Don’t glaze over Ron Karenga’s violent history
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: Re “Republican ranter calls Kwanzaa ‘BS’ “(Dec. 28): It’s disappointing that the Daily News accepted Ron Karenga’s claim that he was convicted in a “politically motivated prosecution spurred by his involvement in Black nationalist politics.” Perhaps this was a knee-jerk response to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s right-wing political views or to her misspelling of Kwanzaa.
Also, as you point out, Kwanzaa is not a religion. But Karenga is hardly a hero. His organization, US, murdered four Black Panther Party members in 1969. That is undisputed and could have been discovered with minimal research.
The US organization was, at the least, manipulated by the FBI into attacking Panthers. But evidence from two former agents and others is that the group worked hand-in-glove with the FBI and the LAPD’s anti-radical unit in order to destroy the L.A. chapter of the Panthers.
In contradistinction to most ‘60s activists who were prosecuted after confrontations with police, Karenga was convicted of horribly torturing two Black women in his own organization. The two women and his wife testified against him. The jury included six Black members.
Sentenced to 1-10 years, Karenga served just under four years and was almost immediately given a prestigious job in the Cal State university system. As one former Black Panther told the Black Agenda Report, “He’s arrogant and unrepentant, and even looked up to by a generation of young folks who know little or nothing about the man or his history.”
Sad to see the Daily News accepting Karenga’s self-promotion without investigation.