Black Agenda Radio

Black Agenda Radio - 08.06.18

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 political prisoners have been languishing behind bars for half a century, but are have finally gotten some major media attention: and, Are Black people’s individual identities more deeply rooted in the social life and fortunes of the larger Black group. We’ll talk with author of the book, “Consent Not To Be A Single Being.”

Apple has become the first corporation in history to be valued at a trillion dollars. But, what kind of mileston is that? We put that question to Dr. Anthony Monteiro, the Dubosian scholar who is active with the Saturday Free School, in Philadelphia.

Black political prisoners in the United States got some much needed publicity, last week, from a British-based newspapers. The Guardian ran a series of articles, written by Ed Pinkington, on the plight of Black political prisoners, most of them former members of the Black Panther Party. Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Fraser spoke with Jihad Abdulmumit, chairperson of the Jericho Movement and a former political prisoners, himself.

Several months ago, Black Agenda Report inaugurated a weekly Book Forum, edited by Roberto Sirvent, featuring authors whose works are relevant to the African American condition. One of them is Dr. Fred Moten, a poet and scholar who is currently a professor at New York University. Dr. Moten’s latest book is a trilogy, entitled “Consent Not To Be a Single Being.” Writers and critics have associated Dr. Moten with so-called Black Pessimism, Black Optimism, and even Black Mysticism. But he doesn’t recognize himself in any of those “isms.”

 

Black Agenda Radio - 07.30.18

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. has been trying to overthrow the leftist government in Venezuela ever since it was voted into power, back in 1998, but Trump is threatening to use direct American military force; the Syrian so-called “White Helmets” are treated like Hollywood heroes, but they are really Al-Qaida terrorists, subsidized by Britain and the U.S.; and, Mumia Abu Jamal reviews a book about Black communists organizing in Alabama in the 1930s.

Folks on the Left have a lot to say about the pros and cons of Deocrats like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, the young woman that won an upset congressional victory against a machine Democrat in New York City. But Black Agenda Report managing editor Bruce Dixon says left activists should concentrate on improving their own organizational skills, if they want to serve the people effectively.

Mark Weisbrot is an economist and co-director of the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. The center intensely follows U.S. policy in Latin America. Mark Weisbrot hit on a novel way to critique U.S. behavior in Latin America since the turn of the 21 st century. He wrote a totally fictional letter in which Thomas Shannon, a long term U.S. diplomat in Latin America, gives advice to Mike Pompeo, President Trump’s Secretary of State. Weisbrot’s fictitious ambassador Shannon tells Pompeo that President’s Bush and Clinton carried out remarkably similar policies to undermine leftist governments in Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, and elsewhere – and with much success.

The so-called White Helmets are hailed as heroes in the U.S. and Britain, but Syrians say the White Helmets are actually part of the Al Nusra Front, the Al Qaida terrorists in Syria, and are not in the business of rescuing anybody. Vanessa Beeley is a crusading journalist, one of few westerners that actually cover the war in Syria. Beeley has done more than any other reporter to expose the Helmets as a fraud. Now that the Syrian Army is closing in on Al Qaida and the other western-backed jihadists in Syria, Israel is lobbying to allow hundreds of jihadists to escape, through its territory or through Jordan, including those claiming to belong to the White Helmets. Vanessa Beeley was interviewed by Phil Taylor, on his radio program in Toronto, Canada.

The nation’s best known political prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal, has reviewed a book on Black Communists in Alabama, during the Great Depression.

 

Black Agenda Radio - 07.23.18

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: Nearly a million Black people waster away in U.S. prisons, which still house political prisoners from nearly half a century ago. Some young activists have begun a prisoner letter-writing campaign, to let them know that people on the outside are with them. And, is the current anti-Russian hysteria worse than during the cold war. We’ll ask the author of a book on the anti-Russian madness.

The Green Party has watched with interest as a number of Democrats have taken positions well to the left of Democratic Party leadership. In New York, Green Party candidate for governor, Howie Hawkins, says, if you want real social transformation, vote for the Greens. Hawkins and other Green Party members recently announced support for social ownership of the economy, a state public bank, and other radical measures. We asked Howie Hawkins what he means by “social ownership of the economy.”

