A Revolutionary Voice Falls Silent, but Questions About His Conviction Grow Louder

November 25, 2025

H. Rap Brown, who died at 82 in federal custody under the name Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, was a prominent Black Power activist who became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee at age 23 in 1967. His fiery speeches about racial injustice prompted intense federal surveillance and led Congress to pass the 1968 "H.

Who is affected

H. Rap Brown/Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (deceased at 82)
The Muslim community in Atlanta's West End where he served as spiritual leader
Two Fulton County deputies (one killed, one survived) shot in 2000
Otis Jackson, the federal inmate who confessed to the shooting
CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) and its Georgia chapter
Black communities who were part of the civil rights and Black Power movements
Former movement colleagues including Stokely Carmichael, Courtland Cox, and Muriel Tillinghast

What action is being taken

CAIR and its Georgia chapter are calling for the justice system to reopen the case and clear Imam Al-Amin's name following his death in federal custody.

Why it matters

This case represents the intersection of civil rights history, state surveillance, and questions about wrongful conviction. Al-Amin's transformation from a targeted Black Power leader to a community-oriented spiritual leader challenges simplistic narratives about activism and rehabilitation. The existence of a confession from another person, combined with evidence of decades-long FBI surveillance and infiltration, raises serious doubts about the fairness of his conviction and highlights how activists from the 1960s continued to face scrutiny and potential persecution long after that era ended.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint