| Kalonji Jama Changa | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 5, 1970 Bridgeport, Connecticut |
| Organization | FTP Movement, International Committee to Support Imam Jamil Al-Amin (Formerly H. Rap Brown), Black August Organizing Committee, and the Cease Fire: Stop Police Terrorism Campaign |
| Influenced by | Malcolm X, Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, Kwame Ture, Muhammad Ali, Harriet Tubman, Sam Pace and Marcus Garvey |
| Political movement | Black Nationalism, Civil Rights, and Human Rights |
| Religion | Muslim |
Kalonji Jama Changa (born Nigel Brown on December 5, 1970), is an American community activist, lecturer, journalist and filmmaker, voted one of Departure Magazine’s Leaders of the New School and one of The Street Legends 2006 Hip Hop Activists of the Year.
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Coming from a long line of Freedom Fighters tracing back to his great-great grandfather, Sam Pace, a Seminole native accused of gunning down 7 U.S. Marshals, Kalonji Jama Changa began community organizing at an early age. Always vocal against any type of injustice, in 1999, Kalonji along with Leonardo Drakeford, a native of Bridgeport, Connecticut formed the Universal Black Panther Party (UBP). The UBP was a political organization that was modeled after the Black Panther Party of the 1960s. The UBP, operating mainly out of Connecticut and New York, made attempts to organize the youth through history classes and community programs. In June 2001, the group was dismantled and Kalonji formed the rap group FTP which eventually grew into the FTP Movement.
In September 2001, Akua Njeri (Former Black Panther and widow of slain Black Panther Fred Hampton), Nkrumah Anpu (Blk Agenda) and Kalonji Jama Changa organized what became known as The Welcome Home Fred Hampton Jr. Weekend. The event marked the release of Fred Hampton Jr. who served 9½ years for a crime of which he was falsely accused. During this weekend, Fred Hampton Jr. and Kalonji formally met and eventually Kalonji ended up joining the organization in which Fred Hampton Jr. chaired, the Prisoners of Conscience Committee (POCC). As the National Chief Coordinator of The POCC, Changa's position entailed launching and overseeing chapters nationally. In 2006, Kalonji Jama Changa, left the POCC and continued pushing the FTP Movement. The same year Changa converted to Islam and became a member of The West End Community Masjid of Atlanta, an Islamic institution founded by Jamil Al-Amin. Jamil Al-Amin, also known as H. Rap Brown, came to prominence in the 1960s as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Justice Minister of the Black Panther Party.
Under Kalonji’s direction as Founder/National Chief Coordinator of the FTP Movement, programs such as Feed The People, Siafu Youth Corps, MOBB(Mothers of Black and Brown Babies) and the FTP Artists Collective, have matured and developed. Partially due to his uncompromising position, ability to move the crowd, and muscle in his voice, Kalonji has become known as “The Riot Starter”. He has been featured on the Ride or Die; Poets 4 Political Prisoners and Organize the Hood Tours, in addition to hosting a weekly radio show on Harambee Radio. The high demand for Kalonji Jama Changa has earned him the honor of hosting both Black August Commemoration Concerts in Oakland, California and Atlanta, Georgia, annually. In 2007, Kalonji was instrumental in the launching of the Cease Fire: Stop Police Terrorism Campaign, a national crusade that amalgamated community organizers and the hip hop community to tackle issues of police brutality. Endorsers of the Cease Fire Campaign include The National Political Hip Hop Convention, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and former prisoner Dhoruba Bin Wahad. In addition to his effective organizing and electrifying microphone skill, Kalonji is also a talented writer whose work has appeared in San Francisco Bay View, The Source, Frontline Magazine and The Bandana Republic: A Literary Anthology by Gang Members and Their Affiliates.
In January 2008, Emerging Minds Magazine announced that Kalonji Changa and film producer Vaunghn Saber would be releasing an "Explosive Documentary about Police Brutality", called "Why We Say FTP". The internationally distributed film includes freedom fighters, rappers and politicians. According to the article, "Why We Say FTP is not just another run of the mill 'conscious' documentary; it is a project that captures the heart and minds of everyday people".