Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole.
By Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Atlantic - May 21, 2014
nd if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto
thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let
him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee,
thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him liberally
out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of
that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt
give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the
land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command
thee this thing today.
— Deuteronomy 15: 12–15
Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying
from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes degenerate,
and declares himself to quit the principles of human nature, and to be a
noxious creature, there is commonly injury done to some
person or other, and some other man receives damage by his
transgression: in which case he who hath received any damage, has,
besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a
particular right to seek reparation.
— John Locke, “Second Treatise”
By our unpaid labor and suffering, we have earned the right to
the soil, many times over and over, and now we are determined to have
it.
— Anonymous, 1861
I. “So That’s Just One Of My Losses”
Clyde Ross was born in 1923, the seventh of 13 children, near Clarksdale, Mississippi, the home of the blues. Ross’s parents owned and farmed a 40-acre tract of land, flush with cows, hogs, and mules. Ross’s mother would drive to Clarksdale to do her shopping in a horse and buggy, in which she invested all the pride one might place in a Cadillac. The family owned another horse, with a red coat, which they gave to Clyde. The Ross family wanted for little, save that which all black families in the Deep South then desperately desired—the protection of the law.
READ MORE....
Friday, May 23, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
A new project of the Black Left Unity Network (BLUN).
Comrades and friends:
We are launching a new website to showcase our Black Liberation Theoreticians project. This is a project of the Black Left Unity Network (BLUN).
This project is an attempt to be inclusive of Black people who are part of the freedom movement, part of the anti-capitalist , anti-racist, and anti-patriarchy forces spread out all over the country. This is representative of the Black left that actually exists. These people share more in common that the various issues that divide them. We think it is necessary for all of these forces to be in dialogue with each other and to maximize the possibility of unity of action.
We send out links on an individual every day. If you would like to get this as a daily email we can hook you up.
We are launching a new website to showcase our Black Liberation Theoreticians project. This is a project of the Black Left Unity Network (BLUN).
This project is an attempt to be inclusive of Black people who are part of the freedom movement, part of the anti-capitalist , anti-racist, and anti-patriarchy forces spread out all over the country. This is representative of the Black left that actually exists. These people share more in common that the various issues that divide them. We think it is necessary for all of these forces to be in dialogue with each other and to maximize the possibility of unity of action.
We send out links on an individual every day. If you would like to get this as a daily email we can hook you up.
There are an equal number of men and women.
There are political as well as cultural workers in this directory.
All of the people in the directory are currently alive, and veterans of the struggle.
We will soon turn to the ancestors and begin to include those who have made their transition.
Also, we will begin to include brothers and sisters from the African Diaspora as well.
We invite discussion and especially welcome suggestions to add people to this project. This is not just a project for “famous” people. We need to include people at every local site of resistance, every organization, every tendency in our movement.
The BLUN needs you!
Abdul Alkalimat
http://brothermalcolm.net/SOLDIERS/
There are political as well as cultural workers in this directory.
All of the people in the directory are currently alive, and veterans of the struggle.
We will soon turn to the ancestors and begin to include those who have made their transition.
Also, we will begin to include brothers and sisters from the African Diaspora as well.
We invite discussion and especially welcome suggestions to add people to this project. This is not just a project for “famous” people. We need to include people at every local site of resistance, every organization, every tendency in our movement.
The BLUN needs you!
Abdul Alkalimat
http://brothermalcolm.net/SOLDIERS/
Monday, May 19, 2014
Keorapetse Kgositsile
Nikitah Okembe-ra Imani
Chair of Black Studies
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Into Africa: China’s Wild Rush
By HOWARD W. FRENCH
The New York Times - MAY 16, 2014
Read more....
The New York Times - MAY 16, 2014
NAIROBI, Kenya — For nearly a decade, as China
made a historic push for business opportunities and expanded influence
in Africa, most of the continent’s leaders were so thrilled at having a
deep-pocketed partner willing to make big investments and start huge new
projects that they rarely paused to consider whether they were getting a
sound deal.
China
has peppered the continent with newly built stadiums, airports,
hospitals, highways and dams, but as Africans are beginning to fully
recognize, these projects have also left many countries saddled with
heavy debts and other problems, from environmental conflict to labor
strife. As a consequence, China’s relationship with the continent is
entering a new and much more skeptical phase.
