To end the year right, the brothers of Omega Psi Phi (Eta Mu Nu, Omega Lambda and Omicron Mu Nu chapters) presented a fundraiser and book signing that showed the community two sides of the Purple and Gold: The Omega Man and The Que Dawg.
During the early evening, the bruh’s organized a talkback and book signing with Civil Rights Attorney, Ben Crump. Brother Crump is a life member of the organization.
Crump spoke about the importance of passing down valuable information to our young people and the power of the Black voice. When asked about issues like the Byron Allen case against Comcast, he had this to say:
“Byron Allen sued Comcast because they would not let him get his channels on your cable. This is deep because all this is based in Philadelphia since Comcast is based in Philadelphia. What he really is saying, and you all have to pay attention to this because some of you may work for racist people and might want to bring a discrimination case up against them.”
He went into breaking down the complicated issues at hand, revealing that should this case prevail on Comcast’s side with the recommendation of Trump’s Department of Justice to add the “Just For” clause, people will have to prove that race is the only reason that one was fired.
“I don’t think our people understand how crucial this issue is. And it is said because Trump and his people get up early in the morning trying to figure out ways to oppress us. We have to get up early in the morning so we can figure out how to overcome their desire to oppress us.”
He continued, “The only way we can do that is if we ensure people are educated on those issues. Most people have no idea what’s going on and by the time they realize it, it may very well be too late.”
Crump, who many have grown to know him because of his work with Trayvon Martin’s family and so many others who have been challenged with discrimination or race-based police violence, has recently released a book called Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People. Within the book, he explores the many ways that the racist fraction of the dominant culture is seeking to kill off our people.
“When you start looking at the statistics, how can you call it anything other than legalized genocide? All of these things are legal. Telling Black men that we will reduce your sentence is legal. Sterilizing Black and Brown women in California… that was legal.” He informs.
He continues, “So every chance we get, we have to make sure that we have to make sure our people know what’s going on. Many people are shocked by this. Some people, the powers that be, are not shocked at all by this. This has been going on for decades in America.”
When the moderator brought up the fact that white people will be a minority in the near future, he targeted his question on voter suppression. Voter suppression has been one of the issues that Omega Psi Phi as a national organization has fought against.
Crump spoke about the indecencies that many Black women have faced at the hands of the police when only fighting for their rights to be counted. His resolve? We have to educate our children, educate the community and never back down from a good fight towards our people’s liberation.
After the discussion, in the ballroom, the Eclipse hosts had a flat-out jam! All were welcomed and there was plenty of D9 support. I can’t wait to see what the Philly Ques do next year. Surely it will be just as powerful.
Funds raised from this night will contribute to the work that the brothers do in the community during the upcoming year.