Democrats and war-hawks reach for ever-higher heights of anti-Russian hysteria, ascribing nearly super-powers to Moscow and its president, Vladimir Putin. All this is déjà vu for many older Americans, who remember the Cold War days when Russians were thought to be under every bed. In a new book, Jeremy Kuzmarov and John Marciana explore the similarities, and differences between, the current anti-Russian madness and the hysteria of two generations ago. The book is titled, “The Russians are Coming, Again: The First Cold War as Tragedy, the Second as Farce.” Kuzmarov explains.

This past weekend, social justice activists in New York City set in motion a letter writing campaign for political prisoners. Marlene Nava Ramos is an organizer with Critical Resistance, and a doctoral candidate in sociology.

Black Agenda Radio - 07.16.18

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 have a radical analysis of the importance of the the summit meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, from Dr. Tony Monteiro, who says the U.S. can no longer demand obedience to Washington’s version of how the world should be run; and, rebellion continues to simmer behind the prison walls in South Carolina.

The massive popular rebellion that rocked the streets of most of Haiti’s cities has brought down the prime minister and cabinet of the US-backed regime. The disorder was ignited by the government’s massive hike in the price of kerosene, gasoline and diesel fuel, under orders from the International Monetary Fund. In Brooklyn, New York, we spoke with Dahoud Andre, of the Committee to Mobilize Against Dictatorship in Haiti. Andre is also host of a popular Haitian radio program. He says the people of Haiti want the country’s president to step down, as well.

The summit meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, in Helsinki, Finland, occurs at a time of clear decline of the United States, economically and in terms of influence in the world. For three years, Russia has militarily prevented Washington and its Islamic jihadist proxies from overthrowing the government in Syria, Russia’s longtime ally. And, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, with Russia and China in the lead, is creating an alternative economic and political center on the planet, further diluting the influence of the U.S. and Europe. We spoke with Dubosian scholar and political analyst Dr. Anthony Monteiro. He says the world is quite different than the picture painted by the New York Times and the Washington Post.

South Carolina experienced the world prison violence in many years back in April. There’s very little news from the corporate media and current conditions behind the bars, but activists say the rebellion is still simmering. Efia Nwangaza is a veteran of the struggle against the criminal IN-JUSTICE system. Nwangaza is director of the Malcolm X Center for Self-Determination, and also directs WMXP Radio, in Greenville, South Carolina. She says the revolt against oppression in the state’s prisons has not been quelled.

 

 

Black Agenda Radio - 07.02.18

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: Police in Buffalo, New York are up to the same tricks as were exposed in Ferguson, Missouri, saturating the Black community with police checkpoints to fatten the city treasury; New York City cops use a secret list of 42 thousand alleged gang members to justify mass arrests in Black neighborhoods; and, most people on the planet think it’s a good idea for the U.S. and Russian presidents to have a summit meeting – except for the Democrats and U.S. corporate media.

Cities around the country are going deeply in debt, selling bonds to speculators to pay for judgments and settlements against cops that brutalize their citizens. The Action Center on Race and the Economy did case studies in Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Lake County Indiana, showing that these so-called “Brutality Bonds” are costing these localities almost 2 BILLION dollars. Angela Peoples is director of the Action Center’s campaign. She’s also with the Washington, DC Chapter of Black Youth Project 100.

Civil rights group have filed suit against the city of Buffalo, New York, charging that, for more than five years, Buffalo cops have been saturating Black neighborhoods with police checkpoints for the purpose of extracting millions in fines. According to the suit, 91 percent of the checkpoints operating in Buffalo are located on the Black side of town. We spoke with Keisha Williams, a staff attorney with the Western New York Law Center. She says what’s going on in Buffalo is very much like the systematic draining of the Black community through over-policing and excessive fines that a U.S. Justice Department report documented in Ferguson, Missouri.

Black and brown activists in New York City are outraged that the police department maintains a data base of more than 42 thousand names of alleged gang members, The cops have used the list to bring conspiracy charges against hundreds of young people caught up in massive sweeps of poor neighborhoods. Shannon Jones is co-founder of the community organization “Why Accountability.” Her statemnt was read into the record at recent hearings of the City Council on policing in New York. Shannon was interviewed by Black Agenda radio producer Kyle Fraser.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will travel to Helsinki, Finland, July 16, for a summit meeting. Most people in the world think the summit is a good idea, to improve relations between the two nuclear super-powers. But much of the Democratic Party in the United States is negative on the subject. Sara Flounders is with UNAC, the United National Anti-War Coalition. In general, Flounders thinks the summit is a good thing, but she isn’t optimistic about the immediate outcome.

