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US Organization, or Organization Us, is a
Black nationalist Black nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that black people are a race, and which seeks to develop and maintain a black racial and national identity. Black nationalist activism revolves ar ...
group in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
founded in 1965. It was established as a community organization by Hakim Jamal together with
Maulana Karenga Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga (born Ronald McKinley Everett, July 14, 1941), previously known as Ron Karenga, is an American activist, author, and professor of Africana studies, best known as the creator of the pan-African and African-American hol ...
. It was a rival to the
Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Cali ...
in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...
. One of the early slogans was, "Anywhere we are US is." "US" referred to " sblack people" in opposition to their perceived oppressors ("them").


Foundation (1965)

After the assassination of
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...
in February 1965 and the Watts riots the following August, the Black Congress was founded as a community-rebuilding effort in Watts. Two BC members, Maulana Karenga and Hakim Jamal, began a discussion group focused on
black nationalist Black nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that black people are a race, and which seeks to develop and maintain a black racial and national identity. Black nationalist activism revolves ar ...
ideas, called the "circle of seven." Hakim Jamal, cousin of Malcolm X, created a magazine entitled ''US''. It was a pun on the phrase "us and them" and the standard abbreviation of "United States" and/or "United Slaves", referring to "Us Black People" as a nation. This promoted the idea of black cultural unity as a distinct national identity.Scott Brown, ''Fighting for US: Maulana Karenga, the US organization, and Black cultural nationalism'', NYU Press, 2003, p. 38 Jamal and Karenga founded the US Organization. They published a magazine ''Message to the Grassroot'' in 1966, in which Karenga was listed as chairman and Jamal as founder of the new group.


Aims

Its aim was to promote African-American cultural unity. Haiba Karenga and Dorothy Jamal, the wives of the two founders, ran the organization's "US School of Afroamerican Culture", to educate children with the group's ideals. However, their husbands soon differed about how to achieve the group's aims. Jamal argued that the ideas of Malcolm X should be the main ideological model for the group, while Karenga wished to root black Americans in
African culture African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
. Karenga became the main active force in the group, organizing projects such as teaching Swahili and promoting traditional African rituals. Jamal believed that these had no relevance to modern African-American life, so he left "US" to establish the rival Malcolm X Foundation, based in Compton, California. Karenga became the driving force behind "US." The group's ideals revolve around what Karenga called "the seven principles of African Heritage" which he summarized as "
communitarian Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding philosophy is based upon the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relati ...
philosophy": Unity (Umoja), Self-Determination (Kujichagulia), Collective Work and Responsibility (Ujima), Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa), Purpose (Nia), Creativity (Kuumba), and Faith (Imani).


Creation of Kwanzaa (1966)

Karenga's ideas culminated in the invention of the Kwanzaa festival in 1966, designed as the first specifically African-American holiday. It was to be celebrated over the Christmas/New Year period. Karenga said his goal was to "give Blacks an alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society." The holiday celebration is centered on rituals honoring the seven principles. For Karenga, a major figure in the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, the creation of the holiday also underscored an essential premise that "you must have a cultural revolution before the violent revolution. The cultural revolution gives identity, purpose and direction."


Rivalry with the Black Panthers (1969)

The Black Panthers and US had different aims and tactics but often found themselves competing for potential recruits. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
intensified this antipathy as part of its
COINTELPRO COINTELPRO (syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program; 1956–1971) was a series of covert and illegal projects actively conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltratin ...
operations, sending forged letters to each group which purported to be from the other group, so that each would believe that the other was publicly humiliating them. This rivalry came to a head in 1969, when the two groups supported different candidates to head the Afro-American Studies Center at the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
.Brown, Elaine. ''A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story.'' (New York: Doubleday, 1992) p. 184 According to Louis Tackwood, a former informant with the Los Angeles Police Department's Criminal Conspiracies Section and author of ''The Glass House Tapes'', Ronald Karenga was knowingly provided financial and material support by LAPD, with Tackwood as liaison, for US operations against the Black Panthers.


Gun battle at UCLA

On January 17, 1969, a gun battle between the groups on the UCLA campus ended in the deaths of two Black Panthers: John Huggins and Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter. This led to a series of retaliatory shootings that lasted for months. Later in 1969, two other Black Panther members were killed and one other was wounded by US members. A Memorandum of the Los Angeles field office of the FBI dated May 26, 1970, confirmed that the surge of conflict that left four Panthers dead suited their objectives and more would be encouraged: :"It is intended that US, Inc. will be discreetly and appropriately advised of the time and locations of BPP activities in order that the two organizations might be brought together and thus grant nature the opportunity to take her due course." The Panthers referred to the US organization as the "United Slaves", a name never actually used by members of US but which is often mistaken for the group's official name.


Conviction of Karenga (1971)

In 1971, Karenga, Louis Smith, and Luz Maria Tamayo were convicted of felony assault. Karenga was sentenced to one to ten years in prison on counts of felony assault and false imprisonment. Karenga was imprisoned at the California Men's Colony, where he studied and wrote on feminism,
Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...
, and other subjects. The US Organization fell into disarray during his absence and was disbanded in 1974. He was granted parole in 1975. Karenga has declined to discuss the convictions with reporters and does not mention them in biographical materials. During a 2007 appearance at
Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cur ...
, he again denied the charges and described himself as a former political prisoner.


References


External links


The Organization UsChildren of the RevolutionaryFBI Docs
Information about FBI files on the Us Organization {{DEFAULTSORT:Us Organization 1965 establishments in the United States African and Black nationalism in the United States African and Black nationalist organizations in North America Black Power COINTELPRO targets Organizations established in 1965