Impassioned encomiums for the recently departed Viola Plummer adorn social media platforms, many of them recounting her endless fight against racism and oppression. The Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry of House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn, where her funeral services will be held, agreed with her comrades attorney Roger Wareham and political leaders Charles and Inez Barron that Plummer was “the matriarch of the December 12th Movement.”
These sentiments, voiced on Imhotep Gary Byrd’s WBAI show, led a chorus of activists who marched with her and answered her powerful voice for justice and liberation.
But long before her transition on Dr. King’s birthday, Plummer had been celebrated and honored, and one of the most poignant interviews with her was conducted by Olayemi Odesanya in the Amsterdam News in September 2016. Asked about the beginning of her activist commitment, Plummer said it began when she was a teenager and joined the NAACP after witnessing a racist unjustified act by the U.N.
“I didn’t just want to be a witness, I wanted to be a part of the movement,” she told Olayemi. The article added that, “She has participated in several thousand protests, rallies, and victories over the years, such as successfully shutting down the ‘Scottsboro Boys’ musical in 2009, closing down retail stores in Harlem in honor of Malcolm X’s birthday, bringing awareness and calls for justice for U.S. political prisoners, campaigning to get rid of inexperienced Schools Chancellor Kathy Black[,] and fighting against unchecked police brutality and the influx of drugs, guns[,] and gentrification in the Black communities. These actions are just a few examples of the work that Plummer has engaged in.”
Capturing the full scope of her activism would exhaust the limited amount of space here, but I would be remiss to ignore her role as jazz and music impresario at Sistas’ Place or her relentless campaign for reparations.
Few of Plummer’s associates can speak with the authority of Amadi Ajamu, the press attache/publicist for the December 12th Movement. She spoke about Plummer on her 80th birthday and after noting her formidable background, particularly in global affairs, allowed space for the poet George Tait to submit his poetic vision. “Hewn from the hem of Harriet’s garment/Adorned with the apparel and arsenal of Asantewaa/Girded within the Nubian garrison of Granny Nanny/A weusi woman warrior with a D-12 dossier/Documenting decades of dedication and devotion/ Documenting decades of discourse and diplomacy…” are a few stanzas from the late poet’s piece.
I also remember her trips abroad, most memorable for this writer as a member of the delegation to Durban, South Africa, in 2001, where Plummer’s voice was resonant with conviction in having the U.S. admit its human rights violations and commit to reparations.
The last time Cinque and I saw her was at Nomsa Brath’s funeral, and there were no signs that she wouldn’t be on the ramparts for an agenda of issues that would now need a cadre of her comrades to shoulder.
Plummer was involved in a lot of neighborhood activities early on, from helping to fund work in her church to monitoring younger people with potential in the community. Bernard White, the former program manager for WBAI 99.5, recently said that not only did Plummer lure him from the basketball courts, she also helped start his radio career by connecting him with the right people and advising him to attend a meeting in Harlem with the National Black Human Rights Coalition. This marked the start of his radio career.
Plummer’s footprint is felt internationally. In Zimbabwe, a tribute to her life appeared in The Herald newspaper. Condolences followed from the ambassador of Namibia, Neville Gertz, as he headed to Kampala, Uganda, for the Non-Aligned Movement Summit. He took time to release a statement that said, “Our Dear Sister Viola Plummer has fought the Good Fight. [She] was a passionate advocate and pillar of strength in the fight against injustice, apartheid, discrimination, human rights violations, and an icon in raising Black consciousness.”
Viola Plummer was an unforgettable personality; our communities will mourn her, and trying to replace her is mission impossible. Funeral arrangements include a wake in Queens on Friday, January 26, and a public funeral at Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry’s House of the Lord Church (415 Atlantic Avenue, downtown Brooklyn) at 5 p.m. Saturday, January 27.
The last time that I saw Viola was at Nomsa Brath’s Homegoing. I was sitting in the lobby & she came over to me & spoke & I told her, that I loved her & that she would always be my Sister Soldier! I said that the last two times that I saw her. I also told her, that would have walked to the front , but the funeral was in session. She was always kind, beautiful, in shape & about it ,promoting the music & Black business. She will be missed & was certainly was loved. Aluta Continua!