Respect: Geronimo ji-Jaga Pratt, 1947-2011

June 2, 2011 by Hannibal Tabu Leave a Comment

Thursday, June 2nd 2011 marked the passing of Elmer G. "Geronimo ji-Jaga" Pratt (September 13, 1947-June 2, 2011) former Black Panther and cause celebre for those noting the injustice of jurisprudence in the United States. Pratt was living in Tanzania at the time of his death from a heart attack.

Unjustly convicted of the 1968 murder and kidnapping of Caroline Olsen in 1972, Pratt spent 27 years behind bars, eight of which he spent in solitary confinement. After his imprisonment, documents from the US government's COINTELPRO operation noted a systematic effort to take Pratt, a Vietnam veteran trained in military tactics and weaponry, out of the Black Power movement. All this happened after the death of his pregnant wife Saundra during what some considered internecine struggles within the Black Panther Party. Pratt's conviction was vacated in 1997, in part due to tireless efforts from one of his lawyers, famed litigator Johnnie L. Cochrane. He received $4.5 million as a settlement from government entities for his wrongful imprisonment.

Pratt was also the godfather to actor and rapper Tupac Shakur, and continued to work for causes of social justice, including the struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal. It is especially tragic that his passing happened so close to the transitions of actress Clarice Taylor and poet Gil Scott-Heron, as that makes three sage voices our community can no longer call upon for wisdom and guidance.

In the words of our ancestors, anedge hirak Geronimo ji Jaga, and thank you for never giving up.

[Source: Answers.com, the Los Angeles Times, Wikipedia]

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About Hannibal Tabu

Born in Rockford, Illinois; raised in Memphis, Tennessee; matriculated in
Tacoma, Washington and broadcasting live from Los Angeles, Hannibal Tabu is
a writer, a brother, a husband, a misanthrope, a son, an emcee, an uncle, a
poet, a father, a designer, a nephew, a romantic, a storyteller, and by
god, a fan. He spent more than ten years doing the journalist thing for
Vibe, Slave Trade, MTV Online, Rap Pages, America Online, the Los Angeles
Sentinel, Spinnerrack.com, Speak and The Source. Hannibal has worked as a
web designer/producer and graphic artist for American Honda, eHobbies.com,
Quicken.com, Express.com, the California Association of REALTORS, Disney
Channel, NextPlanetOver.com, Toyota Motor Sales, Kaiser Permanente,
California Bank & Trust and many more. As a poet, Hannibal has been
published in The Drumming Between Us, (sic) Vice Verse, Drumvoices Review,
Voices From Leimert Park and other anthologies, as well as being author of
the collection BORN BENEATH AN ANGRY STAR and co-author of FLIGHT MANUAL.
As a novelist, he's written THE CROWN: ASCENSION and FARAWAY (both
available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble & Smashwords) and the upcoming sci fi
political thriller ROGUE NATION. He's the winner of the 2012 Top Cow Talent Hunt, writer of Waso: Will To Power for Stranger Comics, Project: Wildfire for Legends Press, and co-writer of an issue of Watson & Holmes (alongside 2 Guns writer Steven Grant) for New Paradigm Studios. For six years he was the editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Herald-Dispatch group of newspapers, is currently the co-owner and editor-in-chief of Black geek website Komplicated at the Good
Men Project, and uses his Operative Network website (www.operative.net) to
publish his poetry, market what he's doing, rant at the world and emit
strangled cries for help. In addition to all that, Hannibal collects comic
books, has scores of action figures, DJs private parties, is a Mac OS
zealot, sings and sometimes even hosts karaoke, practices a form of
spirituality based on ancient Egyptian belief, and goes to bed every day,
secretly hoping that half the world will commit suicide in his honor.