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THE ALUMNI

Steve, whose pen name is Lil’ Masai, was an early member of the Baltimore Chapter of the BPP where he joined in 1968. During those early years he was also assigned to Philadelphia, New York and New Haven. In 1972, Steve arrived in Oakland along with other Party members from chapters around the country. In 1973, he was assigned to the Intercommunal Youth Institute, later renamed the Oakland Community School, where he taught math and physical education. In 1974, Steve launched the Martial Arts program for youth and adults housed at the Oakland Community Learning Center. After the BPP, Steve taught math and then Ethnic Studies with the Oakland Unified School District. He is an accomplished spoken word performer, having been a member of the Oakland Writers Guild and International Black Writers & Artists, Bay Area collective. In 2008, his book, We Were Free For A While: Back to Back in the Black Panther Party was published. He currently is a member of the Black Organizing Project based in Oakland and Contra Costa county, and now stands side by side with former BPP members and community activists as part of the BPP Alumni Legacy Network.

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Professor Steve McCutchen

Sultan Ahmad is the Founder and President of the Sultan Jihad Ahmad Community Foundation, dedicated to ending youth violence and strengthening resources for youth to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s leadership with knowledge and confidence.

The Foundation was created by Sultan, Harriett Ahmad, Qimmah Ahmad, and family to honor Sultan Jihad Ahmad, Sultan’s son who was murdered on April 20, 1992. Since its founding in 1993, the Foundation has awarded over $100,000 in scholarships for college-bound youth and provided services offering brighter opportunities and hope to hundreds of at-risk youth.

As a leader in City government, Sultan served as the First Deputy Executive Director and Acting Executive Director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority and Executive Director of The Mayor’s Office of Community Services. In these and other roles over his twenty-two years in public administration, Sultan engaged with public officials and community leaders to develop and significantly expand and improve programming for City residents. With the Office of Community Services, Sultan advanced anti-poverty efforts across Philadelphia and administered anti-poverty programs through eight neighborhood offices across the city.

Sultan’s commitment to promoting a quality of life for all citizens has been recognized by over thirty awards including community organization appreciation awards and numerous City, State, and Federal citations, resolutions, and proclamations.

Sultan Ahmad

Hazel Mack

Saturu Ned, then known as James Mott, joined the Black Panther Party in May of 1968 in Sacramento California while attending Sacramento City College. Saturu was a member of the ‘Lumpen’, the Black Panther Party singing group. A book was written by Professor Ricky Vincent called “Party Music” the untold story of the Lumpen and their influence on the Black Power Movement.

Dr Saturu was a teacher at the award-winning Oakland Community School and Learning Center that was started and run by Black Panther Party Members. He has appeared on numerous television and video productions, radio, print and online publications.​ He continues to work in the interest of the community as an Educator, Innovator, and a Survival Program Architect.

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Dr Saturu Ned

Katherine Campbell’s journey into community leadership and service began in 1969. After an educational stint in a scholarship with Miami University, Florida, she returned to San Francisco and received political education from the Black Panther Party (BPP). She was a member of BPP from 1969 – 1978. Receiving an Associate Degree in Social Sciences from Laney College, she went on to study Civil Engineering at San Francisco State University and Family Counseling and Eviction Defense at UC Berkeley, obtaining her counseling certification. After her education, she took an internship at S.F. County Jail at 850 Bryant for its pre-release program. In this position, she provided counseling for inmates to help find housing placement and readjust to life after incarceration. She also interned at Juli House as a counselor for young pregnant women, providing assessment and counseling and helping them prepare for motherhood and independent living. As a Counselor for Mission Housing, Ms. Campbell worked on the transitional housing program for homeless people by providing counseling and other supportive services. She was also a case manager and counselor for the Family Service Agency. Katherine Campbell was part of BPP during the development of its 10-point service plan and supported the Sickle Cell Anemia program. She was also an active part of BPP’s projects, Seniors Against a Fearful Environment and Oakland Community School -one of the best accredited alternative schools. Ms. Campbell was also part of the Free Breakfast Program of the party in Fillmore, San Francisco. In 2019, she commemorated the 50th year anniversary of the establishment of Black Panther Party breakfast program for hungry kids.

