Baltimore Chapter of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement

InPDUM History

In 1990, under the leadership of its chairman, Omali Yeshitela, the African People's Socialist Party began organizing for the founding convention of the National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement (NPDUM).

It was designed to be a grassroots organization, led by the black working-class community. It mission is to defend the national democratic rights of the African community and defeat the counterinsurgency war being waged again the African community in various forms: police brutality, economic quarantine, drugs, disease, poor housing and education.

InPDUM membership is open to anyone united with democracy for the African community and that self-determination is the highest expression of democracy.

InPDUM is a courageous organization that stands as a beacon to people everywhere who are used to seeing our so-called leaders sell-out to fill their own pockets. Waller had been recently organizing and leading the African Community Defense Committee local organization in St. Petersburg.

The organization faced a great challenge in October 1996 when 18 year old Tyron Lewis was brutally murdered by St. Petersburg police after a traffic stop.

The murder of Lewis result in two rebellions in the city. One of them coming after police surrounded the NPDUM meeting house and attacked with tear gas as women and children panicked choked from the thick gas.

These two rebellions and subsequent struggle of NPDUM to unify the African population and give a voice to the long ignored African workers and poor people catapulted leaders of NPDUM in to new position of prominence and influence.

Forward Motion, leading the Struggle in the 21st Century

In April 2001 the NPDUM became the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement and during that same year then President, Chimurenga Waller, has organized a branch in London, England and participated in the United Nations sponsored "World Conference Against Racism, Zenophobia, And Related Intolerances".

As a result of the work of President Waller at the World Conference Against Racism , that was held in Durban South Africa, a branch of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement is now in South Africa. Waller broadened his influence as he entered into electoral politics in two elections. Both on a widely-known radical platform. In the first, a county-wide election for school board, Waller ran on a platform of community control of schools and got 10,000 votes. In the later, a city-wide election for city council, Waller ran on a platform of economic development and got 9,000 votes.

New International President Selected

In October 2007, Ivory Muhammad was selected to take over the reigns of leading InPDUM.

Ivory was introduced to the All African People’s Revolutionary Party at a very young age, which is when she first learned the slogan “How we gonna make the Black Nation Rise, Gotta Agitate, Educate, and Organize.  Her family moved from the AAPRP to become members of the New African Peoples Organization in which Ivory was a member of the New Afrikan Scouts in 1985 and then moved on to become a member of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. While a member of this organization, Ivory participated in the New Afrikan Panthers, which was the youth wing of the movement. The New African Panthers trained her in survival skills and to be disciplined in mind, body, and spirit, and helped her sharpen her ability to identify and struggle against some of the contradictions facing African people.  She also participated in the A.H.A.P. (African Heritage After school Program), under the direction of well known author of the book ‘Yurugu’, Marimba Ani.  This program equipped her with a beautiful knowledge of Africa and her people which have enabled her to appreciate the contributions of African people.

Ivory Muhammad traveled to Africa when she was only thirteen, visiting the country of Egypt, where she climbed the Pyramids of Giza. Later in her adult life she visited the countries of Gambia and Senegal. She toured Goree Island and experienced the horror of the terrible holding cells where European slave catchers kept African people before they spread them across the world.  Africans were kept as slaves in the downstairs of the slave dungeon while white folks sipped tea and had parties upstairs. When Ivory looked out of the door of no return where she saw the path taken to transport African people in shackles and chains she felt it necessary to change the conditions that were created through this horrendous kidnapping of the masses of African people, which was the starting point of the theft of African self-determination. These stepping stones in her life helped her to understand her role in the liberation struggle of African people and opened her up to the strategy of the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement, which was brought to her attention by the now, International Membership Coordinator of InPDUM in March 2006. 

Her experience with InPDUM helped to deepen her political outlook on life and as a result she became interested in the strategies of the African People’s Socialist Party. After months of organizing on the ground with InPDUM she joined InPDUM October 2006 and learned more and more about the in depth strategic plans of the APSP and began to recognize that African Internationalism was the foundation necessary to gain true freedom, through a movement led by the African working class.

InPDUM is known and respected around the world for demanding reparations to African people for slavery and colonialism, demanding an end to the police containment of our communities, pushing for real economic development instead of more police, protecting the dignity of our children as intelligent, capable and talented human beings, and taking the right stand on many other issues that face the African community, even when it is unpopular to do so.

One Africa – One Nation!!!