Sharing stories about their lives and experiences in political organizing, narrators contribute to a collective memory, highlighting the similarities and differences in the landscape today and how they have remained committed to movement work over decades.
Born and raised in Oakland, CA, Jalil Muntaqim is a Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA) veteran. In his oral history, he talks about his activist influences, his evolution to revolutionary nationalism, and 49 year-long incarceration as a political prisoner. Released in 2020, his message centers around decolonizing one's thinking, embracing New Afrikan heritage and identity, and building the "People's Senate" and alternative forms of governance. Muntaqim is the last living co-founder of the National Jericho Movement. Visit their website to learn more about how The Jericho Movement supports political prisoners.
Oral historian Dartricia Rollins recorded Jalil Muntaqim's 3-hour oral history on June 12, 2025 at an office in Rochester, NY as part of an oral history collection with veteran members of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army. The unabridged interview is presented below.