H. Rap Brown
H. Rap Brown | |
|---|---|
Brown in 1967 | |
| 5th Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee | |
| In office May 1967 – June 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Stokely Carmichael |
| Succeeded by | Phil Hutchings |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hubert Gerold Brown October 4, 1943 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | November 23, 2025 (aged 82) |
| Spouse | Karima al-Amin |
| Known for | Black Power movement |
| Criminal information | |
| Convictions |
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| Criminal penalty | Life in prison |
| Imprisoned at |
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Jamil Abdullah al-Amin (born Hubert Gerold Brown; October 4, 1943 – November 23, 2025) was an African-American activist who served as the fifth chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s. Calling himself H. Rap Brown in that period, he was one of the primary spokesmen for the black power movement.
Brown was perhaps best known for his provocative comments during the ghetto riots in the "long hot summer of 1967," such as, "Violence is as American as cherry pie", and, "If America don't come around, we're gonna burn it down." He was also known for his autobiography, Die Nigger Die!. He briefly served as the Black Panther Party's minister of justice during the six month alliance between SNCC and the Black Panther Party.
After spending over a decade as a Muslim cleric and community organizer in Atlanta, Georgia, he was convicted of murder, serving a life sentence for the shooting of two Fulton County, Georgia, sheriff's deputies in 2000.