SF BAYVIEW NEWSPAPER - Deportation of a labor movement leader

Deportation of a labor movement leader

May 2, 2013Share on facebook

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by Juan Ruiz

On April 18, Rumec was economically and morally destabilized with the deportation of Comrade Miguel Suarez to his native Mexico. With a successful construction business growing, assuming the leadership of the new labor movement and establishing a non-profit organization, Miguel Suarez was expelled from this country just moments before being exonerated of minor charges at traffic court in Santa Clara County.

Juan Ruiz and Miguel Suarez stand on either side of Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X.

For over 10 years, Miguel has been at the forefront of the Mexican struggle, establishing strong bonds with the Black community and creating an environment for oppressed groups to establish business connections as well as maintaining a revolutionary agenda.

Upon his arrival in the U.S. at the age of 18 about 12 years ago, Miguel had ambitions of becoming an independent business owner. From a labor element of the construction industry, Comrade Miguel grew to become a business owner who employed friends, family members and local community individuals. His alternative form of doing business allowed for his growth to acquire resources that were once unclaimed by his community. His acquisition of the historical building Cine Mexico, a community theater, is a symbol of his constant growth as a successful business owner.

Rumec was economically and morally destabilized with the deportation of Comrade Miguel Suarez to his native Mexico.

Maintaining a business was not the ultimate goal for Comrade Miguel. His observation of the necessity of organizing and educating our labor force was the purpose he felt obligated to fulfill. Miguel took leadership of the new labor movement – assigning people various duties, organizing the community and orienting everyone to the oppressive circumstances we face. His representation of our people was driven from a sense of duty and obligation to a fair and just cause. Leading and educating our people was Miguel’s daily task.

The Olmec “heads,” huge stone sculptures created earlier than 900 B.C. depicting kings with African features, demonstrate the presence of Africans in Central America long before Columbus “discovered” America. This one is in Veracruz, Mexico. The mixture of Black and Brown blood began long before Spanish conquistadores brought enslaved Africans to Mexico.

Liberating our oppressed labor force from corporate neo-liberalism was a passion that Miguel Suarez shared not only with Mexican groups, but also with the Black community. Being a believer of Black and Brown unity, Comrade Miguel educated us about the common African roots and heritage we share. Native to the land of the Olmecs and inspired by Yanga, Miguel promoted merging Brown and Black community business to liberate ourselves from economic slavery. Through music, art, public speaking and business ownership, Miguel had the passion to reach out and employ both oppressed groups.

Miguel took leadership of the new labor movement – assigning people various duties, organizing the community and orienting everyone to the oppressive circumstances we face.

With an insatiable appetite to educate and assist our people, Comrade Miguel was in the process of establishing a non-profit organization. By providing architectural forums in Spanish and English, informing workers of current construction codes and educating construction laborers on their rights in the industry, Comrade Miguel was providing a service to our community. This very same service, which our government is not providing for the people, is the basis of the non-profit in the construction industry. His idea was to prepare our people and arm them with knowledge to fight the ignorance and poverty that floods our streets.

Yanga, a towering figure in Mexican history, is said to have been a member of the royal family of Gabon when he was stolen and carried to Mexico. After leading a rebellion, freeing himself and other Africans, they established a maroon colony near Veracruz around 1570. After many battles with Spanish troops, Yanga’s terms were accepted in 1618, giving his people the right to their land and independence.

The absence of Miguel Suarez in the movement has been felt by all his comrades. He was always creating an environment where people could meet and voice their opinion with the benefit of others in mind. He is the type of individual who reads people and can suggest how you may contribute to a common cause. His ideas ranged from educating our youth, developing independent business owners, establishing our own bank, financing the building of our own homes and establishing our own educational institutions.

Miguel Suarez was a threat to the system imposed on us. His vision went so far as changing the criminal mindset of people to a revolutionary business oriented way of thinking. This plan would ultimately fight the system that focuses on enslaving the mind of our men and women.

The absence of Miguel Suarez in the movement has been felt by all his comrades.

