On the 25th anniversary of his execution: Shaka Sankofa ¡presente!

Houston — Passion, admiration, love, and a bit of sadness filled the venue of the Houston Chapter of the National Black United Front (NBUF) on June 22 as a packed house, along with 35 people on Zoom from around the country, remembered one of the most outspoken and militant incarcerated activists Texas has ever locked up: Shaka Sankofa (aka Gary Graham).

As activists from the original Gary Graham Justice Committee, formed during the early 1980s in Houston, spoke on the history of the case, folks at the memorial learned of his development from a youth who got into trouble for expropriating cars to an educated and politically astute activist who organized hunger strikes, founded an organization, and published a newspaper that had subscribers in the U.S. and Europe.

Speakers at the memorial included Deloyd Parker, the director of the S.H.A.P.E. (Self-Help for African People through Education) Center; Kofi Taharka, chair of the NBUF; Anthony Freddie; Sister Krystal Sonia, chair of the New Black Panther Party; Deidra Hawkins, Shaka’s daughter, and this reporter. 

Speaking via Zoom were Shaka’s friend Ashanti Chimurenga; Monica Moorehead and Larry Holmes from Workers World Party; Roger Wareham, December 12th Movement and the Reverend Herbert Daughtry, among others.  The latter four Zoom speakers were members of the New York committee that fought for Shaka’s life. 

‘This lynching will not be forgotten’

On June 22, 2000, Shaka was legally lynched as hundreds and hundreds of people protested outside of the death house in Huntsville, Texas, on a scorching-hot summer day. Ku Klux Klan racists, dressed in robes and hoods, walked freely. Members of the New Black Panthers marched around the area carrying long guns. There was a military tank a few feet away from those protesting, parked in front of the warden’s house. Cops, prison police and state troopers were out in force.

Why all the repression? Because a skinny, 17-year-old with a ninth-grade education from northeast Houston named Gary Graham was framed for a murder he knew nothing about. And after being on death row for over 20 years and becoming a revolutionary activist with supporters all over the world, he was scheduled for a 6 p.m. execution on June 22.

As Shaka lay on the gurney that night in 2000, he made a long political statement.  He thanked all of his supporters, mentioning those witnessing his execution including Jesse Jackson, Bianca Jagger, the Reverend Al Sharpton, Nation of Islam’s Minister Robert Muhammad, and Shaka’s stepmother Elnora Graham.

Shaka’s last words included: “We must move forward Minister Robert Mohammed. Ashanti Chimurenga, I love you for standing with me, my sister. We will stop this lynching. Reverend Al Sharpton, I love you, my brother. Bianca Jagger, I love all of you. Ya’ll make sure that we continue to stand together. Reverend Jesse Jackson know that this murder, this lynching will not be forgotten. This is genocide in America. This is what happens to Black men when they stand up and protest for what is right and just. . .  You can kill a revolutionary, but you cannot stop the revolution.

“They know I’m innocent. But they cannot acknowledge my innocence, because to do so would be to publicly admit their guilt. This is something these racist people will never do.”

An enduring legacy of resistance

Shaka’s daughter, Deidra Hawkins, told everyone at the memorial, “I miss my daddy every day. Texas killed my father. Texas is a killer but my father was not one.”

Moorehead remarked: “Shaka’s greatest legacy was that he resisted to the very end of his life.  Even behind the inhumane walls, Shaka could never be silenced with a revolutionary message of encouraging resistance beyond himself as an individual just as our Palestinian incarcerated siblings keep resisting under the most dire conditions under occupation.”  

This reporter stated: “The death penalty in the U.S. is a direct descendant of lynching. Racial terror lynchings gave way to executions in response to criticism that torturing and killing Black people for cheering audiences was undermining the U.S.’s image and moral authority on the world stage.” 

Lee Greenwood, whose son Joseph Nichols was executed in 2007, read a statement from a friend on death who had known Shaka the whole time he was on death row. Signed as The Underground Poet, he wrote: “Shaka was an avid reader, mainly of history and biographies of revolutionaries. And a strict news hound, interested in everything going on around the world. He would be absolutely livid over the Gaza situation, were he here, and upset with all who wasn’t upset. 

“Shaka’s political awareness, and ultimate activism, began in classes organized and taught by this writer. But for an outsider looking in, it was hard to tell at times who was the student and who was the teacher. Not that he was disruptive, but how after classes he would volunteer his time to work with others who were struggling with the lessons.” 

The writer stressed: “It wasn’t uncommon to see him off alone with someone reading from our little study pamphlet provided by Workers World Party. Twenty five years later, Shaka is still missed and mourned. His energy and work ethics as a leader and organizer were unmatched.”

As Shaka laid on the gurney right before taking his last breath, he stated:  “Slavery couldn’t stop us. The lynchings couldn’t stop us in the South. This lynching will not stop us tonight. We will go forward. Our destiny in this country is freedom and liberation. We will gain our freedom and liberation by any means necessary. By any means necessary, we keep marching forward.”