Black Agenda Radio - 03.25.19

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 U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to look at the constitutionality of a Jim Crow era law, in Louisiana; the Black Alliance for Peace joins demonstrations in Washington against U.S. war policies; and, Muslim and Jewish activists say white supremacy is behind the campaign to silence Rep. Ilhan Omar.

The Ujima People’s Progress Party is gearing up for a statewide conference, in Baltimore, Maryland. Nnamdi Lumumba is one of the organizers of Ujima, which has chapters throughout the state of Maryland. The theme of the conference is, “Elections and Beyond: Building Independent Solutions for the Black Community.”

Activists from around the nation traveled to New Orleans to join protests against Louisiana’s Jim Crow-era law that allows defendants to be convicted when only 10 of 12 jurors turn in a guilty verdict. The U.S. Supreme Court last week agreed to decide on the constitutionality of the law. We spoke with Belinda Parker Brown, of Louisiana United International, one of the groups demanding that the thousands of people now imprisoned under the 10-2 law be set free.

Anti-war activists from around the country are getting reading to converge on Washington, DC, for a week of protests against U.S. wars. Actions will begin on March 30 and continue to April 4. That’s the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, but instead, official Washington is throwing a big party to celebrate the formation of NATO, the U.S. military alliance with Europe, Netfa Freeman is with the Black Alliance for Peace.

The arrival of two Muslim women in the U.S. Congress has focused unprecedented attention on Israel’s policies towards Palestinians. A recent congressional resolution claimed to denounce all forms of religious and racial bias, but was widely seen as being directed against Muslim congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Suad Abdul Khabeer is an anthropologist, artist and activist who teaches at the University of Michigan. She teamed up with other Muslim and Jewish women to write an article titled, “How Targeting Ilhan Omar Instead of White Supremacy Furthered Both Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.”

One of Khabeer’s co-writers is Asha Noor, a racial justice and human rights activist of Somali descent. Noor emphasizes that white supremacy is the grandfather of all the other religious and racial evils.

The nation’s best known political prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal, has some thoughts on the massacre of Muslims at prayer in New Zealand.