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Anarcho-Pantherista

Ashanti Omowali

1995,

In the Black Panther Party, when someone said, “Power to the
People!” the response would be “ALL Power to the People!” After
many years of political imprisonment, employing the easy-to-use
Malcolm-Eldridge Educational Supercharger, that call/response
would take on more anarchistic meaning. This is about my expe-
rience in the now as an anarchist (a baby one) within a generally
hierarchical Panther formation.

It was just this year, Jan. 1995, that I decided to publicly identify
myself as anarchist. In playing around I came up with a term to
identify me fully: @narcho-pantherista (thinking about the word
Sandinista, ha!). Though, just in fun, I decided to keep it. It's me.
Silly, anarchistic, for real.

‘As a politically active teen in the ‘60s, making it through that
magnificent and turbulent time, I was ready when me and my Com-
rade (Jihad Abdul Mumit, now a POW in Lewisburg Stalag, Penn.)
were first attracted to that image of Huey and Bobby. Black-bereted,
black-jacketed, black on down to the boots. And strapped! Pan-
thers. Yeah, let's check them out.

Our nationalist and rebel politics began to evolve into some-
thing more revolutionary and focused. We learned ideology,
organization, preparation, comradeship, daring. Once I began
to get the picture, I was convinced: Panther revolution, lumpen-
proletariat, urban guerrilla warfare, Serve the People survival
programs, Wretched of the Earth, “L'il Red Book; Panther sistas in
leading functions, Victory.

In short, the Panthers helped me into “the process of becom-
ing.’ as to what a revolutionary dedicated to freedom, freedom, and
more freedom was all about. One must never stop learning and
growing and working for the People.

My 12+ years on the Malcolm-Eldridge Supercharger led me,
in prison, to further my learning and understanding of so many
things: Wilhelm Reich and the Frankfurt School of psychology, var-
ious schools of radical feminist thought and critique, and Paulo
Freire’s methodology of community education and empowerment.
‘And James Boggs kept me grounded in the power of the Black un-
derclass in Babylon. In all, Iwas not only learning some heavy shit,
but I was being challenged to give up certain old ways, beliefs, and
mind-sets that were backwards and anti-revolutionary,

Atsome point, while in the Marion stalag, a Panther and a stone-
cold Sicilian revolutionary threw some anarchist literature on me.
Got to tell the truth though, my Marxist-Leninist-Maoist teachings
had already biased me against the shit. So I was quite reluctant to
really check it out, But it helped that I loved them Brothers. Funny
thing is, when you locked down in segregation for months and
done read every muthafuuckin’ thing else, you get bored. After a
while, you'll pick up and read toilet paper! What happened was
that I did read the shit and regardless of what my Marxist-Leninist-
Maoist authorities had said against it, this anarchism was raising
some good points

As Irelaxed my mind-set, I learned more. Combined with the
insights of the more progressive and radical psychologies and
feminist critiques, things that I had experienced in the past and
my understanding of movement history began to look different.
Structure, sexism, authoritarian peer pressure against individual-



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ity, spontaneity, creativity and love. Come to find out that this guy
named Bakunin had some valid criticisms of the god Marx, and
Kropotkin was deep in Lenin's shit and Marxist revolution wasn’t
the only way to go.

Years before (before my kapture in 74), another Panther,
Frankie Ziths had given me a mimeographed thing on the an-
archist Makhno and his forces and their foul treatment by the
Bolsheviks. Couldn't handle it then, but now 15 years later I read it
again and again, Frankie was like that—very, very critical thinker.
No respecter of titles. Practice counts. My Comrade passed before
I could say thanks.

Anarchism came to mean the same long-range objective held
by my revolutionary nationalist movement and the general radi-
cal movement as far as evolving or creating a communist society.
‘The anarchist differed in terms of how to do it, Anarchism said,
“Let's promote the People’s self-directing and self-governing capac-
ities now.” Don’t need no authoritarian political parties acting like
parental control-freaks. People got brains. Remember, that's where
‘we come from. “Have Faith in the People, Have Faith in the Party’
say the Marxist-Leninist-Maoists. No! “Have Faith in the People”
and let it stand. If any individual or group got something to offer
from their experiences, expertise or “higher” learnings, then let the
relationship to the People in struggle be one of facilitation, and not
this arrogant leadership.

‘Mind-set from the old school is a muthafucka. There are times
when new knowledge can be so powerful that the learner experi-
ences a sense of being overwhelmed. How do I convey all this so
that it can be of help to others individually and organizationally.
My concern? We gotta win, But only the People's full participation
can bring true victory. And the People are real individual human
beings, like me—with brains, desires, fears, angers, dreams, ete. Be-
fore coming out of prison in '85 I made a personal vow to never
ignore this. I was coming out bringing my learnings in psychology,
feminism, and anarchism. They were now a part of me,
‘The Black Panther Collective was formed about a year ago as a
result of people in the slave quarters seeing the Black Panther news-
paper. Many expressed an interest in the activities of the Black Pan-
ther Newspaper Committee, a formation of former members of the
BPP. These mainly young brothas and sistas expressed a desire to
wanna work Revolution in their respective slave quarters and do
it in the spirit of the Panther as they understood it. So, BENC/NY
decided to call up them numbers and set the process going. I am
proud to say that most of the ones who first stepped forward are
still with the process. They're baad and are revolutionaries after
‘our own hearts, as indicated by the fact that we fight all the time
(because they got minds of their own!). They wanted two things
from us: (1) to be involved in community work, including political
prisoner work, and (2) PE., political education, including BP his-
tory and style of practice. We were more than happy to provide
both. But this was, and still is, no easy process, because they de-
manded Leadership! Anarchism has taught me to pay particular
attention to this concept and its political dangers to individuality,
spontaneity, creativity, and the overall health and welfare of the
Revolution for a truly free society.

