Nehanda Abiodun

Cheri Dalton
Born Cheri Laverne Dalton
Uses June 29, 1950 and April 28, 1952 as dates of birth[1]
United States
Residence Cuba
Nationality American
Other names Nehanda Abiodun, Nahanda Abiodun, Nahanda Obafemi, Nahanda Obatemi, Cheri Cotton, Betty Carter, Betty W. Carter, Elizabeth Carter, Laverne Dalton, Laverne Cheri Dalton, and "Flame"
Occupation Unemployed rap music activist
Armed bank robber
Known for Status as an American fugitive living in Cuba
Height 5'8" to 5'10"
Weight 150 lb (68 kg)
Criminal charge Armed Bank Robbery
Bank Robbery Killings
Violation of RICO Statute
Interference with Interstate Commerce by Robbery
Obstruction of Justice
Aiding and Abetting
Criminal status Fugitive, fled the country
Allegiance The Republic of New Afrika gang
Reward amount
 The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of Cheri Laverne Dalton
Wanted since November 17, 1982
Time at large
 Over 33 years
Killings
Location(s) Nanuet, New York

Cheri Laverne Dalton, also known as Nehanda Isoke Abiodun, (born in 1950 in New York City) is a black American rap music activist[2] and fugitive from justice, currently living in Cuba. Dalton is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for Violation of RICO Statute; Interference with Interstate Commerce by Robbery; Obstruction of Justice; Armed Bank Robbery; Bank Robbery Killings; and Aiding and Abetting.[3]

The United States government also charged Dalton in connection with convicted murderer Assata Shakur's escape from prison, along with Susan Rosenberg.[4]

Dalton was active in the New African independence struggle in the U.S. and considered herself a citizen of the Republic of New Afrika.

Early life and education

Born Cheri Dalton in New York City in 1950,[5] she began her activist work as a child. At the age of ten, she was a tenant organizer. Dalton graduated from Columbia University in New York in 1972.[6][7]

Career

In 1978, Dalton began using the alias "Nehanda Abiodun."[8] She has also used the aliases Nahanda Abiodun, Nahanda Obafemi, Nahanda Obatemi, Cheri Cotton, Betty Carter, Betty W. Carter, Elizabeth Carter, Laverne Dalton, Laverne Cheri Dalton, and "Flame".[9]

She later worked with the National Black Human Rights Coalition, and later to help heal drug addicts at the Black Acupuncture Association of North America with Mutulu Shakur.[10]

Legal issues

She was later sued for malpractice, and a warrant was put out for her arrest.

Dalton is among those linked by U.S. authorities to Assata Shakur's 1979 escape from prison. She is also wanted for a string of robberies, including the robbing of a Brink's truck in New York in 1983.

Life on the run

She has lived in Havana, Cuba since about 1990. She is a rap music activist there.[11] She has given advice about African-American history, poetry, and world politics[12] to up-and-coming Cuban hip-hop artists such as Yosmel Sarrias and Maigel Entenza Jaramillo of Anónimo Consejo.

She states "rap music is...the voice of protest...[with which] we can educate and organize around the world. It puts a whole different light on the word globalization...Wherever you go...in the world, from New Zealand to Timbuktu, there are rappers. Wherever you go! And once you step out of the U.S., a large part of that global community of hip hoppers are progressive. Seriously, because most of it comes from the indigenous people of that particular place”.[13]

References

  1. ↑ https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/dt/cheri-laverne-dalton/view
  2. ↑ Marc Lacey (December 15, 2006). "Cuba's Rap Vanguard Reaches Beyond the Party Line". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2015. One of those working behind the scenes to aid Cuba’s rappers is Cheri Dalton, an American who goes by the name Nehanda Abiodun. She is a black militant who is wanted by the F.B.I. in connection with a string of robberies, including a 1981 holdup of an armored car near Nyack, N.Y. Now living in exile in Cuba, she has formed a Havana chapter of Black August, a grass-roots group that promotes hip-hop culture.
  3. ↑ FBI. "CHERI LAVERNE DALTON". FBI.gov. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ James Feron (September 21, 1982). "TURMOIL CONTINUES AT BRINK'S HEARING". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2015. Two women, identified as Cheri Dalton and Susan Rosenberg, were added as defendants in the new Federal indictment. Arrest warrants were issued for Miss Dalton, also known as Nahanda, and Miss Rosenberg, also known as Elizabeth.
  5. ↑ http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jan/18/us-fugitives-cuba-have-mixed-view-possibly-thawing/
  6. ↑ http://www.newstatesman.com/music/2008/08/hip-hop-cuban-abiodun-black
  7. ↑ http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/exiled-in-havana-6354908
  8. ↑ http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/exiled-in-havana-6354908
  9. ↑ FBI. "CHERI LAVERNE DALTON". FBI.gov. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  10. ↑ “Nehanda: Tribute to A Woman Warrior in Exile” Afro Cuba Web. 1997. Access date February 5, 2008. http://www.afrocubaweb.com/rap/nehanda.htm
  11. ↑ Marc Lacey (December 15, 2006). "Cuba's Rap Vanguard Reaches Beyond the Party Line". The New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2015. One of those working behind the scenes to aid Cuba’s rappers is Cheri Dalton, an American who goes by the name Nehanda Abiodun. She is a black militant who is wanted by the F.B.I. in connection with a string of robberies, including a 1981 holdup of an armored car near Nyack, N.Y. Now living in exile in Cuba, she has formed a Havana chapter of Black August, a grass-roots group that promotes hip-hop culture.
  12. ↑ The Vinyl Ain't Final - Cuban Hip Hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent_Annelise Wunderlich
  13. ↑ “Godmother of Cuban Hip-hop” Social Justice Movements. 2005. Access date February 5, 2008. http://socialjustice.ccnmtl.columbia.edu/index.php/Godmother_of_Cuban_Hip_Hop
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