Saturday, December 13
6:30 – 8:00 pm
The People’s Forum
320 West 37th Street
New York City, NY 10018
Join 1804 Books, organizers with the Indianapolis Liberation Center and our member-groups, the Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign (SSFC) and PSL Indianapolis, at The People’s Forum online and in-person for the highly-anticipated book launch of Manifestations of Thought: When the Dragon Comes, the selected writings of Shaka A. Shakur.
Emory Douglas calls it an “impressive, highly insightful, and moving book.” Imprisoned in 2002, Shaka has remained a staunch political activist: he grew into a leader of the New Afrikan Movement and continues to publish and share political analysis, becoming a leader of organizers, both inside and outside prison fight for across the country. Hear from folks who helped make this book possible, as well as organizers and leaders fighting for Shaka’s liberation today.
As Derek Ford, Organizational Relations Director of the Center and a main editor of the book, writes in the introduction:
“The fact this book has made it to publication—that you’re holding these words on paper, seeing them on a screen, or hearing them read—is evidence that the state’s escalating efforts to silence Shaka A. Shakur . . . have so far failed.”
Produced in close collaboration with Shaka, Manifestations of Thought is both an urgent call and an everlasting record of a key leader of the Black liberation struggle. This collection gathers his most significant personal, theoretical, organizational, and practical writings. It is a reminder to fight not to honor for the political prisoners of our past, but also for the revolutionaries still fighting for liberation today.
About the panelists
Leon Benson is an advocate for humanity and a testament to the power of the human spirit. Benson spent 25 years wrongfully incarcerated, a harrowing decade of which were spent in solitary confinement. It was in prison that Benson and Shaka met and developed a friendship that lasts until this day. Leon transformed his survival into a mission of healing and justice. Since his exoneration in March 2023, he has become a leading voice in the mental wellness field, serving as a trauma-informed reentry specialist and peer recovery coach. Leon blends his profound lived experience with professional expertise to navigate the complexities of life after release. As a socially conscious hip-hop artist and community organizer, he uses art and advocacy to connect with diverse audiences, offering a rare mix of eloquent vulnerability and actionable insight. His first album, “Innocent Born Guilty” was released by FREER Records in June 2023 and his first book, Letters of Gratitude: i Am Because We Are was published by Iskra Books in 2024.
Dr. Akili Sadiki-Shakur, a retired educator from Purdue University Northwest, has been involved in the struggle against the racist mass incarceration system for decades. During this work, she met and eventually married her husband, Shaka A. Shakur. Akili is currently Director of Saving Our Families (SOF) in Northwest Indiana and Treasurer of the Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign.
Dani Abdullah is a proud Black and queer person. As an organizer with ANSWER Indiana and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, they are heavily invested in the liberation of New Afrikan/ Black people and of all people suffering under capitalism. Dani has fought for LGBTQ+ rights, abortion access, Palestinian liberation, and to end police terror in Indianapolis. She is also a co-host of the weekly podcast, Naptown People’s Radio. Outside of their organizing, Dani is a mom, a wife, a social worker, a Certified Sexual Abuse Youth Councilor, the founder and CEO of You Are a Gift, LLC, and serves on the Board of Hear Her Voice.
Derek R. Ford is a teacher, educational theorist, and organizer living in Indianapolis. He has been working closely with Shaka A. Shakur since 2023, helped start Free Shaka Shakur, and is currently on the Board of the Shaka Shakur Freedom Campaign. Ford Co-Directed “Across Enemy Lines: Shaka A. Shakur” and worked closely with Shaka to edit Manifestations of Thought: When the Dragon Comes. Ford is one of the founders of the Indianapolis Liberation Center–where he volunteers as the Organizational Relations Directors–and is a lead organizer with the Coalition to Free Vernon T. Bateman. Ford’s written eight books, including Teaching the Actuality of Revolution: Aesthetics, Unlearning, and the Sensations of Struggle (Iskra, 2023) and, along with Dani Abdullah, co-hosts Naptown People’s Radio. You can read more about their work at derekrford.com.
Vernon T. Bateman is an artist, author, and community advocate. He was falsely arrested at the age of 18 and unjustly incarcerated for 26 years, during which time he met Shaka A. Shakur. Released on parole in 2023, Bateman still faces unconstitutional and severely restrictive parole stipulations. Despite these restrictions, Bateman continues fighting for justice through his children’s books and artwork. As Congressman André D. Carson said, Bateman’s “work is a powerful reflection of his unwavering commitment to social justice, offering both a challenge and a solution to the injustices we face.” You can find out more about Bateman at Baby22GunSafetyLLC.com and VernonsVersions.art, and you can join the struggle for his exoneration at FreeVernon.org!
Featured image: The People’s Forum graphic for the event. Credit: People’s Forum.