Since the Angola 3 News project began in 2009, we have conducted interviews focusing on many different aspects of the Black Panther Party and the organization's legacy today, including: Remembering Safiya Bukhari, COINTELPRO and the Omaha Two, The Black Panther Party and Revolutionary Art, Dylcia and Cisco on Panthers and Independistas, "We Called Ourselves the Children of Malcolm," Medical Self Defense and the Black Panther Party, and The Black Panther Party's Living Legacy.
(PHOTO: On April 17, 2012, Professor Bell joined Amnesty International and the A3 Coalition on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge demanding justice for the Angola 3.)
Angola 3 News: How does your new law journal article, A Prescription for Healing a National Wound , relate to and ultimately build upon your previous two articles, Perception Profiling and Activism Unshackled ?
Angela A. Allen-Bell: The three articles share a common thread and that is that the Angola 3 case was the inspiration for each of the articles. The Angola 3 case is a fusion of complexities, including race, justice, corrections practices, abuse of power, official misconduct and politics. Each of the three articles explores a different theme in the case.
The 2012 publication, Perception Profiling, explores the constitutional implications of long term solitary confinement.
The 2014 publication, Activism Unshackled, exposes the harsh response of the government to the Black Panther Party (BPP) and declares the BPP to be victims of something akin to domestic terrorism.
The 2015 publication, A Prescription, calls for redress and offers a solution for the nation and the BPP to heal from the traumas experienced during the historical period of the BPP's existence.
A3N: You write that "Redress is the aim because it is broader than justice. Redress is also the goal because, when delivered, it has the impact of bringing distant human rights aspirational goals to a local and identifiable place in our society." For folks that have not yet read A Prescription , can you please explain what you mean by "redress?"
AB: When I use the term redress, I simply mean "remedy." In this section of the paper, I am calling people's attention to the fact that the pursuit of justice is largely personal. It involves personal vindication.
Contrarily, redress, through a restorative justice model, is much more expansive. Restorative justice not only considers the victim; it also considers the impact on society. It seeks to heal both simultaneously.
We have never healed from many of the racial traumas that afflict this nation. The evidence of this is on display in the media consistently. Unaddressed traumas are the underlying explanation for some police feeling comfortable gunning down African American males in absence of a legitimate threat of bodily force. That psyche developed during the lynching era.
Unaddressed traumas explain educational and discipline policies that fast track poor children and children of color from schools to prison. Long ago, it was decided that certain groups were intellectually inferior and, as such, could best serve as an underclass.
Unaddressed traumas explain the decision to select an African American church as the setting for an act of domestic terrorism, as with the recent massacre in Charleston. That happened so many times during the Civil Rights Era, it almost became sport. We must recognize that patterns continue unless and until a conscious choice is made to stop them. That is why I advocate for redress through a restorative justice approach. It is my attempt to reconstruct the paradigm and pursue a path of healing.
A3N: Why do you feel that redress is an appropriate response to the political repression faced by the BPP and other leftists groups during the era of the FBI's COINTELPRO and beyond? What are the benefits of redress?
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