College Ave. 1973--check out the two billboards
Photo-G. Martin

DON'T FORGET 1968:  Jeff's faceplate post of this link to the Black Panthers was a deep dark wake up of old memories....here's the link Serious Black Panther Protests  The Black Panthers scared the crap out of the 'establishment'. Scared them so badly that J. Edgar killed them all in their sleep.  

And the Irony compared to today...You see this fanatic NRA dominating the national gun agenda, even though only 1% of the country are members of this group.  But they are media buffoons, trying to keep people scared that they need guns to protect their households.  They are like Glen Beck, just make up anything that sells.

But in 1968, Black Panthers were being killed, in their houses, in front of their families.  Fred Hampton RaidWhere was the NRA then.  Yeah, the Panthers scared whitey, they were packing their M1 rifles in downtown oakland and standing guard to protect themselves for good reason.  So why didn't the NRA come out and endorse them exercising their rights?  We could debate what those rights are, but, despite the NRA's fanatic media double-speak of today, the Panthers were right on--they needed self-defense, but no one took up their cause from the gun lobby then...what's up with that?

No one should every forget 1968--Martin Luther King was assassinated, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, the Tet offensive kicked our ass in Vietnam like we never knew it could be kicked.

After Bobby Kennedy was killed, Nixon won the election, and since the Kennedy would have won, and would have ended the war in Vietnam, Nixon made all kinds of noise about ending it.  His opponent, Hubert Humphrey who took Kennedy's place, did not come out and say he would end the war until 3 weeks before the election.

Nixon kept the war going another 7 years.  12 million dead Asians, 58,000 dead americans.  Bell Helicopter, and the rest of the military industry, $billions and $billions.

No, no one should forget 1968, and if you don't know about it, you should study it.  There should be a college degree on 1968.

College Ave.  1973--Read the two billboards

Photo, G. Martin

So, 5 years later, I was living in Oakland, right off College Avenue by the Dryers Ice Cream Factory, (where their tasting room is now on Chabot road), and things had really mellowed out.  Bobby Seale came knocking on my door one day.  Out of jail, and running for mayor.  I became a vigorous supporter.  He had decided to try another approach for the Panther agenda, of supporting and protecting black people and the rest of us too.

The title picture on this is a photograph of College Ave right before my street, it kind of summed up the spirit of 1973.

Next door were my buddy's.  Russel Little, and Robin, Willie Wolfe. They used to practice marshall arts in the backyard.  I lived in a second story flat.  I knew them pretty well, they were cool.  Russel and I used to drive together to Laney College.

Well, later, he was convicted of killing Oakland school superintendent Marcus Foster at his car, with several other members of the Symbionese Liberation Army at his side.  He maintains today he didn't do it, and finished his sentence years ago.

But all those people next door will killed in by the LA SWAT team in May 17, 1974 in Inglewood.  I was working that Friday afternoon at the L.A. Re-nonsense Faire (AKA Renaissance Faire).  All my Oakland neighbors chose to die that day in


And where was the NRA in 1968?  What if all these things didn't happen, Martin Luther King was around, Bobby Kennedy was president, we didn't kill almost all the Black Panthers?  Well, like I said, 1968 is a college major waiting!

Have things improved?  Well, yes, it's way better that there is national outrage about pepper spraying college kids in 2011, while it was a loud silence about the deadly harassment the Black Panthers endured in the 60's