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April 8, 2022
May 29, 1944 – January 27, 2022.
‘Anthony was at home with African philosophers such as Cabral and Nkrumah, equally adept with European theoreticians like Cornforth and Regis Debray… but he brought that knowledge down to the streets of Brooklyn and served everyday people.’
Some people are respected, others are loved, and a few are honored. Rarely, however, does one individual hit the high mark on all three counts, the recipient of all three attributes. To be loved, respected, and honored. Well, tonight, we are celebrating the life of such a person; Anthony Munroe, Gundy, Brother Anthony.
When Paul Robeson died, Gil Noble said that one of the tallest trees in our forest had fallen. So, my sisters, brothers, elders, family members, and others, I say to you with the most profound humility: a mighty, mighty mahogany has fallen. Anthony was a grassroots brother with a high level of political and social consciousness. As the saying goes, Anthony thought globally but acted locally. Anthony served the people silently and with a smile. If it meant going to the grocery store, doctor’s office, nursing home, or cutting our hair, he was there, not to mention the many who were dropped off and picked up at the airport. He selflessly served the people daily with the highest level of integrity, never seeking or accepting compensation of any kind for his services.
Anthony was a strong and secure spirit who served us all with intellect, humor, and humility; no need was too small, no concern too insignificant. If you need help, Anthony will respond. Examples abound: Buying some patties and taking them to an Elder in a Nursing Home in Queens and buying Cowheel soup and oxtail to serve to an Elder in a Nursing Home in Brooklyn, and visiting three of his batches in the same hospital on the same day. Comforting and counseling a friend facing social difficulties.
Anthony had a sound grasp of the ideologies and theories of Liberation. Intellectually, Anthony was at home with African philosophers such as Cabral and Nkrumah, equally adept with European theoreticians like Cornforth and Regis Debray. But what was remarkable about Anthony was that he did not spend most of his time in those high clouds of philosophy. Instead, he brought that knowledge down to the streets of Brooklyn and served everyday people every day of his life for at least the last 50 years—making a difference in the lives of everyday people every day.
Stokely admonished us to serve the people. Anthony answered the call daily with grace, honesty, caring, and commitment. Few have so selflessly served the people consistently and caringly. Anthony moved seamlessly between the generations in his dispensation of service; all benefited, Elderly, Middle Age, and Youth.
Anthony was a radical humanist and shared his life with people of many persuasions. He was there for so many, so very many people. He lived a life complete in the spirit of Humanism. From his head and his heart, he served his people. Anthony turned the saying, “Help me to accept the things I cannot change” on its head. In his diverse ways every day, Anthony tried to change the things that he could not accept; poverty, pain, and persecution.
Anthony worked tirelessly to bring into being an enlightened and empowered people, grounded in our history, secure in our identity, and facing the future with confidence and resolve. I surmise that wherever the ancestors gather, and in whatever form they constitute themselves, on January 27, 2022, they ushered Brother Anthony to their welcome table with the sentiment: Well done, my Brother. You have poured your spirit into a life of service. Well done, you have served the people well. And we on this side of the Nile, on this side of the Mississippi, on this side of the Dry River and the Caroni River will say: This world is a better place today because our Brother–Brother Anthony, passed this way.
In tribute to Brother Anthony:
Love of the People
Service to the People
Power for the People
AMANDLA!
*Bro. Anthony Munroe, a long-standing Brooklyn resident, was an early member of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party from 1972.
Kamau Odinga is a Pan-Africanist Community Organizer based in Hahnville, LA.