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Katherine Campbell

Hazel Mack served in the Winston-Salem Chapter of the Black Panther Party from 1969-1974. Mack graduated from Winston –Salem State University in 1977 and received her J.D. from Temple University School of Law in 1980.

Hazel Mack was the Regional Managing Attorney for Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) for the Triad Region until she retired in 2016. During the same period, Hazel also spearheaded the LANC- Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Project (MFP). The state wide mortgage foreclosure project saved hundreds of houses in North Carolina totaling over $80 million of assets for low income communities.

Hazel served as Program Director for Eastern Carolina Legal Services in Wilson, North Carolina from 1998 to 2001, where she led major litigation against the town of Tarboro, NC when the town engaged in racial and familial discrimination in the wake of Hurricane Floyd.  Hazel has also been a solo practitioner in Winston-Salem, NC, where she practiced consumer and  bankruptcy law.  She has served as a visiting Professor at the University School of Law in Chapel Hill; as Adjunct Professor at Wake Forest University School of Law, and after retiring returned to Wake Law to head their Pro Bono Law Project until May, 2020. 

In 1996, during a period of frustration with the education her daughter was receiving in traditional public school, Mack lead the charge to start a Charter School. Mack made the call to others to join her in the effort to create a quality institution that would give parents of children most in need a choice. Out of those dreams and efforts The Carter G. Woodson School was born. Carter G. opened its doors in the fall of 1997 with 185 students. The school now has 500 students grades K through 12.

After retiring in 2016, Mack opened Other Suns. Other Suns is a cozy cocoon of small businesses in Winston-Salem, NC. Other Suns is a hub for cooperative economics, providing opportunities for small Black businesses to gain exposure. It is located in old East Winston at 414 Laura Wall Blvd.  You can follow it on FB @ Othersunseventcenter .

Hazel Mack has been involved in service to the Black community most of her life, and has dedicated her talents to better the conditions of the most needy among us. 

NETWORK MEMBERS

Farida Mazlan hails from Malaysia/Thailand, and has lived and travelled extensively throughout the globe. Coming from a strongly influential political and medical family background in Malaysia, she has dedicated 18+ years of her life working and volunteering in Public Relations, Fundraising & Media Production for multiple community and environmental welfare organizations - namely the disaster-management organization IDEP (Indonesian Development of Education & Permaculture), IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) and IDLO (International Developmental Law Organization). She is also an accomplished international music and arts festival organizer, gallerist, DJ, designer, and writer. She is the co-founder and curatorial mastermind for Studio Fallout, a community art space in San Francisco.

Farida is the BPPALN Network Administrator, Tour Coordinator, Project Manager and all-round Designer.

Farida Mazlan

Mr. Granberry is the founder and CEO of HipHopTV, LLC and has worked in the entertainment industry for over 25 years. He started his career in the A&R department at Tuff-E-Nuff Productions. 2-Tuff-E-Nuff productions worked with artists and companies such as Toni, Tone’, Tony, En Vogue, Madonna, Club Nouveau, Con Funk Shun, Timex Social Club, Regina Belle, Alexander O’neal, BET Networks, ABC and Fox Networks. In high school, Mr. Granberry also teamed up with Shakir Stewart to produce some of the biggest parties Oakland, CA has ever seen for high school students. While attending UC Berkeley, he continued his entertainment career by creating several very popular night clubs and concerts in the San Francisco Bay Area. After college, Mr. Granberry worked as a close confidant to Shakir Stewart and also continued to produce events like, Def Jam’s, “How To Find A Mega Star”. Mr. Granberry also worked very closely with famed movie producer, Robert Watts at Transformer Entertainment. While working with Stewart and Watts, Mr. Granberry began researching the new broadcast model now known as Over the Top broadcasting (OTT). After returning to UC Berkeley to fully study this model, Mr. Granberry founded Watch Now Networks, Inc. Mr. Granberry’s passion for working with inner-city youth also led him to found The Scholar Athlete Union and Bears Youth Basketball with help from childhood friend Jason Kidd. He works very closely with Stanford and UC Berkeley faculty to help young people achieve a college education and survive the dangers of the streets.

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Shawn D. Granberry