Tru Thomas

On this day in 1968, the FBI formed COINTELPRO, a "counterintelligence program" against Black American Nationalist groups. John Huggins and Bunchy Carter who founded the Southern California chapter of the Black Panthers, were assassinated by the FBI in 1969 while attending UCLA and were early victims of the FBI's COINTELPRO. An FBI memo dated November 29, 1968 described a letter that the Los Angeles FBI office intended to mail to the Black Panther Party office. This letter, which was made to appear as if it had come from the Us Organization, described fictitious plans by Us to ambush BPP members. The FBI memo stated that "It is hoped this counterintelligence measure will result in an 'Us' and BPP vendetta." —At a Black Student Union meeting at UCLA's Campbell Hall on January 17, 1969, Bunchy Carter and John Huggins, another BPP member, were heard making derogatory comments about Karenga, the founder of Organization Us. Other versions mention a heated argument between Organization Us members and Panther Elaine Brown. An altercation ensued during which Carter and Huggins were shot to death. BPP members originally insisted that the event was a planned assassination, claiming that there was a prior agreement that no guns would be brought to the meeting, that BPP members were not armed, and that Organization Us members led by Ron Karenga were. Organization Us members maintained the meeting was a spontaneous event. Former BPP deputy minister of defense Geronimo Pratt, Carter’s head of security at the time, later stated that rather than a conspiracy, the UCLA incident was a spontaneous shootout. The person who allegedly shot Carter and Huggins, Claude Hubert, was never found. During the Church Committee hearings in 1975, evidence came to light that under the FBI's COINTELPRO actions, FBI agents had deliberately fanned flames of division and enmity between the BPP and Organization Us. Death threats and humiliating cartoons created by the FBI were sent to each group, made to look as if they originated with the other group, with the explicit intention of inciting deadly violence and division. Following the UCLA incident, brothers George and Larry Stiner and Donald Hawkins turned themselves in to the police, who had issued warrants for their arrests. They were convicted for conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of second-degree murder, based on testimony given by BPP members. The Stiner brothers both received life sentences and Hawkins served time in California’s Youth Authority Detention. 🖋️you can support (donate) or follow our ko-fi page on AfricanArchives.Support (follow the page too for weekly posts roundup)

12 years ago today, at only 17, an unarmed Trayvon Martin was shot dead by George Zimmerman, fueling a movement. #BlackLivesMatter

One of Pablo Escobar's abandoned mansions

Aunt Polly Jackson, was an escaped slave who worked as an agent on the Underground Railroad helping others escape. She was known for fighting off slave catchers with a butcher knife and a kettle of boiling water. #BlackHistoryMonth A THREAD!

You got 24 hours to finish this, who you callin?

Happy 80th birthday to the legendary activist, marxist, scholar and author Angela Davis. In 1970, she was placed on the FBI 10 Most Wanted List on false charges.

Wyd after smoking this? 👀😳 #StonerFam #Mmemberville

Joseph Clovese, aged 105, arriving at the final encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1949. Clovese was the last surviving member of the USCT (United States Colored Troops). He was born enslaved in Louisiana and served with Company C of the 63rd US Colored Troops. He died at Dearborn Veterans Hospital on July 13, 1951.

Happy Independence Haiti! Jean-Jacques Dessalines led armies to defeat France to become the first free colonial society. It was the greatest slave uprising since Spartacus. It was a powerful reminder that Black liberation Could be achieved.

On this day in 1663, Queen Nzinga Mbande, a warrior queen of the Nzinga and Matamba and one of the greatest female African rulers died. She led the stiffest opposition to European dominaion in Africa's interior, winning battle after battle against the Portuguese. Nzingha, also known as Ana de Sousa Nzingha Mbande, was a 17th century Queen of the Ndongo and Matamba Kingdoms of the Mbundu people in southwestern Africa (Ngola was both a name and a title in Ndongo). Nzinga was a powerful monarch who successfully kept the Portuguese out of her land for 35 years. In order to fight off Portugal, (who wanted to conquer the area to further the slave trade) she conquered neighboring kingdoms to expand her territory and aligned herself with the Dutch. During the late 16th Century, the French and the English threatened the Portuguese near monopoly on the sources of slaves along the West African coast, forcing it to seek new areas for exploitation. By 1580 they had already established a trading relationship with Afonso I in the nearby Kongo Kingdom. They then turned to Angola, south of the Kongo. The Portuguese established a fort and settlement at Luanda in 1617, encroaching on Mbundu land. In 1622 they invited Ngola (King) Mbande to attend a peace conference there to end the hostilities with the Mbundu. Mbande sent his sister Nzinga to represent him in a meeting with Portuguese Governor Joao Corria de Sousa. Nzinga was aware of her diplomatically awkward position. She knew of events in the Kongo which had led to Portuguese domination of the nominally independent nation. She also recognized, however, that to refuse to trade with the Portuguese would remove a potential ally and the major source of guns for her own state. In the first of a series of meetings Nzinga sought to establish her equality with the representative of the Portugal crown. She converted to Christianity and adopted the name Dona Anna de Souza. Shortly afterwards Nzinga ordered the conversion of his people to Christianity. In 1626 Nzinga became Queen of the Mbundu when her brother committed suicide in the face of rising Portuguese demands for slave trade concessions. Nzinga, however, refused to allow them to control her nation. In 1627, after forming alliances with former rival states, she led her army against the Portuguese, initiating a thirty-year war against them. She exploited European rivalry by forging an alliance with the Dutch who had conquered Luanda in 1641. With their help, Nzinga defeated a Portuguese army in 1647. When the Dutch were in turn defeated by the Portuguese the following year and withdrew from Central Africa, Nzinga continued her struggle against the Portuguese. Now in her 60s she still personally led troops in battle. She also orchestrated guerilla attacks on the Portuguese which would continue long after her death and inspire the ultimately successful 20th Century armed resistance against the Portuguese that resulted in independent Angola in 1975. Despite repeated attempts by the Portuguese and their allies to capture or kill Queen Nzinga, she died peacefully in her eighties on December 17, 1663. 🖋️if you love our content, please consider supporting our page on AfricanArchives.Support (follow the ko-fi page too for weekly posts roundup)

