Republic of New Afrika
Republic of New Afrika
Republic of New Afrika history
Also at this time Chokwe Lumumba became vice-president of the Republic of New Afrika, an organization formed to coordinate the efforts of individual activists, Black nationalists, and grassroots groups of diverse philosophies. The RNA was staunchly anti-capitalist, sought reparations for slavery, and aimed at giving African Americans control over their lives and land. Although the RNA drew support from prominent civil rights figures like Congressman Julian Bond and comedian Dick Gregory, it became a key target of the FBI’s Cointelpro program, a system of illegal government subversion intended to destroy groups perceived to be a threat to the USA. They followed him throughout the country, attempted to recruit a cousin to spy on him, and kept constant watch on his mother’s house.
In September of 1971, Chokwe Lumumba was arrested during a citywide sweep after the murder of a Detroit police officer. While he was being booked, police officers referred to his involvement with the RNA saying, “We’re going to send you all back to Africa in boxes with African names on them”. Lumumba’s younger brother, then 13, was arrested and held in jail but never charged. Police have made a point of informing Lumumba’s landlords of his past political activities.
In 1972 the Chokwe Lumumba purchased land near Jackson, Mississippi, as the geographic base for the movement. The RNA met with discrimination, threats, harassment, roadblocks, and arrests by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Lumumba took responsibility for confronting and negotiating with theses agencies and managed to convince the FBI to order the removal of roadblocks preventing access to the land. Local police and the FBI mounted an assault on a house that was serving as RNA headquarters in Jackson. In 1973, Mississippi police officers stopped Lumumba and his wife while they were out for a walk; he recalls, “They put a shotgun in my gut and asked, ‘Are you the second-in-charge of the black-ass niggers?’”