Black Agenda Radio

Black Agenda Radio - 01.15.18

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: Anti-war activists from around the country gathered in Baltimore to agitate for an end to U.S. military bases around the world; Supporters of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal will converge on Philadelphia, seeking a reversal of his 36 year-old murder conviction; and, a celebration of three hundred years of Black history in New Orleans.

Dr. Martin Luther King’s life and work has been institutionalized, with commemorations of his birthday occurring this week in virtually every city and town in the nation. Dr. King’s anti-war views are less celebrated by the powers-that- be. King called for a movement to oppose the “triple evils” of racism, militarism and materialism, and indicted the United States as the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world, today.” We spoke with Duboisian scholar Dr. Anthony Monteiro, in Philadelphia.

Like no other empire in all of human history, the United States virtually covers the world with military bases – with servicemen and women in 172 countries, by some counts. At the University of Baltimore, this past weekend, anti-war activists held a conference against U.S. foreign military bases. Among the keynote speakers was Ajamu Baraka, the Green Party’s 2016 vice presidential candidate and lead organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace.

Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, has spent the last 36 years behind bars in the death of a Philadelphia policeman. Abu Jamal’s supporters see the possibility of overturning his conviction. Ronald Castille, a former prosecutor in Mumia’s case, went on to become a judge, and then wound up ruling against Mumia’s appeal. Castille was also a great friend of the Fraternal Order of Police. Mumia’s lawyers say Castille should have recused himself from the case. A State court judge has repeatedly ordered the District Attorney’s office to turn over all of its records in Mumia’s case. Mumia’s supporters were encouraged when a progressive lawyer named Larry Krasner was elected as the new district attorney for Philadelphia. However, Krasner appointed former prosecutor Ronald Castille to his transition team. That’s not a good sign, said Gwen Debrow, of the Campaign to Bring Mumia Home.

The city of New Orleans is celebrating its 300 th birthday this week. A three-day conference on the Black experience in New Orleans is scheduled to begin on January 18 th , under the direction of Dr. Clyde Robertson, director of African and African American Studies at Southern University, New Orleans. The events surrounding Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, are a low mark in the Black historical journey. One hundred thousand Black people were forced into exile after the storm, and Dr. Robertson remembers that much of the white power structure saw the mass removal of Blacks from the city as a good thing – a great opportunity.

Black Agenda Radio - 01.08.18

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: Anti-war activists prepare to gather in Baltimore to find ways to halt the spread of U.S. military bases around the world; the job of organizing against corporate power may get a lot more difficult, with the end of internet neutrality; and, the U.S.-backed regime in the Democratic Republic of Congo opens fire on protesters organized by the Catholic Church.

Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black Is Back Coalition, says reverence for the martyrs of Black struggle – those who have given their lives for Black people – needs to be rekindles.

The United States has as many as one thousand military bases around the world, a far bigger military presence on the planet than any other nation or empire in history. Anti-war activists from around the country will gather at the University of Baltimore, January 12 th through 14 th , to discuss ways to scale back or eliminate the U.S. military grip on the planet. We spoke with anti-war activist and author David Swanson, publisher of the influential web site “War is a Crime.”

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, troops loyal to President Joseph Kabila have killed scores of demonstrators organized by the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, a mysterious army is slaughtering Congolese in the Beni region of the country. The neighboring nations of Uganda and Rwanda are the prime suspects in the mass killings. Kambale Musavuli is an organizers with Friends of Congo, based in Washington.

Political activists are scrambling to find ways to reverse the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to do away with Internet neutrality. Black Agenda Radio producer Kyle Fraser spoke with Nabil Hassein, a technical worker and organizer with the Movement for Black Lives, in New York City. Hassein points out that big corporations already dominated the internet, even before the FCC ruling.

 

Black Agenda Radio - 01.02.18

Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective.

Black Agenda Radio - 12.18.17

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 voters turned out in huge numbers and won the
Democrats a seat in the U.S. Senate from Alabama, but what are the Democrats
prepared to do for Black people? And, Mumia Abu Jamal gives his sign of
approval to a new book on the many ways that police get away with murder in
America.

