Episodes
Monday Aug 26, 2019
Black Agenda Radio - 08.26.19
Monday Aug 26, 2019
Monday Aug 26, 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: Is it Colin Kaepernick versus Jay-Z, or rich capitalists versus a Black movement against racist police killings? And, white supremacist gunmen have slaughtered hundreds of people in the U.S. in recent decades, prompting some to demand extra powers for the FBI. But does the Bureau really want to catch the racist bad guys? We’ll explore that issue.
Three months ago, four U.S. activists were arrested for occupying the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, with the express permission of the Venezuelan government, after the Trump administration recognized the pro-coup politician Juan Guaido as that nation’s leader. The four Americans face up to a year in jail and heavy fines, if convicted. One of them is Kevin Zeese, a co-founder of Popular Resistance. We asked Zeese how the case is going.
Black Twitter has been buzzing about rapper Jay-Z’s recently announced collaboration with the owners of professional football. Jay-Z cut a deal to produce entertainment for the NFL and to consult on League racial policies. The move is widely seen as a betrayal of sidelined player Colin Kaepernick. We spoke with James Hill Jr., a writer and doctoral candidate at Northwestern University, who two years ago wrote an article for Black Agenda Report about Kaepernick and his “take a knee” initiative. Hill has some thoughts on the Jay-Z deal.
The constant drumbeat of mass shootings, many of them carried out by white supremacists, has prompted some people to call for giving enhanced powers to the FBI. But civil liberties activists disagree. Chip Gibbons is with the advocacy group, Defending Human Rights and Dissent. Gibbons says the FBI has plenty of authority to investigate and cause the prosecution of violent white supremacists, but chooses not to do so.
Monday Aug 19, 2019
Black Agenda Radio - 08.19.19
Monday Aug 19, 2019
Monday Aug 19, 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: We’ll take a look at the state of racism in Hollywood, and find out if Atlanta really is the Mecca for Black film-makers. And, When liberals call Donald Trump “un-American,” aren’t they playing the same chauvenist game as he is?
The Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations held its national conference in St. Louis, this month. The Coalition was formed ten years ago, during Barack Obama’s first year in the White House. Black Agenda Report executive editor Glen Ford is a co-founder of Black Is Back.
That was BAR executive editor Glen Ford. Omali Yeshitela is chairman of the Black Is Back Coalition, which is made up of a diverse group of radical Black organizations. Yeshitela is also the leader of the African People’s Socialist Party, which has long been intimately involved with the African liberation movement.
President Trump’s rhetoric gets raunchier by the day, as the 2020 election draws near. Some of Trump’s critics seem to think that calling him “un-American” is an effective argument. But political analyst William C. Anderson doesn’t think so. Anderson recently wrote an article for TruthOut titled, “Using Patriotism to Deflect Racism is a Deadly Mistake.”
Hollywood is a lot Blacker than it used to be, but that’s not saying much. Most Hollywood studios still work on the assumption that movies geared to Black audiences don’t make much money. Maryann Erigha is a Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at the University of Georgia. She’s got a new book out, titled “Hollywood Jim Crow: The Racial Politics of the Movie Industry.”
Monday Aug 12, 2019
Black Agenda Radio - 08.12.19
Monday Aug 12, 2019
Monday Aug 12, 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: Venezuelans welcome a delegation of Black peace advocates from the United States; we’ll get an assessment on what’s really going on in the strife-torn African nation of Sudan; and, Why are Black women in the U.S. so much more likely to die while giving childbirth?
Slavery in the U.S. wasn’t just a system of exploitation. It was a regime of terror. Kellie Jackson teaches African American Studies at Wellesley College. Jackson’s new book is called “Force and Freedom, Back Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence.” We asked Jackson if the book’s title might raise ‘red flags’ among the powers that be.
A delegation from the Black Alliance for Peace recently returned from Venezuela, where they were honored for helping protect the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington from being handed over to supporters of Juan Guaido, the right-wing politician that was hand-picked as president by the Trump administration. Netfa Freeman was part of the Black Alliance for Peace delegation.
The African nation of Sudan may soon be run by a transitional government made up of both civilians and military leaders. Long-time strongman Omar al-Bashir was ousted from power in a military coup, in April, and hundreds of people demanding democracy were killed by soldiers. We spoke with Akmed Kadouda, a PhD candidate and researcher at George Washington University, and a native of Sudan.
Black women in the United States die in childbirth at three times the rate of white women. Donna Eye-eeen Davis is Director of the Center for the Study of Women and Society at the City University of New York. Davis is author of the book, “Reproductive Injustice: Racism, Pregnancy and Premature Birth”. She says “Black Women’s reprodocution sits a the intersection of medical control and racism.
Monday Aug 05, 2019
Black Agenda Radio - 08.05.19
Monday Aug 05, 2019
Monday Aug 05, 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 Black Alliance for Peace demands that elected officials tell us where they stand on militarism and endless war; a Black scholar defends Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s description of immigrant detention centers as “concentration camps”; and, we’ll examine the changing relationship between African Americans and the Mother Continent.
August 9th marks the 5th anniversary of the day Mike Brown was shot to death by a white policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, setting off national revulsion against killer cops and the criminal injustice system. Activists in cities around the country are commemorating the events that spawned the Black Lives Matter movement. In Newark, New Jersey, the public library will host a day of activities on August 14th, in hopes of spurring renewed social activism. Zayid Muhammad is with N-CAP, Newark Communities for Accountable Policing.
Black office-holders are about to be put on notice, that their support for U.S. imperial crimes around the world goes against the grain of the pro-peace tradition in Black America. Ajamu Baraka, of the Black Alliance for Peace, says both corporate parties try to keep U.S. foreign policy out of the political debate. The Alliance is demanding that elected officials go on record on issues of war and peace.
Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known as AOC, came under savage attack when she described detention centers for immigrants as “concentration camps.” But Zoe Samudzi, co-author of the book, “As Black As Resistance,” says AOC is correct in broadening the popular discussion about the various ways that targeted groups are contained and controlled. Samudzi’s latest essay is titled, “Policing the Borders of Suffering.” She says no ethnic group has a monopoly on terms like “genocide” and “concentration camp.”
Nemata Blyden is a professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University, and author of the book, “African Americans and Africa: A New History.” Blyden has a unique perspective on the subject. She was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, the descendant of a renowned Pan Africanist and an African American mother. Professor Blyden talks about her book.