ANYONE with interests in the Black civil rights movements as well as the battles that black people have fought in the United States of America will surely know of the Black Panther Party (BPP).
The BPP was founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale as a Revolutionary Black Nationalist and Socialist organisation that was active in the US until 1982.
After the party disbanded, the New Black Panther Party was formed in 1989 and is currently led by HashimNzinga.
Although there have been rifts between the founders and members of the original BPP who have vehemently stated that the NBPP are of no affiliation to them due to differing ideologies, the NBPP claims to uphold the legacy of the original organisation.
The NBPP has been labelled as racist extremists and have come under scrutiny for numerous acts, including the role they played shortly after the killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012. The organisation placed a bounty of US$10,000 for the “legal citizen’s arrest” of George Zimmerman (who took the teenager’s life).
Well, would you believe me if I told you that we have a member of the NBPP living among us in St. Lucia? (Well, most of the time as he also resides in the US where he was born).
Darryl Allmond is a freedom fighter from New Jersey but splits his time between St. Lucia and Brooklyn NY. The 62-year-old is black and proud and although The VOICE only just missed him in his Panther uniform, that did not stop him from speaking his mind (in a radical way) on issues faced by blacks in the US and St. Lucia.
A little word to the racially sensitive, this interview contains ideologies that don’t apply to The VOICE.
The VOICE: What is your role within the New Black Panther Party and what is it that the party stands for?
Allmond: I am a South East Regional Chief and I have two silver stars on my uniform. We help and defend people who cannot defend themselves. We stand for those who can’t and we speak for those who can’t speak. We try to help our community and children and we like to provide for ourselves as black men are supposed to do and not rely upon other races, unless they owe us something …then we collect.
The VOICE: How did you become affiliated with the NBPP?
Allmond: I grew up around the Black Panther Party and the New Black Militias back in New Jersey, so growing up, I was always around that as a young kid. I’m also affiliated with the Black Liberation Army which I also grew up around and members of that era which included Tupac Shakur’s mom (Afeni Shakur), so I’ve been around the black militias and black militaries for a long time. My role is considered as the Chief or the white man may consider me as a Two Star General.
The VOICE: Looking at the issue of what is being labelled “Black Genocide” in the US, where does the NBPP stand?
Allmond: We have always stood for our people and try to help our people, so we have always been against this black genocide that’s been going on for over 400 years. But a lot of our people are still asleep, and some of them just don’t want to wake up. But the ones who do, are trying to wake ‘em up. We always have our arms open to embrace our black men, women and children, our people of colour. As you know, black is the original colour which has been grafted down to five other colours and the Caucasian is the weakest form.
The VOICE: So what is the NBPP doing to quell this issue?
Allmond: We do protest over this abuse by police and in some cases, we even defend in situations with black on black crime. It’s all really so uncalled for because there are children getting hurt in these senseless situations. We try to aid by making citizens arrests to bring these perpetrators to justice.
The VOICE: Trump…Need I say anymore?
Allmond: I have my personal views of Trump and let’s just say I don’t like him. When he started running, we had a lot of white supremacists that were supporting him more and the things that I see him doing, especially with immigration, he’s breaking up families, separating mothers and fathers from their children and you have people from abroad who actually built the United States and brought it up on their backs. I disagree with the actions he’s taking against people who try to come to America to build new lives and to keep their families together, as well as to get away from a lot of things that are going on in their country that they cannot function properly under. I still feel as though him dealing with Russia and all these other countries that are hostile and not really friends with America, that’s just undermining the government; it’s like they have something on Trump and he’s dancing to their music.
The VOICE: With that said, what do you think with the current situation in St. Lucia where it would seem that the Prime Minister just refuses to listen to St. Lucians?
Allmond: I think the people are right to be angry and I stick with them because the way that I see it, a white man can’t tell or have the experience of things that a black man and woman have experienced through the years. People whose mothers, fathers and kids have been beaten, raped and tortured, filing false charges on them, just to break them. I see it as modern-day slavery but he’s just using the system. If it’s a black community, you should have one of your own who could understand your real needs and will be willing to help. The people of St. Lucia don’t need that; they want someone who will support and help the people. There is a lot of poverty here and people need help so instead of just taking and taking, give back.
The VOICE: One of the gripes of the people is that they feel that their land, culture and everything St. Lucian is being sold underneath them and no matter how much they cry and shout, they are being ignored. What do you think they should do about that?
Allmond: I think the people should protest and take actions in the High Hourt and if it doesn’t settle there, it should be taken to the international courts. In the United States where a lot of land was taken from people for hundreds of years, it’s been given back.
The VOICE: Earlier on you mentioned that black people are still asleep. Do you think that in St. Lucia especially black people are emancipated?
Allmond: Some, but not all. I can only cut it in pieces; I can’t say all are still asleep, that wouldn’t be a fair statement.
….Rochelle;….you been had!!…….and if I was sitting at a bar with you, there would have been some superlatives coming your way….