Black Agenda Radio

Black Agenda Radio - 12.09.19

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 corporate media claims that Medicare for All is a far left issue, but how could that be, when polls show that supermajorities of Americans are in favor of single payer? Supporters of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal believe the legal barriers to his freedom are falling; and, a Jamaican-born scholar says Rastafarians are in the forward ranks of the global movement for Black liberation.

Another meeting between President Trump and other heads of state of NATO countries has ended in discord and confusion. However, Ajamu Baraka, of the Black Alliance for Peace, says the disarray in the North Atlantic Treat Organization is not necessarily a bad thing.

Polls show that Medicare For All continues to garner support from huge majorities of Democrats, and even about half of Republicans. The future of health care in the United States is also a multi-trillion dollar economic issue. We asked Kevin Zeese, of Popular Resistance, if the corporations that profit from privatized health care are panicking at the growing popularity of Medicare for All.

 Supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal rallied in a number of cities last week, as part of a push to finally free the nation’s best known political prisoner. Linn Washington is a legal scholar who has closely followed Abu Jamal’s case. He took part in a teach-in in New York City

For most Americans, Rastafarians are associated with music and marijuana. But Dave Dunkley, a professor of Black Studies at the University of Missouri, says Rastas played a key role in the emergence of a global Black liberation movement. Dr. Dunkley has authored a number of books on the subject, and wrote a recent article about the man who is credited with founding the Rastafarian movement, Leonard Percival Howell.

Black Agenda Radio - 12.02.19

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: Washington wins some and loses some in it global game of regime-change. Chicago has become the national hub of the movement for community control of the police. And, activists gear up to mark the 38th year of imprisonment of Mumia Abu Jamal.

Nationwide opposition to the government has paralyzed Haiti for months, but the Jovenel Moise regime refuses to step down. Daoud Andre of the Committee to Mobilize Against Dictatorship in Haiti, says the regime has resorted to importing mercenaries to assassinate protest leaders.

The US global policy of overthrowing governments that don’t do Washington’s bidding has had successes and failures, recently. We spoke with Dr. Gerald Horne, the renowned historian and amazingly prolific author.

 Chicago has become the national focus of the struggle for community control of the police. Last month, 800 activists gathered at the Chicago teachers union hall for an historic conference to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The Alliance was originally founded in 1973, but was later largely disbanded. However, the Chicago chapter held on, under the leadershsip of veteran organizer Frank Chapman. Mr. Chapman presided over the recent refounding of the Alliance, and he’s a happy man.

 Supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, are gearing up for an important event in Philadelphia, on December 9. It’s called “Youth Rise Up Against Empire,” marking 38 years of Abu Jamal’s imprisonment, during which time he’s written a number of books. Mumia’s latest book is a trilogy, titled “Murder Incorporated,” that explores the history of US imperial crimes. Abu Jamal says he was inspired by the work of the late Howard Zinn. 

Black Agenda Radio - 11.25.19

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: Much of what you read in the corporate media is pure propanganda, a fictionalized account of the world. Margaret Kimberley and other reporters unmasked these lies before a packed crowd in New York City; we’ll get a report on the racial dimensions of the struggle for socialism in Venezuela; and, activists say “F” the police and their brutal presence in the New York subway system.

Activist and author William C. Anderson says radicals should not bow to pressures to tone down their demands, just to get along with the Democratic Party. Anderson co-authored a book called “As Black as the Resistance,” and recently wrote an article for Truthout titled ,”No Matter Who’s Elected, We Must Keep Demanding More.”

Margaret Kimberley, co-founder and senior columnist for Black Agenda Report, teamed up with acclaimed journalists Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate before a packed house in midtown Manhattan. The subject was Propaganda – the lies that corporate media tell in service to US imperialism.