As a respected businessman, leader of a movement and father, Miguel Suarez will be missed in the community. The struggle will continue with his plan carried out by myself, Juan Ruiz, and comrades in the company. Now working with him internationally, Rumec will continue to carry on his legacy and educate our community on forming independent businesses. At the same time, we will fight ceaselessly to return Comrade Miguel Suarez to the community and family who need him.

Juan Ruiz of Rumec can be reached at rumec_buss@hotmail.com or (408) 380-9650.

STATEMENT BY MALCOLM SHABAZZ CONCERNING FEBRUARY 2013 HARASSMENT

STATEMENT BY MALCOLM SHABAZZ... 

MALCOLM-LATIF SHABAZZ: MY STATEMENT CONCERNING THE HARASSMENT FROM THE POLICE/FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WHICH RESULTED IN MY UNJUST ARREST & DETAINMENT IN FEBRUARY 2013, AND PLACED A HALT ON MY TRAVEL TO TEHRAN, IRAN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INTERNATIONAL FAJR FILM FESTIVAL.

I sincerely appreciate the care & concern of the People over my well-being after Press TV's report of the most recent events which have transpired regarding the F.B.I.'s harassment of me.

Given the storm of lies, and half-truths that come with being associated with being the descendant of El Hajj Malik el Shabazz, also known as Minister Malcolm X, any and everything that I do; great or small, good or not so good, real or imagined is subject to controversy. However, in this missive I will take this opportunity to properly & fully disclose what transpired.

In the beginning of 2012 I had been informed that I was under investigation by the F.B.I.'s Counter Terrorism Task Force Unit located in Goshen, N.Y.

The agents of this division-and in collaboration with others-have visited several residences of which I was known by them to frequent. However, they would never come when they knew me to actually be there. They would leave their cards with the residents asking them to tell me to call them, and then would tell surrounding residents to observe the house and to notify them if they saw me.

These are the homes of long-time friends, and very close supporters. Yet, when federal agents begin knocking on someone's door on multiple occasions to snoop, and ask questions, whether one is guilty of an offense or not, it's enough to coerce people into distancing themselves from you. This cheap tactic employed by the F.B.I. is a means of agitation & harassment. They seek to neutralize my networking abilities.

They have visited locations in California, Chicago, Miami and most aggressively in New York.

People were advising me that if I had nothing to hide, then I should just contact them as requested and cooperate. Though I must say that in these kind of matters I am of a particular ethic. For one, I have been engaged in no criminal activity of their concern, and they could have located me if they so chose. Secondly, I don't recognize the authority in them beckoning me.

It wasn't even until my mother informed me that they had been contacting her that I truly became agitated. She advised me to see what they had to say, and so I obliged the next time they came around looking for me. My encounter was with 2 federal agents of Goshen, N.Y.'s Counter Terrorism Task Foci Unit. The primary agent identified himself as Special Agent Tom Brozicky.

They expressed concern over-as they put it-my "international travels"; I have lived & studied in Damascus, Syria for over a year, and now the U.S. is instigating conflict within the very same region; I went on ex-congresswoman/former presidential candidate Cynthia Mckinney's delegation along with Dr. Randy Short to Libya, and met with Leader Muammar Gadhafi one week prior to N.A.T.O. intervention and I was most recently getting ready to travel to Tehran, Iran to be a participant of the International Fajr Film Festival and give a lecture addressing the issues of Hollywood and violence:

- Modern Violence & Terrorism,

- Provoking clashes between religions & populations

I was picked up by authorities after I filed for a visa to Iran, and 2 days prior to my departure. A detective squad from the City of Middletown Police Department surrounded me in the street about 2 blocks from where I was residing. They asked me my name, and I gave them an alias, but they were already well aware of who I actually was. I didn't tell them my real name because I didn't know what was going on. When I was brought before a Judge of City of Middletown court I was surprised to be informed that I was being charged with Grand Larceny, and False Impersonation charge. Then I was sent to jail, and told to appear again 7 days later. Then following court date the bogus charge of Grand Larceny, which they only put to justify stopping me in first place, was dropped. And they left me to face the False Impersonation. I was offered 90 days for the offense of giving the authorities the wrong name which I declined before bailing out after 2 weeks.

