning back after the migration period from the racist south.
Shakur is an activist, historian and most importantly a New Afrikan Revolutionary Nationalist who believes in The Land, Independence and Socialism for New Afrikan Black people in America. Much of his work is done with political prisoners with The Jericho Movement, August Third Collective, Malcom X Grassroots Movement and George Jackson University.
I recently interviewed Mr. Haki Shakur where he discussed more about this New Afrikan Movement. Check it out below:
Growing up and still to this day who are you role models? How did they impact your life?
First I would have to say my grand parents, my mother and father and my brother because they have always been examples of hardworking New Afrikan Working Class Citizens. They have impacted me in many ways such as not to give up on something you’re working hard for. Other role models would be Mutulu Shakur and all my elders of the Black Panther Party, BLA, and New Afrikan Independence Movement that came before me. Their impact on me has been tremendous because of their sacrifices, wisdom and struggles here inside the United States for Social, Political and Economic Justice and Freedom for our people, especially our political prisoners who have done over 30 to 50 years for us to enjoy this little bit of what some would call living.
At what age did you know you had a passion for social justice?
I would say my passion for social justice came in my mid-twenties. I’ve always had passion of reading and always wanting to know our history to overstand what was going on with our people and why our people were going through so much oppression, poverty, incarceration and death just to be recognized as human beings here in the United States.
So once I started studying the periods of enslavement of our ancestors and the maroon liberation armies and gullah wars against the capitalist system of slavery incorrectly called slave rebellions, and up to the modern day period of The Black Liberation Struggle & Rebellions incorrectly called Riots in the 60s, 70s is when I put the connection together of how our national oppression began and how it’s continuing.
I began increasing my studies in Revolutionary Science to analyze everything from that perspective to overstand our reality as New Afrikan People and a Black colony working U.S. boarders that’s not truly free, but second class citizens. It gave me an adrenaline rush to become a part of the solution and jump in this protracted struggle. I’ve always wanted to be one of those Black men that could be a baton in this generational relay marathon to end our National Oppression and free our people!
What’s your involvement and/or association with Jackson State University?
I have no involvements with Jackson State University or Association.
How did you first get involved in the activism field? Why?
I first got involved in activism based solely on the corrupt and brutal mass incarceration of our people by the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) when the Jericho Movement sprung in the late 1990s started by Safiya Bukhari (R.I.P.) former Black Panther/BLA member/organizer and current New Afrikan Political Prisoner Prisoner Jalil Muntaqim and other organizations, such as Malcolm X Grassroots and NAPO that came before them both.
I started to write political prisoners and prisoners of war so a lot of guidance came from them. They pointed me in the right direction and gave me advice on things to do and how to organize and get involved in my local community and nationwide community to help to try to bring awareness to mass incarceration! When the Clinton’s signed that crime bill in the 1990s, the genocide process of re-enslavement of our people increased at a rapid rate. Seeing family members and friends getting incarcerated and receiving illegal, long-term sentences, sparked me to not be quiet and sit on the sideline.
What kind of impact do you believe your teachings and movement will do for the culture?
I believe my teachings and also at the same time trying to get more of our people to learn about The New Afrikan Independence Movement/ Republic of New Afrika, will impact our culture tremendously because we believe our people need to know the other side of the struggle; the raw and uncut side of our reality which is Resistance, Self Determination and flat out Independence!
Many of our people are not aware of that side of the struggle. The struggle Omowale Malcolm X sacrificed his life for, which is The Human Rights Struggle. The Struggle to Determine and take Control of our own lives and destiny to exist as a Nation of People, so that’s what I want the impact of my teachings to have on our people, youth and future generations to come.
What are some of our race’s and cultures biggest problems and issues we’re constantly facing?
I would say some of our biggest problems we face as a people is ignorance, poverty, dyseducation (Diseased Education), dysfunctional family units, male and female toxic relationships, drugs, psychological mind-washing by certain rap music and celebrities, America dependency, external police terrorism and internal community contradictions (e.g Rape, Pedophilia, Sexism, Women oppression and Domestic Abuse and Violence). Those are the major problems we must continue to struggle to fix and work on.
What are some solutions that you have in mind for our people/culture in American society?
Some solutions I have in mind is first we must get our people proper education, meaning political education so they can overstand their national oppression. You have to overstand it to fix it; it’s this thing we call and use which is theory and practice once you get politically educated you can now create a Theory & Line that you implement in your community, amongst organizations or amongst the people in your community creating solutions then you put that theory and line into action a.k.a. practice, meaning developing political and social programs in your community and work those programs to create liberated zones in your community to help combat our internal contradictions.
As I mentioned earlier, we need New Afrikan Outreach Prisoner Programs. We Need Responder Programs like Medical and Natural disaster programs. We need relationship programs, drugs and violence programs. We need New Afrikan Community Security Protocol Programs to protect our communities from external and internal issues. Most importantly, we have to deal with the abuse of our women and children through rape, molestation and pedophilia. We have to deal with mental health, so I would like to come up with solutions on that front as well. We got a lot of work to do. Our people have to get on one accord and get it done, no excuses, it starts with us only. We the people, New Afrikans in our community can eliminate these contradictions!
Where and how can the people learn more of your teachings and beliefs?
They can folllow me on Instagram at @Haki_Kweli_Shakur, Facebook Haki Kweli Shakur, Twitter @Haki_K_Shakur, Youtube Channel Haki Kweli Shakur and you can follow my site at NewAfrikan77.Wordpress.Com as well by email at [email protected]
What great advice and words of wisdom can you offer the millennials?
My words of advice and wisdom to millennials is to self-educate yourself at all times. Read, study and struggle, become self sufficient and self determined to become a idealist. We need more thinkers. We don’t need more ball players or musicians or actors. We need more inventors, entrepreneurs, teachers, doctors, workers, scientist, industrialist. And most importantly, we need more Farmers/Agriculturalist. Grow your own food and be dependent on self and help our people! Free The Land!