The socialist government that the late President Hugo Chavez brought to power in Venezuela 20 years ago is still standing, despite the efforts of three US presidents to overthrow it. Dario Azzelini is a visiting fellow at the Latin American Studies Program, at Cornell University. He’s an Italian who was raised in Germany and lived for years in a poor barrio in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. Azzelini wrote a book, titled, “Communes and Workers' Control in Venezuela,” in which he argues that workers and peasants are building socialism from below in that country. We asked him why the right-wing has not been able to mount a successful coup against the Venezuelan government, despite crippling US sanctions and total support for regime change from the American media and the two corporate political parties.

Shannon Jones is an organizer with Bronxites for NYPD Accountability, part of a coalition from across New York City that has mobilized against high subway fares and police brutality underground. The coalition recently brought a thousand protesters to confront the police in Brooklyn, under the banner of “F.T.P” We asked Shannon Jones what “F.T.P” stands for.

Black Agenda Radio - 11.18.19

 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 Hispanic community has long been targeted by racists in the United States, but that doesn’t mean that anti-Black racism is not a problem among Hispanics; a new article highlights the internationalist thinking of women in the Black Panther Party; and, the coup in Bolivia – the fingerprints of the United States are all over it.

 Supporters of the nation’s best known political prisoner are gearing up for an important event, December 7th, in Philadelphia. Suzanne Ross, of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal, explains.

 Benjamin Young is an interesting young scholar. He’s a professor in Cyber Leadership and Intelligence at Dakota State University, and was awarded a doctoral degree from the U.S. Naval War College. Considering his background, Young has unconventional interests: His doctoral studies centered on North Korea, and he recently wrote an essay for Soul, the Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society. The essay was titled, “Imagining Revolutionary Feminism: Communist Asia and the Women of the Black Panther Party.

 Hispanics surpassed Blacks as the largest minority in the United States in the 21st Century. But minority status doesn’t necessarily mean that anti-Blackness is not a problem among Hispanics. We spoke with Janvieve Williams Comrie, a longtime activist who says racial justice and women’s reproductive rights are closely related.

The United States has been hostile to the government of Bolivia ever since Evo Morales was elected as that country’s first AmerIndian president. This month, right-wing forces and the military staged a coup against President Morales, forcing him into exile in Mexico. A white woman politician from a minority party declared herself president. Almost immediately, the Trump administration recognized the coup government – which is no surprise to Alex Main, of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, in Washington.

 

 

Black Agenda Radio - 11.11.19

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 Black Is Back Coalition recently marked it’s tenth year of agitation and organizing, with its annual march on the White House and a national conference in Washington DC; and, When did western Europe become wedded to the ideology of white supremacy? A Black scholar says the roots of anti-Blackness go back to the Middle Ages, when Black became synonymous with inferiority and evil in white minds.

Only two years ago, polls showed Senator Bernie Sanders was the most popular politician in the nation. But, these days, if the Democrat-oriented media mention Sanders’ presidential campaign at all, it is to malign and disparage him and his sweeping social and economic proposals. Sander supporters are calling it the “Bernie Blackout.” We spoke with noted political analyst Dr. Anthony Monteiro, a Duboisian scholar who works closely with the Philadelphia Saturday Free School. Monteiro says there’s a direct connection between corporate media treatment of Sanders and the general crisis of legitimacy afflicting late stage capitalism.

The Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations recently celebrated its tenth anniversary with its traditional march on the White House, followed by a national conference. One of those who spoke was Jihad Abdulmumit, the chairperson of the National Jericho Movement, which fights for the rights of political prisoners. Abdulmumit is himself a former Black Panther Party political prisoner, and the Jericho Movement is a member organization of the Black Is Back Coalition.