When I was being held within the belly of the beast on trumped up charges, to my rescue came the journalist at Press TV based in Iran. My relationship with powerful & progressive news outfit began in April of 2012, and prior to that I had discussions with their journalist regarding current events internationally. I developed a positive rapport with some of them, and as a result was invited to travel to Iran to discuss the impact of Hollywood in stereotyping Muslims, Iranians and African people. From January 15th through 18th, 2013, I was a featured interviewee for the Press TV documentary “The Façade of the American Dream”. And prior to my date of departure to Iran, Lifetime television released a television bio-picture called “Betty & Coretta” which was a sensationalistic misrepresentation of my grandparents, my mother and me. This film aside from being poorly acted, and shallow in depth also threatened to inflame old controversies, and open unhealed wounds and to remind the public of sad outcomes without ever identifying B.O.S.S.I., the C.I.A., F.B.I. and other forces that set the climate for my grandfather’s assassination, and made my family a long-suffering casualty of COINTELPRO, and other anti-Black repression programs. Naturally, anything done to stir up old hatred of The Shabazz Family will impact me as the name-sake, and first male heir of Malcolm X, and whether I am high or low in fortunes does not exempt me from this reality.

The formula for a public assassination is: the character assassination before the physical assassination; so one has to be made killable before the eyes of the public in order for their eventual murder to then deemed justifiable. And when the time arrives for these hits to be carried out you’re not going to see a C.I.A. agent with a suit & tie, and a badge that says "C.I.A." walk up to someone, and pull the trigger. What they will do is to out-source to local police departments in the region of their target, and to employ those that look like the target of interest to infiltrate the workings in order to set up the environment for the eventual assassination (character, physical/incarceration, exile) to take place.

For several months prior to my arrest in late January, 2013 I faced a pattern of harassment from law enforcement which is usually reserved for important figures.

[[On Thursday, November 1, 2012 @ 11:53pm in the park circle area of Middletown, N.Y. I was stopped by officers of the Middletown Police Department, and given a ticket for "J-Walking" (crossing in the middle of the street), which then escalated into a "Disorderly Conduct" supposedly because of the exchange of words that I had with the officers. I told them that they couldn't possibly be serious for writing me a "J-Walking ticket", that I didn't appreciate how they were treating me and that they shouldn't be looking at me as less of a man because they were in police uniform. For this I was arrested, the officers stole the little amount of money that I had on me, they then stripped me and threw me in a freezing precinct cell for the remainder of that early morning. I was finally taken before the "Judge Steven Brockett" around 1:30pm. He gave me an unreasonable bail, and then ordered that I be remanded to the Orange county Jail.

This penalty may seem a bit extreme or harsh to most of you, but here is where it gets worse: On Tuesday, October 30th, exactly 2 nights prior to this incident, the same officer "J Berman" who wrote me the ticket for "J-Walking" & "Disorderly Conduct" stopped me coming from out of a store in the same area, and questioned me as to what I was doing. I told him that I was coming out of the store. He asked to see what I bought which was a pack of sun flower seeds. I had actually just so happened to be eating a few while he was talking to me, and I spit one of the shells on the ground. At this point officer "J Berman" threatened to write me a ticket for littering. Needless to say, I was dumbfounded, but I went home that night.

Yet, it still doesn't even begin there. I had an encounter with other officers of the Midletown Police Department one week prior to officer "J Berman's" threats to write me a ticket for spitting a sun flower seed on the ground: I was coming out of a restaurant with my mother, and her friend. As the 3 of us entered the car to leave 2 police cars converged on our vehicle, and boxed us in. My mother was petrified. With guns drawn I was then ordered to step out of the back seat. I asked them why to which they replied that I had several warrants for my arrest. I told them that they were mistaken, but I still complied with their request. Humiliated in front of all on-lookers I was then thrown on the car while the officers ripped through my pockets. After they were done they said that it was my lucky day because I actually didn't have any warrants at all, and so I was free to go! One of these officer's name was "R. Ribeiro"...

