REST IN POWER: JAMIL AL-AMIN (FORMERLY KNOWN AS RAP H. BROWN)

Revolutionaries worldwide are mourning the passing of Jamil Al Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, who passed away on 23 November 2025 at the age of 82.

Born in segregated Louisiana, Brown became a central force in the Civil Rights Movement’s turn towards Black Power. He first rose to prominence as the fiery and charismatic Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, where he helped push the organisation and the broader movement towards a more militant stance on Black self-defence and political power. He later served as the Black Panther Party’s Minister of Justice. His sharp, fearless commentary made him a national figure. He famously declared that “violence is as American as cherry pie,” a line that still echoes through today’s global struggles for justice. It also made him a prime target of the FBI’s COINTELPRO programme, which sought to undermine Black activists. As you can see from this clip, he did not believe the corrupt American imperialist system could be reformed by simply electing a “good” Black or white official. What the people need is a revolution that overhauls the system and rebuilds it into something that truly serves the masses.

After being incarcerated in the 1970s, he converted to Islam and adopted the name Jamil Abdullah Al Amin. Settling in Atlanta, he became a respected religious and community leader and an imam, speaking out against drugs, crime and exploitation in Black neighbourhoods.

In the early 2000s, US authorities charged and convicted him for the fatal shooting of a sheriff’s deputy and the wounding of another, a case that has long been surrounded by controversy. Another man later confessed, but Al Amin was still sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The Supreme Court refused to review his appeal, and he ultimately died in prison — another tragic example of the American 'injustice' system.

His legacy will be defined not by the false charges but by his dedication to Black liberation, revolutionary advocacy and spiritual leadership.