New podcast revisits the conviction of Jamil Al-Amin
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The new podcast from Tenderfoot TV and Campside Media debuts today. Image: Courtesy of Campside Media
A new podcast series explores a high-profile yet under-covered shootout that left a Fulton County sheriff's deputy dead and sent a radical civil rights activist turned West End Muslim cleric to prison.
Driving the news: The first episode of "Radical," an 8-part look at the life and conviction of Jamil Al-Amin, a leader in Atlanta's Muslim communities most well known as the Black Power activist H. Rap Brown, debuts on Tuesday.
Details: Hosted by Mosi Secret, "Radical" combines investigative journalism and true crime with neighborhood-level reporting to raise new questions on the March 16, 2000 event and its aftermath.
Flashback: On that night, Fulton sheriff's deputies exchanged gunfire with the occupant of a black Mercedes while trying to serve a warrant on Al-Amin, by then the soft-spoken imam of a masjid that was the epicenter of West End's Muslim community.
- One deputy died; the officer who survived identified Al-Amin as the shooter. The cleric denied the claims, and a community of supporters including former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young have pleaded for his release.
Flashforward: In 2002, a jury convicted Al-Amin of murder, aggravated assault and other charges. Now 80 years old, he is currently being held at the U.S. penitentiary in Tucson.
Context: In the 1960s, Al-Amin's outspoken views on the U.S. government and defense of violent resistance — he famously said violence was "American as cherry pie" — drew scrutiny from J. Edgar Hoover's FBI and ran counter to the civil disobedience promoted by some leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.
Of note: Secret, a New York Times and ProPublica vet who met Al-Amin several times while growing up in a Muslim household in Atlanta, partnered with "Radical" producer Johnny Kauffman after the former WABE reporter started probing the case.
💡 Thomas' thought bubble: I've listened to the first five "Radical" episodes and can't wait to finish the series.
- The team not only adds new details to Al-Amin's story but also the story of the West End, a richly historic and fascinating Atlanta community.
Go listen: You can find "Radical" where you find your favorite podcasts.