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐓 246 years of slavery 1619-1865 99 years of Jim Crow Laws 1865-1964 86 years of lynching 1882-1986 14 years of Civil Rights fight 1954-1968 Police Brutality -To Date

On this day in 1969, activist and chairman of the Black Panther Party Fred Hampton, was assassinated by Chicago police and the FBI at just 21 years old. William O'Neal, an FBI informant, infiltrated the Black Panthers and set up Fred Hampton for $300. A THREAD

John Huggins and Bunchy Carter founded the Southern California chapter of the Black Panthers. They were assassinated by the FBI in 1969 while attending UCLA. They were early victims of the FBI's COINTELPRO. —At a Black Student Union meeting at UCLA's Campbell Hall on January 17, 1969, Bunchy Carter and John Huggins, another BPP member, were heard making derogatory comments about Karenga, the founder of Organization Us. Other versions mention a heated argument between Organization Us members and Panther Elaine Brown. An altercation ensued during which Carter and Huggins were shot to death. BPP members originally insisted that the event was a planned assassination, claiming that there was a prior agreement that no guns would be brought to the meeting, that BPP members were not armed, and that Organization Us members led by Ron Karenga were. Organization Us members maintained the meeting was a spontaneous event. Former BPP deputy minister of defense Geronimo Pratt, Carter’s head of security at the time, later stated that rather than a conspiracy, the UCLA incident was a spontaneous shootout. The person who allegedly shot Carter and Huggins, Claude Hubert, was never found. During the Church Committee hearings in 1975, evidence came to light that under the FBI's COINTELPRO actions, FBI agents had deliberately fanned flames of division and enmity between the BPP and Organization Us. Death threats and humiliating cartoons created by the FBI were sent to each group, made to look as if they originated with the other group, with the explicit intention of inciting deadly violence and division. Following the UCLA incident, brothers George and Larry Stiner and Donald Hawkins turned themselves in to the police, who had issued warrants for their arrests. They were convicted for conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of second-degree murder, based on testimony given by BPP members. The Stiner brothers both received life sentences and Hawkins served time in California’s Youth Authority Detention. 🖋️you can support (donate) or follow our ko-fi page on AfricanArchives.Support (follow the page too for weekly posts roundup)

The Controversial Story of Sheikh Aboud Rogo Kenyan sheikh who scared USA with his sermons. THREAD.

Y’all too young:

The 369th Infantry Regiment, The Harlem Hellfighters. Though they spent more time in battle than any other regiment and were one of the most decorated, they never got the recognition they deserved. #VeteransDay2023 —THREAD—

In 1942, US Navy Messman Charles Jackson French successfully swam through the night for 6-8 hours pulling a raft of 15 wounded soldiers w a rope round his waist in shark infested waters. He was the first black swimmer to receive the Navy medal of heroism in 1943. #Veterans Day2023 —On September 5, 1942, United States Navy Messman Charles Jackson French swam through the night for 6 - 8 hours pulling a raft of 15 wounded sailors with a rope around his stomach through shark infested waters. The U.S. Navy Ship the U.S.S. Gregory was hit by Japanese naval fire in the South Pacific. Many were wounded and killed. French successfully brought these men to safety on the shores of The Solomon Islands. French was the first black swimmer to earn the Navy Medal for his heroism in 1943. We remember Charles Jackson French and commemorate his heroism and incredible swimming. Thank you for your service and your valor, Mr. French. 🖋️you can support (donate) or follow our ko-fi page on AfricanArchives.Support (follow the page too for weekly posts roundup)

The CRIMINAL History of Maina Njenga Ex- Leader of the Kenya's most feared MAFIA - THE MUNGIKI. THREAD: