Conference co-conveners Atty. Malik Zulu Shabazz and Dr. Leonard Jeffries.

The conference was co-convened by longtime scholar Dr. Leonard Jeffries and Atty. Malik Zulu Shabazz, of the New Black Panther Party.

Dr. Jeffries said historic Black Power Conferences are places where ideas are discussed and strategies are discovered. “We need to come together on a regular basis to do an assessment and an analysis to see how successful our plan has been and what mistakes we have made that require that we readjust the plan. It needs to be a think tank process, it is not an event,” said the elder and scholar, who was a technical advisor for the landmark 1970s film series “Roots.”

Much has happened and been learned since the late 1960s when the Black Power movement emerged out of the Student Non-Violence Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the South, he said. The first Black Power Conference was in 1967 in Newark, N.J., his hometown. In 1968 there was another meeting in Philadelphia, which, according to Dr. Jeffries, became the Congress of African Peoples in the 1970s.

Black psychologists and Black political scientists began to organize to “take control of our minds” and groups like the Black Panther Party, the African Heritage Studies Association and the National Council of Black Studies were formed.

Though many conferences under different names have been convened, all had similar goals—laying out a Black Agenda. Soon many will travel to Dakar, Senegal to discuss plans for a United States of Africa. Dr. Jeffries recalled several meetings and discussion throughout the years with the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan—most recently at Saviours' Day 2009—and especially for the 1995 Million Man March. Many of those discussions about joint action gave rise to this conference, he said.

According to Dr. Jeffries, such gatherings go back to 1945 and the 6th Pan African Conference in England. Present were great minds like W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Robeson, Kwame Nkrumah, who became the first president of Ghana, Jomo Kenyatta who became president of Kenya, George Padmore, who contributed to Ghana's struggle for independence, and other outstanding thinkers. The power of their ideas helped throw off the chains of colonialism, he said.

According to organizers, the 2009 conference sought to bridge some apparent contradictions between various organizations and strategies for Black liberation. The election of President Barack H. Obama has brought significant discussions among activists.

While a majority of Blacks support him, some are troubled by his not speaking out for reparations, and were angered when he boycotted the Durban Review Conference in Switzerland in April. Progress in dealing with racism and xenophobia and reparations for the TransAtlantic slave trade were high on the agenda for activists, who took their battle against U.S. wrongdoing to a global stage.

Atty. Shabazz, who has called for giving Mr. Obama time, has been criticized within the Black nationalist movement. He argues Black nationalists must see the larger picture. “The burden is shifting,” Atty. Shabazz told The Final Call. “It's not only about demonstrating, or protesting or rebelling or attacking what we are against. Yes, police brutality, racism, overt White imperialism, capitalism and colonialism still exist and must be fought against vehemently, but Black people are expecting us to be able to deliver to them a movement—Black power in economics, Black power in education, a structure of unity of Black organizations that can do something for them.”

Atty. Shabazz said wanting to see Mr. Obama do well doesn't mean not critiquing his policies. “We must develop the strength and organization of our movement so that the president of the United States can respect what we are asking and demanding. Simply sitting back and throwing stones at Barack Obama will not change anything. We have to put ourselves in a position to influence, to request, ask and demand of our brother to do what I believe is in his heart to do,” said Atty. Shabazz.

At this conference, there was a full embrace between a self-professed capitalist with an abundance of financial resources, and activists with an abundance of energy.

Michael Roberts, owner of the convention hotel, told The Final Call he received a call from the mayor of Marietta “expressing his concern” about the conference. The mayor was concerned some Black leaders he was in contact with weren't apart of the meeting, according to Mr. Roberts, a Black man who is a millionaire. A couple of days later, Mr. Roberts said his hotel received a visit from a fire marshal. If it was an attempt to dissuade him from embracing the event, it failed miserably.

