Time Magazine: The Many Lives of H. Rap Brown https://time.com/6111614/h-rap-brown-jamil-al-amin/ JAMIL AL-AMIN, IMAM (1943– ) A gifted rhetorician and civil rights activist, the American Muslim leader Jamil al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown, born in 1943) came to national prominence in the 1960s as an outspoken advocate of black power. In 1967, Brown succeeded Stokely Carmichael as leader of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a prominent African-American civil rights organization. Brown also became known for his advocacy of black self-defense and his saying that "violence is as American as cherry pie." In 1969, he published his most famous work, Die Nigger Die, a blistering critique of American racism. Because of Brown's radical rhetoric, he became a target of the FBI's Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO), which harassed many black leaders during this period. In 1972, Brown was apprehended on federal weapons charges, tried, convicted, and sentenced to four years in prison. During his prison term, he converted to Islam under the auspices of Darul Islam, a predominately African-American Islamic group organized in the 1960s. He also adopted a new name, Jamil Abdullah al-Amin. Paroled in 1976, al-Amin moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he became the owner of a community store and an imam (leader) at a local mosque. Over the next two decades, he emerged as a Sunni Muslim leader with followers throughout the United States. Over thirty mosques recognized Imam Jamil as leader of a group called the National Islamic Community. Focusing on economic and social, as well as religious, empowerment, he also became known for his role in attempting to revitalize the West End of Atlanta. In March 2000, Imam al-Jamil was accused of murder in connection with the death of a police officer. But many American Muslims of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds defended Imam al-Jamil's innocence and offered him financial and moral support as he prepared for his trial. In March, 2002, he was convicted of murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole despite the fact that another individual has admitted to committing the crime. The trial ultimately lasts for just three weeks, and despite contradictory factual and circumstantial evidence, the jury took less than 10 hours to reach a guilty verdict on all 13 counts. District Attorney Paul Howard calls for the death penalty. In Depth Biography:https://www.imamjamilactionnetwork.org/biography/chronology_of_life_and_work