Black Agenda Radio - 06.27.18

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 Poor People’s Campaign organizes demonstrations in cities around the country; community activists try to counter massive police sweeps in New York City; and, the Trump administration tells the United Nations that poverty in the U.S. is not the UN’s business.

The world was surprised, and most people were pleased, with the exception of American Democratic politicians, when Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un agreed to move towards lessening tension on the Korean peninsula. But two fierce war hawks, White House national security advisor John Bolton, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, are still wild cards in the game – as is President Trump, himself. We spoke with Dr. Gerald Horne, the prolific author and political analyst who teaches history and African American Studies at the University of Houston.

The Poor People’s Campaign staged a mass rally in Washington, DC, and companion demonstrations were held in other cities around the country, this weekend. The campaign is intended to reignite the movement for social and economic justice that Dr. Martin Luther King was trying to forge when he was assassinated, 50 years ago. Rev. Graylon Hagler, the senior pastor at the Plymouth United Church of Christ, in Washington, is active in the Poor People’s campaign.

The New York City Council recently held hearings on policing in the nation’s largest city. Black and brown activists attempted to get the Council to curb the NYPD’s massive raids and mass arrests in public housing projects. The police maintain a list containing the names of 42 thousand alleged gang members. That list has grown by 70 percent since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office. One of those that spoke before the City Council was Sadiki “Brother Shep” Olugbala, of the Stop The Raids Coalition. He says the police trotted out their high-ranking Black cops to put the best face on their mass arrest policies.

The United States last week withdrew from the United Nation’s Council on Human Rights. The U.S. pull-out was largely in solidarity with its ally, Israel, but Washington was also embarrassed by a report to the Council on entrenched poverty in the United States. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said the UN should stick to problems in countries like Rwanda and Burundi. At Sputnik Radio, hosts Brian Becker and John Kariakou discussed the UN Report on Poverty in the U.S. with Ajamu Baraka, of the Black Alliance for Peace, and Aislin Pulley, an organizer with Black Lives Matter, Chicago. Ajamu Baraka said…

Black Agenda Radio - 06.18.18

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 world has changed, at least a little bit, over the past two weeks. In Canada, a meeting of the G7 countries failed to achieve a consensus between the U.S., western Europe and Japan on trade, or on relations with Russia. But, just a few days later, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reached the beginnings of an agreement on establishing peace on the Korean peninsula, after nearly 70 years of hair-trigger hostilities and threats of nuclear confrontation. We’ll talk with Duboisian scholar Dr. Anthony Monteiro, Ajamu Baraka, of the Black Alliance for Peace, and Omali Yeshitela, of the Black Is Back Coalition.

we talk with David Swanson, the veteran anti-war activist and director of World Beyond War. The Democratic Party used to be thought of as at least somewhat less warlike that the Republicans. But most Democrats are opposed to Donald Trump making peace with North Korea. 

In Philadelphia, Dubosian scholar Dr. Anthony Monteiro sees the Korea talks as a pivotal point in history.

One would think that anyone that is truly interested in avoiding nuclear war would have had a positive response to the agreement between Trump and North Korea. We spoke with Ajamu Baraka, the national organizer for the Black Alliance for Peace.

Before President Trump had his successful meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore, he travelled to Canada to meet with leaders of the United States’ European, Canadian and Japanese allies. Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black Is Back Coalition, has been closely following the unfolding crisis in U.S. relations with its allies. Trump’s Canada trip was anything but triumphant.

Black Agenda Radio - 06.11.18

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 welfare rights leader rallies to support the poor people of mostly Black Benton Harbor, Michigan; the financial board overseeing Puerto Rico is trying to divert disaster aid money to satisfy a debt to the bankers; a Black book store in Harlem, still standing; and, Mumia Abu Jamal says Donald Trump is crowning himself King.

Kshama Sawant, the Socialist Alternative Party leader who serves on the city council in Seattle, Washington, is being sued for defamation by two city cops. Sawant called the police killing of an unarmed Black man “a brutal murder.” Defending against such suits costs a lot of money. Emerson Johnson is part of the Kshama Solidarity Campaign. He says, the cop’s suit is an effort to silence opponents of police lawlessness.

