PART III: "On the Black Liberation Army"

By 1974-75, the fighting capacity of the Black Liberation Army had been destroyed, but the BLA as a politico-military organization had not been destroyed. Since those imprisoned continued escape attempts and fought political trials, which forged ideological and political theory concerning the building of the Black Liberation Movement and revolutionary armed struggle.

The trials of Black Liberation Army members sought to place the State on trial, to condemn the oppressive conditions from which Black people had to eke out an existence in racist America. These trials went on for several years upon which the Courts and police used to embellish their position as being guardians of society. The State media publications projected the Black Liberation Army trials as justice being served to protect Black people from terrorism; to prevent these terrorists from starting racial strife between Black and white people; to protect the interest and lives of police who are responsible for the welfare of the oppressed communities, etc.

The captured and confined BLA members were deemed a terrorist, a criminal, a racist, but never a revolutionary, never a humanitarian, never a political activist. But the undaunted revolutionary fervor of captured BLA members continued to serve the revolution even while imprisoned. By placing the State on trial the BLA was more able to expose the contradictions between the philosophy of the State to protect the rights of all people, and the actions of the State which are to only protect the rights of the capitalist-class bourgeoisie.

The BLA trials sought to undermine the State attempts to play-off the BLA as an insignificant group of crazies, and therefore the trials of BLA members became forums to politicize the masses of what the struggle and revolution is all about. The trials served to organize people to support those being persecuted and prosecuted by the State, as a means from which the oppressed masses would be able to protect themselves from future persecution. In this manner, the trials of the Black Liberation Army voiced the discontent, dissatisfaction, and disenfranchisement of Black people in racist America.

By late 1975, the Black Liberation Army established a Coordinating Committee, which essentially comprised of imprisoned members and outside supporters gained during the years of political prosecution in the Courts. The first task of the Coordinating Committee was to distribute an ideological and political document depicting the theoretical foundations of the political determination of the Black Liberation Army. This document was entitled, "A MESSAGE TO THE BLACK MOVEMENT - A Political Statement from the Black Underground." The Message to the Black Movement, put forth several political premises from which the BLA should be noted as a revolutionary political-military organization fighting for national liberation of Afrikan people in the United States.

In late 1975 and 1976, the Coordinating Committee distributed the first BLA newsletter, an organizational publication for the purpose of forging ideological and political clarity and unity between BLA members captured and confined in various parts of the country. The BLA newsletter begun to serve as a means from which BLA members would voice their political understanding of the national liberation struggle, and in this way, for the entire organized body to share in ideas and strengthen our collective political determination as a fighting force. Over the years, the newsletter have served to help develop cadres inside and outside of prisons, and broaden the capacity from which the BLA could continue to serve the national liberation struggle.

In 1976, members of the Black Liberation Army launched a national campaign to petition the United Nations concerning the plight of political prisoners of war, and conditions of the U.S. penal system, in behalf of the prison movement. The U.N. Prisoners Petition Campaign, initiated and directed by members of the BLA, virtually revitalized the prison movement across the country, and forged impetus to the present Human Rights campaign to the United Nations. It was the U.N. Prisoners Petition Campaign that first called for an international investigation into the conditions of U.S. prisons, and called for the release of political prisoners of war to a non-imperialist country that would accept them. (Consequently, this year another national campaign have been launched entitled - "National POW Amnesty Campaign").

Lastly, in 1976-77, the Coordinating Committee distributed what had been termed a Study Guide to captured members of the BLA as a means to consolidate the ideological perspectives from which the BLA would provide political leadership to the national liberation struggle.

Since 1974, to the present, the BLA have continuously provided ideological and political perspectives within the Black Liberation Movement, and in this way gave leadership to the movement. Although, the Black Liberation Army is still lacking in principle support by progressive forces throughout the country. The primary aspect of lack of support is the fact the BLA still calls for the need of armed struggle, and the building of a revolutionary armed front.

The Black Liberation Army is a politico-military organization, which in the last five years have served to develop the political mass movement to merge with the political determination of the Black underground. The merger is based upon the development of a national politico-military strategy in unity with the aspirations and strategic initiatives of the various progressive political organizations throughout the country. Consistently, the Black Liberation Army has called for the development of the Black Liberation Front or Black United Front, a united front of Black revolutionary nationalists, establishing the political determination of the class and national liberation struggle towards independence, and for the freeing of the land. At this stage in struggle, there are several areas of progress being formulated that may serve to strengthen, consolidate, and mobilize the national liberation struggle under the aspirations of the oppressed Black masses.

The building of the Afrikan National Prisoners Organization is a positive step on which various progressive Black forces can develop principled working relationships, alliances, and coalitions, and further build towards the Black Liberation Front. In the same regards, the development of the National Black Human Rights Coalition, provides a means from which a greater number of Black organizations and groups representing oppressed Black masses can be educated, organized, and mobilize to confront racist, capitalist-imperialism, in conjunction to the heightened struggles in Namibia and Azania, and human rights violations here in North America. But it is imperative that these new formations develop a struggle line that supports the need for armed struggle to be waged in the United States, and therefore support of the oldest revolutionary armed force in North America - The Black Liberation Army.

It is practically 1980, and the Black Liberation Army (the Black underground) have been in existence for over ten years. The last ten years have been hard years of struggle, we have lost many Comrades, we have made many mistakes, but we have never lied nor compromised our principles in struggle. The growth and development of the BLA depends on the growth and development of the entire class and national liberation struggle. The means from which the BLA can build revolutionary armed struggle is based upon the willingness of the oppressed masses to support the BLA, to call for the BLA to act, to build areas of support in the work place, in the home, and the social places of entertainment, but most of all amongst the political organizations and groups that the oppressed masses are affiliated with.

It is essential and necessary that the general mass and popular movement understand the need for revolutionary armed struggle/forces to exist, and that the existence of the Black Liberation Army is the criteria from which the class and national liberation struggle will be preserved, as the socio-economic conditions of U.S. monopoly-capitalism worsens, and as racist repression intensifies.

As mentioned earlier, another national political campaign has been launched, this new campaign calls for the release and/or exchange of captured members of the Black underground and other revolutionary forces across the country. But it must be understood the principal objective of this campaign is to also build support of revolutionary armed struggle, employing international law and politics (specifically, Protocols of the Geneva Accords) concerning the existence of political prisoners of war in the United States. Thereby, supporting the release of political prisoners of war brings understanding to how these revolutionaries came to be imprisoned, and the need for them to be released, as well as, the need for revolutionary armed struggle.

This is the challenge in uniting the mass and popular movement under the auspices of building the Black Liberation Front, can only be objectively realized by supporting the re-emergence of the Black underground, the Black Liberation Army.

* SUPPORT THE BLACK LIBERATION ARMY *

* BUILD THE NATIONAL POW AMNESTY CAMPAIGN *

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(Addendum: Since the original writing of this brief historical account of the BPP-BLA, Assata Shakur was liberated, and BLA soldiers were captured during Nyack Brinks armored car expropriation).

(Originally written on September 18, 1979, & printed in Arm The Spirit, the first national revolutionary prisoners newspaper).

DISTRIBUTED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY