Scene4 Magazine | letters to the editor

Arthur, I remember this happened in the 60s. During that time I was a student at John Point Baptist high school, on 51st and State streets. I lived in the Robert Taylor homes, a low income housing project by Mayor Daley, the current mayor’s father.

There was a lot of racist violence going on about Reverend Martin Luther King’s death, the death of President John Kennedy and about Robert Kennedy being shot too. My community felt the government was behind all of this. The news was full of the war and so many young people dying; mostly men, worried about fighting in another country.

In 1967 I was a Black Panther. I was an anti-war activist, for they were taking many black men out of jail and sending them to the war with no training—just a gun and a uniform. I was fighting for justice, plus stopping the war. The Black Panthers consisted of non-violent activists and some revolutionaries for we had to protect our community center on 49th and State Street. Each morning, before school, I would go there to help feed the poor children and families. I felt proud to be a Panther; a non-violent activist for peace. I saw Bobby Seal at that center at a few meetings with Angela Davis. They would talk to us about the fight against the system and the war. A few times Angela would stop by.

On this one special night many Blacks came to the place we called the Circle. Bobby Seal and Angela Davis informed us that President Johnson had declared war. The Chicago police tried to start problems with Bobby Seal and Black Panthers— his trial with the Chicago 8 was all over the news and people for stopping the war came out in the thousands. We felt justice was wrongly served.

One Sunday morning in Grant Park, there was a rally. The city police came after Bobby Seal and his special followers, but Angela Davis got away. Each time they arrested Bobby Seal the city would show him being gagged. That became a racial problem not only for African Americans, but many other races.

All at once there was open war on Chicago, like we were a country out to destroy the world. There were beatings and shootings of young people and older people too. Many other cultures who were for stopping the war, like the hippies, if you were white; you were beaten like you were black. Robert Taylor homes (people) were all black back then—we were attacked almost everyday.

Then it was the big ”N” word, Arthur, there were so many bloody rages, I can’t begin to tell you, The Big Ten were arrested a lot, but that didn’t stop the movement—many were hurt, cut, beat, you name it. That was when Chicago began a black hippie culture. Every walk of life was brother to brother, family to family. That one city would not be defeated.

At night the Chicago police would encircle the Robert Taylor homes arresting people for no reason. Their famous words “What this you say, boy? or “Negro?” If you showed anger they would arrest you, Arthur, the outrage against the movement was unbelievable. On the Southside, they raided the Black Panthers Community Center saying that is was a revolutionary place and they were looking for weapons. They said Bobby Seal and Angela Davis had weapons to fight the system and that was a lie. At my school young people were raided by the police, beaten and taken off to jail for wearing a red hat! That meant they were Panthers and yes, they did raid the Eugene M. McCarthy offices, and that was news too.

Plus, during the Chicago Democratic Convention everyone was talking about the police blocking off the Southside and Westside where most blacks were living - to stop us from coming to the Convention to see or hear Robert Kennedy speak. As Blacks we felt Robert Kennedy would help us to have rights. The voices of the people got weaker after Robert Kennedy died. What were we going to do?

Many of the Black leaders came together to talk to Bobby Seal to refrain from the violence and threats that would make it harder for us low Blacks on the pole of freedom. The louder the Big Ten got the more the redneck system would bring us and them down. There is much hurt and death to promote a non-violent movement, to exercise freedom of speech.—to voice your concern about the future of our country.

We can tell the story, if we must relive the pain; let it be for the good of mankind. There are some in our government who have hearts…let not your job be your only focus. Step out of the comfort zone and get involved with reality that we are fighting a losing war like the one back in the 60s. Our sons and daughters are coming home, shot up and broke up in their minds from the scenes of death. Many of my friends have been lost there in Iraq, a country that did not invite us. Your brother, Bobby Thomas loves you and misses you. I wish I was there just for a day to walk with you and talk of freedom and how we can continue to fight violence here at home in the good old USA.
Bob Thomas

read Arthur Kanegis' and Rob Cochran's article