Redemption Song and Dance:
Little Melvin Williams Is Not The Deacon He Played On The Wire
City Paper (Baltimore, MD)
By Van Smith
Published on: 3/19/2008
“I’m sorry I let you in the door,” Melvin Williams says as he ushers a reporter out of his warehouse office to the sidewalk outside, where the conversation continues. The old gangster has long been called “Little Melvin,” and he’s dressed all in black, save a blue handkerchief wrapped around his ankle that peeks out from below the hem of his left pant leg. He quotes the Bible, chapter and verse, and condemns the visitor as a “troublemaker” and a “snoop,” and he casts himself as “a peacemaker.” Evidence of this last claim comes when he shakes an offered hand as the time comes to say goodbye.
Williams’ righteous indignation is entirely in keeping with his current reputation as the wizened, redeemed OG aiming to keep souls out of the drug game, an image he earned playing a church deacon on the HBO television series The Wire. He’d lived up to his prior persona–the fearsome drug kingpin–until 1996, when he confirms he “saw God.” He then was nearing the end of a lengthy federal prison sentence, begun in the 1980s, for his leadership role in introducing bulk shipments of heroin to Baltimore. Williams became a bail bondsman after his release, but caught a gun conviction in 2000, earning a new 22-year sentence from U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis. In 2003, though, Garbis removed the career-criminal mantle he’d previously draped over Williams’ shoulders and set him free (“Little Melvin’s Holiday,” The Nose, Jan. 22, 2003). The old gangster’s public redemption was aided further by his Wire appearances as a man of God.
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GOD is a NEGRO | the God who shapes our destinies is symbolized in ourselves 
April 14, 2008
Afeni Shakur Breaks it Down
Posted by godisanegro under Commentary, Faith, News, Politics, Pop Culture[2] Comments
“In the Black Panther party, we failed because we took God out. I beg you not to do the same thing.”
I know I needed to hear her words today. Thanks Davey D making her words available to the public.
VCF
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Revolutionary Situation: 2Pac’s Mom Brings Serious Heat
Breakdown FM with Davey D
April 11, 2008
Many people forget that 2Pac’s mother Afeni Shakur was a Black Panther who was really ’bout it ’bout it back in the days.
She was pregnent with 2Pac when she went on trial as part of the infamous NY Panther 21.
This sista has always put in work for the community, and while she did have some momentary setbacks which were described by 2Pac in some of his songs, after his death Afeni has emerged stronger then ever.
She is still a freedom fighter.
The other week she came to Memphis, Tennessee for the Dream Reborn Conference and delivered a blistering speech about the direction Hip Hop and Hip Hop activists must take going into the 21st century. She was quite clear about us owning land, starting our own businesses and being spiritually grounded. Her speech drew a rousing standing ovation. 2Pac’s mom is no joke.
Click here for audio of Afeni Shakur’s speech.