But first – the internet may never be the same again, after the FCC’s
gutting of internet neutrality protections. Federal Communications Commission
chairman Ajit Pai, a former lawyer for Verizon, handed corporations
unprecedented control over how the internet will operate. Tim Karr, of the media
advocacy group Free Press, is confident that internet neutrality can be rescued.

Victor Pickard is an associate professor at the Annenberg School of
Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of the book,
“America’s Battle for Media Democracy.” Professor Pickard recently wrote an
article on the corporate role in creating, what he called, “The Misinformation
Society.” Pickard agrees that the FCC has been “captured” by the corporations it
is supposed to regulate.

Black voters are universally credited with defeating Roy Moore’s bid to
become the next U.S. Senator from Alabama. The far-rightwing Republican is
accused of having inappropriate relations with teenage girls, decades ago. He
believes homosexuality is evil and has said that the United States was a really
great country back during slavery. Roy Moore lost the special election by only
one and-a- half percentage points. Black women voted for his Democratic
opponent at levels of 98 percent, and Black men were not far behind. The New
York Times and other corporate media acknowledge that Black voters saved the
day for the Democrats, but there has been very little media coverage that puts
the Black political struggle in the South in any real historical context. We spoke
with Kevin Alexander Gray, a veteran Black activist and author, in Columbia,
South Carolina.

Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, has turned
out another book, titled, “Have Black Lives Ever Mattered.” Abu Jamal has been
behind bars for 35 years in the death of a Philadelphia policeman, but his
supporters around the nation and the world have been holding book parties to
celebrate the new publication, and to demand Mumia’s release from prison.
Robin Spencer attended one of those Mumia book parties, at “Raw Space,” in
New York’s Harlem. Spencer is an historian with the Campaign to Bring Mumia
Home.

From his place of confinement in the Pennsylvania prison system, Mumia gave
high praise to another activists’ book.

Black Agenda Radio - 12.11.17

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: About one thousand more people are thought to have died in the aftermath of the hurricane in Puerto Rico, than were reported to authorities; an international human rights commission holds hearings on killer cops and impunity in the United States; and, a noted publisher explains why it is no surprise that Black people are being sold at auction in Libya.

A group of Black students at the University of Chicago are demanding that the school own up to its roots in the save system and make reparations to the Black community. The student’s action could have embarrassing impact on Barack and Michelle Obama, who both have deep ties to the University. The students have been working with N’COBRA, the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America. N’COBRA co-chair Kamm Howard says the University of Chicago is in violation of a local law that requires corporations and other institutions to acknowledge to their links to the slave system, or lose any contracts they might have with city government. Kamm Howard explains.

A recent study shows that about 1,000 more people probably died in the aftermath of the hurricane than were officially counted. Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States for almost 120 years. The island’s finances are in terrible shape, unemployment is high, and people have been leaving for the mainland United States in large numbers in recent years. The hurricane only made the ongoing crisis much worse. Lara Merling is a researcher for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a Washington think tank. She’s co-author of two recent reports on Puerto Rico, which is still waiting on $5 billion that was promised by the federal government to shore up the island’s finances.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held hearings, in Washington, last week, on the lack of accountability for police killing in the United States. The Commission is part of the Organization of American States, representing most of the countries of the Western Hemisphere. Among those that testified at the hearing was Maria Hamilton, mosther of Dontre Hamilton, a mentally challenged Black man who was shot down in a hail of bullets by Milwaukee police, in 2014. Ms. Hamilton told the Commission that her son has still not gotten justice.

Anyone that followed the U.S. and NATO attack on Libya, in 2011, would not be surprised that Black people are being sold as slaves at auction in that North African country, according to Robin Philpot, a Canadian publisher and radio host. Philpot published an influential book on the U.S. war against Libya, written by Maximillion Forte, titled, “Slouching Toward Sirte.” Philpot appeared recently on the “Watching the Hawks” show on RT television. He said the racist nature of much of the armed opposition to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had long been evident.

Supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, held a teach-in and protest march in Philadelphia, over the weekend. Abu Jamal has been behind bars for 35 years, following his conviction in the death of a Philadelphia policeman. He had originally been sentenced to death, but now faces life in prison. From behind the walls, Mumia expressed his gratitude to those who have stuck by him all these years.

