Imari Obadele

Who was Imari Obadele?

Imari Obadele was a black separatist, advocate for reparations, and president of the Republic of New Afrika.

Richard Henry was born in Philadelphia, and as a young man founded a civil rights organization there with his brother Milton. The two later moved to Detroit.

After the murder of Malcolm X, they helped form the Malcolm X Society and, dissatisfied by the progress achieved by nonviolent approaches to civil rights movement, came to embrace black separatism.

Richard and Milton adopted the African names Imari and Gaidi Obadele in 1968, and with others, founded the Republic of New Afrika. At the meeting founding the group, they formed a "government in exile". Obadele was designated the information minister, and soon published a pamphlet "War in America". The organization's stated aim was to carve Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina out of the United States and given to black Americans.

The Republic of New Afrika also formed a paramilitary unit, the Black Legion. In 1969, the unit was involved in a gun battle in Detroit that killed a police officer.

Imari split from his brother, who came to reject militancy, in 1970, and was also elected president of the Republic of New Afrika. Obadele and the group moved its headquarters to a house in Jackson, Mississippi, despite failing to purchase an 18-acre plot.