Pissing off the law in the name of social change is dangerous business especially when you can’t attest to a closet of your own free of skeletons.  God forbid the law gets you and you must fall victim to the mercy of the courts, you better believe their going to throw the book at you whether it be right or wrong.  Such is the case with New School Civil Rights activists Najee Ali.

Over the past year or so frequent readers of my post may have become familiar with his name and indeed some of his fine handywork with regard to social change.  So often we get burnt out by the political bs spewed by the likes of Rev. Al “Captain African-America” Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson and Ali has been a breath of fresh air.  I have even corresponded via email with Ali to share my support for his fight and have given him an open invitation to use Highbrid Nation as a forum for his cause.  However, unbeknown to me (shame on me) I was un aware that back on March 11th, Ali, the 45 year old reformed gang member,  was charged with attempting to intimidate and bribe a witness outside his daughter’s January preliminary hearing.

Yesterday, the judge threw the book at the LA civil rights activist,  sentencing him to four years in state prison after pleading guilty bribing a witness.  And here’s where his past has become a double edged sword.  Not only has Ali pissed of law enforcement with his political views and social rebellion but according to Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the L.A. district attorney, Ali received what would have been a two-year sentence but given his history as a gangster and 1992 robbery conviction his sentence was doubled.

Ali’s daughter, Jasmin Eskew is facing two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of leaving the scene of an 2007 accident on the San Bernardino Freeway.  She is still awaiting trial.

I’ll be honest I have yet to get in contact with Ali and obviously won’t be able to email him any longer.  I will try to reach out to him in the pen however.  That was a bad job on my part and to all Highbrid Nation readers I apologize for neglecting to include those facts in my prior stories.  I still hold firm however that Ali is a good man and a man motivated by social change and equality for all however we all make mistakes and given his criminal past and propensity to piss people off in his line of work, I’m not surprised at the outcome.  Chalk it up to occupational hazard.  Keep the good fight Ali!  You still have my support.