Looks like someone's been reading my KounterKwanzaa links.
The gang called US (it actually never was called the United Slaves) was a violent, racist gang in the late 60's and 70's. It's leader, Ron Everett (aka. Maulana Karenga), is the guy that invented Kwanzaa while he was the gang's leader. US has a violent history - in 1969 alone (3 years after Karenga invented Kwanzaa) they gunned down and killed 4 members of the rival Black Panther gang and seriouly injured another. Two of these murders took place after two Panthers badly dissed Karenga at a Black Studies meeting in Campbell Hall on the UCLA Campus. The US gang chased the Panthers down after the meeting and shot and killed two of them in a hallway before they could even leave the building. Later they killed another Black Panther because he was a witness to the earlier shooting and was going to testify against the US gang and its members who were later convicted of the crime. Karenga was never charged but one can't ignore his involvement as a gangleader in this gang violence.
The members of US had shaved heads and lived in a communal arrangement. They were angry, armed, and lived off of intimidation. The women were subjugate there and Karenga had them walk at least 3 steps behind him. In May of 1970, Karenga accused 2 of his young "African queens" of attempting to poison him by putting crystals in his food. To "discipline" these young women, he forced them to disrobe at gunpoint, beat them with a karate baton, whipped them with an electrical cord, and burned them with a hot soldering iron by putting it in one girl's mouth and on her face. One of the girls had their toes tightened in a vice. Both girls had detergent and a caustic liquid forced into their mouths and then a running garden hose. Karenga said of their treatment, "Vietnamese torture is nothing compared to what I know."
Many want the world to forget that Kwanzaa comes from a violent gangleader like Karenga. Many don't want it mentioned that Kwanzaa is connected with such a violent gang as US. But Karenga is still the leader of US and US is still heavily connected to Kwanzaa today.
The US gang is still around, albeit somewhat rehabilitated. They call themselves the Organization US now and they have their own website here. On this website you will find that Karenga is still the gang's leader. You will also find such things as a Blame America/Anti-War screed about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Their logo looks like this:
If you go to the Official Kwanzaa Website you will also find Karenga as the leader and founder. If you look in the Nguzo Saba section which explains the 7 principles of Kwanzaa you will find a similar graphic:
If you look further, among the african myth as history garbage in the Roots and Branches section you will find the actual US gang logo:
And next to the US gang logo you will find this statement:
Kwanzaa was created to reaffirm and restore our rootedness in African culture. It is, therefore, an expression of recovery and reconstruction of African culture which was being conducted in the general context of the Black Liberation Movement of the '60's and in the specific context of The Organization Us, the founding organization of Kwanzaa and the authoritative keeper of its tradition.
Well, I guess then it should surprise no one that the mailing addresses of the US gang and the Official Kwanzaa people are the same:
Organization US:
2560 West 54th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90043 -- Tel. (323) 299-6124 * Fax (323) 299-0261
Kwanzaa Website:
2560 West 54th Street Los Angeles, CA 90043-2613 (323) 295-9799 (323) 299-0261 fax
And it shouldn't surprise anyone either that their Internet registrations are nearly identical:
Registrant:
The Organization Us (US-ORGANIZATION-DOM)
2560 West 54th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90043
US
Domain Name: US-ORGANIZATION.ORG
Administrative Contact, Billing Contact:
Karenga, Dr Maulana (DMK87) mkarenga@CSULB.EDU
The Organization Us
2560 West 54th Street
Los Angeles,, CA 90043
(213) 299-6124 (FAX) (213) 299-0261
Technical Contact:
Administrator, Domain (DA550) domain@PAIR.COM
pair Networks, Inc
2403 Sidney St, Suite 510
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
US
+1 412 381-7247 +1 412 381 9997
Record last updated on 18-Jul-2001.
Record expires on 14-Jul-2003.
Record created on 14-Jul-1998.
Database last updated on 28-Dec-2001 04:56:00 EST.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS69.PAIR.COM 209.68.1.147
NS0.NS0.COM 209.197.64.1
Registrant:
African American Cultural Association (OFFICIALKWANZAAWEBSITE-DOM)
2560 W. 54th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90043
US
Domain Name: OFFICIALKWANZAAWEBSITE.ORG
Administrative Contact, Billing Contact:
Karenga, Dr Maulana (DMK87) mkarenga@CSULB.EDU
The Organization Us
2
+560 West 54th Street
Los Angeles,, CA 90043
(213) 299-6124 (FAX) (213) 299-0261
Technical Contact:
Administrator, Domain (DA550) domain@PAIR.COM
pair Networks, Inc
2403 Sidney St, Suite 510
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
US
+1 412 381-7247 +1 412 381 9997
Record last updated on 09-Dec-2001.
Record expires on 21-Dec-2002.
Record created on 20-Dec-1997.
Database last updated on 28-Dec-2001 04:56:00 EST.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS69.PAIR.COM 209.68.1.147
NS0.NS0.COM 209.197.64.1