You may wonder if it could possibly get any worse than this. Well, it does! Approximately 3 weeks prior to the public humiliation of my mother, and me by "R Ribeiro" and another officer of the Middletown Police Department I found myself subject to the discrimination & prejudice of Mayor Joseph M. Destefano of Middletown, N.Y. himself. A friend, and I went out to eat at a restaurant in Middletown, N.Y. which is owned by the Mayor, and to our surprise he appeared from nowhere and asked us to leave. When we inquired as to why he stated that officials of the Middletown Police Department told him not to let us patronize his establishment. Mind you that this goes without incident. As I stand for the people, God-Willing, I would pray that the same people wouldn't hesitate to stand for me. If these unjust & heinous actions are tolerated & allowed to be done to me without recourse, then no one is safe. Just as Huewy P Newton of the Black Panther Party stated that police are in the white community to protect & serve, yet occupy ours like a foreign troop... I tell you that we shouldn't fall victim to the conditioning of feeling inferior or fearful at the presence of law enforcement for no apparent reason.]]

With that being said, I was not arrested by federal agents. I was taken in by a squad from the City of Middletown, N.Y.'s Police Department. I was not being held in an "undisclosed location" so to speak. I was actually being held in the Orange County Jail in Goshen, N.Y. However, from the time that I was booked at the precinct, to standing before a Judge the next day who told me to come back in 7 more, to being processed at the Orange County Jail and up until 7 days later I was not permitted to make any calls to notify anyone of my status; as though I had just been kidnapped from of the street.

Unfortunately, until this day my family hasn't been fully abreast of my situation as I haven't had the opportunity to properly consult with any of them. Dr. Randy Short who notified Press TV of my situation is a close comrade of mine who was on our delegation in Libya. Media reports from Press TV about my situation were not intended to create controversy. In reality, I have a few associates that are affiliated with this reputable International media outlet, and they had expected to meet with me in Iran. So when I disappeared, and rumors spread, the inability to get concise information from a credible source prompted them to rouse public attention on my behalf, for which I am grateful. In April of 2012 I had the opportunity to be a guest analyst/contributor on Press TV. This network has a large following all over the world, and millions find it’s news, documentaries and programming to be both an educational, and insightful alternative to the conglomerated, and highly biased mainstream American & British news media. Regarding the Source magazine, nothing that they published was vetted by me, and was made by persons, at best, vaguely familiar with my situation. Further, I have never had an affiliation or relationship with The Source, nor have they ever directly consulted with me about anything.

PREE TV GLOBAL NEWS - The Facade of the American Dream - Part 1

The Facade of the American Dream - Part 1

(17:00 and 20:44 See Malcolm's Portion Throughout )

"Bro. Dick Gregory Unchained: 'Betty & Coretta' Decoded & Who really killed Dr. Betty Shabazz

