Kuwasi Balagoon was
a participant in the Black Liberation struggle from the 1960s until
his death in prison in 1986. A member of the Black Panther Party and
defendant in the infamous Panther 21 case, Balagoon went underground
with the Black Liberation Army (BLA). Balagoon was unusual for his
time in that he combined anarchism with Black nationalism, broke the
rules of sexual and political conformity, took up arms against the
white supremacist State—all the while never shying away from
critiquing the movements' weaknesses. The first part of this book
consists of contributions by those who knew or were touched by
Balagoon; the second consists of court statements and essays by
Balagoon himself, including several documents which have never been
published before. The third section consists of excerpts from letters
Balagoon wrote while in prison. A final section includes a historical
essay by Akinyele Umoja and an extensive intergenerational roundtable
discussion of the significance of Balagoon’s life and thoughts
today.
