A 1-Year Reflection Of Neighbor Program

As I reflect on what is the 1 year anniversary of Neighbor Program, it struck me to recall our history and as my elder Billy X constantly tells me “document it.” And so this is the story of what birthed Neighbor Program and the growth to date; although I cannot yet tell the end story I am sure with all faith in God and the Ancestors that there is so much more for us to do and our story is far from over.

To me, Neighbor Program started the day my father got his draft notice from the selective service system which served as a method of kidnapping a young New Afrikan away from his community and his life. My father had graduated Balboa High in San Francisco in June 1966 and enrolled at San Francisco City College where he lettered in football and had a job at a local restaurant when he received this letter in the Spring of 1967. This timing put my father in the middle of Khe Sanh in January 1968, just as the Tet Offensive was beginning. After being kidnapped and forced to fight for his life for 13 months, he was brought “home from the bush within 72hours” with little resources. Within a few weeks of being home, he was recruited by several members of the Black Panther Party which again sets the historical precedent and is part of the story of Neighbor Program.

I was raised up in and around the politic; as a kid I used to dream of being able to fight for my…