In recent decades, scholars have dug much deeper into the historical roots of white supremacy in western Europe, and its spread throughout the colonized world. Much of that scholarship contends that white supremacy has its roots in the trans-Atlantic slave trade – that a racist ideology was created to justify the plundering of non-white peoples and the enslavement of Africans. But Cord Whitaker, a professor of English at Wellesley College, has written a book that maintains white supremacy goes back to the Middle Ages, centuries before Christopher Columbus. Whitaker’s book is titled, “Black Metaphors: How Modern Racism Emerged from Medieval Race-Thinking.“

Black Agenda Radio - 11.04.19

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: Can a Black-Native American alliance bring the white supremacist, conquistador state to an end? An author and educator thinks so. Another writer believes that the climate crisis will create the political conditions that will defeat white supremacy. We’ll hear his theory, as well. And, political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal provides a lesson on the roots of the prison abolition movement.

 Blacks have been voting overwhelmingly Democratic for more than two generations. For much of that period, the actual Black economic condition has deteriorated, relative to whites. But Joe Biden is running for president as if the past was great for Black people. We spoke with Malaika Jabali, a public policy attorney, writer, and activist, based in Brooklyn, New York. Jabali says the establishment Democrats are working on the wrong assumptions.

Scholars have written quite a bit about alliances between Blacks and Native Americans, resisting European conquest and enslavement in the Americas. But Tiffany King, an Assistant Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Georgia State University, has written a book that argues that Blacks and Native Americans still pose a threat to what she calls “the conquistador white settler nation.” Tiffany King’s book is titled, “The Black Shoals: Offshore Formations of Black and Native Studies.”

Climate change threatens to make much of life on Earth extinct, including human life. But educator and journalist Nicholas Powers thinks some good can come out of the mobilization to fight climate change. Powers is author of the book, “The Ground Below Zero: 9/11 to Burning Man, New Orleans to Darfur, Haiti to Occupy Wall Street.” Powers is also an associate professor of English at the State University of New York at Old Westbury. In a recent article for Truthout, Powers surmised that the climate crisis may create the political conditions to finally defeat white supremacy.

Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, presents this report on the roots of the current prison abolition movement.

Black Agenda Radio - 10.21.19

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: Gay, lesbian and other LGBTQ persons have garnered more political support than ever. But what does that mean for poor Black and Brown LGBTQ young people who are homeless on the streets of New York? And, peace and national reconciliation may finally be on the horizon in Syria, after eight years of U.S.-regime-change warfare against that country. We’ll hear from Ajamu Baraka, of the Black Alliance for Peace.

 There can be little doubt that the U.S. empire is in deep disarray – and it’s not all about Donald Trump. Dr. Anthony Monteiro, the Philadelphia-based Duboisian scholar, says U.S. imperialism faces a multitude of crises, at home and abroad. Dr. Monteiro will be one of the speakers at Black Agenda Report’s 13th anniversary celebration, this Saturday, October 26th, at the People’s Forum, in New York City. The title of his talk will be, “Towards a Left that is Worthy of Black People and the Working Class.

Black Alliance for Peace lead organizer Ajamu Baraka will also speak at the Black Agenda Report anniversary affair. Baraka is an editor and columnist at BAR. We asked Baraka for his analysis of the situation in Syria, where the eight year long U.S. regime-change war appears to be unraveling. After years of collaboration with the United States, the Syrian Kurds have now realigned with the national government in Damascus. We asked Baraka if peace and national reconciliation is finally in the cards for Syria.

Black Agenda Radio - 10.14.19

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 struggle for adequate, quality food as an important part of Black self-determination; the fight against mass Black incarceration opens a new front in New York City; and, Venezuela is in an epic battle for socialism and national independence against the almighty Dollar.

The New York Times earned praise, and some criticism, for its recent “1619 Project” – a series of essays on the first Black slaves imported to Virginia, 400 years ago. We spoke with Josh Myers, a Howard University professor of African American Studies who delivered a lecture on the arrival of the first Africans in Jamestown. The question we posed to Myers was: If the arrival of Blacks as slaves in British America is viewed as the beginning of the Black saga, then the European colonial assault on Africa and most of the world is not part of the story. Black American slavery and oppression is depicted out of context.

