Black Agenda Radio

Black Agenda Radio - 07.01.19

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: Lots of mostly Black school districts are returning to local control, after years of state takeovers, but a recent article shows that these public schools are still starved for money; We’ll hear from Howie Hawkins, who wants to run for president on the Green Party ticket; a Move member is finally freed from a Pennsylvania prison; and, a former Black Panther who’s spent 48 years in prison is hoping to be paroled, in September.

Hundreds of left activists and scholars gathered in Brooklyn, New York, this past weekend, for the Left Forum, the biggest annual gathering of leftist activists and scholars in the nation. Black Agenda Report senior columnist Margaret Kimberley was on hand. We asked Kimberley to make sense of the never-ending warfare between the corporate media and president Trump. Trump threatened to attack Iran after that nation shot down a spy drone, but then called off the attack. The corporate media were not pleased, since they only praise Trump when he attacks other countries.

 Jeff Bryant is a journalist who has been following the plight of urban school systems for many years. Bryant is senior correspondent for Our Schools, a project of the Independent Media Institute. His latest article is titled, “Why Many Urban School Districts are Being Set Up for Fiscal Failure.” He says that, as schools became more Black and Brown, State governments seized control from local school boards and put appointed consultants in charge. Now many of these school districts are returning to local control. But Bryant says the damage has already been done.

 Howie Hawkins is running for the Green Party’s presidential nomination. Hawkins came up with a detailed plan for a massive Green New Deal, nearly a decade ago. The Green Party adopted the Green New Deal as its own. But now Democrats like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez have put forward their own Green New Deal, and put it before Congress. Hawkins says they’ve watered the Deal down, and made it ineffective.

Eddie Africa, of the MOVE organization, has been released from the Pennsylvania prison system. Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, filed this report for Prison Radio.

 Jalil Abdul Muntaqim is a former Black Panther who has been imprisoned for the past 48 years, in the killing of two police officers in 1971. Muntaqim’s co-defendant, Herman Bell, was released on parole last year, despite the loud opposition of the Governor, New York City’s mayor, and of course, the police unions. Jalil Muntaqim has had 10 parole hearing since he became eligible for release in 2002, but has been turned down each time. His next appearance before the parole board is in September. We spoke with a person that has stuck by Jalil Muntaqim every day of nearly half century of incarceration – his mother, 85-year old Billie Bottoms Brown, who lives outside Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Black Agenda Radio - 06.24.19

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: Black families have always had to teach their children how to cope in a racist society. But, do white kids also need to be taught how NOT to BE racist? A new book explores that question. And, we talk with an author who says Hip Hop culture provides insights on how to create a NEW kind of society.

The United States overthrew Haiti’s elected government in 2004, but 15 years later, the Haitian people are in the streets demanding that their US-backed president step down. President Juvenal Moise [MO-EESE] is charged with looting the nation’s finances. A delegation from he OAS, the Organization of American States, lectured Haitians to end their street actions and wait for elections. Daoud Andre is a Brooklyn-based radio host, and an activist with the Committee to Mobilize Against Dictatorship in Haiti. He says the OAS has nothing to offer the Haitian people.

How should white parents go about raising children that do not perpetuate white supremacy and privilege? Jennifer Harvey has some ideas on that subject. Harvey is author of a new book, titled “Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America.” We asked Harvey if white kids need SPECIALIZED treatment in a deeply racist society.

Marquis Bey is a PhD candidate in the English department at Cornell University. He thinks the language of Hip Hop provides insights on potential new ways to build societies. Bey is author the new book, “Them GOON Rules: Fugitive Essays on Radical Black Feminism.” But, what does he mean by “Them GOON rules”?

Black Agenda Radio - 06.17.19

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: We’ll hear from a victim of torture at the hands of police in Chicago. He wrote a book about it. And, American Exceptionalism is really just a cover for American crimes around the world, starting with the founding of this Indian-killing, Black people enslaving nation. Black Agenda Report’s Danny Haiphong talks about his new book.

The Black Is Back Coalition is gearing up for its annual conference, in St. Louis, August 10th and 11th. Chairman Omali Yeshitela, explains.

Stanley Howard has been locked up in the Illinois prison system for the past 35 years, ever since he was tortured by Chicago police into confessing to crimes he didn’t commit. Over 100 other Black men were also tortured by Chicago cops. Some, like Howard, wound up on death row, and were later released by the governor. Howard remains in prison on other charges. He’s co-author of a new book, titled, “Tortured By Blue: The Chicago Police Torture Story.” He says, the public needs to hear the truth from the victims of police torture.

