Read Online Panther Baby by Jamal Joseph - Free Book Online Page B

plight of th e Harlem Five. None was more powerful than Lumumba Shakur, the captain and the leader of the Harlem and Bronx branches of the Black Panther Party. “In order to get the Harlem Five back on the streets, brothers and sisters, we may have to take it to the streets. Frederick Douglass said, ‘Power only concedes to power.’ But we have to take the power of the people to the courtrooms, and if they don’t free these brothers, we have to take the courthouse down.” We all cheered and pumped our fists while chanting, “Power to the people. Free the Harlem Five!”
    After the rally, a group of fifty Panthers stood in military formation outside the school. I was now a section leader and stood in front of a group of fifteen young Panthers from the Bronx.
    Captain Lumumba walked up and inspected our formation. “Looking good, brothers and sisters,” he said. “You’re dismissed.” Th en Lumumba waved me over and asked me if I could open the Harlem Panther office on the way to school the next day.
    I stuck my chest out and said, “Of course.” He smiled, handed me the keys, and walked off.
    Th is was a great honor, I thought, to be given the trust and responsibility of opening the office. What Lumumba didn’t know was that my school was in the Bronx. Th ere was no way I would make it to school on time. What the hell? Playing hooky for the revolution and the Panthers seemed like an easy choice.
    By the time I got off my subway stop in the Bronx and jogged home, it was past midnight. I tiptoed in the house and almost made it to my room. Th en Noonie opened her bedroom door. “Why you coming in the house so late?”
    “ Th ere was a big rally and then the trains were running late. I didn’t want to call and wake you up.” Th e excuses streamed out.
    Noonie shook her head. “You think I can sleep when you’re out running the streets?”
    “I wasn’t in the street. I told you I was at a rally.”
    But Noonie was too frustrated to care about rallies versus streets. “Keep messing up. You hear me? Keep messing up.” And with that she closed her door. I knew I was on thin ice, but I decided to let the situation be. I took a quick shower, slipped on my pajamas, and climbed in bed.
    It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when I realized Noonie was shaking me. “What? Okay. I’m getting up. I’m going to school,” I said groggily as I hopped up.
    “ Th ere’s somebody banging on the door,” she said. “It’s four o’clock in the morning.” As my head cleared I heard the doorbell ringing and the sound of pounding on the front door.
    “ Th ere’s a gas leak!” a man’s voice roared from the other side of the door.
    “All right, I’m coming,” I yelled as I descended the flight of stairs that led to the door.
    “Gas leak,” the muffled voice said again.
    I pulled up my droopy pajama bottoms and peered through the peephole. Th ere were a dozen or more cops standing there with rifles, shotguns, and bulletproof vests. I stumbled back in shock like someone kicked the air out of my stomach. “ Th ere’s no gas leak in here,” I said. My adrenaline was pumping as I turned to head back up the stairs. My thoughts raced: Get dressed, you’re half naked and vulnerable. Get to your grandmother and protect her, make a phone call to the Panthers for help, dive out of the second-story back window and run!
    Th e door flew off the hinges as I reached the third step. Cops in SWAT gear tackled me and threw me against the wall. I was blinded by the glare of flashlight they shone in my eyes.
    “Eddie Joseph, you’re under arrest,” a cop shouted.
    “My name is Jamal,” I replied through clenched teeth.
    “ Th at’s all right,” the cop sneered. “We got a warrant for him too.” Th ey clamped on a pair of handcuffs so tightly that they started cutting into my wrists.
    Noonie peered over the top of the staircase. “What’s going on?” she demanded. “What are you doing to my son?”
    “He’s