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1. Imagine A Black Nation
In Memory of Imari Obadele
By Marvin X
Related RBG Studies Collection
RBG-Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika (PG-RNA) Historical
Studies Collection
The Republic of New Afrika (PG-RNA), was/is a socio-political Nationhood Movement that proposed three
objectives. First, the creation of an independent Afrikan in American-majority country situated in the
southeastern United States. A similar claim is made for all the black-majority counties and cities throughout the
United States. Second, the payment of several billion dollars in reparations from the US government for the
damages inflicted on Afrikans and their descendants by chattel enslavement, Jim Crow segregation, and
persistent modern-day forms of racism. Third, a referendum of all Afrikans in Americans in order to decide
what should be done with regard to their citizenship. Regarding the latter, it was claimed that Afrikans in
Americans were not given a choice in this matter after emancipation. The vision for this country was first
promulgated on March 31, 1968, at a Black Government Conference held in Detroit, Michigan. Its proponents
lay claim to five Southern states: (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina); and the
black-majority counties adjacent to this area in Arkansas, Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida.
Collection Icebreaker Video: RBG-SS MMxtp -04- B.I.G.Nel-R.B.G.ft.RBG SS "Green, Red and Black"

2. RBG Communiversity Page 1 of 7
Imagine A Black Nation
In Memory of Imari Obadele
By Marvin X
Source: http://www.nathanielturner.com/imagineablacknation.htm
What happened to Nation Time, the dreams, visions, revision,
disillusion, a time of hope unfulfilled, Driftin and Driftin like that Charles Brown tune, no more
imagination beyond a return to ancient Kemet, the land we fled four thousand years ago, thus an
impossible return, for who can go home after four thousand years, except a mad Jew, and we see
what terror he caused upon return.
But it is a mental drift, the most terrible kind, most wretched because it tears at the heart as well
as the mind, thus we are drenched in sweat upon awakening from the nightmare of imagination
and must face the bright sun of reality.
Shall we drift from here to eternity, for how can we avoid synchronizing our dreams with reality,
finally and forever, standing on solid ground as we move into the future of a thousand
tomorrows.
Imagine a nation, a land of soul people who are healing their wounds from centuries of terror,
who blame no one except themselves for the terror, for the ship and whip, the cross and lynching
tree, yes, the strange fruit of the last supper in paradise, before entering the door of no return.
Imagine a nation, somewhere in the South where our people died, where we can honor their
bones and blood shed in the sun and night, where their spirits still dance in the swamp and river
bottoms, the plantations and huts still standing, where spirits go wild in the wind and in the
stillness of summer.
Imagine a nation, perhaps Up South in the wicked cities that defied the hope and dreams of
generations, maybe there we shall declare ourselves free and claim sovereignty, a place called
the Republic of Pan Africa, like Brooklyn. where we have gathered for the first time in four
thousand years, de facto capital of the Diaspora, coming from Mississippi, North and South
Carolina Africans, Jamaica and Haitian Africans, Nigerian, Ghanaian and Senegalese, bound
together again, this time forever on Fulton Street and streets too many to name.
Imagine A Black Nation
In Memory of Imari Obadele By Marvin X

