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Essay: "Taking a Stand"

by Daryl Mitchell-el
I think as a young Black Nationalist political prisoner, Muslim I face inevitable conflict, by taking a stand and must basically use military think tank strategy; to wisely, honorably, victoriously defend myself from my skillful adversary, who is the prison institutional administration. Taking a stand seems to have been my lifestyle since childhood, when I was taught by my mother, Bertha Mitchell commander and chief, to stand up for my little brother Emanuel and sisters Sabrina, Lisa, Diana and Angie. I have fought many battles with other people's families, trying to defend the honor of my bloodline. I grew up in Chopper City New Orleans Louisiana 9th ward in what we call the Dirty South, down the street from the notorious Florida Projects. The environment was a detestable dangerous highly combative area, where the weak non-combative person who did not believe in standing up for himself or herself was in jeopardy from anybody who sensed weakness in that person's distinguishing trait characteristics.

I believe my taking a stand revolutionary mentality started from childhood and developed into a lifestyle inspired by Sun Tzu's Art of War, from my personal research and life experiences, which shaped me into a Black Militant. I know from experience every person I have defended in the past may not be a first class well respected American citizen, but somehow, someway I owed allegiance and was entitled to stand with them or for them, for some cause. I had always personally believed that a man that doesn't stand for nothing will fall for anything. I traveled from the south to Chicago Illinois and began to study Islam from a member of the Nation of Islam who was also a well respected "5" star universal unknown Vice Lord named Terry Sallis, now a manager of a successful telecommunication telephone company. At this time I was a member of the Cicero Insane Vice Lord Revolutionary Islamic activists organization. The organization was based on Black people standing up for their constitutional rights although the original membership formed in the Illinois State Training School for Boys at St. Charles Boy's Home, which was initially a social club that began in the 1950's around the time their was a lot of racial tension and hostility caused by the violation of their human rights. The Vice Lords started as a result of a lot of Black people being openly targeted by government federal and state officials.

The FBI had illegally declared war on organizations such as the Nation of Islam, the Almighty Vice Lords, the Black Peace Stone Rangers. This same war is declared on N.W.T. Black Liberation Army (N.O.-W.O.L.F. I.N.-T.O.R.R.O.R.I.S.T.) in which I am a member. The Vice Lords leadership has been incarcerated as prisoners of war and considered terrorist by the United States government just for standing up for what they believe in, like members of the Black Panther Party. Within one year of the formation of the Black Panther Party, the FBI formed a special counter revolutionary counter intelligence program dubbed COINTELPRO, which still exist. The purpose of this program is to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit or otherwise neutralize the activities of the Black nationalists. A specific purpose of COINTELPRO was to prevent the rise of a "Black Messiah," a charismatic Black leader who might "unify and electrify," Black people. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and Huey P. Newton plus the Minister the Honorable Elijah Muhammad were targeted for being Black Nationalists.

The Vice Lords had came together to defend their neighborhoods against outside forces which involved a Federal Assisted Job Training Programs. The programs had led the original membership of the Vice Lords to run a professional teen center and job training program for the youth of the Chicago West Side area. COINTELPRO counter is believed to be one of the reasons the Vice Lords were accused of fraud involving governmental funding which was the excuse the government officials used to discredit and disrupt the Almighty Vice Lords from gaining further control of Chicago's West Side. J. Edgar Hoover had publicly made a statement; "that the Black Panther Party constituted the greatest threat to the internal security of the country... of any organization." If this is the case than the Vice Lords had to have been watched too, because a lot of the Vice Lords in the 60's were seriously affected by the Black Panther Party in Chicago, at the time the members had close relationships with Black Panther members such as Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. As a result, a number of Vice Lords joined the Black Panthers and a lot of Vice Lords even organized as two Black Nationalist organizations.

The United States government of American Caucasian racist capitalists had considered the Vice Lords a security threat also, because we supported both the Nation of Islam and the Black Panther Party of Self Defense. The government disrupted the job training programs and introduced members to drugs and used this as a tactical advantage to discredit the organization that Mr. Pepelo originally started. The word had spread that Black Nationalist organizations were racist groups against Caucasian people. Most Caucasians in American advocated separatism from Black and so Black advocated separatism from Caucasians and the formation of self-governing Black communities. Now that the separation part of the races was understood, the fear had begun that in separation Blacks may take revenge on the Caucasians forming their own governments, so a new plan was put into effect to bring the races together but keep the Blacks conquered and divided.

