Quanell X
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Quanell X (; born Quanell Ralph Evans; December 7, 1970) is an activist and leader of the New Black Panther Nation in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
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.


Early life

Quanell Ralph Evans was born in
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,
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. Both his mother and father were members of the
Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
. After his parents divorced, Evans moved to Houston, where he lived with his grandmother, mother and younger brother in the South Acres neighborhood, where he attended Worthing High School.


Entry and ejection from the Nation of Islam

In September 1990, after hearing a riveting message by
Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, black supremacist, anti-white and antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and former singer who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI). Prior to joining the NOI, h ...
at the
Sam Houston Coliseum Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas. Early years Located at 801 Bagby Street in Downtown Houston, the Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall, which was a wooden structure that had been erected ...
, Evans was so inspired that he decided to join the
Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
. He became a student of
Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, black supremacist, anti-white and antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and former singer who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI). Prior to joining the NOI, h ...
. Evans, who would later be more commonly known by his pseudonym, Quanell X, was recognised by his peers for his intellect, and he was later chosen to be a spokesman for the organization. In July 1992, Quanell X found his brother Quinten Evans dead in his apartment. Quinten and three other people were victims of a homicide in Houston, Texas. In August 2009, three incarcerated men were charged with capital murder in the killings. It was around this same time that Quanell X met State Representative Ron Wilson (D-Houston) and was offered a job working for Representative Wilson as an aide. On January 28, 2008, Quanell X toured the
Holocaust Museum Houston The Holocaust Museum Houston is located in Houston's Museum District, in Texas. It is the fourth largest holocaust museum in the U.S. It was opened in 1996. The Boniuk Center houses Holocaust Museum Houston's Education Department, including f ...
. He gave a statement requesting forgiveness regarding questionable comments he had made about
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and their plight. Quanell stated “I seek the forgiveness of every survivor who has heard the words I've said. I did not say them in the proper manner to make the point I was trying to get across. I can see and understand how they might be utterly paranoid (of) a person such as myself Before becoming the National Chairman of the New Black Panther Nation, Quanell gave time to M.F.O.I. (Mental Freedom Obtains Independence) and The
New Black Panther Party The New Black Panther Party (NBPP) is an American black nationalist organization founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1989. Despite its name, the NBPP is not an official successor to the Black Panther Party.
under the leadership of
Khalid Abdul Muhammad Khalid Abdul Muhammad (born Harold Moore Jr.; January 12, 1948 – February 17, 2001) was an African-American Muslim minister and activist who became a prominent figure in the Nation of Islam and later the New Black Panther Party. After a ra ...
and was appointed as the leader of the organization. .


Community activist

After becoming the National Chairman of the New Black Panther Nation, Quanell X was committed to the work of the community and became a well-known Community Activist fighting against injustices and systemic oppression in the black and brown community. He facilitated countless press conferences, public demonstrations and assisted with numerous cases helping suspects safely surrender to law enforcement without incident. In 1999, at the trial of John William King for the 1998 slaying of
James Byrd, Jr. James Byrd Jr. (May 2, 1949 – June 7, 1998) was a black American man who was murdered by three white men, two of whom were avowed white supremacists, in Jasper, Texas, on June 7, 1998. Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King dragged him fo ...
, Quanell X spoke truth to power to the dismay of the judicial system and the proceedings were paused briefly. Jeffrey Battle is noted as one of the
Portland Seven The Portland Seven was a group of United States, American Islam, Muslims from the Portland, Oregon area arrested in October 2002 as part of an FBI operation attempting to close down a terrorism, terrorist cell. The seven were attempting to join al Q ...
and served as a bodyguard for Quanell X in Houston during the late 1990s. In October 2002 Quanell X traveled to
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, to attend a court hearing for
October Lewis October Martinique Lewis was a member of a terrorist group dubbed the Portland Seven, some members of which attempted to travel to Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 in order to aid the Taliban. Lewis was sentenced to three years in federal prison after ...
, Battle's ex-wife. Lewis was released at the hearing but Battle was convicted of sedition, and is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence On March 30, 2004 Quanell X took the podium at a Houston City Council meeting and demanded that
reparations for slavery Reparations for slavery is the application of the concept of reparations to victims of slavery and/or their descendants. There are concepts for reparations in legal philosophy and reparations in transitional justice. Reparations can take numer ...
be added to the council agenda which had previously been denied by mayor Bill White. The exchange escalated enough that Houston Police department was called and Quanell X was escorted from the chamber. In June 2004 Quanell X was charged with evading arrest which was later dismissed on appeal and the record was expunged with a letter of apology from the Houston Police Department. He was on the phone with a
Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...
assistant police chief ( Charles R. McClelland – HPD chief 2010–2016) when arranging the surrender of cop shooter Derrick Forney. Quanell X is credited with bringing closure to the March 2007 investigation murder of
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
student Tynesha Stewart He was the only person who was able to get a confession from Timothy Wayne Shepherd, the suspect in the murder. He also criticized the Harris County sheriff's decision not to search for Stewart's body in a
Humble, Texas Humble ( ) is a city located in the Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing oilfield in Texas. Humble ...
area landfill. Timothy Wayne Shepherd made a full confession to Quanell X and her body was later discovered to be unrecoverable due to the suspect burning her remains in two
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
pits.


