New York City's radical Councilman. (Insider Report).On May 28th, New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. Councilman Charles Barron Charles Barron is currently a Democratic New York City Councilmember. A former member of the Black Panthers, he is campaigning for Brooklyn Borough President. He contemplated running for mayor of New York City in the 2005 election, and in 2006 was a primary candidate for a seat in held a press conference to announce that he would introduce a resolution on June 26th to free all "political prisoners" in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . "We are here today because I am introducing a resolution which condemns the criminalization crim·i·nal·ize tr.v. crim·i·nal·ized, crim·i·nal·iz·ing, crim·i·nal·iz·es 1. To impose a criminal penalty on or for; outlaw. 2. To treat as a criminal. of political activity and expression as a method of political control, and abuses by the agents of the U.S. Government, including law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). which are designed to stifle political beliefs," Barron stated. A freshman on the council, Barron had established a reputation as an audacious radical long before taking office. During a March 31st interview on WHYY, Barron stated: "Some people say that, 'Charles, you're an ex-Black Panther.' I correct them and say, 'I'm still a Panther to my heart.' I am so proud that I was a part of the Black Panther movement....The Black Panther Party Black Panther Party (for Self-Defense) U.S. African American revolutionary party founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale (b. 1936) in Oakland, Calif. Its original purpose was to protect African Americans from acts of police brutality. was one of the best organizations fighting for people in grassroots neighborhood [sic] that this country ... has ever had." Shortly after his election, he issued a written statement declaring: "My entry into the white power structure doesn't mean I have to change who I am. I remain a black revolutionary Christian socialist.... The City Council is going to have to change, not me." Black revolutionary? Certainly. Socialist? No doubt. But "Christian"? Among the 150 "political prisoners" Councilman Barron mentioned by name were Jalil Muntaqin and Mumia Abu Jamal, both former Black Panthers convicted of murdering police officers. Back in 2000, in an address to the Socialist Scholars Conference, an annual confab of radical Marxist professors, Barron said he intended to vote for cop-killer Jamal for president of the U.S. And you thought it would be impossible to find a black politico to the left of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Charles Rangel! |
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