Sekou Odinga

A memoir of a man and a movement, here is a defining and never-before-shared contribution to the story of Black Power Freedom Fighter is the searing, urgent story of an elder statesman of Black political activism--whose story has never been fully told until now. A recently freed political prisoner who served a thirty-three-year sentence, Sekou Odinga is the co-founder of the New York Black Panther Party chapter and the person responsible for liberating fellow Black revolutionary Assata Shakur from prison in 1973, allowing her to escape to Cuba--where she still lives. Written in collaboration with celebrated author asha bandele, Freedom Fighter explores Odinga's political awakening, his years in struggle as a member of the Black Panther Party in the United States and Algeria, his role in the Black Liberation Army, and his decade living underground as a soldier fighting to end America's war against Black people--before his capture, torture, and imprisonment by the U. S. government. Odinga's story excavates some of the most important Black-led organizing and political strategies of our lifetime, which laid the foundation for radical Black organizing, advocacy, and culture for decades to come. For listeners of the Mother Country Radicals podcast and readers of Albert Woodfox's National Book Award finalist Solitary, this biography of a man and a movement is required reading for all who seek to truly understand the modern age of Black struggle.

In 1969, 21 members of the militant New York branch of the Black Panther Party were rounded up and indicted on multiple charges of violent acts and conspiracies. The membership of the NY 21, which includes the mother of Tupac Shakur, is largely forgotten and unknown. Their legacy, however--reflected upon here in this special edition--provides essential truths which have remained largely hidden.