Rooh's True Tales: My first impression with Malcolm X's grandson

Rooh's True Tales: My first impression with Malcolm X's grandson

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 By Rooh-Allah Hasani

Rooh with Malcolm's X's grandson. - Photo by Reza Sheikh

When I exited the car after the two-hour trek from Stockton, my legs immediately cramped up and so I just casually leaned against my dad’s ’88 Chevy Astro (he loves that car). As I awkwardly stood against the car, something fell down in front of me; I thought the world was coming to an end.
So I look up and I noticed a little tree house, some lady had managed to build a fort and was living in it for the Occupy Oakland protest. She looked down at me and yells, “Hey you there! Throw that back up here.” Cramped as I was, I leaned down with one leg in the air. I picked the thing up which turned out to be some sort of toy and threw it up there. I think I hit her in the head, but I just walked away right as soon as I heard a *thud*.
  I entered the little plaza and sat down next to my friend, Reza. There were a couple of speeches by people and then I saw him. He was wearing black and I thought to myself, “I’m wearing black, he must have good fashion taste!” He walked up to the little stage and spoke for an hour. It sounded like he never rehearsed it first, as if it was free flowing out of his mind, kind of sloppy but he got his point through, about how the government is some sort of conspiracy theory. It was pretty awkward for the cops and the mayor who were sitting there and watching.
After his speech, we marched around Oakland, which was a couple of hours and we walked like 5 miles. Malcolm Shabazz was in the very back and so I tried going up to him and talking to him but a bunch of Muslim ‘brothers’ surrounded him. I really wanted a picture with him, so one day I could show my kids and tell them of my celebrity status. Just kidding, but in all seriousness it would be pretty cool to have one with Malcolm X’s grandson.
  After the march, I finally took my friend Reza and went to Malcolm Shabazz. Reza told me to go talk to him first and I was like, “It’s not as easy as you think it is.” So I contemplated a plan where I would take the easy way out and would go stand next to him and my friend would take a quick snapshot and I would walk away, Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible style, discreetly. My friend said, "Just go up to him and ask him about his grandfather and then casually ask for a photo," but I didn’t listen. I walked up to him while he was talking to a group of people and just stood next to him.
  He looked at me and my body reflexed and I gave him a wink. I don’t know how he took that. I felt embarrassed but that did not stop me from my mission. My friend took his phone out and I gave an awkward smile, and right then, the flash went off. The plan had failed, he was onto me. I just looked away as if I never noticed my friend. Malcolm turned to me and said, “As-Salaam Aleikum, Brother,” (which means hello in Arabic), I look at him and reply, “Was-Salaam.” This is when I activate plan B, which I never wanted originally, but it was necessary to make the situation not awkward.
  I said my hellos and then asked him how his life was going (as if I was his long lost friend) and something about his grandfather. It was a nice little conversation and soon after it was time to go. I ask him, “Hey wait, can I get a quick photo” and he replied, “It’s going on Facebook, huh?” I give an awkward smirk and say, “Maybe…” He replied, “Make sure you tag me.” I give him a nod and say, “Oh yeah, for sure!” So I got up and stood next to him. He put up one finger, just like what his grandfather used to do and my friend looked at me and says, “Put a finger up!” I slowly put a finger up.
My friend took a quick snapshot and I said, “Thank you!” I give him a handshake and he started to walk away. I grabbed my friend’s phone and looked at the picture. The picture was horrible, so out of a sudden rush of adrenaline, I ran back up to Malcolm Shabazz and grabbed his shoulder and said, “I’m sorry but the photo makes me look like a pregnant mother of two, so can I get another one with you?” He shrugged and said, “Yes, that’s fine.” My friend took another shot and this time I had my eyes closed. It was hopeless. So I just said, “Thanks again.” He walked away and I end up putting up the pregnant looking photo on Facebook and on this article.
  So yeah, getting back to the point of this story. First impressions are important and most times being yourself can make other people comfortable talking to you. I was being myself with him and he seemed fine with it but I guess I’ll never know unless I ask him about it. I actually got his number, too, but I won’t be calling him or texting him anytime soon! Overall, be yourself around people, it is easier in the long run. If it is for some interview, you better be the best that you can be. That’s the only exception!

Malcolm X relative speaks at Ryerson Marwa Hamad Ryersonian Staff

Malcolm Shabazz talks to Ryerson students during Black History Month.

Marwa Hamad

Malcom X’s grandson spoke at Ryerson Thursday evening about what he called two of the most controversial topics — politics and religion.

Malcolm Shabazz, 28, is the first male descendent of Muslim civil and human rights activist Malcolm X. He has travelled the world to spread a message he shares with his grandfather “the importance of education & unity.”

His talk was a part of the Students Against Racism event called Freedom Dialogues.

Shabazz said that education does not just mean textbooks and traditional schooling, but rather anything that raises awareness, including spoken word, poetry and art.

“Most often, we aren’t aware of our own oppression,” Shabazz said of marginalized communities. “Today, brothers and sisters walk around as slaves, but they think they’re free.”