Danny Haiphong writes a weekly column for Black Agenda Report. Roberto Sirvent is editor of BAR’s Book Forum. Together, the are authors of a ground-breaking new book, titled “American Exceptionalism and American Innocence: A People’s History of Fake News – From the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror.” Haiphong says Americans are fed a daily diet of lies about nations around the world. What’s worse, almost everything Americans THINK they know about their own history, is fiction

 

Black Agenda Radio - 06.10.19

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: India will soon be the most populous nation in the world, but what role will it play global affairs, and how has India figured in the African American liberation movement? And, why do preachers figure so highly in the African American freedom struggle? We’ll hear from the author of a new book on social gospel activism.

Reparations has become an issue in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. The main organization that has kept the demand for Black American reparations alive is N’COBRA, the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, which is holding its 30th annual convention in Detroit, June 20th through the 23rd. Kam Howard is the National Male Co-Chair of N’Cobra.

The students, teachers and activists of the Philadelphia Saturday Free School spent much of last year immersing themselves and the entire city in the life and works of the great scholar, WEB DuBois. This time, the Free School is celebrating the “Year of Gandhi,” the Indian activist and philosopher. Dr. Anthony Montiero, the Duboisian scholar, says the Saturday Free School will kick off the year-long activities at Philadelphia’s Church of the Advocate, on June 14th and 15th.

The Black struggle in the United States cannot be understood without an examination of the role of ministers of the “social gospel, personified in modern times by the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Garry Dorrien is a professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, in New York City, and author of the book, “Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Social Gospel.” Professor Dorrien says Dr. King’s civil rights work in the Fifties and Sixties was rooted in previous generations of Black social gospel activism.

Black Agenda Radio - 06.03.19

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. This week we are going to dedicate the entire program to the issue of so-called Black Identity Extremists, the term the FBI invented to justify its permanent witch-hunt against Black individuals and organizations that fight for Black people’s rights and interests in the United States. Human rights activists regard the Black Identity Extremist label as the part of the FBI’s attempt to repackage, for the 21st century, its old and discredited Cointelpro dirty war against Black and Left Wing organizers.

Some of those activists recently formed an umbrella group to coordinate the resistance to the FBI’s latest offensive against Black people. It’s called the Black Identity Extremist Abolition Collective. The Collective plans to hold political education and organizing events in cities across the nation. The first session was held at the People’s Forum, in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Five organizers, representing key human rights groups, were unexpectedly joined by Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner. They discussed the threat posed by the FBI’s attempt to demonize and neutralize radical politics in the Black Lives Matter era. Ajamu Sankofa is one of the founders of the Black Identity Extremist Abolition Collective.

Myaisha Hayes is with the Center for Media Justice, which has challenged the FBI’s reincarnation of Cointelpro. Hayes knows all too well that the Bureau’s aim is to turn Black activists into political prisoners.

The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights has been in the forefront of the resistance to the FBI’s attempts to criminalize political organizing and speech, especially in Black and Muslim communities. Aya Saed represented the Center at the People’s Forum event, in New York.

Fifty years ago, the FBI designated the Black Panther Party the greatest domestic danger to U.S. national security, and tried to destroy the organization through a campaign of assassination and imprisonment. Johanna Fernandez is with the Campaign to Bring Home former Panther Mumia Abu Jamal. She’s also a professor of History and African American Studies at Baruch College. Fernandez provided an historical context to the FBI’s Black Identity Extremist offensive.

 

Black Agenda Radio - 05.27.19

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: 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.

Black Agenda Radio - 05.20.19

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: 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.

Black Agenda Radio - 05.13.19

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 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.

Black Agenda Radio - 05.06.19

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: 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.

Black Agenda Radio - 04.29.19

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: Mumia Abu Jamal speaks on the U.S. war against fellow political prisoner Julian Assange; a noted writer and anthropologist ponders why so many people that claim to be leftists can’t help bad-mouthing the Wikeleaks founder; and, a Black doctor in Canada says her profession is in denial about racism.

Black women are the fastest-growing part of the U.S. prison population, which gives new meaning to Mothers Day in Black America. In Greenville, South Carolina, the Malcolm X Center for Self-Determination is part of a coalition that is raising bail money for Black women and girls facing incarceration. Malcolm X Center director Efia Nwangaza explains.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is locked away in a British jail, as he prepares to fight extradition to the United States. Assange was recently evicted from his sanctuary in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he had spent seven years. Black American political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal has spent 37 years incarcerated in Pennsylvania. He files this report for Prison Radio, titled “The Wars Against Assange.”

Maximilion Forte is a professor of anthropology at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. In a recent article, Professor Forte wrote that the U.S. campaign against Julian Assange is really a war against free speech. In addition to the U.S government’s vendetta against Assange, lots of Americans that claim to be part of the Left can’t seem to resist expressing their personal disdain for the whistleblower.

Recently on Black Agenda Radio, Black Canadian journalist Eternity Martis said a “health crisis” exists among Black people in Toronto, Canada, and that anti-Black bias in the medical profession is a big part of the problem. One of the doctors quoted in Martis’s article is Onye Nnorom, a community health specialist on the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Nnorom says the problem with Canadian health care is that doctors are in denial about racism.