Remembering Kojo
16th September 2014 · 0 Comments
A year ago, The Louisiana Weekly joined a host of justice advocates, civil rights groups, grassroots organizations and comrades in mourning the passing of thought-provoking journalist, statesman and freedom fighter James Kojo Livingston.
A Los Angeles native, Kojo learned much about the history of African people in the hallowed halls of Xavier University and Morehouse College. While he was born in the City of Angels and lived in Atlanta, Ga., and Jackson, Miss., it was New Orleans that captured his heart and soul.
He moved to New Orleans in 1981.
A year later, he met “the one,” Mama Shannan, with whom he shared his life’s work and bore three children, Malaika, Shaddai and Jamaal.
Because of his revolutionary spirit, unrelenting courage, tenacity and resilience he was presented with the name Kojo Owusu, a fitting tribute to a mighty ancestral warrior.
In addition to serving as the founder and director of Liberation Zone /Destiny One Ministries and as president of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, Chapter #422 (Shreveport, La.), Kojo hosted a weekly radio talk show in Shreveport called “Black Talk,” was a frequent guest on WYLD’s “Sunday Journal” in New Orleans, was a frequent contributor to The Louisiana Weekly, where his weekly column was dubbed “The Hard Truth” and served as a writer, editor and consultant for The Jaguar Speaks, a student publication at Southern University-Shreveport.
He remained a faithful believer and freedom fighter until he made his transition a year ago. Kojo was laid to rest after two homegoing celebrations, one in Shreveport, where he and his family lived since Hurricane Katrina, and his adopted hometown, the Crescent City.
Bro. Kojo was more than just a columnist for The Louisiana Weekly or the founder of Liberation Zone Ministries. He was a son, a husband, a father, a brother, a mentor ,and an inspired leader whose wisdom, vision, courage, compassion and sense of purpose are still missed by those carrying on the struggle for justice, democracy and equal protection under the law in his wake.
In remembering and honoring Kojo and all of the fallen soldiers who have moved on, we honor the best in ourselves and celebrate the indomitability of the human spirit. We honor the ties that bind us to one another and to the divine missions assigned to us by the Creator.
We honor the time-tested, African-centered adage that tells us “I am because we are.”
Those of us who knew and worked with Kojo are blessed to have shared the battlefield with him and witness his unrelenting pursuit of truth and justice. We were blessed to hear his thoughts about the challenges facing Black people globally and what is needed to move Africa and Africans forward. We were blessed to observe his Marcus Garvey-like approach to fighting injustice and corruption and his single-minded determination to uplift the race. We are blessed to have looked into his eyes and shared a laugh with him or listened to one of his many stories about the lighter moments that inevitably take place during major struggles and movements for justice. We were blessed by his thought-provoking writings and African-centered perspective.
As we reflect on Kojo’s passing, we thank his family for sharing this treasure with the community and ask who is going to step up to fill Kojo’s colossal shoes.
Who is going to pick up the torch and lead us fearlessly through the darkness and into the dawn of a new day bursting with liberation and justice?
Bro. Kojo, we salute you and miss you. May you find the peace and comfort you rightfully deserve in the Village of the Ancestors.
This article originally published in the September 15, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