3. RBG Communiversity Page 2 of 7
And yes, there is pain and rivalry, jealousy and envy, love and hate in the night, but we are there
in the sun, in the snow, a nation not yet standing, not fully sensing our power, strength, the full
strength of a mighty nation forced together again, not since fleeing the pyramids and pharaohs,
the murders for succession, the flight of queens with sons and daughters who did not assume the
throne. And there was drought and famine forcing them up the Nile, the mighty Congo and
Niger.
Imagine, the Republic of Pan Africa, not the nationalism of fools, but the product of engineers,
planners and builders who began with a thought centuries ago in the cane, cotton and rice fields,
the woods of Nat Turner, Gabriel Prosser, Denmark Vesey, the railroad of Harriet Tubman, the
womanhood of Sojourner Truth, but caught, yes, as [James] Cone said, between the cross and the
lynching tree.
But it was the thought that refused to die, yet resurrected every season like the Nile, the dream of
the homeland where we must be taken in once again. Have we not paid for this land with sweat,
blood and tears? It is ours so claim the portion we desire, stand upon the ground and cry liberty
or death, but have we not died a million times, even now at this hour we crucify ourselves for
failing to stand tall as full men and women, our children annihilate themselves like Buddhist
monks on fire in Vietnam, only because we have not passed on ancestor tales of liberty and
freedom, discipline and work.
Imagine a nation, days of absence from our animal selves, and the donning of our divinity,
wherein we hate each other no more, never again, the jealousy, the Willie Lynch syndrome,
Yacoub’s children playing with steel, some genetic defect in our divine nature.
Imagine a nation, removed from those we cannot live with in peace, thus we part from them and
their wickedness, taking with us only the genius of our minds, for look at the fruit of our labor
under the sun, surely we can do the same for ourselves as we did for the master, transcending the
pyramids with our original creations for now and tomorrow.
But the question is not if or when America falls, but what is the post-American plan for North
American Africans? Will they finally acquire the sovereignty as a nation of self-determined
people, will they secure a land base with access to the sea and mineral rich for their centuries of
free and nearly free labor under the sun? Or will they sit with dicks in their hands and hearts
racing while other ethnic groups secure the division of this stolen property.
Surely the Native Americans will want their fair share, the Latinos, the Asians, and poor
whites—will the so called Negro sit around waiting for the Master to return, or will he go about,
finally and without hesitation, doing for self, reconstructing his fallen cities, getting control of
the infrastructure, water, electricity, roads, schools, work places, airports.
Imagine A Black Nation
In Memory of Imari Obadele By Marvin X

4. RBG Communiversity Page 3 of 7
Long ago he called for Black Power, with the coming fall of
America, he will have the opportunity to fulfill his dreams. Oh, it
cannot happen? America is too strong. Firstly, you have no real
idea how strong America is just as you have no idea how strong
you are—you are so full of fear you cannot and never have been
able to think straight. Every thought you ever thought has been
wrong simply because it was not thinking outside the box of
Americana because you have been confined to the box and never
had a chance to consider the configuration of your society except
for your 19th century thinkers and dreamers, and your 20th
century thinkers and planners. Garvey and Elijah Muhammad.
Imari dreamed of the Republic of New Africa.
But where is Egypt, Rome, Greece, Great Britain and the Soviet
Union? Does the Chinaman have a chance today--you haven't
heard that racist remark recently, for the Chinese have a very
good chance to rule the world. so why do you think America shall
remain forever and forever in its present condition?
It will absolutely change because its ethnic minorities will soon become the majority, so why are
not your leaders planning for the future and our well-deserved fair share? If and when America,
as did the Soviet Union, falls apart, what do you want? A job? A job, a job!
You mean after 400 years of free and nearly free labor, you only desire a job? Are you crazy, are
you totally insane or just lazy, like a whore awaiting marching orders from her pimp—not
knowing the pimp is dead, he was killed in a shootout with rivals. Your leaders, why are they
running around licking the behinds of the the Democratic and Republican parties rather than
establishing an independent political entity that will take us into the future? They shall be
charged for their shortsightedness, their myopia of the mind.
As sister Zetha Nobles said recently, our goal should not be to achieve parity with white
Americans (which is mediocrity, at best), but with India and China. We should forget about
equality with Americans and see the global picture and imagine our role in it. But we are so
blinded by white supremacy that all we see is white, white, white. Look around, the world is no
longer white. Power will not be white in the not so distant future—can you look ahead a few
days and plan accordingly or shall you sit on your behinds awaiting the crumbs from the fall of
America? Imagine a nation!
Source: BlackbirdPressNews
* * * * *
Imagine A Black Nation
In Memory of Imari Obadele By Marvin X

