ONCE A BLACK PANTHER – ALWAYS A BLACK PANTHER!
Comrade Bro. James "Tarik" Haskins - Portrait & Interview Below is a portrait I recently painted of James Haskins, better known as Tarik, an unsung hero of oppressed and exploited people. Tarik was born in Norfolk, Virginia on December 21, 1948, a region with deep historic roots in African chattel slavery. For Tarik, growing up in this scenario contributed to his understanding why Jim Crow laws and white supremacist traditions were designed to preserve Black oppression. James Haskins is among many Black men with firsthand knowledge of horrors caused by the Vietnam War, where he served as a Marine. Tens of thousands Vietnamese civilians were killed by U.S. bombs and bayonets, while Black and Brown G.I.s also died disproportionately. After the war Tarik became disillusioned. As a war veteran returning home, he expected changes for the better in the social and economic life, but instead he witnessed further discrimination and racist violence against Black people. This is why...
