Washington City Paper: Contents for Apr. 21

The Revolutionary's War
Black nationalist and aspiring demagogue Malik Zulu Shabazz ignites the D.C. Council race in Ward 8.

Cover Story

Malik Zulu Shabazz is standing on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Sumner Road SE, doing what he does best: bellowing at a crowd.

“Our enemy is upset today because the black man is coming together, is that right?” Shabazz thunders into a bullhorn.

Shabazz fires his exhortation at about 50 young, black men, the participants in an all-male, anti-violence march called “Cease Fire: Don't Smoke the Brothers.” They roar approval of Shabazz's question. Dozens yell back. “That's right!”

The marchers are enthralled by Shabazz, and it's easy to see why. The Ward 8 D.C. Council candidate, Howard University law student, and full-time rabble-rouser towers above them at 6 feet 6 inches tall. He is wearing a black, quasi-military uniform. Red cloth epaulets, garnished with green crescents and stars, decorate his shoulders. In his right hand he grasps the bullhorn. In his left he brandishes a 6-foot, painted wooden staff with the head of an African prince carved on its knob.

“We are going to make this neighborhood a paradise, is that right?” Shabazz continues.

The crowd cheers again: “Absolutely, Brother Malik!”

“We are going to protect ourselves!” Shabazz raises his swagger stick aloft. The demonstrators whoop and applaud.

“We are going to protect the 'hood!

“We are going to protect our women and children!”

“All the time, brother!” a man shouts back.... Continued

Issue of Apr. 21 - 27, 1995

News and Features

The Revolutionary's War
Black nationalist and aspiring demagogue Malik Zulu Shabazz ignites the D.C. Council race in Ward 8.
Cover Story By David Plotz
Smash City
Why the District Is Losing the War Against Auto Break-Ins
Feature By Eric Wemple
A Dream Deferred
The National African American Museum Languishes in Smithsonian Limbo
The City By Charles Bermpohl
Pardon My Wife—Please
Barry Seeks Gubernatorial Gambit
The City By Jonetta Rose Barras
Night of the Bikers
D.C.'s Bicycle Couriers Race the Clock—and Each Other
The City By Maurice Martin
Fashion and Oppression Don't Mix
The Mail By John P. Pylka
Sensational Winchester
The Mail By Kitty Zuckerman
Military Man
The Mail By Andrew Williams
Build Up Your Tolerance
The Mail By Paul Armentano
What Do You Mean, Punk? No Table Available?!
The Mail By Robert Homan
Let's Be Objective About Gun Control
The Mail By Paul W. Moog