May 4th 1956 – August 9th 2009

It’s with sincere sadness and regret that I announce the passing of one of our contributors here at AfroSpear, Brother Iskandar Langalibalele.

What saddens and frustrates me most, is that I only became aware of this event a couple days ago, almost 7 months after his death! This is one of the primary disadvantages of cyber relationships. We communicated sporatically by email and via facebook, and the last time was in June, when he informed me that he had been very busy and although he hadn’t posted an article here or on his own blog(s) in a few weeks, he would be dropping something soon. His last post here was on the 28th of July 2009: “Police State Economic”. 12 days later he died. 

I sensed something was wrong as I hadn’t heard from him in quite a while, especially after I had left him a greeting on facebook in December. A couple days ago I visited his blogs and facebook page and noticed no new postings by him since last year. I however noticed that the recent comments by his friends on facebook were more like tributes and farewells and I started expecting the worst. I googled his name and that how I found out that he had passed on. Wow! I must admit I was somewhat devastated and pissed at myself. 

Brother Iskandar had contacted me exactly a year ago, commending us on our blog and offering to submit articles. He expressed his commitment to our vision and I gladly welcomed him as a contributor. His articles were always  educational, hard-hitting, thought-provoking and challenged us to question our perspectives and beliefs. We were fortunate to be blessed by his intellect and passion. I considered him a friend.

Here are the links to his blogs to read some of his work:  Mbantunyankompong and Kilombo Republic.

A tribute from his facebook wall:

OUR BELOVED ALEXANDER WESLEY JONES III, affectionately called Brudz and known within the activist community as Iskandar Langalibalele, has gone home, left this life on August 9th at the age of 53, and passed into a new dimension, a radiant new …life . He was a passionate writer, published author, activist, and historian, loving son, brother and friend. He was born in Pittsburgh, grew up in Ambridge and was a graduate of Ambridge Area High School. He was a lifelong learner and educator with many undocumented but noteworthy achievements. As a teen, he would spend hours writing his thoughts and sharing his beliefs. As a student of Ambridge Area High, he was instrumental in creating an early model for African-American Studies . He later attended Howard University and local colleges including University of Pittsburgh where he was active in the Black Studies Department. His true passion was fighting for change, battling social, political, & racial injustice both locally & globally. He was an elite activist with tremendous pride and passion for his work . He was an idealist, a grass roots person and he fought the battle from the front line rallying and networking with people of all races and cultural backgrounds. He was a fierce debator, an awesome organizer and a cherished friend to so many; he loved life, he loved people. He devoted his life to the Pan Africa movement. We miss him dearly. He is survived by his mother, BETTY ROBINSON JONES , Pittsburgh and siblings LESLIE COLRANE of N. Carolina and CLARENCE CLIFFORD JONES of Northern California and preceeded in death by his father Alexander W. Jones II. A memorial service will be held today Sunday, August 16th at 401 W. Commons Drive, North Side, Pittsburgh at 11:00a.m. followed by a healthy pork -free potluck.

Rest in Peace!