A Member Of Bro. Malcolm X’s O.A.A.U., Original Black Panther Party Leader, Black Liberation Army Veteran & Citizen Of The Republic Of New Afrika — Baba Sekou Odinga — Has Joined The Ancestors!

Todd Steven Burroughs
4 min readJan 13, 2024

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UPDATED INFO:

Cut-and-pasted from the “Free Mumia” Listserv:

“Our hearts are shattered. An extraordinary, visionary, always-growing freedom fighter, and profound peacemaker, Baba Sekou led the way and challenged us to do better till the very end. It is difficult to imagine how to go on, but our pain can be eased by the knowledge that he is finally at a much-deserved rest, blessed by Allah with a rich life and extraordinary legacy. Baba, we will miss you so! — From All Of Your Comrades In Revolution”

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baba Sekou Transitioned on January 12, 2024

Janazah (Funeral) on Sunday, January 14, 2024

(we will inform of the time as soon as possible)

Masjid At Taqwa
1188 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11216

Sekou Odinga was a globally recognized Black liberation activist, member of Malcolm X’s Organization of Afro-American Unity, founding member of both the New York City chapter and the International Section of the Black Panther Party, and former US political prisoner who survived 33 years of state captivity before his release in 2014.

Prosecuted as one of the “Panther 21” in New York City, Odinga was a prominent historical figure, having been featured on Democracy Now, Black Power Media, The Activist News Network and in numerous documentaries, concerts, mass public events, and major news outlets.

In addition to being featured in the widely circulated social movement texts Can’t Jail the Spirit (2002) and Hauling Up the Morning: Writings & Art by Political Prisoners & Prisoners of War in the U.S. (1990), Odinga published his writing in Look for Me in the Whirlwind: From the Panther 21 to 21st-Century Revolutions (PM Press, 2017) and Black Power Afterlives: The Enduring Significance of the Black Panther Party (Haymarket Books, 2020).

A survivor of state torture and the FBI’s notorious Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO), Sekou Odinga is both celebrated and admired by freedom and justice movements worldwide, exemplifying persistence, courage, and principled adherence to freedom struggle under the most repressive circumstances imaginable.

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THE MALCOLM X COMMEMORATION COMMITTEE*

973 202 0745; 917 346 8142

“I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people,

and then penalize them for not being able to stand under its weight…”

Malcolm X

January 13, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MALCOLM MOUNTAIN TALL…MXCC REMEMBERS SEKOU ODINGA!

We called him ‘The General’

When he spoke, we all listened.

He moved with authority.

He stood immovable tree trunk strong!

The Malcolm X Commemoration Committee is devastated to learn of the passing of our most beloved People’s Warrior Sekou Odinga, who left us on January 12th.

He was in his 79th winter….

Sekou epitomized how Malcolm X so insurgently influenced that amazing generation with his timetraveling maroon magic!

A lead organizer for that legendary NY chapter of the Black Panther Party, and when forced underground, he continued to engage in the international arena helping to take the Party abroad to Algeria and to ultimately becoming a lead armed combatant in the Party’s daunting answer to the Underground Railroad…The Black Liberation Army!

Don’t believe us?

Ask Assata.

Her liberation does not happen with him!

A pioneer in the New Afrikan Independence Movement, and after enduring 33 years in captivity, he became a riveting steadfast champion for the release of his comrades still in prison upon his 2014 release!

An amazing father…An inspiring father figure to legions including to this seasoned foot soldier upon his release…

A supreme Balagoon….beloved military leader…
We loved him to the fullest…

Sekou embodied the commitment and courage to dare to do all those things for our freedom that we were clearly shown that we must do.

Like those touched personally by Malcolm, his legendary courage was grounded by an unshakable faith like the greatest of Black revolutionaries, and that faith saw him through the horror and hurt he bravely endured once he was captured, including the loss of a son, Yaki, as a consequence of his commitment!

He was Malcolm mountain tall and we adored him…

We encircle our beloved Dequi Kioni Sadiki, our cherished former chair, who drove the campaign that ultimately secured his release like a tank and rode with him side by side inseparably for our freedom fighters release with her own bejeweled ferocity.
We encircle his children and grandchildren in the ways of those gone on before us with love and healing for as long as our breaths dance…

Long live Sekou Odinga!…

May we savor his sage sugared memory!

May we cultivate his fearless and total commitment!

May we harness cradling the whirlwind his undying and courage and faith!

May we answer the challenges of this moment standing strong on his mighty shoulders!

Carry on the Tradition!

X as in Malcolm is the Answer!

Zayid Muhammad

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Todd Steven Burroughs
Todd Steven Burroughs

Written by Todd Steven Burroughs

Public Historian, scholar, journalist, author, comicbook geek.

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