The
doubts aren’t coming from any soured feelings from African leaders
themselves, most of whom still welcome (and profit from) China’s
embrace. The new skepticism has even less to do with the hectoring of
Western governments, the traditional source of Africa’s foreign aid and
investment (and interference). In a 2012 speech in Senegal, Hillary
Rodham Clinton, then secretary of state, implicitly warned Africa about
China. The continent needs “a model of sustainable partnership that adds
value, rather than extracts it,” she said, adding that unlike other
countries, “America will stand up for democracy and universal human
rights even when it might be easier to look the other way and keep the
resources flowing.”
Read more....
Friday, May 16, 2014
British universities need Black Studies
In the US, black students see their lives and their history reflected in their studies. The UK must follow suit
By William Ackah
theguardian.com, Wednesday 14 May 2014
In San Francisco in 1968 a group of primarily black students went on strike to demand that their college establish an academic programme that reflected their lives and experiences. Their demand was met, and San Francisco State College became the first in the US to have a department and degree programme in Black Studies.
Nearly half a century later, Black Studies, Africana Studies or African-American Studies, as they are now variously named in different institutions, are a coast-to- coast academic discipline. Their academic departments in Ivy League institutions such as Harvard, Yale and Columbia are home to internationally renowned scholars.
Built on the two foundational pillars of academic excellence and social responsibility, Black Studies in the United States has led to the emergence of more black professors, heads of department and university administrators. From small beginnings, it has emerged as a genuine success story of the 1960s Civil Rights struggle.
Read more.....
By William Ackah
theguardian.com, Wednesday 14 May 2014
In San Francisco in 1968 a group of primarily black students went on strike to demand that their college establish an academic programme that reflected their lives and experiences. Their demand was met, and San Francisco State College became the first in the US to have a department and degree programme in Black Studies.
Nearly half a century later, Black Studies, Africana Studies or African-American Studies, as they are now variously named in different institutions, are a coast-to- coast academic discipline. Their academic departments in Ivy League institutions such as Harvard, Yale and Columbia are home to internationally renowned scholars.
Built on the two foundational pillars of academic excellence and social responsibility, Black Studies in the United States has led to the emergence of more black professors, heads of department and university administrators. From small beginnings, it has emerged as a genuine success story of the 1960s Civil Rights struggle.
Read more.....
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
African States Taking Cue From Zimbabwe’s Policies
AFRICANGLOBE - May 12, 2014
Political parties championing resource nationalism are gaining popularity in Africa’s body politic.
By embarking on successful land reforms and empowering Zimbabweans through indigenisation and empowerment laws, Zanu-PF has remained the dominant player in Zimbabwe’s politics.
Now, other African parties of like mind are following suit.
Barely eight months after its formation, South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters — led by firebrand politician Julius Malema — made tremendous inroads in the May 7, 2014 polls with more than one million votes.
The party, which wants to nationalise mines and banks and pursue land reforms, yesterday had 6.2 percent of the vote with most ballots counted.
The result made EFF the third largest political party in South Africa and is on course to get around 20 seats in that country’s parliament.
A “political infant”, the EFF also scored big in North West province where it is now the official opposition to the ruling African National Congress party, which had 62.4 percent of the national vote at the time of writing.
Read more.....
Political parties championing resource nationalism are gaining popularity in Africa’s body politic.
By embarking on successful land reforms and empowering Zimbabweans through indigenisation and empowerment laws, Zanu-PF has remained the dominant player in Zimbabwe’s politics.
Now, other African parties of like mind are following suit.
Barely eight months after its formation, South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters — led by firebrand politician Julius Malema — made tremendous inroads in the May 7, 2014 polls with more than one million votes.
The party, which wants to nationalise mines and banks and pursue land reforms, yesterday had 6.2 percent of the vote with most ballots counted.
The result made EFF the third largest political party in South Africa and is on course to get around 20 seats in that country’s parliament.
A “political infant”, the EFF also scored big in North West province where it is now the official opposition to the ruling African National Congress party, which had 62.4 percent of the national vote at the time of writing.
Read more.....
10 More Years: Obama Secures Foothold for Killer Drone War in Africa
President calls Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti 'critical'
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
Common Dreams - May 5, 2014
The United States has agreed to sign a long-term lease agreement with the government of Djibouti, President Obama announced Monday, cementing the U.S. military's presence at Camp Lemonnier, home to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and key foothold for the killer drone program.
In a statement announcing the agreement with Djibouti President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, Obama hailed Camp Lemonnier's "critical role as an operational headquarters for regional security," emphasizing "the importance the base plays in protecting Americans and Djiboutians alike from violent extremist individuals and organizations."