5. RBG Communiversity Page 4 of 7
Related Historical News Report Snippets
Imari Obadele Father of Reparations" dies in Ga.
The Associated Press
ATLANTA—Imari Obadele, the former leader of the Republic of New Africa separatist group,
has died. He was 79.Obadele's daughters, Marilyn Obadele and Vivian Gafford, said Tuesday
that their father died of massive stroke Monday in Atlanta.
Known as the "Father of Reparations," Obadele was a staunch supporter of Malcom X and
eventually became President of the Republic of New Africa, which sought to establish its own
nation in the South.
He was president when, in 1971, city police and FBI agents battled RNA members who were
inside a fortified home in Jackson, Miss. One police officer was killed and two others were
wounded in the shootout.
Obadele spent more than five years in prison for conspiracy but was not charged with murder.
Funeral arrangements are pending. Picayune Item
* * * * *
I just received the sad news that one of our tallest trees in the forest of Black intellectual
Nationalism has unfortunately made transition. Dr. Imari Abukari Obadele was the founder of
the Republic of New Afrika that came out of the 1968's convention of Black government held in
Detroit. Dr.Obadele and his brother (Milton) were both friends of Malcolm during the early mid
sixties. They were the ones who brought him (Malcolm) in to Detroit to give that historic speech
that we love so much called "Message to the Grass roots."
After Malcolm's assassination they developed what was called the 'Malcolm X Society' that led
to the Republic of New Afrika (RNA) in 1968, then Chokwe Lummumba emerged out of that
group to form the New Afikan Peoples Organization (NAPO); all of this led to
the Provisional Government of New Afrika and the Five States formation in the South (South
Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, forgot fifth one), all under the constitutional right to
develop a self-determined Plebiscite political independent states.
In short, I don't believe we utilized Dr. Obadele's call to "Free The Land" the way he outlined
everything in his wonderful autobiography. Dr. Obadele went back to school, after brief time in
jail because of being setup, and achieved his doctorate degree, I think in Government. Also, it
was Dr. Obadele who founded The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America
(N'COBRA), which further augment his fight for reparation. Dr. Obadele has written numerous
books and articles on Government, 40 acres and a Mule, Reparation, and others. Also, he even
wrote a very valuable book on Ancient Egypt in which some of the African-centered community
either neglects or don't appreciate (I never hear any one cite it as a source of reference).
Imagine A Black Nation
In Memory of Imari Obadele By Marvin X

6. RBG Communiversity Page 5 of 7
Nevertheless, Dr. Obadele has left his mark in our movement for liberation in this country by
example! Libation Poured!—Hannibal Cassanova
* * * * *
On January 18, 2010 genius giant of the New Afrikan Independence Movement, Dr. Imari
Abubakari Obadele I transitioned to the ancestral realm. It was the Washington, D.C. community
that welcomed Brother Imari after his release from unjust incarceration orchestrated by the once
secret and illegal COINTELPO (FBI counterintelligence program against the Black Liberation
Movement). He spent several years living and rebuilding in Washington, DC.
Brother Imari was an ardent follower of Malcolm X,
indeed it was Imari and his brother Gaidi (formerly
known as Richard and Milton Henry) who brought
Malcolm to Detroit in 1963 when he delivered his
prolific speech, "Message to the Grassroots." Malcolm
often said that if the Henry brothers ever needed him, he
would be right there.
Obadele is a founder and former President of the
Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika,
and a founder and leader of NCOBRA—National
Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America. He
received his PhD after imprisonment, and retired from
teaching at Prairie View in Texas, living in Baton
Rouge with his wife, Johnita.
He is the author of numerous books and pamphlets, including Foundations of the Black Nation,
War in America, Free the Land, Reparations Yes, The Malcolm Generation, America the Nation
State, and others.
Join the Washington, D.C. area community in a Memorial Tribute to Dr. Imari Abubakari
Obadele, on the day of the assassination of Malcolm X—Sunday, February 21, 2010 at 5:00 p.m.
If you are interested in saying a brief reflection at the Tribute through words, song, or poem,
please contact 888-245-4789 and leave your contact information and a representative from the
committee will get back to you.
See video of January 30 Obadele funeral service in link below. In the words of Brother Imari . . .
FREE THE LAND!
Source: Kalamu and Facebook
* * * * *
Imagine A Black Nation
In Memory of Imari Obadele By Marvin X

