Ashanti Alston: An Interview with Anarchist Panther | PART 1

From Substack by Prince Shakur | The Dugout

Listen to podcast at above Substack link or on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/ctkcBKMV8T8

 

In this in-depth conversation with revolutionary organizer Ashanti Alston, former member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army, we trace a life committed to struggle, freedom, and community. From his early experiences during the Civil Rights era and the 1967 Plainfield Rebellion to his radicalization through Black Power and anti-imperialist movements, Ashanti reflects on the lessons, tensions, and commitments that defined a generation of liberation fighters.

He discusses the work of building Panther chapters, community defense, and the realities of underground struggle—offering powerful reflections on discipline, solidarity, and the meaning of revolutionary love. Through personal stories and political insight, this episode captures both the historical and ongoing spirit of Black liberation and anarchist resistance.


Historical Events Mentioned

 
  • Plainfield Rebellion (1967): Following uprisings in Newark and Detroit, residents of Plainfield, NJ, rose against police brutality and systemic racism. Rebels raided a nearby gun factory, armed themselves, and temporarily forced police out of the Black neighborhood — a defining moment in Ashanti’s political awakening.
  • COINTELPRO: The FBI’s Counterintelligence Program targeting Black radicals, particularly the Panthers, through surveillance, infiltration, and false charges.
  • Panther 21 Trial (1969–71): A major case in which 21 members of the NYC chapter of the BPP were falsely accused of planning bombings. Their acquittal after years of imprisonment became symbolic of state repression and resistance.
  • Assassination of George Jackson (1971): The killing of the Black Panther and revolutionary author in San Quentin Prison — which sparked global outrage and inspired retaliatory BLA actions.
  • Formation of the Black Liberation Army (early 1970s): An underground continuation of the BPP’s revolutionary politics, emphasizing armed struggle and the liberation of political prisoners.

Figures & Movements Referenced

 
  • Jihad Abdul (formerly known as Jihad): Fellow Plainfield Panther, co-organizer, and comrade of Alston during the 1960s–70s; both were targeted in a state frame-up.
  • Safiya Bukhari (1949–2003): Former Harlem Panther and BLA leader; later co-founded the Jericho Movement to free political prisoners. Alston and Bukhari would later marry.
  • Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture): Black Power leader who helped popularize the term and inspired movements beyond civil rights.
  • H. Rap Brown (Jamil Al-Amin): Activist and author of Die Nigger Die! whose account of the Plainfield Rebellion influenced Alston’s understanding of rebellion.
  • Eldridge Cleaver: BPP’s Minister of Information and author of Soul on Ice (1968); his essay Education and Revolution inspired Alston’s high school campaign speech.
  • Mao Zedong: Chinese revolutionary; his Little Red Book shaped Panther discipline and concepts of “serving the people.”
  • George Jackson: Prisoner, revolutionary author (Soledad Brother, Blood in My Eye), and central figure in the prisoner liberation movement.
  • Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones): Poet and cultural nationalist; his Newark-based organization influenced local groups near Plainfield.
  • Nation of Islam: Provided early models of self-discipline and community service that shaped many Panthers’ early consciousness.
  • Jericho Movement: A later coalition of former political prisoners and allies focused on amnesty and support for imprisoned revolutionaries.

Books, Essays, or Media Mentioned [AFFILIATE LINKS]

  • The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965) – Malcolm X and Alex Haley. A foundational text in Alston’s early radicalization.
  • Die Nigger Die! by H. Rap Brown (1969) – Memoir of rebellion that celebrated Plainfield’s uprising. | https://bookshop.org/a/109212/9781556524523
  • Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver (1968) – Seminal Panther-era text linking personal transformation and revolutionary politics. | https://bookshop.org/a/109212/9780385333795
  • The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (1848) – Introduced Alston to class analysis. | https://bookshop.org/a/109212/9780140447576
  • Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (“The Little Red Book”) (1964) – A moral and political guide for early Panthers.
  • War of the Flea by Robert Taber (1965) – On guerrilla warfare; later used against Alston in his frame-up trial. | https://bookshop.org/a/109212/9781574885552
  • Revolutionary Catechism by Sergey Nechayev (1869) – Text on revolutionary commitment that influenced Alston’s thinking when transitioning underground. | http://marxists.org/subject/anarchism/nechayev/catechism.htm
  • The Battle of Algiers (film, 1966) – A revolutionary film required viewing for Panthers, showing urban anti-colonial warfare.
  • Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song by Melvin Van Peebles (film, 1971) – Depicted rebellious lumpen characters resisting systemic oppression.

INTERVIEW CHAPTERS

 

01:48 Introduction and Welcoming Ashanti

02:11 Ashanti’s Early Life and Family Background

03:23 Experiencing the Civil Rights Movement

04:13 The 1967 Plainfield Rebellion

06:53 Influence of Black Power and Revolutionary Ideologies

12:23 Joining the Black Panther Party

16:25 Organizing and Community Support

21:55 Challenges and Pushback

31:15 Creating the Black Panther Chapter

30:18 Daily Life and Responsibilities of Panthers

32:36 Weapons Training and Discipline

35:18 Community Engagement and Support

39:14 Frame-Up Charges and Legal Battles

49:18 Life in Jail and Continued Activism

53:34 Transition to Underground Work

56:21 Reflections on Sacrifice and Commitment


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Comments

anon (not verified) Thu, 10/16/2025 - 03:46

I have no idea how any of this blatantly marxist drivel has become so much a defining feature of "anarchism" in the 21st century.