Revolution is learning how to bring a large variety of person-
alities together into a powerful harmony. This harmony must lay
down some general direction and get work done, It's never easy.
It's struggle. It takes a lot of skill. The BP Collective was gonna
Jearn this. We started off without a formal structure, We just called
it and got it together. The Old Guard of BPNC too already had
responsibilities to put out the newspaper and work to raise con-
sciousness of our comrades who are STILL political prisoners. An
informal structure, more or less leaderless, developed around this
work with the BPNC encouraging others to join in. And they did!

‘The initial crew was baaad! Yeah. Sold the Black Panther like
they owned it, and with spirit. Wasn't afraid to talk with peo- ple
and engage them. Or challenge them for that matter. “Well, why
don’t you wanna buy the paper? It’s for you, Sista. Don’t be afraid,

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Brotha. Don’t wait for them to kick down your door...” Mm-m, Pan-
ther spirit.

So much work to be done. “There's a Political Prisoner meeting
on blah-blah, at 7:00 PM. Those of you who are interested in work-
ing..” That's all. They were there. You should see them now with
the FREE MUMIA work! We worked so much that we never got
around to structure or structuring our activities and decision and
direction-making processes. It was gonna cost us, and it did. But it
had to happen.

Revolution, after defeat and years gone by, is as much psycho-
logical as it is formally political. Panthers, automatic members of
the BPNC, came together after years in the absence of the intense,
disciplined struggle that we once knew. We been through changes.
We were still trying to gel our different personalities. But now it's
structure time. The Collective is calling for leadership. It is time for
the essential struggle to begin: one for clarity, uniformity of will,
formal organization of BPC with ideology, a chain of command and
rules. Oh god!

In the Collective, everyone is encouraged to speak one’s mind.
Inthe BPP, we practiced Mao's Combat Liberalism as best we could.
It is still a good thing and not a bad thing. As an anarchist now,
with other groundings in psychology and Feminism, I offer, when
appropriate, my 2 cents on matters of structure, taking initiative to
do things on one’s own, and against sexism. A big part of the diffi-
culty Thave working my 2 cents is that People raised on hierarchy,
authoritarian beliefs truly see such as natural, There's always gotta
be leadership. I say why? Who says? What kind? Why assume that
there's only one form of organizational structure? And what does
it mean when our structure resembles the enemy's? As a member
of this Collective body, I accept its general direction even if | am
the minority member in my views. Because it is democratic enough
to allow input, I can still raise my views, as can anyone. Oh yeah,
I get frustrated and angry. But that’s normal stuff in any group-
ing. I think that the BPC who are young-in-experience understand

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at this point that frustration and anger are part of the process. As
we'd say in the Party, “It's a good thing not a bad thing” It’s the only
way we can pull a diverse group of people together. As one BPNC
member said in referring to the Collective, “They are a bunch of
crazy-ass muthafuckas,’ the kind of good human beings who make
Revolution.

It's hard to feel comfortable if you truly believe that you see
internal dangers in your group. am one person. I guess I believe
like anybody else that my critique is on-point, that my warning-
signs should be heeded. But this is a body of people and though
it may not be anarchist, it's democratic enough for me to feel that
my 2 cents is valued.

My collective knows that I raise my voice against sexism. I talk
revolutionary sexuality and lay out condoms on meeting tables. 'm
always bringing reading material because I believe we must be en-
couraged to read, read, read. But I don't want to just get stuck off
into Marxist stuff—"Lil’ Red Book” ete. No matter how valuable
they are. I've shared Lorenzo Komboa Ervin’s (Black anarchist, for~
mer Black Panther, and now member of the Federation of Black
Community Partisans) writings with them. Exposure to diverse
views and critiques is what is needed. I am one of these diverse
“elders,” as they call us of BPNC. As the @narcho-pantherista I can
only be me and give my best and hope that others see that my main
concern is Revolution, ALL Power to the People, and victory over
all our enemies, from people who oppose freedom to mind-sets that
continue to hold on to anti-freedom, anti-revolutionary ideas.

‘The BPC is a spirited group of hard-ass revolutionaries. Already,
on their own, tired of waiting for us (the leadership), they put a
food program into motion on 116" St, and Adam Clayton Powell
Bivd. in Harlem, the capital of this “captive nation” (I'm a revo-
lutionary intercommunalist, personally, to add fuel to the fire). I
say Right On! It’s about initiative and I like theirs. The People are
their own leaders, their own Liberators. I see myself as participant-
facilitator. @narcho-pantherista, the highest stage of pantherism.

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ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

Ashanti Omowali
‘The Anarchist Library
Anti-Copyright

Ashanti Omowali
Anarcho-Pantherista
1995

1995 AugiSep issue of L&R. Retrieved on 2020-05 28-from
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