Tag Archives: Freedom fighter
Winnie Mandela-Mother of The Nation(Rest in Power)
Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, an anti-apartheid activist in her own right whose reputation was sullied by scandal, has died. She was 81.
The woman many South Africans once described as the "Mother of the Nation" and a champion of the black majority, died "surrounded by her family and loved ones," according to a statement released by Madikizela-Mandela's family.
Madikizela-Mandela was the second of Mandela's three wives, married to him from 1958 to 1996.
Mandela, who died in 2013, was imprisoned throughout most of their marriage, and Madikizela-Mandela's own activism against white minority rule led to her being jailed for months and placed under house arrest for years.
"She kept the memory of her imprisoned husband Nelson Mandela alive during his years on Robben Island and helped give the struggle for justice in South Africa one of its most recognizable faces," the family said.
However, Madikizela-Mandela's political activism was marred by her conviction in 1991 for kidnapping and assault, for which she was fined. She faced these allegations again during the 1997 hearings before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a panel that investigated apartheid-era crimes.
As a parliamentarian after South Africa's first all-race elections, she was convicted of fraud.
Still, Madikizela-Mandela remained a venerated figure in the ruling African National Congress, which has led South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994.
She continued to tell the party "exactly what is wrong and what is right at any time," said senior ANC leader Gwede Mantashe.
The ANC, which was the main movement against apartheid, had lost popularity in recent years in part because of scandals linked to former President Jacob Zuma, who resigned in February.
Nobel laureate and former archbishop Desmond Tutu, a periodic critic of the ruling party, noted her passing by describing Madikizela-Mandela as "a defining symbol" of the fight against apartheid.
"She refused to be bowed by the imprisonment of her husband, the perpetual harassment of her family by security forces, detentions, bannings and banishment," Tutu said. "Her courageous defiance was deeply inspirational to me, and to generations of activists."
Madikizela-Mandela had been in and out of hospital since the start of the year, according to her family. She had back surgery a year ago.
After hearing of her death, some people gathered Monday evening outside Madikizela-Mandela's home in the Soweto area of Johannesburg to sing tributes. She had attended Easter services in Soweto over the long weekend.
The family said it will release details of her memorial and funeral services when they are finalized.
Madikizela-Mandela's story was told in biographies and novels as well the Hollywood movie "Winnie," starring Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson.
The young Winnie grew up in what is now Eastern Cape province and came to Johannesburg as the city's first black female social worker. Her research into the high infant mortality rate in a black township, which she linked to poverty caused by racism, first sparked her interest in politics.
In 1957, she met Nelson Mandela, an up-and-coming lawyer and anti-apartheid activist 18 years her senior, and they married a year later.
The first five turbulent years of their marriage saw Mandela going underground to build the armed struggle against apartheid, and finally to prison in 1963, while his wife gave birth to two daughters.
Madikizela-Mandela always was aware of the danger of being in the shadow of her husband's all-encompassing personality.
Even before they were separated by Nelson Mandela's long stay in prison, she had become politicized, being jailed for two weeks while pregnant for participating in a women's protest of apartheid restrictions on blacks.
The apartheid police later harassed her, sometimes dragging her from bed at night without giving her a chance to make arrangements for her daughters.
In 1977, she was banished to a remote town, Brandfort, where neighbors were forbidden to speak to her. She was banned from meeting with more than one person at a time.
The woman who returned to Johannesburg in 1985 was much harder, more ruthless and bellicose, branded by the cruelty of apartheid and determined vengeance.
In her book "100 Years of Struggle: Mandela's ANC," Heidi Holland suggested that Madikizela-Mandela was "perhaps driven half-mad by security police harassment." In an infamous 1986 speech she threatened "no more peaceful protests."
Instead, she endorsed the "necklacing" method of killing suspected informers and police with fuel-doused tires put around the neck and set alight.
"Together hand-in-hand, with our boxes of matches and our necklaces, we shall liberate this country," she said.
Madikizela-Mandela complained bitterly on a North American tour after she was forced to testify to South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1997 that the commission never asked her about the treatment she suffered over 18 months in solitary confinement.
The Mandela marriage that survived decades of prison bars dissolved with a formal separation in 1992, two years after Nelson Mandela was released.
The couple divorced in 1996, two years after Mandela became president in South Africa's first all-race elections, with Mandela accusing his wife of infidelity.
As the mother of two of Mandela's children, Madikizela-Mandela and her ex-husband appeared to rebuild a friendship in his final years.
After Mandela's death, however, she became involved in disputes over his inheritance.
