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Albuquerque Halsey - 2016-01-05

Conviction for assault and false imprisonment

In 1971, Karenga was sentenced to one to ten years in prison on counts of felonious assault and false imprisonment.[15] One of the victims gave testimony of how Karenga and other men tortured her and another woman. The woman described having been stripped and beaten with an electrical cord. Karenga's estranged wife, Brenda Lorraine Karenga, testified that she sat on the other woman’s stomach while another man forced water into her mouth through a hose.

A May 14, 1971, article in the Los Angeles Times described the testimony of one of the women:

"Deborah Jones, who once was given the Swahili title of an African queen, said she and Gail Davis were whipped with an electrical cord and beaten with a karate baton after being ordered to remove their clothes. She testified that a hot soldering iron was placed in Miss Davis' mouth and placed against Miss Davis' face and that one of her own big toes was tightened in a vise. Karenga, head of US, also put detergent and running hoses in their mouths, she said. They also were hit on the heads with toasters."[16]

Jones and Brenda Karenga testified that Karenga believed the women were conspiring to poison him, which Davis has attributed to a combination of ongoing police pressure and his own drug abuse.[5][17]

Karenga denied any involvement in the torture, and argued that the prosecution was political in nature.[5][18] He was imprisoned at the California Men's Colony, where he studied and wrote on feminism, Pan-Africanism and other subjects. The US organization fell into disarray during his absence and was disbanded in 1974. After he petitioned several black state officials to support his parole on fair sentencing grounds, it was granted in 1975.[19]

Karenga has declined to discuss the convictions with reporters and does not mention them in biographical materials.[17] During a 2007 appearance at Wabash College he again denied the charges and described himself as a former political prisoner.[20]


baleen - 2016-01-05

That's like the Earth Day guy who murdered his girlfriend and composted her.


Bootymarch - 2016-01-06

Wow, motherfucker. I had never heard that, you'd think in everyone's yearly dissing of kwanzaa that would...take precedent. good thing he served only 4 years, denies it to this day, and is a renowned professor.

I'd like to tell him before he dies that he's given young psychopaths a lot to aspire to.


garcet71283 - 2016-01-06

Yeah, I've always heard the guy who made up the holiday was a covicted felon but holy shit.

I think we should ask OJ Simpson to make up a holiday for us while he's rotting in proson.

Anyone want to compose a letter?


Cena_mark - 2016-01-06

Who cares what he did. Kwanzaa isn't about the guy who helped create it. It's about African identity and community.
Christmas is a made up holiday. There's no evidence for Jesus' virgin birth, but I've been to Africa and I know Africa is real.


Binro the Heretic - 2016-01-06

Yeah, and look at all the horrible shit the people who invented Christmas did, but we can still manage to enjoy it every year.


dairyqueenlatifah - 2016-01-07

Holy shit baleen I thought you were joking about the Earth Day guy.

Oh my God.


Binro the Heretic - 2016-01-05

I love the "Another Round" podcast.


chumbucket - 2016-01-06

This is missing a guest visit by Alec Baldwin.


lotsmoreorcs - 2016-01-06

uh yeah super cute


infinite zest - 2016-01-06

Yep. But I think I called my poe 2016 crush a week ago, on january 1st.. oh well. :)


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