Joe Horn protest

Quanell X led a rally in front of the
Pasadena, Texas Pasadena () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 151,950, making it the twentieth most populous city in the state of Texas, as well as the second-largest cit ...
, home of Joe Horn on December 2, 2007. Horn had shot and killed two men, Hernando Riascos Torres (AKA Miguel Antonio DeJesus) and Diego Ortiz, illegal immigrants and members of a burglary and fake ID ring from
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. The pair had broken into a neighbor's house. Horn, against repeated requests of the 911 operator not to confront the burglars, exited his home to confront them. On the 911 tapes Horn exclaims, "Move, and you're dead", followed by three shotgun blasts. Quanell X, who thought the shootings may have been racially motivated, approached Horn's house to speak to the media. There were several hundred counter-protesters present as well. The crowd of counter-protesters included bikers revving their motorcycles, many of them chanting, "USA," "Go home," and "We love our country; what do you love?" while waving placards, Texas flags, and US flags. Quanell X, while using a bullhorn could not be heard over the noise.  After more supporters arrived, the counter-protests continued and
Riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organize ...
were readied in case of violence between the two groups. Quanell X believed that due to the systemic oppression of black and brown people coupled with white privilege, Horn was not prosecuted. On June 25, 2008 the case was sent to a
grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
to decide whether or not Horn should go to trial. On June 30, 2008 Horn was cleared by a Harris County Grand Jury in the deaths of Ortiz and Diego after two weeks of testimony. Quanell eventually made a speech on another street away from Horn's house. The speech included chants of "black power" and the exhortation for blacks to realize that "white laws" were written to protect white people especially when committing crimes against black and brown people.


2008 to 2010

On January 24, 2008, Quanell X called for Chuck Rosenthal's resignation following the email scandal that showed that he had sent and received racist messages while working in his official capacity. Quanell X organized a rally to take place outside the county courthouse. In October 2008,
KTRK-TV KTRK-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Bissonnet Street ...
reported that Quanell X received $20,000 for “consultation fees” to facilitate protests on their behalf to bring awareness to the public and to generate publicity during the related Iberra trial. After being in police custody for several days, Murder suspect, Randy Sylvester Sr., would only confess to Quanell X and revealed the location of his missing children. Initially, Quanell X gave Sylvester the benefit of the doubt, but he was convinced otherwise when he went with Pasadena police to Sylvester’s  "dog house" (an apartment he maintained separately from his family's where Sylvester engaged in drugs and pornography.) Quanell X would not go into detail, but other things he learned in that apartment changed his mind about Sylvester. Quanell X convinced the suspect to "Do the right thing". With the Pasadena Police on site Sylvester led Quanell X  to a location just outside of
Pasadena, Texas Pasadena () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 151,950, making it the twentieth most populous city in the state of Texas, as well as the second-largest cit ...
in Houston, where the charred remains of the children were located.


After 2010

In March 2011 Quanell X traveled to
Cleveland, Texas Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area and Liberty County. The population was 7,471 at the 2020 census. History In 1854, a church and convent were built by Father Pet ...
to sound the alarm in the community citing the men and women of the community need to reengage with their own community, raising awareness of how this type of crime could have been committed against a child at 3am and no one reported it, not even the child’s parents. Quanell X further charged the community that the lack of concern in the community is unacceptable and spoke out against the 18 men allegedly involved in the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl. Quanell X was empathetic as he questioned how a child could be out at 3am and not in the safety of her own home under the guidance and protection of her parents citing “Where was the mother? Where was the father?" The Parents should be accountable for the safety and well-being of the child. On August 1, 2011, Quanell X pleaded with the residents of
inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...
neighborhoods to stop the "No Snitching" policy that institutes a bias of those who provide information to police after a series of crimes and murders have plagued the Third Ward area in recent weeks. He said, "The no-snitch policy does not work when you are forcing 'sic''.html"_;"title="sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''our_elders_and_our_women_and_our_children_live_like_hostages." In_July_2013,_Quanell_and_others_protested_and_effectively_blocked_Texas_State_Highway_288_over_the_ 'sic''.html"_;"title="sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''our_elders_and_our_women_and_our_children_live_like_hostages." In_July_2013,_Quanell_and_others_protested_and_effectively_blocked_Texas_State_Highway_288_over_the_State_of_Florida_v._George_Zimmerman#Jury_verdict">acquittal_ _ _ In_common_law_jurisdictions,_an_acquittal_certifies_that_the_accused_is_free_from_the_charge_of_an_offense,_as_far_as_criminal_law_is_concerned._The_finality_of_an_acquittal_is_dependent_on_the_jurisdiction._In_some_countries,_such_as_the_...
_in_the_Killing_of_Trayvon_Martin.html" ;"title="State_of_Florida_v._George_Zimmerman#Jury_verdict.html" "title="sic">'sic''.html" ;"title="sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''our elders and our women and our children live like hostages." In July 2013, Quanell and others protested and effectively blocked Texas State Highway 288 over the State of Florida v. George Zimmerman#Jury verdict">acquittal In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
in the Killing of Trayvon Martin">shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Not only did protesters successfully shut down Highway 288 but a large protest was also held in the affluent River Oaks neighborhood. Reports varied as to whether there were just under 1,000, or more than 1,000 or more than 1,000 people attended the River Oaks demonstration and a counter-demonstration drew an estimated crowd of 80 people. Despite potential threats of violence, both sides kept their peace. Over the past three decades, Quanell X has been influential in turning in several suspects to the police without incident. He alone has gotten confessions from suspects in high profile cases where the police department could not. On many occasions, while in custody, the suspects directly asked for Quanell X and refused to speak to anyone other than him [Quanell X] therefore the police departments were forced to call him in, in order to resolve the cases.


See also

* History of African-Americans in Houston


References


External links


Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quanell X 1970 births Activists for African-American civil rights Living people Former Nation of Islam members Activists from Houston Journalists from California Journalists from Texas Activists from Los Angeles American reparationists 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people