Article from Detroitnews.com
Posted in African Diaspora.	Tagged 100 Years of Struggle, 81 years old, Activist, African, African culture, African History, African National Congress, African Politics, ANC, Anti-apartheid, Apartheid, Black Collective, Black Community, Black consciousness, Black people, Black progress, Black queen, Black township, Black Women, Defining symbol, Desmond Tutu, Fight racism, Freedom, Freedom fighter, Hero, Inspirational, Johannesburg, Justice, Mother of the Nation, Nelson Mandela, Passed away, Peaceful protest, Poverty, Race Relations, Racism, Racist Society, Racist System, Racist whites, Rest in peace, Rest in Power, Revolution, Revolutionary, Shero, Soweto, Winnie Mandela
Heroic Warriors or Mindless thugs?(Killmonger,Magneto,Koba)
What is a warrior? What is an ignorant thug? What is a ruthless killer? What is a revolutionary? What does it mean to have courage? I've been asking these questions to people I know recently? In the film Black Panther the anti-hero is Erik Kilmonger. There have been many debates on Twitter,Facebook and YouTube about whether Killmonger was a hero or not. Killmonger's main objective was to liberate oppressed black people all over the world. He wanted to level the playing field against white supremacy. And he was seen as the villain. Now don't get me wrong,Killmonger was no angel. Far from it. He was ready to kill anything in his way. He grew up in poverty in a crime ridden city called Oakland. So he had a lot to be angry about. I find it interesting that although KIllmonger is seen as the villain,white supremacy is never named in the film. The word "racism" is never said in the film. It's only implied. And that is the REAL source of his anger and his oppression. But anyway,nothing would stop him from completing his mission. Even with the odds against him he stayed focused on the mission at hand. But he was portrayed as an African-American thug. The real public enemy number one. This is why Black Panther is the hero in a white-created film. They don't want children to admire the traits of Killmonger because he's a threat to the racist power structure. That's why I tell people Black Panther is full of anti-black propaganda. What exactly is propaganda? Propaganda is the effort to spread a belief or an opinion about a certain issue. Commercial advertisers,government,media,pressure groups and public officials all use propaganda. The whole point of propaganda is an attempt to get people to think a certain way about something. I feel propaganda is most effective when people don't realize it as propaganda. This is why characters like Erik Killmonger are painted as the bad guy. His motives are liberating for black people but they portray him as a mindless thug so you associate the behavior with the ideology.
I've seen this pattern of painting revolutionaries as the anti-hero. I remember reading years ago that the Marvel characters Professor X and Magneto were based off of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Marvel comics founder Stan Lee also admitted that the X Men super powered mutants were based off of the black civil rights movement going on in the sixties. This is one of the reasons Magneto is seen as the evil villain. He wants to liberation of mutants against oppression. But when you listen to Magneto talk about the the situation of mutants he's always making valid points. And he believes if mutants want true freedom they have to do it " by any means necessary".
Another character that was revolutionary was Koba from The Planet of The Apes. Koba believed that apes shouldn't trust humans. The main leader of the apes was Caesar. He and Caesar rarely saw eye to eye. I also noticed that Caesar was a darker skinned ape. Whereas Caesar has a more light skinned face. Koba also had a scarred face from the torture he received from evil humans. So Koba even looked like an ugly monster. This is also subliminal programming. It's to give the impression that if someone is unattractive then they must be evil. Which we know is not true. I've met plenty of good looking people that were selfish,vain,manipulative and egotistical. But people are trained to believe that exterior beauty translates to inner beauty. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here's a synopsis from Gaspar Yanga:
"In the begging of this movie, some scientist wander into the apes territory ( theme of White innocence) and have a dispute with the Apes, in which one Ape is shot. Caesar, being the leader tells the people to leave and takes the injured Ape back home. Koba, having been abused by humans (Europeans), tells Caesar they should follow the humans back to where they are at. Koba comes back and tells Caesar, that he believes they should attack the humans before they get stronger. Caesar makes a snarky comment about how the only thing that Koba, learned from humans is hate. ( theme of seeking retribution against Europeans is wrong).
