The true king of cocaine. At his peak he sold 2,000 keys a week, reaped gross profits of $70 million a month, and ran an operation with over 150 soldiers to support him. In his life champagne flowed like water, trips to Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles were the norm, and $150,000 shopping sprees were nothing.
At the height of Washington, D.C.’s brutal crack epidemic in 1987, there was a 22 year old man responsible for distributing 90% percent of Columbian Cocaine onto the city’s streets.
This man is Rayful Edmond III.
In the media’s eyes he was guilty until proven innocent, but in the streets eyes he was a hero who made it to the top.
This is his story.
A story of Power, Money, Murder, Betrayal and the rise and fall of the Edmond’s Empire.
Rayful Edmond III probably is the most notorious drug dealer in Washington, D.C. history. In the early 90's when he was arrested for running a criminal enterprise the trial riveted the area. From news accounts he started drug dealing at an early age - in fact his entire family has a history of organized criminal activity dating back to the fifties. I read a newspaper account that claimed he was bagging cocaine for his father at the tender age of 3.
This docudrama uses news clips, interviews with Edmond associates and undercover cops, televised interviews with Edmund himself, and reenactments to tell Edmond's life story. For the most part it is okay but the choice of music is sometimes questionable and the arrest scene staged for this film was a bit silly and overblown.
This docudrama appears to be told from the point of view of Rayful Edmond. It tries to make Edmond out really not to be that bad of a guy. His associates describe him as a peaceful, fun loving guy throwing money around to all his friends and neighbors. For example, he settled a violent gang war because it was hurting both his business and the rival gang's. And all those witnesses schedule to appear at this trial that got murdered? That was somebody else not Edmond! Give me a break! This guy had connections to the Columbian drug lords and was crafty enough to broker drug deals from jail. I find it incredulous to claim he didn't have anything to do with witnesses getting knocked off or that he wasn't part of all the violence that gripped DC because of drugs in the late `80s and early `90s (and still does today).
In 1968 the Film Group, a Chicago production company, began filming a documentary about the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party and their chairman Fred Hampton. A fiery orator, Hampton was only 20 years old at the time, but his electrifying words and actions were inspiring young Black people to demand respect and to insist that their power and voice be felt in local politics, in any politics. But Fred Hampton's dream included all people when he proclaimed in the voice of the prophet, "... if we don't stop fascism it'll stop us all."
At that same moment the FBI/CIA was implementing their notorious domestic counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO) aimed at illegally suppressing domestic dissent and aimed especially at growing radical political organizations like the Black Panther Party. One FBI memo stated their charge as the need to "prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unite and electrify the militant black antinationalist movement." Working with local police departments, the government moved against Black Panther chapters and leaders across the country.
On December 4, 1969, in a predawn FBI-directed Chicago police raid, four Panthers suffered gunshot wounds, and Mark Clark and Fred Hampton were murdered. Within hours, Panthers arranged to get the Film Group crew into the scene and they were able to record the carnage. The film shows vividly what the police do to those who dare to openly, aggressively challenge government authority. In addition, the footage of the bloody, bullet-riddled wreckage directly contradicted the State's Attorney's version of the raid, and so filmmakers and Panthers came together to prove that Hampton had been the designated target of the violent, punitive raid. The film's inquiry pursues official spokesmen and traps them in their own lies and attempt at a cover-up of a brutal orchestrated assassination.
The story of Fred Hampton, Jr. is one that began before he was even born. His life is forever overshadowed by the legacy of his father, Fred Hampton, Sr. .
On December 4th, 1969, Fred Sr. slept beside his pregnant girlfriend, Akua Njeri. Allegedly drugged with secobarbitol before bedtime, Fred Hampton would never again see the light of day. He was murdered during the early morning hours in the now infamous Chicago Panther House Raid.
While Fred Hampton, Jr. was still in his mother's womb, a huge part of his history was taken from him: his father.
In 1990, at the age of 20, Fred Jr. was already extremely active in the same political circles that proved to be deadly for his father.
At this time he became the President of the local National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement(NPDUM), joining their fight for the rights of African people in the US.
In March 1992, the government made two separate attempts to indict Fred Hampton, Jr on charges of Murder and Armed Robbery. He was found not guilty of both, much to the dismay of the prosecuting attorney who remarked,
"...Fred Hampton Jr., we'll get you yet." In May of that same year, Fred was brought in again. This time he was accused of firebombing a Korean Merchant's store.
A corrupt and rushed trial ensues and many aspects of the courtroom procedure hint at the political sensitivity of the accusation.
For example, the NPDUM's page says the jury was rigged to exclude those with positive recollections of the BPP and Fred Hampton, Sr., but included those who feared blacks and had been robbed. The judge refused to allow the name "Fred Hampton" to be used in court.
There was also a lack of evidence- There is no evidence of a fire
No fire truck came to the scene
The store was not closed for more than 15 minutes Fred Hampton was allowed no character witness.
When Fred Jr.'s mother takes the stand to testify as to where Fred Jr. was at the time of the alleged incident, the main focus of questioning is her political affiliation with militant and radical groups like the BPP and the NPDUM
On May 19, 1993, Fred Hampton, Jr. is sentenced to eighteen years in prison on ONE count of aggravated arson.
