BABA ZAYID MUHAMMAD ON THE LOSS OF AMIRI BARAKA*

The drum has sounded! A trailblazing warrior has left us! A man who I loved like a father…The Imamu!…Amiri Baraka!…He was likely greeted in ‘the Land of the Ancestors’ by the hand and smile of his daughter Shani and then led to a Mardi Gras romp, orchestrated by none other than Sun Ra himself, that is literally outta this world!

May those of us who loved him, those of us who served with him, those of us who learned from him, those of us whom he entrusted with doing our work well and answering whenever he needed us, may we all do enough in this historical moment, in this time that we are now responsible for, standing on his strong shoulders, to honor those who came before us, by making things better for our children and for our beautiful ones not yet born, and thereby earning the right to see him again…

I love you, Baba!
Long live the Imamu!
Cubs! To the front!
Seize the time!
This is our time!

Baba Zayid Muhammad,
National Minister of Culture,
Your New Black Panther Party

*a more full and historical statement will be forthcoming….