Imam Jamil Al Amin formerly known as H. Rap Brown is a major political figure of the civil rights movement and humanitarian who has been incarcerated for the past 21 years, 16 of those spent in solitary confinement. 

Imam Jamil was widely known for his moving and influential way of speaking. So much that it caught the eye of organizations like SNCC where he became the third chairperson, and The Black Panther Party where he served as Minister of Justice. 

I recently sat down with his son Khiry Al-Amin, who has taken the reins of the movement to free his father. We discussed his fathers legacy, the status of his case, and what it was like growing up without his fathers powerful presence. 

“My father was the last of a dying breed, when you mention the Martins and Malcomns of the world, you have to mention my father. What catapulted him into the eyesight of these civil rights organizations was that he was extremely influential in his speech and his actions, because he spoke well and after speaking he would be seen doing the things he spoke about. That's real leadership.”

“That's how he ended up in organizations like SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and eventually becoming the third chairperson. The Black Panther Party gave him the honorary title of Minister of Justice. He was invited to the White House and that's how he ended up on America’s Most Wanted List”

“Eventually he became Muslim, and that’s when he got guidance. It wasn't just action for action's sake,it was by this rubric that Allah set for us. All of his action and activity were guided by something. So he became even more influential nationally to internationality.”

“My father became an Imam which is the equivalent to a Pastor or Rabbi in the muslim faith. He would be the equivalent of TD Jakes, Joel Olsteen. He was the national Imam, so every Imam in the country fell under him. Every national organization that people know about, he sat on the board or was the chairman of the board for. He was extremely influential when it came to the Muslim world. Which is why he was invited to meet with the royal family, they flew him out and paid for his pilgrimage to Haaj, because they understood his influence in the American muslim movement” 

“I was 12 years old at the time of my fathers arrest. I grew up in a household with him, so there was no point in my life where I wasn't aware that things were always going on. The jokes around our house were if we heard something strange on the phone, “oh thats the feds listening again”, we made those jokes because that was our reality. So when he was arrested, it ended childhood, it was time to start making grown up decisions now because they just took my father. As I grew up we still had a strong relationship, I was still able to visit, and he was able to still do his best from inside.”

“We're optimistic, we have a lot of things going on. His case is actually in review, so we're hoping they’ll move him back to GA at least during the review process and hopefully they make the right decision in the review process. Right now he's in Tucson, Arizona. This will make 21 years since his incarceration.”

He has cancer now, he's blind, which is also why we're trying to get him moved back to Georgia so he can get proper healthcare because they’re denying him certain things. 

“Right now we have a very simple ask. Just visit freeimamjamil.com and follow the three steps that are on the page. One is sending out a letter trying to get him moved back to Atlanta, GA.”

Imam Jamil Al Amin formerly known as H. Rap Brown is a major political figure of the civil rights movement and humanitarian who has been incarcerated for the past 21 years, 16 of those spent in solitary confinement. 

Imam Jamil was widely known for his moving and influential way of speaking. So much that it caught the eye of organizations like SNCC where he became the third chairperson, and The Black Panther Party where he served as Minister of Justice. 

I recently sat down with his son Khiry Al-Amin, who has taken the reins of the movement to free his father. We discussed his fathers legacy, the status of his case, and what it was like growing up without his fathers powerful presence. 

“My father was the last of a dying breed, when you mention the Martins and Malcomns of the world, you have to mention my father. What catapulted him into the eyesight of these civil rights organizations was that he was extremely influential in his speech and his actions, because he spoke well and after speaking he would be seen doing the things he spoke about. That's real leadership.”

“That's how he ended up in organizations like SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and eventually becoming the third chairperson. The Black Panther Party gave him the honorary title of Minister of Justice. He was invited to the White House and that's how he ended up on America’s Most Wanted List”

“Eventually he became Muslim, and that’s when he got guidance. It wasn't just action for action's sake,it was by this rubric that Allah set for us. All of his action and activity were guided by something. So he became even more influential nationally to internationality.”

“My father became an Imam which is the equivalent to a Pastor or Rabbi in the muslim faith. He would be the equivalent of TD Jakes, Joel Olsteen. He was the national Imam, so every Imam in the country fell under him. Every national organization that people know about, he sat on the board or was the chairman of the board for. He was extremely influential when it came to the Muslim world. Which is why he was invited to meet with the royal family, they flew him out and paid for his pilgrimage to Haaj, because they understood his influence in the American muslim movement” 

“I was 12 years old at the time of my fathers arrest. I grew up in a household with him, so there was no point in my life where I wasn't aware that things were always going on. The jokes around our house were if we heard something strange on the phone, “oh thats the feds listening again”, we made those jokes because that was our reality. So when he was arrested, it ended childhood, it was time to start making grown up decisions now because they just took my father. As I grew up we still had a strong relationship, I was still able to visit, and he was able to still do his best from inside.”

“We're optimistic, we have a lot of things going on. His case is actually in review, so we're hoping they’ll move him back to GA at least during the review process and hopefully they make the right decision in the review process. Right now he's in Tucson, Arizona. This will make 21 years since his incarceration.”

He has cancer now, he's blind, which is also why we're trying to get him moved back to Georgia so he can get proper healthcare because they’re denying him certain things. 

“Right now we have a very simple ask. Just visit freeimamjamil.com and follow the three steps that are on the page. One is sending out a letter trying to get him moved back to Atlanta, GA.”