Fred Hampton, Jr inherited his father's gift for politics as well as his ability to frighten the government with his effectiveness in organizing. The "Free Fred Hampton, Jr." site seems to be the only comprehensive internet source providing information about his run-ins with the legal system. The site was last updated in 1996 and after countless attempts to search for further updates on the status of the case, it was realized that there is limited access to information regarding these topics. We tried to email the Foundation to Free Fred Hampton, Jr. to gather information about his status in jail but received no response. The information is outdated but does a good job of presenting the facts that are relevant to the cause. No other sources with updates about the plight of Fred Hampton, Jr. were found. This seemed to be a common thread throughout our research, as there is a lack of information about the Black Panther Party and the Chicago Murders in particular.
One reason could be that despite the longest civil trial in US history (as of 1996), there is a lot of conflicting information and some sources may not be 100% accurate or may be biased. Another reason is that the government has tried to suppress information about its Post-Civil Rights Era activities. For this reason, much of the information that is needed about these subjects simply disappeared. The NPDUM is considered a radical group, but by speaking out about issues concerning them, the NPDUM merely exercises Constitutional rights. It has been suggested by the media and several government officials that race riots in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1996, were prompted by the NPDUM. Enraged
Life and Debt is a just-completed feature-length documentary which addresses the impact of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and current globalization policies on a developing country such as Jamaica.
This methodically rabble-rousing film can be read two ways: face-on as a laser-sighted exposé of Jamaica's economic strangulation by an IMF hell-bent on fomenting chaos and dependency in the name of slave-wage sweatshops and the almighty Mickey Dee's, or, from a slightly more askew angle, as the grimmest Black science-fiction movie of all time. A tale of one very small Black planet's near hopeless struggle against a technologically superior alien adversary more malevolent than anybody's Borg.
We learn of Jamaican farmers, food producers, and policy makers coerced by the IMF to dismantle their own prodigious food industries so that subsidized foreign competitors can crush them in the local market.
We're reminded of the Clinton-led suit against Jamaica's banana industry on behalf of Chiquita and Dole, which ensured that those brand names now controlling 95 percent of the world's banana trade can scarf up JA's minuscule portion too.
We hear of offshore poultry wholesalers who demand the return of their impounded caches of 20-year-old chicken, blithely claiming their poison meat was really intended for Haiti.
The film also gives an inhuman face to the IMF in the form of the devil incarnate, deputy director Stanley Fischer, who plays the smug villain with mustache-twirling relish.
The director confesses that "the film is supposed to make you mad," and hopes that editing it in her bedroom aided in transferring her sense of mission to the viewer.
A "Routine Typical Hit", the second title in the series, is the story of a young man named Larry Davis. Who at the age of 19, took the NYC Police Department on one of the largest manhunts in the history of NY State.
After this intensive 17-day manhunt, Davis turned himself into the FBI, in exchange for their guarantee to investigate the NYPD`s involvement in drug deals, that he was forced to participate in as a teenager. For the first time ever, Davis speaks out about the night in 1986 when 30 police officers came to assassinate him for backing out of a drug deal.
This documentary will take you inside of the life of Larry Davis and how his family was harassed by the NYC Police Department.
Troy Reed will interview Davis on how he was able to escape unharmed from a stand off of gunfire with 30 police officers.
The video will also expose the police corruption of the 80`s and how cops were using inner-city youth to sell drugs and guns
The Biography of Malcolm X "El Hajj Malik Shabazz" featuring archival footage of Malcolm X from his earliest public apperances to his untimley death. With interviews from his Brother, Sister, John Carlos ('68 Olympics), Martin Luther King, Elijah Muhammad, Betty Shabazz and many more.
Narrated by James Earl Jones and produced with the assistance of Alex Hailey.
The awesome wit and quick mind of our Beloved Ancestor is in full display as he takes on the white interviewer as well as hesitant Negro who seem to want to trap Malcolm in ill logic
Mumia offer's the viewer an insight in the criminal justice system that you could only see if you are inside it. When viewing this Documentary, the viewer gets the feeling of depression, isolation, sadness and of despair that any person on death row might be feeling. To me, anytime that a viewer can feel the emotion of a story, the presentation has achieved a point. Now whether or not you agree with the death penalty, I think that you should view this documentary. It will force you to think about you position and see it justice is really being served. The irony now is that someone else has finally come forward and admitted to the murder that Mumia was convicted of, but Mumia is still in a life or death battle to be freed. I think that the viewer will enjoy this documentary and be overwhelmed by the emotion.
This documentary about the great rhythm 'n blues crooner Marvin Gaye is a masterful blend of music and information. Filmed in Ostende, Belgium, SEARCHING SOUL features interview footage with the velvet-voiced seducer himself. As he discusses his history, influences, career and family, clips of classic songs are interspersed. Hits included are "Heard It Through the Grapevine," "I Want You," and one of the sexiest songs ever recorded - "Let's Get It On." DVD Only
