Quanell X

Quanell X (/ˈɛks/; born Quanell Ralph Evans; December 7, 1970) is the leader of the New Black Panther Nation in Houston, Texas.

Quanell X
Quanell X at Joe Horn protest, December 2, 2007
Born
Quanell Ralph Evans

(1970-12-07) December 7, 1970
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality American
OccupationActivist
OrganizationNew Black Panther Party, Nation of Islam, New Black Panther Nation

Early life

Quanell Ralph Evans was born in Los Angeles, California. Both parents were Nation of Islam converts. When they divorced, Evans moved to Houston to live with his mother and younger brother in the South Acres neighborhood, where he attended Worthing High School.[1]

Entry and ejection from the Nation of Islam

In September 1990, Quanell Evans was inspired by a Louis Farrakhan speech at Sam Houston Coliseum and joined the Nation of Islam against his parents' wishes. The newly dubbed Quanell X quickly became a spokesman in the organization.[2]

In July 1992, Quanell X found his brother Quinten Evans dead in his apartment with three others, all with bullets to their heads. In August 2009, three incarcerated men were charged with capital murder in the killings.[3] Around this time Quanell X met State Representative Ron Wilson (D-Houston); he would eventually work for Wilson as an aide for a short while.[1]

Angered by Jewish protests over a conference dedicated to "the black Holocaust", in 1995, Quanell X was quoted in the New York Daily News as saying,

I say to Jewish America: Get ready … knuckle up, put your boots on, because we're ready and the war is going down. … The real deal is this: Black youth do not want a relationship with the Jewish community or the mainstream white community or the foot shuffling, head-bowing, knee bobbing black community. … All you Jews can go straight to hell.[4]

On January 28, 2008, after taking a tour of the Holocaust Museum Houston, Quanell said he became enlightened and apologized for his past statements on Jews.

I seek the forgiveness of every survivor who has heard the words I've said. I did not say them in the proper manner to make the point I was trying to get across. I can see and understand how they might be utterly paranoid (of) a person such as myself.[5]

Quanell X was forced out of the Nation of Islam for publicly inciting violence with his televised, and highly publicized, exhortation to Houston-area blacks:

[i]f you feel that you just got to mug somebody because of your hurt and your pain, go to River Oaks and mug you some good white folks. If you're angry that our brother is put to death, don't burn down your own community, give these white folks hell from the womb to the tomb.[6]

After leaving the Nation of Islam, Quanell X joined a paramilitary group named MFOI, an acronym for Mental Freedom Obtains Independence. The new faction was not designed to attract significant exoteric membership.[7] After the MFOI removed Quanell, he joined the New Black Panther Party under the leadership of Khalid Abdul Muhammad and became, at one point, a local leader of the organization.[2]

Community activist

After he became a leader of the New Black Panthers, Quanell X has made himself and his views heard through public demonstrations and assistance with the surrender of outstanding suspects to law enforcement agencies.

In 1999, at the trial of John William King for the 1998 slaying of James Byrd, Jr., Quanell X and his entourage briefly disrupted proceedings.[8]

Jeffrey Battle served as a bodyguard for Quanell X in Houston during the late 1990s. Battle was notable as one of the Portland Seven, a group of American Muslims who tried to aid the Taliban in Afghanistan following the events of September 11, 2001. In October 2002 Quanell X traveled to Portland, Oregon, to attend a court hearing for October Lewis, Battle's ex-wife. Lewis was released at the hearing. Battle was convicted of sedition, and is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence.[9]

On March 30, 2004 Quanell X took the podium at a Houston City Council meeting and demanded that reparations for slavery be put on the council agenda. This demand had previously been denied by mayor Bill White. The exchange escalated enough that Houston police were called to remove Quanell forcibly from the chamber.[10]

In June 2004 Quanell X was charged with evading arrest. He was on the phone with a Houston Police Department assistant police chief (Charles R. McClelland - HPD chief 2010–2016) when arranging the surrender of cop shooter Derrick Forney.[11]

