Episodes
Monday May 27, 2019
Black Agenda Radio - 05.27.19
Monday May 27, 2019
Monday May 27, 2019
Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host Nellie Bailey. Coming up: Ever wonder why the U.S. has such a close relationship to the countries that are number one in cocaine and heroin? Author Doug Valentine says its because the CIA IS organized crime. And, And, author Tamura Lomax explains how the Black church has labeled Black women and girls, Jezebels.
the nation’s most prolific Black political writer, Dr. Gerald Horne, has released a new book. It’s titled, “White Supremacy Confronted: U.S. Imperialism and Anti-Communism Versus the Liberation of Southern Africa From Rhodes to Mandela.” Horne is a professor of history and African American studies at the University of Houston. He’s written a sprawling, 800-word tour of the African liberation movement and its global supporters and enemies.
Where there is regime change, political murder and subversion, the CIA must be nearby. Douglass Valentine has been studying the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency for decades. He’s author of “The CIA As Organized Crime,” and “The Phoenix Program,” an exploration of the CIA assassination war in Vietnam. The CIA prefers to overthrow governments in secrecy, but President Trump seems to enjoy telling the world who he’s out to get.
The term “Jezebel” has come to be associated with women and girls of easy sex and loose morals. Independent scholar Tamura Lomax is author of the book, “Jezebel Unhinged: Loosing the Black Female Body in Religion and Culture.” Lomax says the Black church has preserved and fostered views of Black female sexuality that are rooted in slavery and racist European concepts, causing Black women and girls to be labeled “Jezebels,” even in their own houses of worship.
Monday May 20, 2019
Black Agenda Radio - 05.20.19
Monday May 20, 2019
Monday May 20, 2019
Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host Nellie Bailey. Coming up: Brazil has the largest concentration of people of African descent in the western hemisphere, but it is a country that slaughters young Black people by the tens of thousands every year. We’ll hear from a member of the Brazilian Black Movement. And, we’ll speak with a writer who has researched the assassination of Black Brazilian politician Marielle Franco.
The death of Black people at the hands of police is a constant flashpoint of U.S. politics. But increasingly, private security guards use lethal force against unarmed Blacks. In Philadelphia, Diop Olugbala, of the Black Is Back Coalition, says private security guards have been empowered to kill with impunity.
Last year, the murder of Black Brazilian politician Marielle Franco focused world attention on the deep racism that permeates Brazilian society. Then, later that year, Jair Bolsonaro, an openly racist right-winger, won election as president. Stephanie Reist is a freelance writer and researcher based in Rio de Janiero. Reist wrote an article for Jacobin magazine, titled “Finding Marielle Franco’s killers.”
Jaime Alves is a member of the Brazilian Black Movement and assistant professor of Anthropology at the College of Staten Island, in New York City. Alves maintains that the racist President Bolsonaro won last year’s election because of deep fears of Black people. Brazil, says professor Alves, is a killing field for Black youth.
Monday May 13, 2019
Black Agenda Radio - 05.13.19
Monday May 13, 2019
Monday May 13, 2019
Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host Nellie Bailey. Coming up: the stand-off at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, continues; African Liberation Day will be marked by protests against the ongoing sanctions against Zimbabwe; and, we’ll get an African feminist perspective on women’s roles in secessionist movements on the continent.
Lots of people know that Chicago recently elected its first Black woman mayor, but the elections also created a sharp change in the city council. Before the people went to the polls in February, only one alderman out of 50 on the council supported community control of the police. However, community activists take credit for changing that equation at the ballot box. After the election, 17 Chicago council members say they’ll vote to establish CPAC, the Civilian Police Accountability Council. Aislinn Pulley is the founder and Co-leader of Black Lives Matter, Chicago. We asked Pulley what effect the victories in the city council will have on movement strategy.
Activists with Code Pink, the Answer Coalition and Popular Resistance continue to occupy the Venezuelan Embassy, in Washington, keeping it out of the hands of supporters of Juan Gauido, the Venezuelan opposition leader who appointed himself president. The United States has recognized Guaido, and has been confiscating Venezuelan property, in addition to imposing punishing sanctions on the country. The American activists inside the embassy were invited to keep watch on the place by the elected government of Venezuela. Last Friday, we asked Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin how she and the others in the embassy are holding up.
African Liberation Day is May 25, and Zimbabwe is o top of the agenda. We spoke with human rights lawyer Roger Wareham, of the Brooklyn New York-based December 12th Movemet.
Not all people in Africa are satisfied with the borders that were drawn around their countries by European colonizers. Jacqueline Bethel-Mougoue is a feminist scholar and professor of history at Baylor University who’s been studying the roles that women play in secessionist movements in Africa.
Monday May 06, 2019
Black Agenda Radio - 05.06.19
Monday May 06, 2019
Monday May 06, 2019
Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host Nellie Bailey. Coming up: a former New York City cop writes a book on why police brutality matters, and what to do about it; the President of The Congo says he faces a threat from ISIS, even though his country has very few Muslims; and, the United States has already succeeded in killing at least 40 thousand Venezuelans, through sanctions.
During the Obama administration, shortly after the Black rebellion in Ferguson, Missouri, federal officials mounted a campaign against what they called “Black Identity Extremists.” Soon, federal agents were also claiming that ISIS was somehow involved in the Black liberation struggle. Some of the best reporting on government political surveillance has been done by Alice Speri, of The Intercept. She says there’s nothing paranoid about Black activists who think Uncle Sam is spying on them.
Former New City cop Joe Ested has written a book, titled “Police Brutality Matters.” Ested says new laws are needed, to rein in the lawmen. He suggests that Congress pass a Bad Cop Bill.
The new president of the Democratic Republic of Congo is asking for United States help for a problem that may not exist. President Félix Tshisekedi fears that ISIS might target his country, which is already beset by internal and foreign-supported armed groups. We spoke with Maurice Carney, of Friends of Congo, in Washington, DC, and asked Carney, How could ISIS be a problem for the Democratic Republic of Congo, where only two percent of the nation is Muslim?
Also in the nation’s capital, a progressive think tank released a study that showed U.S. sanctions against Venezuela have already led to massive deaths, especially among vulnerable groups like dialysis and diabetes patients who are now cut off from adequate treatment. Mark Weisbrot is co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.