Published on Apr 12, 2013
Geronimo ji Jaga Pratt was one of the longest held political prisoners in the US. A former leader of the Black Panther Party, he was imprisoned from 1970 to 1997 for a crime he did not commit. This documentary was shot while Geronimo was still behind bars. In it, you can hear him tell his story, about growing up in the segregated South, serving two tours in Vietnam, how the FBI framed him, and how he viewed the situation of Black people at the time.
Through an exclusive interview with Geronimo at San Quentin prison, archival footage of the Black Panthers, family photos, and scenes from demonstrations for his release, a warm and vivid portrait of Geronimo is sketched.
This film was produced in 1988 as part of a campaign for Geronimo's freedom. It would be almost ten more years, after he had spent 27 years in prison, that a judge finally vacated his sentence, The prosecution had not disclosed the extent to which a key witness against Pratt, Julius Butler, provided information to the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department. An appeals court ruled this fact to be "'favorable' to the defendant, 'suppressed' by a law enforcement agency, and 'material' to the jury's decision to convict" in 1999 and upheld the decision, freeing him.
Geronimo died in 2011, while living in Tanzania.
27 minute color video
Winner of awards at the National Educational Film & Video Festival, the Marin County Film & Video Festival, the Atlanta International Film & Video Festival and the Athens International Film & Video Festival.
Produced and edited by Lisa Rudman
Executive producers Lisa Rudman, PCTV and the Committee to Free Geronimo Pratt
To learn more about political prisoners in the United States, check out the Jericho Movement (http://www.thejerichomovement.com/), Freedom Archives (http://www.freedomarchives.com/) and also material available on the Kersplebedeb website (http://kersplebedeb.com/posts/categor...).
We are dealing with the most treacherous and EVIL people who ever walked the planet. Therefore, we can't expect any kind of PEACE and JUSTICE as long as we are under their control. Of this fact, I'm CERTAIN!
When we finally neutralize their lapdogs of color, we can make REAL PROGRESS!
All POWER TO OUR PEOPLE
The truth is my guiding principle, and I shall not ignore it.
It gives me an innerpeace, when confusion is all around me.
It reminds me to relax, focus and concentrate, before I speak in anger.
It restores my sanity and create strategies to grow spiritually.
t guides my thought pattern so that I don't look like an egotistical fool.
Even though I face an absurd amount of criticisms, I will take them in stride.
Because I know my mission in life and the TRUTH is:
life isn't just about me, it's about setting a GREAT example for our children to follow!
Based upon the crooked judges, POLICE CORRUPTION, FORCED FALSE confessions, CIA planting drugs in Black neighborhoods, etc., I will say that John Legend made a powerful point at the Oscar Awards in 2015. I worked in prisons and saw the TRUTH at a closer angle. One crooked judge was even sending people to DEATH row who were INNOCENT!
As a young spiritual child who went hungry because of extreme poverty, I tried to see as much good in the world as I could imagine. With every smile from a passing stranger, I would say to myself that the world was basically filled with good people who wanted to live life in peace and harmony. This type of thinking led to confusion because I discovered that a monstrous evil existed in certain portions of my world and I use to pray every second of every minute while I walked through this world on my way to school each day. There were young men living in my neighborhood that were filled with hate and it appeared that they were victims of parental neglect. They would see me walking and see an opportunity to vent their self-hatred onto me. But being as small as I was, I could outrun almost anyone when I was really scared. If I had eaten breakfast and finished it off with an apple, I was even more uncatchable. As poor as I was, I’ve always wondered what the hell could these guys want from me and why the creator allowed these things to happen to me?
I have wondered many times why the almighty creator put me on this earth. During these difficult and somewhat depressing times, I have come up with the answer. I was put here because I have a mission in life that fits into the creator's plan. That plan consists of making the world aware that it is on a self-destructive course. A course so deadly and so pervasive that most of the world’s population is on a journey of no return. I say a journey of no return because the human condition is worse than it has ever been in this world. We have children killing other children. Parents abusing children. Childcare agencies neglecting children. Institutions exposing children to adult monsters that rape, and rob them of their innocence. In essence, all these tragedies as noted above are planting the seeds of destruction into our children's fragile minds. Rebellious youths have many good reasons to destroy the very culture that made them because American culture doesn’t value every human life. In addition it must be mentioned that anyone with an honest outlook on life will know that a culture that exists for the benefit of a select few (the rich) is destined for failure.
This is a culture that believes that people of color are inferior when all evidence contradicts this belief. This culture has told so many lies about us that it has dug itself into a psychopathological trap that is being manifested in their racist offspring. The Columbine School shooting in Colorado and other racist killings are evidence of this sick and self-defeating trap; a trap that will create a new breed of uncontrollable demons of destruction.
There is a prophetic saying that the fruit doesn’t fall far from its tree and the attitude of our present day murderers in schools, workplaces, homes, and other places prove that injustice and greed have given birth to new monsters of American society. These hate-filled creatures control the media, corporations, government agencies, courts, schools and politics in general. They dwell on racist stereotypes to fuel the fire of racial hatred and they could care less about most of the people who inhabits this land. There is ample evidence that these demons of destruction also feel that the people of color are inferior. The Katrina hurricane survivors' catastrophe, which is still ongoing, proves that point very clearly.
The purpose of this short article is to alert the African-American (aka Afrikan) to the tactics of the controlling culture vultures and reveal traditional habits of these oppressors. White supremacy, a culture out for blood, is a system that feeds off the psychosis of the EVIL, FEARFUL, RACIST and GREEDY mind. This sick systematic setup would be nothing without the pompous manipulation of feeble minds that crave material wealth. Therefore, today, in this era of the unconscious, myopic and feeble minds, the Afrikan has been put under the spell of materialism. In America you are nothing if you don't own property. With this spell of material possessions comes a despiritualization that degrades the human condition because materials (aka personal property) has become more important than a human life. This attitude is what promotes selfishness, mistrust, and greed. All of the aforementioned attitudinal disorders creates jealousy, hatred and violence. These factors feed white supremacy.
Every since the inception of Afrikan slavery, Europeans have been manipulating the mind of the Black man and woman to the point that many of us have become generic human beings. We have lost our spirituality, our civilization, the proper nutritional customs, our history and our sense of community. What is the cause of this mental setback? First, we have accepted technology as a substitute for social progress. Secondly, when we began to equate material possessions as a symbol for success and we put sophisticated technology in control of many aspects of our lives. Finally, cultural traditions, such as extended family, a support system for our poor, elderly, handicap, and the wayward youth have lost their importance to many of us. Bottom line: We allowed western traditions/thoughts to create deficiencies in our community and it has engendered the disintegration of the family, the community, and this nation.
Added THOUGHT: Only the strongest can survive the plurality of IGNORANCE and the epidemic of emotionally disturbed and numb people. The TRUTH will guide you on your path in this life and know the TRUTH does exist in YOU!
Re: Geronimo Pratt is a Soldier Who Stood Tall! Howard Peters III was promoted from one position to the next as a reward for being a good servant to his master, Governor Jim Edgar. They know who to pick!
Re: Geronimo Pratt is a Soldier Who Stood Tall! When I arrived at the Illinois Department of Corrections Training Academy, I was an expert in Political Science and I used my skills to get elected by a landslide as the President of the Class. Even though I was the most influential person in my class, I still felt the racism of the Academy and the City of Springfield, Illinois.
Illinois had more prisons and work release centers than can be imagined! They are everywhere in the State of Illinois!
