Black History

Co-Author of New Memoir Unveils the Torture of Los Angeles-Based Revolutionary Deborah Jones

Black revolutionaries of the 1960s and 1970s faced unimaginable discrimination, violence, obstruction and hostility from law enforcement, people who opposed their ideologies and activities — and even undercover agents of the federal government. But what happens when the pain, torment and sabotage come from individuals they fought alongside, who they regarded as colleagues and “comrades?” The newly released memoir “What We Stood For: The Story of a Revolutionary Black Woman,” written with the assistance of Thandisizwe Chimurenga, reveals the untold story of Los Angeles-based activist and advocate Deborah Jones. It details the harrowing experiences of Jones, 73, as a member of the Us Organization, one of the leading Black Power groups in California and the United States, from 1968 to 1970.

Published

2 months ago

August 6, 2024

Oakland Post

Book Cover of What We Stood For: The Story of a Revolutionary Black Woman”

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

But what happens when the pain, torment and sabotage come from individuals they fought alongside, who they regarded as colleagues and “comrades?”

The newly released memoir “What We Stood For: The Story of a Revolutionary Black Woman,” written with the assistance of Thandisizwe Chimurenga, reveals the untold story of Los Angeles-based activist and advocate Deborah Jones. It details the harrowing experiences of Jones, 73, as a member of the Us Organization, one of the leading Black Power groups in California and the United States, from 1968 to 1970.

The US Organization was a political rival to the Black Panther Party.

Two years after Jones joined the Us Organization’s Taifa (Nation) Dance Troupe, Maulana Karenga, cofounder of the organization known for creating the African American holiday of Kwanzaa, accused Jones and Gail “Idili” Davis, another member, of trying to poison him.

According to Jones, that accusation is false and baseless.

According to the account in the book, the women were held and tortured in Karenga’s garage over Mother’s Day weekend in 1970. In addition to describing this account and explaining Jones’ life afterward, the memoir also tells Jones’ story of growing up in Los Angeles in a loving, Pro-Black household, and her life’s calling of inspiring Black youth through Afro-centric teachings.

California Black Media spoke with co-writer Thandisizwe Chimurenga about her process working with Jones on the memoir and some of the sensitive subjects it includes.

Jones declined CBM’s interview request and deferred to Chimurenga.

“The main reason I wanted to be part of this project, I believe Debroah Jones and Gale Davis, the other woman who was tortured along with her, I believe they are used as a hammer against Karenga and this US Organization,” said Chimurenga.

“What I mean by that is: every year during Kwanzaa, people who don’t like Karenga or the US Organization — because they’ve adopted the beef of the Panthers vs the US organization — because of the anger and shock and hurt over the murders of Bunchy (Carter) and John (Huggins) — one of the things they say is ‘in addition to killing Bunchy and John,” they also tortured two sisters.”

Members of the US Organization were convicted for killing Black Panthers Carter and Huggins.

Declassified FBI files have since revealed that some of the tensions between the U.S. Organization and the Black Panthers were inflamed by secret federal agents.

Chimurenga says, with the book, she and Jones want to associate faces with the nameless women people often mention were tortured by the US organization.

“They have names. They are actual people. This is what their life is like,” said Chimurenga. “This is what Deborah says happened to her. She’s not just a nameless cudgel.”

“What We Stood For: The Story of a Revolutionary Black Woman” is available via Diasporic Africa Press and Amazon.

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Black History

From Louisville to the Olympics: The Legacy of William DeHart Hubbard

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history. Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Published

1 week ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

William DeHart Hubbard made history in 1924 when Hubbard made Olympic history by winning the Gold Medal in the long jump. Public Domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

William DeHart Hubbard, born on November 25, 1903, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a trailblazing figure in American sports history.

Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati. While attending Walnut Hills High School he excelled in academics and athletics. This earned him a scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1921, where he studied in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In college, he quickly made a name for himself as an exceptional track and field athlete.

Hubbard was the only African American on the school’s track team; he was also the first African American varsity track letterman at the university. In his college career, Hubbard won several meets including being a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champion, eight-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) champion, and seven-time Big Ten Conference champion in track and field. His 1925 outdoor long jump of 25 feet 10¹⁄₂ inches stood as the Michigan Wolverines team record until 1980, and it is still second. His 1925 jump of 25 feet 3.5 inches stood as a Big Ten Championships record until Jesse Owens broke it in 1935 with what is now the current record of 26 feet 8.25 inches.

In 1924, he was selected to represent the United States at the Paris Summer Olympics.

Competing against some of the best athletes in the world, Hubbard made history by winning the gold medal in the long jump by jumping 24 feet 5.5 inches. This victory made him the first African American to win an individual gold medal in the history of the modern Olympic Games.

In 1925, Hubbard broke the long jump world record with a leap of 25 feet 10⁷⁄₈ inches at the NCAA championships. In 1927, he bettered that with a jump of 26 feet 2.25 inches — which would have been the first ever over 26 feet — but meet officials disallowed it, claiming that the take-off board was an inch higher than the surface of the landing pit. He also competed in the hurdles at the 1926 AAU championships. He graduated with honors in 1927.

He specialized in the long jump, a sport that would soon bring him international fame.

Hubbard’s Olympic success was not just a personal triumph but a milestone for African Americans in sports. His victory challenged the prevailing stereotypes of the time and inspired a generation of Black athletes to pursue their dreams in the face of adversity.

After his Olympic success, he continued to excel in track and field. He set an additional world record in 1925 with a jump of 25 feet 10.75 inches, which stood for several years. His accomplishments were not limited to athletics, as he also became involved in civic and business endeavors after his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1927.

Following his athletic career, Hubbard returned to his hometown of Cincinnati, where he took on various roles serving his community and the progress of African Americans. He worked as a manager for the Department of Colored Work for the Cincinnati Public Recreation Commission and later became a race relations adviser for the Federal Housing Administration.

Hubbard passed away on June 23, 1976. As the first African American to win an individual Gold Medal in the Olympics, he not only paved the way for future generations of athletes but also demonstrated the profound impact that sports can have on societal change.