By not learning the lessons of the civil rights movements, modern-day activists are "subjecting themselves to reinvent the wheel," said Gerald Smith, a former Black Panther.

"Only by learning the bitter histories" of racism, poverty and imperialism can civil rights movements today avoid the mistakes of former activists, said Smith.

Smith spoke last Monday alongside Yuri Kochiyama of the Organization for Afro-American Unity, Ashanti Omawali Alston of the Black Panthers and the Black Liberation Army, and Raul Curly Estremara of the Black Liberation Army.

Smith called the war on terrorism "a rhetorical device used by the United States to mask an ideological agenda" that students must confront. "Terrorism is an idea. You can’t grab it. You can’t shoot it. If there’s a terrorist state , it’s the United States itself."

According to Kochiyama, a Japanese-American who was interned following World War II, change starts small. "You folks can change this kind of atmosphere. I’m sure you already do, by how you treat people, how you just say hi to people, how you share what you know," said the 84-year-old from her wheelchair.

Kochiyama remains committed to social justice. "Every war the United States has entered, they lied to get us into the war," she said. "On the pretext of helping the Filipino people [in the Spanish-American war] they massacred civilians."

All four speakers maintained the importance of sharing experiences.

"When you grow up in New York, everything is just a game," including life and death, said Estremera, who left New York during the narcotics epidemic. He later joined the Black Liberation Army and fled the United States,but was arrested and returned with "30, 40 pounds of chains."

"The empire will always make you confront the same questions, so why be unprepared?" said Alston. Alston met Estremera in prison, and the two became friends.

"We are telling the story because we want people to know. I want each of you to take that with you, because I’m not giving up," said Alston.

Estremera expressed hope for the future. "We really would like the youth to pick up the torch and really read and follow in the ways of Malcolm X."

The event, sponsored by the Black Student Union, MECha, Estacion Libre, Muslim Student Association, African-American Staff Association, ICS/IIS, and the Social Sciences Department, was held in the Hinson Campus Center.

This article appears in the Feb. 21, 2006 print edition of La Voz.