Mr. Roberts was on hand every day, participating directly in some of the discussions, delivering speeches to attendees about establishing a firm economic base, and showing a high level of support. He signed copies of his book “Action Has No Season” and showed a willingness to stand up for the principles of self-determination and self-reliance. For the Million Man March in 1995, Mr. Roberts helped fill six jumbo jets to take men to Washington, D.C., for the gathering. He also supported the Millions More Movement gathering, which marked the 10th anniversary of the men's march.

Workshops, plenary sessions, and town hall meeting themes covered a variety of subjects, such as “Reparations and Black Economics,” “The Plight of the Political Prisoner” and “Stopping Police Brutality.” Another workshop brought together those working to curb violence between street organizations, alongside a session on Black liberation journalism, a session for women-only, and was an opportunity for the next generation of activists to connect with one another and learn from their elders.

Divine Allah, national youth minister of the New Black Panther Party, said it was important for youth to see and hear from the great minds at the conference. “We have to be able to recognize greatness and great ones among us that are not sports players or entertainers,” he said.

Referring to the Counter Intelligence Program of the FBI, a covert program to disrupt and destroy Black organizations, Dr. Jeffries said the fight for liberation will continue, and as progress is made, activists must be mindful that opponents to the rise of Blacks will continue to fight, using whatever means available.

“As we speak, they want to block any unity of African people and an agenda that speaks to their needs, so we have to expect that the system of White supremacy and the system of domination, destruction and death that we, the Native Americans, and other people of color have experienced will always be at work, no matter how it is sugar coated, even hiding behind a Black president and a beautiful Black sister in the White House. That system is in place all the time and working for the interests of the wealthy White power elite,” said Dr. Jeffries.

Producer and actor Tim Reid, who has been in show business for 40 years, talked about the importance of building institutions and storytelling. Mr. Reid is traveling across the globe researching aspects of the African Diaspora in Cuba, Brazil, Italy, Asia, and the United Kingdom. Many conferees were surprised to discover the man known for his role as “Venus Flytrap” on TV comedies “WKRP in Cincinnati” and as a father on “Sister, Sister,” was devoted to projects that could increase awareness about the slave trade.

A. Akbar Muhammad, who served as international representative for Min. Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, spoke of the importance of institution building, understanding history, and establishing continuity in the mission to free Black people.

“Do we leave a legacy of disunity and division for our children? They want to find the path to unity,” Mr. Muhammad said. If Black people continue to exhibit disunity, Whites supremacy will win and divide and conquer will defeat efforts that could lead to progress, he added.

Mr. Muhammad sat on several panels—one dealt with Africa, with an emphasis on the issues of the Sudan and Zimbabwe. Also on the panel was Hodari Abdul-Ali, chair of the Social Justice Task Force for the Muslim Alliance in North America led by Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who spoke at the conference and raised money for incarcerated Black Power advocate and spiritual leader, Imam Jamil Al Amin. The forum focused on the imam's integrity and his case, with an emphasis on his contribution to the Black liberation struggle as H. Rapp Brown.

On May 24, a closing session brought together individuals who had not seen each other in many years. “A Tribute To The Honorable Elijah Muhammad” brought together members of the Nation of Islam, with remarks from pioneering Min. Rahman Muhammad, and members of the Lost Found Nation of Islam under the leadership of Silis Muhammad.

The need to organize a Black united front was a critical theme that emerged from nearly every discussion. Participants left the conference expressing a determination to mobilize and organize for unity.

Atty. Shabazz announced that Black Power Conferences will be held in several places over the next 90 days to further consolidate conference goals and objectives of the national conference, and then, on October 7-11, 2009, there are plans for another National Black Power Conference at City College in New York City. It is aimed at drawing delegates from all 50 states, the Caribbean Nations, the African continent and the African Diaspora.

(Look for more coverage of the 2009 Black Power Conference in next week's updates to FinalCall.com News. For more information on the Black Power Movement, visit www.BlackPowerMovement.org.)