7. RBG Communiversity Page 6 of 7
Imari Obadele, who fought for
reparations, dies a 79—Mr. Obadele
was born Richard Bullock Henry in
Philadelphia on May 2, 1930, one of 12
children. He was an avid Boy Scout and
as a young man helped his brother
Milton start a civil rights organization
that had W. E. B. Du Bois as a speaker.
When Milton moved to Detroit, Richard
followed.
Richard worked there as a newspaper
reporter and as a technical writer for the
military. In 1963, he refused to let his
son Freddy go to school and learn from
textbooks he considered racist.
Richard’s brother was a close friend of
Malcolm X, and after Malcolm’s murder
in 1965, Richard and Milton Henry
helped form the Malcolm X Society to
promote his views. Malcolm, in the face
of continuing bloodshed in the civil
rights struggle, had become increasingly
frustrated with the philosophy of
nonviolent resistance espoused by Dr.
King and others. The Henry brothers
began to embrace black separatism.
In 1968, they and others formed the Republic of New Afrika and adopted African names; Milton
became Gaidi Obadele. (Obadele is a Yoruba word meaning “the king arrives at home.”) At the
group’s inaugural meeting in Detroit, about 200 delegates signed a declaration of independence
and a “government in exile” was set up. Mr. Obadele was chosen information minister, and he
published a handbook, “War in America.”
A paramilitary unit, the Black Legion, to be clad in black uniforms with leopard-skin epaulettes,
was formed.
In March 1969, a gun battle erupted between police officers and the Black Legionnaires outside a
Detroit church, leaving one officer dead. The militants were tried but not convicted in a trial that
drew conflicting testimony about the confrontation.
The Republic of New Afrika splintered the next year, with Milton, or Gaidi Obadele, saying he
now rejected violence. Imari, who had now been elected president, led about 100 followers to
Mississippi to build a black nation. After a deal to buy 18 acres from a farmer collapsed, the
group established a headquarters in a house in Jackson.
Imagine A Black Nation
In Memory of Imari Obadele By Marvin X

8. RBG Communiversity Page 7 of 7
The local police and F.B.I. agents raided the house on Aug. 18, 1971. Some news reports said the
purpose of the raid was to arrest a suspect in the Detroit killing. Others said the goal was to stop
treasonous activities or to search for arms. Each side said the other fired first in a gun battle that
left one officer dead.
Though indicted in the killing, Mr. Obadele was found to have been 10 blocks away during the
raid and charges were dropped. But in a related proceeding, he was convicted of conspiracy to
assault a federal agent and was sent to prison.
Mr. Obadele later earned a Ph.D. in political science from Temple University. He taught at
several colleges, including Prairie View A&M University in Texas.
He is survived by his daughters Marilyn Obadele and Vivian Gafford; his sons Imari II and
Freddy Sterling Young; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
In 1983, Mr. Obadele was a defense witness in the trial of Cynthia Boston, a Republic of New
Afrika member who was convicted in the holdup of a Brinks armored car in 1981. On the stand,
he defended armed struggle.
“We cannot tell somebody who is underground what to do,” he said. “If people feel that they
must attack people who have been attacking and destroying and harming our people, then that is
a decision they have to make.” NYTtimes
* * * * *
I met Imari through my participation in NCOBRA and became friends with him. He was a
passionate and forceful advocate of his vision,. It is not mentioned . . . but he was also a strong
fighter for the equal participation of women in the movement; a viewpoint not common among
the boiler plated nationalists of the time. He published a book on women in the reparations
movement. I was mesmerized by the relationship he and Johnita displayed. I told them once if I
were ever to find someone, I'd want to have a relationship just like theirs. Apparently all wasn't
as it seemed. But he was a brilliant guy. His contributions long will be remembered. Rest in
peace, Bro. Imari.-Damu—Jean Damu
Imagine A Black Nation
In Memory of Imari Obadele By Marvin X