Shabazz was critical of the Occupy Wall Street movement that swept the world. He said that protesters were “sitting down” when they should have done more to bring change. He stressed the importance of using all the tools and technologies that are at protesters’ disposal to make a difference.

When he was the age of most students in his audience, Shabazz spent six years in prison, where he said he came across the most intelligent men he had ever met. “I knew why they were there. They were threats. Not threats in a dangerous way, but threats to the status quo.”

Shabazz said Ryerson students shouldn’t strive to recreate leaders from the past — like his grandfather or Martin Luther King — but instead create new voices of resistance.

“Everything we liked about our previous leaders is a mirror-reflection of something we possess within ourselves.”

Malcolm X’s grandson: The Hajj journey changed me a lot

Two personalities at a focal point – the journey to perform Hajj formed the common denominator between them and contributed in their entering a phase of intellectual soul-searching and self-criticism that led to changing misconceptions that were embedded in their minds for a long time.

Here, the two personalities – of Malcolm X, the grandfather and Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson – converge.
The grandfather returned from the Hajj journey to his place of birth with new ideas that eliminated misconceptions of Islam he had learned during his early years. His grandson, too, corrected some misconceptions he had about Islam, which were instilled by extremist groups.

It is actually a new phase, as described by Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of the legendary Malcolm X and the son of his 2nd eldest daughter. It started when he saw the Holy Ka’ba, with his own eyes, standing tall, with worshippers circumambulating it.

  The Hajj journey was a turning point in his life.  “That journey was so beautiful that I’ll never forget it,” he said. “It encouraged me to carry out the acts of worship with a present soul and heart to participate with my Muslim brethren in the Hajj rituals.”

  Being there provided profound insights and experiences he did not get from afar.
  “I found the circumambulation of the Holy Ka’ba different from what I used to see on TV, for I realized there was a kind of hardship in carrying it out, but it only increased my love for this rite,” he said.
Shabazz described his feelings when he saw the Holy Ka’ba for the first time. “I felt something move inside my chest and I felt I was born once again and the stories I read about the Ka’ba were scattered before my eyes,” he recounted.
“I had a mixed feeling and I was in a state of great astonishment. I couldn’t restrain my tears before that awesome scene.”

  This scene reminded him of things in the past, some of which were frightening. He recalled his grandfather, who circumambulated the same Ka’ba in 1974.
Shabazz has memories from his trip of visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina, a number of historical places and an outing to the desert, where he drank camel milk and of meeting prominent people who extended great kindness and wisdom.

  When he met Sheikh Saleh Al-Hussayen, general president for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, he was eager to listen to his advice, which was conveyed to him in English. He could not hold back his tears when Sheikh Al-Hussayen told him he had read most of the books written about his grandfather.

“I’ll never forget the advice Sheikh Saleh gave me when he urged me to follow my grandfather’s footsteps,” he said.
“Also, Dr. Abdullah Bin Biyyah, vice president of the International Federation of Muslim Ulama, advised me to follow the example of my grandfather and read about religion in particular and other subjects.”

Shabazz was astonished when Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil presented him with a rare, old copy of the Holy Qur’an and called on him to work hard to unify the ranks of Muslims in America.

  Looking further back, Shabazz said he was sure his grandfather was murdered by a group from the Nation of Islam, which he described as a deviant group, and denied that this is merely a theory being circulated by people who have not studied the matter.

Shabazz is following in his grandfather’s footsteps by helping people through his efforts as a human-rights activist and as an active member of a number of human-rights societies. He also gives lectures at American universities his grandfather used to visit.

These lectures are attended by large audiences, especially youths who have not been able to continue their studies and those whose conduct and practices are misguided, he said.
  Shabazz said he maintains good relationships with the sons of the late civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated in 1968, three years after Malcolm X was assassinated.

He said those relationships were built on cooperation and that the men encourage him and express optimism that he will be like his grandfather.
  He always tells them that he is at the beginning of the road.