This was not a discussion about anarchy. I don't care how cleverly packaged it is.

anon (not verified) Fri, 10/17/2025 - 08:37

In reply to by anon (not verified)

really? talking about how someone is radicalized, how someone learns to think beyond what initially radicalized them, and the exciting part of at least parts of the black panthers (that people can't rely on the state, and that NON state actors can and do meet each others' needs), that's not anarchist? i'm still in the middle of this, and obviously the link list is disappointing, but maybe this podcast isn't for you. 

but yeah, it's nice when people are talking to us. 

and also, yeah, be suspicious of marxist hiding as anarchist.

lumpy (not verified) Fri, 10/17/2025 - 16:10

In reply to by anon (not verified)

seems pretty straightforward to me as a narrative that's exactly about being suspicious of marxism

like it or not, there's a lot of disillusioned marxist-leninists or [identity] liberation types who found the beautiful idea because of their experiences with the worst aspects of those tendencies

they might be traveling from a different (opposite?) direction but arrive at the same place, which would be good, no?

anon (not verified) Tue, 10/21/2025 - 01:02

In reply to by anon (not verified)

It's sorta difficult to draw lines because they have a democratically elected conservative President who behaves like a fascist dictator. In "Muhrica" they all think Heidegger is antisemitical lol.

anon (not verified) Thu, 10/16/2025 - 08:30

Why is the Battle of Algiers movie keep coming within so-called anarchist circles? This movie was a propaganda flick that promotes nationalism, antisemitism, Islamism as well as collective lynchings of homeless people with alcoholism issues, just because "decolonization!"

CalvinSmith Thu, 10/16/2025 - 18:25

In reply to by anon (not verified)

does the black panther movement have to do with anarchism? It was originally not anarchist: it was about black people having community infrastructure and empowering themselves. It was egalitarian in nature (community kitchens, self defense education, etc.) but not every radical left struggle is anarchist. I don't think the black panthers were really that concerned about hierarchy in general, just a form of racial liberation and freedom from poverty.

Don't get me wrong: i think the black panthers are an excellent alternative to N.O.I., which is blatantly repressive and anti-semitic in some aspects. I guess being a Muslim does not have to be anti-semitic, yet even today, N.O.I. continues to spew ideological nonsense and hatred towards white people and jews.

anon (not verified) Fri, 10/17/2025 - 07:33

In reply to by CalvinSmith

"It was originally not anarchist: it was about black people having community infrastructure and empowering themselves. It was egalitarian in nature (community kitchens, self defense education, etc.)"

Hums... explain here how that's not anarchist. What would be, then... White middle-class college kids doing occasional rioting and bookfairs-in-a-vat?

CalvinSmith Fri, 10/17/2025 - 07:45

In reply to by anon (not verified)

to do with what you claim: i'm more than halfway through, and there's not a single jew. The bad guys in the movie are the french occupied state, the protagonists are a group of algerians, many of whom are Muslim. Their goal is to re-establish the Algerian state, and their revolutionary method is leaving pistols around the city and coordinating murders of the french police.

It doesn't appear to be a propaghanda film either: there's a scene where the french cops get together, and they say : "okay, there are 400,000 algerians living in this city. Clearly they are not all our enemy, just the ones that use violence"...so in other words, even though the movie is primarily going for sympathy with the darker-skinned algerian people, the police are portrayed realistically. The hypocritical attitudes of the colonial police here exactly describes the methods that real life police seem to always use: all being based on a monopoly of violence. Propaghanda cannot tolerate moral ambiguity in a general sense.

In other words anon, it is you who is the propagandist, and that is why the ideological praise of the site it shows for completely anonymous trolls does not make any sense. Given that there's nothing to fill the power vacuum (besides someone who wants to reveal themselves and take a genuine interest in the matters posted on here), this site will always be a breeding ground for ideological guilt, and the zero-identity people will always have an advantage.

The site would be better without the comment section: as it would be a genuinely decentralized news website. People posting content would then have to leave contact information if they wanted responses, putting themselves at risk to the degree they decide...but clearly the terminally online mentality dictates that all publicity is good publicity, and we must troll onward to our death.

So good anarchist insurgents of anarchist news, troll on to ye death! May ye have a caffeine/nicotine heart attack while typing through your computer, and seek the approval of complete strangers in the most childish and hypocritical possible fashion.

--King of the Algerians
Calvin Smith

God King Thu, 10/16/2025 - 18:45

I thought Ashanti Alston was some sort of marxist? The two films listed are really reaching in their one sentence description. There are better blaxploitation films that would fall under the description given instead of Sweet Sweetback Baaadasssss Song

anon (not verified) Sat, 10/18/2025 - 04:23

My anarch consciousness arose totally out of my internal logical empathic critique of the ignorant petty identity/doctrine brainwashed morons always trying to tell me what is right or wrong. I DECIDE WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG ! and this makes me the purist anarch in my immediate vicinity,

anon (not verified) Sat, 10/18/2025 - 12:51

In reply to by CalvinSmith

Yes, and unfortunately even pseudo-anarchists like lumpy pontificate about their doctrinal version of "anarchism" from the keyboard pulpit, condemning all non-identarians for their unwillingness to join his club. DOWN WITH GENTRIFIED HOBOS !

anon (not verified) Tue, 10/21/2025 - 18:10

Quotations from Chairman Stalin's Little Red Brainwashing Manual -- goody-goody. Verily there is so much to borrow from and build upon here....

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