Koba, goes back into the human's camps, only to find they are stockpiled with WEAPONS. The innocent humans that Caesar loves so much has a army reserve of military grade weapons. Some of the humans go back to the Apes home, while Koba was gone, in order to seek Caesar's approval to search for a dam which could power their city. Upon, rushing back to tell Caesar of this great potential threat of humans, Koba is furious to find out that that humans have been allowed back into the Apes territory, along with the human that shot an ape named Ash. Koba and Caesar fight before Koba can tell Caesar, that the humans are preparing to for some type of war with all the weapons. Koba comes up with this genius plan, he goes back to the human camp to steal a gun so he can use it to shoot Caesar and tell the Apes that a human shot Caesar at night and that they should attack the humans. Koba's brilliant plan works. Koba shoots Caesar at night time while some of those humans are in camp and he runs to tell the other Apes, that humans shot Caeser. Well, during the Ape attack on the humans, Koba gives a command to kill this human to another ape, this Ape refuses, Koba pats him on the back, then drags him by the head and throws him off the ledge showing the other apes who is the king of the hill. Koba, then arrest all those who are loyal to Caser and like humans. Koba is an example of supreme intelligence, military strategy, and brilliance. He removes a weak leader with a brilliant plot. He then consolidates power through force (Mao style) and he units the Apes, around their Ape identity. Koba is the ultimate Ape Nationalist and Freedom Fighter. The only thing that Koba does not tolerate is softness for enemies, he considers that WEAKNESS.
Caesar, in talking to the "GOOD HUMAN" (WHITE), says this " Ape start war, Human will not forgive". Caesar, blames his own people for the war. The humans created the experimental drug, the humans abused the apes giving them a reason to never trust them and the humans were trying to recolonize the world. Caesar, blames Koba and his people for starting a war that was caused by the humans (Whites). This, of course, is how the warped mind of the European is even in his movies and how he plants this false consciousness in others (mostly Black Christians). The writers actual ignore the history of the Apes and manipulates Caesar into this self hating, self loathing ape who has a soft spot in his heart for humans. Koba was punished in the movie for: 1. Never forgiving humans 2. Loyalty to his own kind and Caesar is made a hero for 1. Forgiving the Europeans 2. Seeing the good in all people."
The problem is people want a kind and sweet revolution. They don't know what it takes to get real freedom and liberation. A real warrior will do whatever he needs to do to get freedom. A warrior is usually a person experienced in warfare. Or a person that has shown great vigor,aggression and courage. In a white racist society they want to demonize revolutionaries so people don't see them as heroes. These films want you to identify with the so-called heroes. But if you're an oppressed group you should be rooting for the revolutionary. When the European colonizers came to America that killed everything that wasn't European. They killed millions of Native Americans. They killed millions of Africans. They raped women and killed babies. They were heartless and ruthless and their quest for power and domination. They were bloodthirsty and heartless! That's what they did in the America's and in Africa. They know what it takes to achieve a revolution. This is what brave Haitians did in the revolution in 1804. These were real Africans warriors that knew who was the enemy. They couldn't show any weakness against the evil Frenchmen. And these are the qualities that fictional characters like Killmonger,Magneto and Koba possess. This is why it's important to recognize propaganda when it's in front of you. And these Hollywood films are full of them. When I was younger I couldn't see it. But my eyes are wide open now. They're training you to root for the real villains. So in essence,they have you going against your own self interest. And ultimately your freedom.
Posted in Battling White Supremacy.	Tagged African American, African ancestors, African culture, African History, African Warrior, Aggression, Ancestors, Ballsy, Black consciousness, Black Hero, Black issues, Black Leaders, Black Panther, Black people, Black Power, Black Stereotypes, Black Thugs, Black unity, Black warrior, Bold, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Movement, Comic book films, Comic books, Courageous, Courgae, Daring, Dauntless, Determination, Erik Killmonger, Erk Killmonger, Ethical, Facebook, Fearless, Fictional characters, Freedom, Freedom fighter, Gaspar Yanga, Gutsy, Hollywood propaganda, Honor, Honorable, Injustice, Killmonger, Koba, Liberation, Magneto, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Marvel Comics, Military strategy, Mindless, Mutants, Negative stereotypes, Oppression, Pan African, Perception, Planet of the Apes, Professor X, Programming, Propaganda, Racial oppression, Racist, Racist Cops, Racist Society, Racist System, Racist whites, Revolution, Revolutionary, Stereotypes, Superhero, Thugs, Valiant, Vigor, Warriors, White Supremacy, X Men
Our Fight for Freedom(For the Sistas)
Posted in Pics.	Tagged African culture, Afrocentric, Black Culture, black empowerment, Black Men, Black Power, Black Women, Fight for Freedom, Fighting for justice, Freedom fighter, Liberation, The Sistas
Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)
Posted in Great Black Thinkers.	Tagged Activist, African culture, Afrocentric, Black athletes, Black Men, Boxer, Death, Freedom fighter, Great boxer, Great Champ, Great Quotes, Heavyweight Champion, Inspirational, Islam, Jackson 5, Jim Brown, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Nation of Islam, Olympic Gold, Outspoken, Peoples Champ, Racial Injustice, Racist culture, Racist System, Sports, Sports Icon, Thrilla in Manila, Viet Cong, Vietnam war