I often debate with Caucasians and Blacks about the information they heard about Vice Lords, the Nation of Islam and the Black Panther Party in Self Defense, and now N.W.T. Black Liberation Army of N.O.-W.O.L.F.I.N. X comrades. People say the Nation of Islam labels Caucasians as the Black Man's Blue Eyed Devil's, but at that time a race war was taking place fueled by Caucasians who were killing Black people unjustly. Elijah Muhammad was half Caucasian, the Honorable head Minister of the N.O.I,. and even he knew this and taught this just like Malcolm X who was half Caucasian, like the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. The word "devil" derived from the Greek word "diabolos" translated to deofol (devil) which means "enemy." All the Nation of Islam called Caucasians in the 60's was basically "Blue Eyed Enemies" of Black people. Blacks were getting incarcerated, murdered, and beaten for being Black. I have many family members of an older age that will not lie to me. They have told me the average Caucasian in the 60's and 70's, was considered a natural enemy of Blacks.

The Black Panther Party had Caucasian supporters who donated money because they investigated the claims and founded the government misinformation to be mischievous malignant spiteful methods for achieving disunity among Blacks. A lot of government books have misled the masses about what happened. My information comes from the people that were the real live victims. People see the word Black on an organization and automatically assume the organization is against Caucasian people, when the organization itself has committed no criminal acts against Caucasians in general. The political views of most Black organizations differ from Caucasians in general. Black organizations formed to express their own political agenda. No person in politics, Black or Caucasians was getting the Black political agenda of the masses represented properly, so Black Nationalist organizations formed.

Malcolm X was said to have been attacked by Muslims but he said in his own autobiography "But, you know, I'm going to tell you something, brother -- the more I kept thinking about this thing, the things that have been happening lately. I'm not at all sure it's the Muslims. I know what they can do, and what they can't and they can't do some of the stuff recently going on. Now, I'm going to tell you, the more I keep thinking about what happened to me in France. I think I'm going to quit saying it's the Muslims." The government even had the Muslims thinking they were battling each other, when it was them all along. The same situation happened with the Nation of Islam and the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. Suspected members of N.W.T. (N.O.-W.O.L.F.I.N.-T.O.R.R.I.S.T.) Black Liberation Army for Self Defense ( NEW ORDER-WORLD OPERATIONAL LEADERS FORMING INTERNATIONAL NATIONS TEACHING OUR RADICAL REVOLUTION OPERATIONAL REHABILITATION IDEAL SITUATION TACTICS), are getting harassed in the Illinois prison system by government officials trying to make false cases out of nothing. I have been charged with an assault on a police correctional officer, in which the officer has told me to my face I didn't do.

I am taking a stand now in the N.W.T.) Black Liberation Army by promoting ideals freedom fighters in prison can use, to defend themselves against the prison administration and against the government if their human rights are violated. I teach them their history, the law, how to organize; appeal to the masses plus mental self defense in the art of I Chuan an "internal" martial arts. Members such as Kenyatta Fox have benefited well from my information, plus I teach brothers meditation. I also conduct debates on politics, religions, and the art of war, convict conduct, self control, anger management and racism. These things affect prisoners as well as those in free society. I teach how to spot a switch before he goes switching and how to avoid being raped or caught in homosexual entrapment, by brothers who are trying to trick younger prisoners.. N.W.T.B.L.A. teaches how to have respect for women, parenthood, how to eat healthy, how to protest against the administration. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan came to a prison in Illinois at Statesville and spoke and he said what no other outsider had the courage to say. He stated "You prisoners need to take back control of the prison system". He is right.

One thing prisoners should know is that taking a stand in the prison system is their only hope to change their situation fast. Until prisoners learn to undermine the prestige of power, the administration will remain free of any real challenge. Whoever controls the prison system economy controls the society's economic resources. The power to rule comes from the ability to control the access to survival resources, so as long as prisoners have to ask staff for everything and cannot make their own money and control basic necessities we will be ruled. The weaker inmates will work with the administration to avoid the oppression. Truth is we outnumber staff ten to one in most prisons, and so they are out numbered and out powered. Secondly under the 85% law more prisoners have more time today than ever and so many of us have nothing to lose but our chains. Third of all, all it takes is strategy and courage plus a few good men.

The Almighty Vice Lords and Growth and Development organization, as well as the Black Peace Stove Rangers with the Latin Kings tamed the Illinois prisons with a iron fist, at one time, but that was when we controlled the prison economical system. All it takes is unity among prisoners. Many in populace know what is capable of being done. Think about it, instead of fussing about who's flooding toilets, have the Flooders Flood in a peaceful protest, with the guys who write grievances to back them up after you send the warden your list of constitutional demands. The people who start fires burn their cells up, the people who throw liquids and other things, being their job. The hungry strikers begin strike, the risk cutters began cutting themselves and people who bust sprinklers, set them off daily, until they get what they want. Our biggest problems come from the different styles of protesting. One might not want to go as far as the other but that's ok, fight your way in style but together in taking a stand. I learned from the Vice Lords mistakes and those of the N.O.I. Nation of Islam and Black Panther Party, the prison system uses the same thing the government used on them. If prisoners were under my orders, I would say take a stand and fight the powers that be by any means necessary.

Daryl Mitchell-el