Black Agenda Radio - 12.04.17

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: Why are Americans obsessed with guns? Mumia Abu Jamal explores the genocidal roots of U.S. gun culture; and, a Black radical put one of its own in the mayors office in Jackson, Mississippi. But, does winning elections actually bring power to the people. Not necessarily, says activist Kali Akuno.

But first, much of the world was shocked by reports on CNN that Black Africans are being sold at auction in Libya, where the United States and NATO overthrew the government of Muammar Gaddafi, six years ago. We spoke with Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations.

The Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party is trying to take credit for the election, earlier this year, of Black radical lawyer Antar Lumumba to City Hall in Jackson, Mississippi, the overwhelmingly Black state capital. The new mayor is the son of Chokwe Lumumba, a former activist in the Republic of New Africa and founder of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, who was elected mayor in 2013 but died after only eight months in office. Mayor Antar Lumumba’s name is now closely associated with Bernie Sanders’ “Our Revolution” organizations and its wealthy contributors. Kali Akuno was one of those that first suggested that Black activists in Mississippi run candidates for office. Akuno is a founder of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and of Cooperation Jackson, which seeks to form cooperative enterprises in the Black community. He wrote an essay in Black Agenda Report, titled, ““Casting Light: Reflections on the Struggle to Implement the Jackson-Kush Plan.” Akuno Akuno fears that some of his comrades have become too invested in simply winning elections, rather than empowering the people and transforming society.

Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, has a new essay for Prison Radio. Abu Jamal takes a look at the genocidal roots of the gun culture in the United States.

 After six years and half a million deaths, the Syrian government and its Russian, Lebanese, Iraqi, and Iranian allies are finally winning the war against ISIS and other Islamic Jihadist fighters backed by the United States. Only a very few western reporters have actually covered the war on the ground. One of them is Vanessa Beeley, a courageous British journalist who expoed the so-called White Helmets as nothing but a propaganda front organization for al Qaida in Syria. Beeley says the defeat of ISIS, mainly by the Syrians and Russians, has drawn together a “Peace Bloc” in the region, as opposed to the “War Bloc” headed by the United States. Beeley appeared on The Taylor Report, hosted by Phil Taylor, on radio station CIUT, in Toronto, Canada. She said the U.S. is rapidly becoming isolated in the world.

 

Black Agenda Radio - 11.27.17

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’s election has sparked dramatic growth in recruitment for left-wing political organizations, including the Workers World Party, which held its national conference in Newark, New Jersey.

The Democratic Party and U.S. corporate media have spent more than a year trying to blame the Russians for the myriad crises that afflict the United States. Anti-Russian hysteria has reached McCarthy-Era levels. Left-wing journalists have been targeted for blacklisting, and accused of spreading “fake news.” Julianne TWEET-EN reports on the intersection of technology and socio- economic issues. She recently wrote an article for In These Times magazine, titled, “How the Fake News Scare is Marginalizing the Left.”

The election of Donald Trump was considered bad news by most folks on the Left. But, radical political organizations have experienced dramatic increases in recruitment since Trump moved into the White House. That’s certainly true for the Workers World Party, which held its national conference in Newark, New Jersey. The conference coincided with the 50 th anniversary of the Newark rebellion of 1967. The Workers World Party was welcomed to Newark by Larry Hamm, chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress, which has been fighting for social justice for more than three decades.

Workers World Party First Secretary Larry Holmes noted that his party has experienced dramatic growth since the election of Donald Trump.

 

Black Agenda Radio - 11.20.17

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 people of Haiti remember a time when they had a real army, that fought against slavery and foreign oppression; U.S. prosecutors try to put hundreds of demonstrators in prison for breaking the same window; and, Mumia Abu Jamal writes a book that asks the question, “Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?”

But first, Democrats, corporate media and U.S. spy agencies have combined to make Russia the boogeyman for every crisis and failure of the United States. We spoke with Daniel Kovalik, a professor of human rights at the University of Pittsburgh, and author of the book, “The Plot to Scapegoat Russia.” We asked Kovalik, what’s the motive for scapegoating Russia, and who’se behind it?

Police in Haiti violently crushed protests against plans to reactivate the Haitian Army, which was abolished as a force of repression and corruption. However, over the weekend, many Haitians remembered when their country had a real army – one that fought for human liberation. Daoud Andre is a Brooklyn-based radio host and Haitian community activist.

