CHI Sunnyside E18: Violence Interrupters & the Legacy of Chicago Activism w Ameena Matthews

Chicago Sunnyside Podcast

Get in touch with us. We love to hear from you!

Chicagosunnyside.net

Hosts: Giziribtah Debasah & Nehez Meniooh

Guests: Dr. Ameena Matthews

We continue our series on community protection with a daughter of Chicago Royalty when it comes to street organization. Dr. Ameena Matthews is a mother, political activist and violence interrupter. During the episode, she sheds some light on her path to peace building.

She brings stories of Chicago’s hidden history with Chairman Fred Hampton, Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, J. Edgar Hoover, Muammar Gaddafi and her father, Abdul Malik Ka’bah’s (Jeff Fort - the founder of the Blackstone P Rangers, aka El Rufkns). She gets into her experiences in her fight to free her father from a prison in Colorado.

She gained national notoriety with the PBS documentary, the Interrupters presenting her work with Ceasefire. Today, she is active on Chicago’s Southside bringing spiritual and cultural awareness with IMAN (Inner-City Muslim Action Network) as she leads countless programs and activities to bring positive change to Chicago’s streets.

In this episode, we discuss:

0:00 - 1:18 - Sunnyside Intro

1:19 - 5:17 - Welcome & Introductions

5:18 - 6:37 - Ameena’s Invitation to Kebtah Temple & Introducing Herself

6:38 - 16:21 - My path to peace building

16:22 - 24:16 - A Mother’s Influence & Fighting Obscurity & B.S.

24:17 - 24:44 - My Father’s Influence & Spiritual guidance

24:45 - 27:46 - Islam’s Effective Reforming in Black America

27:47 - 32:24 - Meeting Husband & Marrying Deeper into a Movement

32:25 - 39:25 - The Legacy of Jeff Fort (Abdul Malik Ka’bah)

39:26 - 42:08 - Nixon & FBI vs Black Chicago Street Organizers Jeff Fort & Fred Hampton

42:09 - 45:53 - The Saudi Arabia Meeting with Farrakhan & Muammar Gaddafi

45:54 - 49:12 - Ending Solitary Confinement & Freeing Jeff Fort

49:13 - 53:54 - America’s Fear & the Mission to Prevent the Next Black Messiah

53:55 - 59:39 - Where the Real Fight Is in Chicago

59:40 - 1:03:50 - Ceasefire, The Interrupters & Peace Builders

1:03:51 - 1:12:08 - Starting with Chicago's CeaseFire

1:12:09 - 1:21:35:20 - Rise in Crime Among Young Girls

1:21:36 - 1:25:57 - The Rise of the Spirit of the Mother in Our Communities

1:25:58 - 1:31:02 - Contact Ameena & Get Involved

1:31:03 - 1:31:30 - Sunnyside Outro

Links:

Ameena Matthew

[e-mail]

605 E 75th St.

Pause for Peace

PauseforPeaceChicagoNFP.org

Inner-City Muslim Action Network

https://www.imancentral.org/

Weekend Warriors

https://www.imancentral.org/chicago/p...

The Interrupters Documentary

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/do...