Following the September 11th 2001 attacks, the US government put Muslim communities under siege. The Black community had already been under siege for several hundred years. It was a bad time to be both Black and Muslim. The inglorious centerpiece of the post 9/11 PR campaign was a series of high-profile arrests in the name of America’s war on Terror.
One of the many people targeted was Patrice Lumumba Ford, a brilliant scholar, gifted in languages, gentle conscientious and a man of deep convictions. When the US began its misguided bombing of Afghanistan – despite the fact that the hi-jackers for the most part hailed from Saudi Arabia – Patrice’s spiritual path lead him to the Chinese, Afghan border. His intention was to provide aid to civilians suffering under the US barrage. The border is as far as he got but it was far enough for the Bush regime to close the door on Patrice Lumumba Ford’s future.
The Ford family is no stranger to these heavy-handed tactics. My guest this Friday morning, on the eve of the 25th national recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, is Kent Ford, father of this remarkable young man who has been behind bars now for seven years.- KBOO