 U.S. sactions against Venezuela are ravaging that country’s economy, and have already caused the deaths of at least 40,000 people, due to shortages of medicine. Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country’s deteriorating economic conditions. Nicholas Evan Ayala is co-editor of Anti-Conquista, a journal that defends the Venezuelan revolution. We began our conversation with Ayala by asking him to translate the publication’s title, “Anti-Conquista.”

Food stores have abandoned Black communities across the United States, forcing residents to eat badly or travel to other neighborhoods to shop. Ashante Reese is a professor of anthropology at Spelman College, in Atlanta. She’s written a book, titled, “Black Food Geopgraphers: Race, Self-Reliance, and Fund Access in Washington, DC.” We asked Professor Reese, How bad is the situation in what some people call “food desert” neighborhoods?

 Activists in New York City are trying to prevent the construction of four new prisons in the different boroughs of the city, designed to replace the jail cells that will be lost when the infamous Rikers Island Jail is closed down. The “No New Jails” movement says now is the time to phase out mass incarceration, not replenish it. Ben NDugga-Kabuye is with the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.

Donti Mitchell is a prisoner of the State of New York. In this report for Prison Radio, Mitchell asks the question: “What kind of society are we?”

 

Black Agenda Radio - 10.07.19

 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: U.S. cops act like soldiers and U.S. soldiers think they are the police of the world. A Black activist explains the connection. And, another left activist says this is the year to take on the corporate Democrats on their own turf, and he’s targeted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

 The Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations is preparing to descend on Washington, on the first weekend in November, as the Coalition has done every year since Barack Obama’s first year in the White House. The arch racist Donald Trump is now the chief executive. But Black Is Back Chairman Omali Yeshitela says the enemy remains the same: U.S. Imperialism and white supremacy.

Mass Shootings, Militarism and Policing Are Chapters in the Same Manifesto.” So says the title of a recent article by Dereka Purnell, a movement lawyer, writer and activist. We asked Purnell how she came to that conclusion.

Another movement lawyer, Shahid Buttar, is running for Congress to unseat Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi in her home district of San Francisco. Buttar is a lifelong activist and former director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. Until now, he had rejected electoral politics, but this year he sees an opening for the left. Buttar thinks his campaign is doing well.

Black Agenda Radio - 09.30.19

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: Donald Trump has made the United States a nightmare destination for poor, non white immigrants, but a Black Canadian activist says her country is no safe haven; Philadelphia celebrates Muhatma Gandhi along with Martin Luther King; and, the leader of a small Caribbean country blasts the United States for its regime change campaign against Venezuela.

One could get the impression, from listening to today’s Black politicians, that African Americans don’t know or care much about what goes on in the rest of the world. We spoke with Professor Paul Ortiz, a professor of history at the University of Florida, and author of the new book, “An African American  and Latinx History of the United States.” Ortiz says the struggle for Black liberation in the U.S. has always been international.

 Immigration to the United States is way down, this year, as President Trump succeeds in making Coming to America a nightmare experience. Canada takes in even more immigrants, proportionately, than the United States.  Black Canadian activist and writer Robyn Maynard is author of the book, “Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present.”  She warns that her country is no safe haven for Black newcomers.

All this year, the Philadelphia Saturday Free School has been publicizing the life and philosophy of Muhatma Gandhi, the Indian national liberation leader. On Thursday, October 3rd, the Free School will hold a special program titled, “Mahatma Gandhi and Our Single Garment of Destiny: Our Inescapable Struggle for Peace and Justice.” Philadelphia Free School activist Jahan Choudry says any study of Gandhi must include Dr. Martin Luther King.

 Heads of state from all over the planet journeyed to New York City last week to attend the yearly opening session of the United Nations General Assembly. Among them was Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of the tiny Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Prime Minister Gonsalves criticized the Global North for polluting and warming planet, denounced the US economic blockade of Venezuela, and celebrated new movement towards unity within the African diaspora.