Quanell X is credited with helping officers with the investigation of the March 2007 murder of Texas A&M University student Tynesha Stewart.[12] He helped obtain a confession from Timothy Wayne Shepherd, the suspect in the murder.[13] He also criticized the Harris County sheriff's decision not to search for Stewart's body in a Humble, Texas area landfill. Stewart's body was later discovered to be unrecoverable due to the suspect burning her remains in two barbecue pits.[2][14]

Joe Horn protest
Main article: Joe Horn shooting controversy

Quanell X led a rally in front of the Pasadena, Texas, home of Joe Horn on December 2, 2007. Horn had shot and killed two men, Hernando Riascos Torres (AKA Miguel Antonio DeJesus) and Diego Ortiz, illegal immigrants and members of a burglary and fake ID ring from Colombia. The pair had broken into a neighbor's house. Horn, against repeated requests of the 911 operator not to confront the burglars, exited his home to confront them. On the 911 tapes Horn exclaims, "Move, and you're dead", followed by three shotgun blasts.[15]

Quanell X, who thought the shootings may have been racially motivated, approached Horn's house to speak to the media. He was overwhelmed by several hundred counter-protesters protecting Horn from Quanell X's accusations. The crowd of counter-protesters included bikers revving their motorcycles, many of them chanting, "USA," "Go home," and "We love our country; what do you love?" while waving placards, Texas flags, and US flags. Quanell X could not be heard over the noise, even when using a bullhorn, and left the area about eight minutes later. He returned soon after with more supporters and attempted to speak again, but the counter-protests continued. Riot police were readied in case of violence between the two groups. Quanell X believed that because Horn was white and not black, he was not prosecuted. On June 25, 2008 the case was sent to a grand jury to decide whether or not Horn should go to trial. On June 30, 2008 Horn was cleared by a Harris County Grand Jury in the deaths of Ortiz and Diego after two weeks of testimony.[16][17] Quanell eventually made a speech on another street away from Horn's house. The speech included chants of "black power" and the exhortation for blacks to ignore "white law."[18]

2008 to 2010

Quanell X called for Chuck Rosenthal's resignation following the email scandal that showed that he had sent and received racist messages, and organized a rally to take place outside the county courthouse January 24, 2008.[19] In October 2008, KTRK-TV reported that Quanell X was paid $20,000 in "consultation fees" to arrange these protests and generate publicity during the related Iberra trial.[20]

He was instrumental in having a murder suspect, Randy Sylvester Sr., reveal the locations of his missing children. After initially giving Sylvester the benefit of the doubt, he was convinced otherwise when he went with Pasadena police and Sylvester to an apartment he maintained separately from his family's that he called his "dog house." There, Sylvester engaged in drugs and pornography. Quanell X would not go into detail, but other things he learned in that apartment changed his mind about Sylvester. He convinced the suspect to "Do the right thing" and lead Quanell X and police to a location just outside Pasadena, Texas in Houston, where the charred remains were located.[21][22][23][24]

After 2010

In March 2011 Quanell X traveled to Cleveland, Texas to support 18 men allegedly involved in the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl. Quanell X spoke out against the victim, claiming she did not do enough to prevent herself from being gang raped. He later went on to claim the girl's parents were also responsible for her assault: "It was not the young girl that yelled rape. Stop right there -- something is wrong, brothers and sisters." and "Where was the mother? Where was the father?"[25]

On August 1, 2011, Quanell X pleaded with the residents of inner city neighborhoods to stop the "No Snitching" policy that institutes a bias of those who provide information to police after a series of crimes and murders have plagued the Third Ward area in recent weeks. He said, "The no-snitch policy does not work when you have having [sic] our elders and our women and our children live like hostages."[26]

In July 2013, Quanell and others protested and effectively blocked Texas State Highway 288 over the acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.[27] Protesters on Highway 288 blocked and assaulted an elderly woman who was rushing her granddaughter to the hospital after an allergic reaction to medication.[28] A large protest was also held in the affluent River Oaks neighborhood.[29] Reports varied as to whether there were just under 1,000[29] or more than 1,000[30] people attended the River Oaks demonstration and a counter-demonstration drew an estimated crowd of 80 people. Despite threats of violence, both sides kept their peace.[31][32]

