Biography
Odinga was a New Afrikan activist who moved through key currents of the Black Power era—beginning with the Organization of Afro-American Unity founded by Malcolm X, and later organizing with the Black Panther Party. He eventually joined the clandestine Black Liberation Army after concluding that above-ground organizing exposed him to intensified repression.
After years underground, he was captured in 1981 and later convicted in 1984 on charges that included attempted murder and racketeering counts, tied in part to alleged involvement in Assata Shakur’s prison escape and an armored-car robbery case. He received consecutive state and federal sentences, was released in 2014 after more than three decades in custody, and continued to be referenced as a veteran of Black liberation struggles until his death in 2024.
