ONCE A BLACK PANTHER – ALWAYS A BLACK PANTHER!
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 Tarik joined the Black Panther Party.
After COINTELPRO’s destruction of the BPP, Tarik joined the Black Liberation Army (BLA). Unfortunately, by November 1974, BLA members James Haskins (Tarik), Ashante Austin, Timothy Adams, and Harold Simmons were all convicted for a failed attempt to free other BLA members held captive at The Tombs, Manhattan Detention Center. Tarik was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment.
To this day Tarik lives on without regret. He continues to uphold the noble ideals of Black emancipation by partaking in progressive causes, especially the quest to free political prisoners.
Over the years, Tarik’s activism has included doing solidarity work for Palestine, Cuba, and Puerto Rico’s struggle for independence. This brother has indisputably earned the noble title of Revolutionary.
This portrait is 20” X 24”, acrylic paint on canvas. It was motivated by my deepest affection and respect for our courageous Brother James Haskins, aka Tarik, and the historic struggle for Black liberation.
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