See also

References
  1. Patterson, Randall (April 3, 1997). "Would You Buy a Revolution From This Man?". Houston Press. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
  2. Freemantle, Tony (March 1, 2001). "Vitriolic Visionary". Houston Chronicle. p. 33.
  3. Lezon, Dale (August 12, 2009). "Quanell X Gets Closure of His Own". Houston Chronicle. pp. B1, B4.
  4. "Quanell X statement, October 17, 1995". New York Daily News. October 17, 1995.
  5. Tolson, Mike; Lezon, Dale (January 29, 2008). "New View of the World / Visiting Holocaust museum, activist apologizes for his past hate-filled remarks about Jews / Quanell X seeks to make amends". Houston Chronicle. p. A1. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
  6. Vogel, Chris (August 7, 2009). "Quanell X: The Houston activist says he's dumped the hate". Houston Press. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  7. Sallee, Rad (February 4, 1997). "Ex-Nation of Islam official to form 'paramilitary' group". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  8. Gwynne, S.C. (March 1, 2001). "The Second Coming of a Nightmare". Time.
  9. Hegstrom, Edward (October 11, 2002). "Battle devoted to bin Laden, U.S. claims; Interviews cited at court hearing". Houston Chronicle.
  10. "City Council Chamber, City Hall, Tuesday, March 30, 2004" (PDF). houstontx.gov. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
  11. "Grand Jury Indicts Quanell X, Police-Shooting Suspect". click2houston.com. July 28, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
  12. Measley, Travis (March 29, 2007). "Students, friends mourn loss of Houston native". The Battalion. Retrieved March 29, 2007.
  13. Crowe, Robert (March 23, 2007). "Officers Grateful to Quanell X". Houston Chronicle. pp. B5. Retrieved March 24, 2007.
  14. Hewitt, Paige; Villafranca, Armando (March 23, 2007). "Agony, Anger Over Decision Not to Hunt for Teen's Body". Houston Chronicle. pp. A1.
  15. Horswell, Cindy (December 18, 2007). "Pasadena police give DA report on Horn". Houston Chronicle.
  16. Leahy, Jennifer (December 3, 2007). "Protest over slain burglars takes a confrontational turn". Houston Chronicle.
  17. "KTRK.com's video". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  18. Rogers, Brian; Rendon, Ruth; Lezon, Dale (June 30, 2008). "Joe Horn cleared by grand jury in Pasadena shootings". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  19. "Black leaders urge Rosenthal to step down". Houston Chronicle. January 12, 2008. Retrieved June 21, 2008.
  20. Willey, Jessica (October 17, 2008). "Questioning Quanell X about his role". ABC13.com. Houston: KTRK. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  21. Ruiz, Rosanna (June 21, 2008). "Police: Burned bodies of missing Pasadena children found". Houston Chronicle.
  22. Leahy, Jennifer (June 22, 2008). "The Discovery All Had Feared". Houston Chronicle. pp. A1.
  23. Leahy, Jennifer; Ruiz, Rosanna; Glenn, Mike (June 22, 2008). "Father led the way to the discovery all had feared". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  24. Flores, Rosa (June 23, 2008). "Quanell X: Time with slain kids' father 'like diving into the depths of hell'". KHOU. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved June 23, 2008.
  25. "Alleged gang rape of girl, 11, ignites firestorm in Texas community". CNN. March 14, 2011.
  26. Stanton, Robert (August 1, 2011). "Quanell X: Time for 'no-snitch policy' to go". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  27. Glenn, Mike (July 15, 2013). "Houstonians rally against Zimmerman acquittal". Houston Chronicle.
  28. Bauer, Jennifer (July 17, 2013). "Local family's emergency trip to hospital interrupted by demonstrators". Click2Houston.com. KPRC. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  29. Fraser, Jayme; Dam, Minh (July 22, 2013). "Dueling Trayvon Martin protests collide in River Oaks". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  30. "More than 1,000 Trayvon supporters flood River Oaks". newsfixnow.com. July 22, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  31. "Protesters don't agree but keep the peace". newsfixnow.com. July 22, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  32. "Houston police maintain the peace during dueling protests in River Oaks". KHOU.com. July 22, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
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