The powers that control mostly Black Benton Harbor, Michigan, were overjoyed when local activist Rev. Edward Pinkney was sent to prison for 30 months for allegedly tampering with election petitions. But a higher court later exonerated Pinkney of all charges. Within weeks, Pinkney was leading protests against the Whirlpool corporation, which has dominated Benton Harbor’s politics for decades, and Whirlpool’s pet project, the PGA senior golf tournament, which Pinkney said contributes nothing to the Black city. On hand for the protests was Marian Kramer, head of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization and widow of the legendary Detroit activist, General Gordon Baker.

Recently, the world learned that as many as 5,000 Puerto Ricans died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, far more than originally thought. Now, a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, in Washington, shows that the appointed financial board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances has been trying to divert disaster relief aid to finance the island’s debt. We spoke with Lara Merling, one of the authors of that report.

Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, says the United States now appears to have a King in charge: Donald The First.

Black book stores are disappearing at an alarming rate. In Harlem, New York, Jenifer Wilson operates the Sister’s Uptown Bookstore and Cultural Center. She told Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Frasier why she opened a book store Black America’s most famous neighborhood.

Black Agenda Radio - 06.04.18

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 United States government has been trying to overthrow the government of Venezuela for most of this century. But the ruling socialist party keeps getting elected by the people, in ballots that international observers have repeated said are among the free-est and fairest in the world. Venezuelans last month voted to keep president Nicholas Maduro in office. The Black Alliance for Peace sent human rights activist Efia Nwangaza to observe the election, and we’ll present her full report.

Dictators have come and gone in Africa, but only one of them, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, has been in power for 32 years. Museveni was Ronald Reagan’s favorite African strongman, and Museveni’s military has been a tool of U.S. policy in Africa, ever since. The Ugandan army has wreaked havoc among its neighbors, destabilizing Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and intervening in South Sudan’s civil war. Last month, a coalition of Pan Africanist organizations came together with a campaign to expose the Ugandan regime as a menace to Africa. It’s called Stop Museveni. Milton Allimadi, the publisher of New York-based Black Star News, and a native of Uganda, explains.

The U.S. corporate media, acting like mimicks of the U.S. government, has been slandering Venezuela ever since newly elected president Hugo Chavez declared that his country would stop taking orders from Washington, back in 1998. The United States has been trying to overthrow his government ever since. Over the last 20 years, Venezuela has held more elections than any other nation in the hemisphere, possibly the world – all of them certified by global observers as free and fair. But the U.S. corporate media continues to claim that the socialist party government of the current president, Nicholas Maduro, is illegitimate. The Black Alliance for Peace sent an observer, veteran human rights activist Efia Nwangaza, to the latest election in Venezuela, last month. She reported back on a call-in program, last week, hosted by Black Agenda Report’s Margaret Kimberley, who is also part of the Black Alliance for Peace.

Black Agenda Radio - 05.28.18

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 national conference was held in North Carolina, last week, in hopes of revitalizing the Black liberation movement. And, the film “Black Panther” turned Black super-hero images into a worldwide box office smash. We’ll talk with someone who’s been turning out Black superhero comic books for more than 40 years.

Mumia Abu Jamal and his longtime collaborator, Stephen Vittoria, have a new book out. It’s titled “Murder Incorporated: Empire, Genocide and Manifest Destiny – Book One: Dreaming of Empire. The book is a sweeping examination of the white settler and colonial project from Christopher Columbus to the present day. The authors will later release Books Two and Three, covering CIA interventions around the world and perpetual U.S. wars, the mass security and surveillance state, and the delusion of a post-racial America. Six years ago, Stephen Vittoria produced the documentary film, “Long Distance Revolutionary: A journey with Mumia Abu Jamal.” Vittoria explains how he got into the book venture with Mumia.

Black super-hero characters are all the rage in the wake of the huge box office success of the movie “Black Panther.” But the Black comic book hero genre has been out there for many decades, pioneered by people like Professor Turtel Onli, of Onli Studios, in Chicago, producers of a long list of comic book titles. Professor Onli told us how he got started in the Black super-hero business.

In Durham, North Carolina, last week, activists from around the country came together for a National Assembly for Black Liberation, aimed at injecting new life into the Black Freedom Movement. One of those who spoke was Larry Hamm, chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress, based in Newark, New Jersey.