Bio adapted from a pamphlet from LA ABCF

New Afrikan Prisoner of War, currently serving a 55-year sentence for actions carried out by the Black Liberation Army and attempted escape from prison with Puerto Rican independentista Oscar Lopez-Rivera. 

Sababu was born as Grailing Brown on May 27th, 1953 in Atlantic City New Jersey. He was born to Clarence and Edna Brown. Kojo described them as good parents. He described his father as a “diligent worker whose only indulgence was loyalty to the bosses.” Sadly tragedy would strike his family, fundamentally altering Kojo’s path in life. In 1962 his father died coming home from work. Two years later his mother was murdered. A guiding presence in his life, Kojo was devastated by the loss of his mother. Still, he continued to live out the lessons she taught him, that education is a tool with which to change society. 

At a very young age, he began to develop a New Afrikan consciousness. Growing up in Atlanta City, New Jersey organizations like the Nation of Islam were strong within the Black community. The organization helped Kojo gain his first experiences in nation-building. The Nation of Islam also reinforced his passion for knowledge and education that was given to him by his mother. 

In 1968, Sababu crossed paths with the Black Panther Party in Atlanta City. He began to participate in their political education course. However, at that time, he was still greatly influenced by cultural and religious nationalism.

 In 1972, Sababu was sent to the New Jersey State Prison in   Trenton. There he met two Black revolutionaries, Kuwasi Balagoon and Andaliwa Clark. These two individuals greatly influence his political development. When he was released three years later, he joined the Black Liberation Army (BLA). 

On November 15th, 1975, Sababu and another BLA member, Ojore Lutalo, were arrested after a high-speed chase. The incident began when police attempted to stop them after receiving a report of suspicious occupants in a car. The men were charged with eluding police and resisting arrest. A third individual managed to avoid escape. According to news reports five .32 caliber bullets were found in the car. 

One month later, on December 19th, four members of the Black Liberation Army expropriated funds from the Broad Street National Bank in Lawrence Township. The action turned into a shootout with police, as police gave chase for over a mile and into the neighboring city of Trenton. Three members of the BLA (Kojo Sababu, Ojore Lutalo, and Larry Anderson) were arrested, while a fourth member was able to avoid arrest. The three men were charged with possession of stolen property, possession of a dangerous weapon and being a fugitive.

In addition to the charges related to bank expropriation, Sababu was also charged with the killing of a drug dealer and another individual. On September 17, 1975, the two individuals were killed in an apartment in Atlantic City. Another individual, Darryl Conquest, was also charged with this incident. Sababu claims this action was also done as part of his involvement in the Black Liberation Army. 

In 1976, Kojo was sentenced to two life prison terms for the killings. In addition, the judge imposed an additional sentence of up to 17 consecutive years in prison on a charge of murder while armed. 

While in prison Sababu became active in the Inmate Legal Association (ILA), a non-profit legal aid organization that provided free legal assistance to  prisoners at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey. In 1981, took on the role of the director. Conditions in the prison were dire. New criminal statutes in the state established mandatory minimums, creating overcrowding of the prisons. Prisoners started to find ways of escaping, causing further tension between the guards and prisoners. 

Sababu, as a representative of the Inmate Legal Association, was quoted in the newspaper raising these concerns to the outside world and warned that conditions were so severe that the “joint’s gonna blow.” Within a month of raising these concerns, Sababu was accused of being a ringleader of a plot to take over the state prison in Trenton, New Jersey. He denied the accusation and argued that this was merely an attempt to silence those who were speaking out. 

He and two others leaders of the ILA were sent to a federal prison in Lewisburg, PA. Months after the incident, the warden attempted to shut down the ILA by making accusation s that its leaders were plotting to attack leaders of another prisoner rights organizations. Leaders of both organizations saw this for what it was – an attempt to undermine avenues for inmates to have their voices heard. The Warden’s plans failed and the organization exists today. 

Plot to Self-Liberate 

In July 1986, three individuals were arrested, and six others were being sought on charges that they were involved in a plot to liberate Puerto Rican prisoner of war, Oscar Lopez-Rivera and Kojo Sababu from USP Leavenworth in Kansas. According to the government, the plan was to have a helicopter drop into the prison recreation yard in Leavenworth in August of 1985. Grenades and rocket launchers were to be used to attack the guard towers as Lopez-Rivera and Sababu escaped via the helicopter. 

The FBI was aware of the plot from the beginning due to an informant. Undercover agents provided members of the plot with explosives and placed tracking devices on the vehicles of  those involved in the plot. One of the tracking devices was discovered and those involved in the plot went underground. Charges against several of those allegedly involved were dropped, but seven individuals were indicted. Both Lopez-Rivera and Sababu were charged with involvement in the plot. Jaime Delgado and Dora Garcia, two Puerto Rican independence activists who were two of the three originally arrested were indicted. 

Two others, Claude Marks and Donna Wilmott were also indicted. Another man, Richard Cobb, was also indicted, but he pled guilty and agreed to testify for the prosecution. Mark and Wilmott were able to avoid capture for six years until they turned themselves in to the FBI. The other four were tried and convicted together. Delgado was sentenced to 4 years in prison and Garcia to 3 years.

 Puerto Rican Puerto Rican independentista prisoner of war, Oscar Rivera-Lopez received a 15-year sentence beyond his previous 55-year sentence. Sababu was sentenced to a 5-year sentence to run consecutive to the four life sentences. As a result of the attempted self-emancipation, both men were placed in solitary confinement at Marion Federal prison. After their capture in 1994, Claude Marks received a six year sentence for his role in the attempted liberation of Kojo Sababu and Oscar Rivera-Lopez. Donna Wilmott received a three year sentence. 

The Last Remaining 

In August of 2009, Ojore Lutalo, Sababu’s co-defendant from the bank expropriation was released from prison. Conquest, his co-defendant in the action against the drug dealer, was also released in the fall of 2015. Oscar Rivera-Lopez and all those associated with the attempted self-liberation at Leavenworth have also been released from prison. Sababu, however, remains behind bars for his participation in these actions. He remains committed and unawavering despite his imprisonment.

Write:
Kojo Bomani Sababu* #39384-066
USP Canaan
Post Office Box 300
Waymart, PA 18472
*Address envelope to Grailing Brown.