In Washington, hundreds of demonstrators and journalists face long terms in prison for protests on the day in January when Donald Trump was sworn in as president. Chip Gibbons is policy counsel for the group, Defending Rights and Dissent. Gibbons says federal prosecutors seem intent on outlawing protest in the United States.

Also in the nation’s capital, activist Netfa Freeman represented the Black Alliance for Peace at a recent national conference of the Black Is Back Coalition, at Howard University.

Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, has a new book out. Supporters from around the country held parties to help Mumia launch his book, titled, “Have Black Lives Ever Mattered?”

Black Agenda Radio - 11.13.17

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 Black radical candidate explains how you can run a winning political campaign, even if you lose the election; and first, they stole the people’s right to vote, in Detroit, then they stole the water and everything else.

two researchers at the Institute for Policy Studies have released a new examination on wealth concentration and and inequality in the United States. Chuck Collins and Josh Hoxie’s report is titled, “Billionaire Bonanza 2017. We spoke to Collins at his office in Washington. He says three billionaires -- Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet – own more wealth than the entire bottom half of the U.S. population: 160 million people.

The Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations marched on the White House and held its national conference at Howard University, in Washington. The theme of the conference was, “The Ballot AND the Bullet: Elections, War and Peace in the Era of Donald Trump.” Among those who spoke at the conference was Eritha Akile Cainion, a 20 year old member of the African People’s Socialist Party who ran for city council in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Also speaking at the Black Is Back Coalition conference, was Dr. Marsha Coleman Adebayo, the veteran activist with the No Fear Coalition and an editor of Black Agenda Report. Adebayo asked for solidarity and assistance from the Coalition.

The citizens of the Black metropolis of Detroit were stripped of their right to manage their local affairs by a bankruptcy process imposed on the city in 2013. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Detroit households have faced cut-offs of water. Dr. Josiah Rector, a professor of history and Northland College, spoke recently at Detroit’s Museum of African American History. Dr. Rector said the same bakers and financiers that bankrupted Detroit have stolen the people’s right to water.

Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, has posted a new essay on Prison Radio. He calls it “Sex Wars.”

Black Agenda Radio - 11.06.17

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 claims that it is in Syria to fight al Qaida, but the al Qaida affiliate in that country has disappeared from the U.S. terrorist list; Black students at Temple University explore the Black Panther Party’s approach to social revolution; and, Mumia Abu Jamal says goodbye to a native American activist.

The people of Puerto Rico, a U.S. colony in the Caribbean, are confronting much the same economic powers that bankrupted Detroit, four years ago, and stripped the citizens of that Black metropolis of control over their local affairs. We spoke with Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Detroit based Pan African News web site. Azikiwe says finance capital – the bankers – are behind the misery in both Detroit and Puerto Rico, where hurricanes have wrecked the economy and plunged the island further in debt.

The United States claims it is fighting a war on terror in the world, and bombing terrorists daily, in Syria. But, the al Qaida affiliate in Syria, which used to be called the Al Nusra Front, but changed its name, has disappeared from U.S. lists of terrorist organizations. The Syrian government and Russia charge Washington with forming an alliance with al Qaida in Syria. We spoke with Dr. Gerald Horne, the prolific author and professor of history at the University of Houston.

Students and community members gathered late last month at Philadelphia’s Temple University to discuss the life and times of Huey P. Newton, the co- founder of the Black Panther Party. One of the speakers at the all-day conference was Kashara White, of the Philadelphia Saturday Free School. Ms. White recalled the battle over the future of Temple’s African American Studies program, two years ago, that resulted in the firing of activist professor Anthony Monteiro, and the promotion to department head of Molefi Asante, who calls himself an Africologist. Kashara White told the conference that young activists can learn from the Black Panther Party’s experience, in which Party members were killed by cultural nationalists on a college campus in Los Angeles.

In New York City, the activist organization Black Youth Project 100 is engaged in a campaign against the exclusionary practices of the state, including banning people from public housing if a family member is arrested. Rahel Mekdim Peka is an organizer with Black Youth Project 100. She’s also working on the “Swipe It Forward” campaign, which urges subway users with unlimited mass transit cards to help others avoid being arrested for non-payment of fares.

Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner, remembers Dennis Banks, the American Indian Movement leader who died, last week.