The only "official" U.S. base in Africa, Camp Lemonnier is known as the "busiest Predator drone base outside the Afghan war zone," according to The Washington Post, and is central to drone operations in Somalia and Yemen. The base primarily serves the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and currently houses more than 2,000 U.S. personnel.
Human rights groups have accused Djibouti of being a "knowing participant" in the CIA's rendition program and of housing CIA "black sites," where prisoners of the U.S. military have been held and tortured.
Read more.....
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
Common Dreams - May 5, 2014
The United States has agreed to sign a long-term lease agreement with the government of Djibouti, President Obama announced Monday, cementing the U.S. military's presence at Camp Lemonnier, home to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and key foothold for the killer drone program.
In a statement announcing the agreement with Djibouti President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, Obama hailed Camp Lemonnier's "critical role as an operational headquarters for regional security," emphasizing "the importance the base plays in protecting Americans and Djiboutians alike from violent extremist individuals and organizations."
The only "official" U.S. base in Africa, Camp Lemonnier is known as the "busiest Predator drone base outside the Afghan war zone," according to The Washington Post, and is central to drone operations in Somalia and Yemen. The base primarily serves the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and currently houses more than 2,000 U.S. personnel.
Human rights groups have accused Djibouti of being a "knowing participant" in the CIA's rendition program and of housing CIA "black sites," where prisoners of the U.S. military have been held and tortured.
Read more.....
White House Escalates Interventionist Plans for Nigeria
Abduction of students sparks outrage while imperialists pour in
By Abayomi Azikiwe (Pan-African News Wire)
Modern Ghana - 13 May 2014
A video purportedly released by the armed Boko Haram sect based in northeastern Nigeria showed what was said to be school girls who have been held by the group for a month. The Boko Haram leader said that the young women could be released in exchange for the prisoners belonging to their organization being held by the Nigerian government.
With the convening of the World Economic Forum for Africa in Abuja, the political capital of Nigeria, during the week of May 5, international media attention was focused on the country. The issue of internal security in Nigeria was also paramount since the detonation of two deadly bombs in Abuja during a three week period which resulted in the deaths of over 80 people.
Simultaneously the story involving the missing high school students from the village of Chibok in Borno state in the northeast which has been under a government-imposed state of emergency for months, was utilized to mobilize the intervention of military and intelligence personnel from Washington, London, Paris and Tel Aviv. The problems of the Boko Haram insurgency has existed since 2009 when the government deployed police and soldiers to attack the headquarters and residences of the group which had functioned for several years with the public support of some prominent northern-based politicians.
Read more....
By Abayomi Azikiwe (Pan-African News Wire)
Modern Ghana - 13 May 2014
A video purportedly released by the armed Boko Haram sect based in northeastern Nigeria showed what was said to be school girls who have been held by the group for a month. The Boko Haram leader said that the young women could be released in exchange for the prisoners belonging to their organization being held by the Nigerian government.
With the convening of the World Economic Forum for Africa in Abuja, the political capital of Nigeria, during the week of May 5, international media attention was focused on the country. The issue of internal security in Nigeria was also paramount since the detonation of two deadly bombs in Abuja during a three week period which resulted in the deaths of over 80 people.
Simultaneously the story involving the missing high school students from the village of Chibok in Borno state in the northeast which has been under a government-imposed state of emergency for months, was utilized to mobilize the intervention of military and intelligence personnel from Washington, London, Paris and Tel Aviv. The problems of the Boko Haram insurgency has existed since 2009 when the government deployed police and soldiers to attack the headquarters and residences of the group which had functioned for several years with the public support of some prominent northern-based politicians.
Read more....
ANC Wins Big Again in National Elections
Spy Ghana - May 12, 2014
Twenty years after Freedom Day in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has won overwhelmingly in the fifth national democratic elections held inside the country. The ANC, which has dominated South African politics for decades even prior to coming to power two decades ago in the first non-racial democratic elections, officially received 62.5 percent of the vote.
Following way behind the ANC is the Democratic Alliance (DA) headed by Helen Zille, the former mayor of Cape Town, which gained 22 percent of the vote. This represents an increase of five percentage points since 2009 but leaving it one-third of the support earned by the ANC.
Perhaps the most significant development in the national poll was the performance of the newly-formed Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) led by Julius Malema, the ousted president of the ANC Youth League. The EFF won 6 percent of the vote and is now the third party behind the DA and the ANC.
Read more....
Twenty years after Freedom Day in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has won overwhelmingly in the fifth national democratic elections held inside the country. The ANC, which has dominated South African politics for decades even prior to coming to power two decades ago in the first non-racial democratic elections, officially received 62.5 percent of the vote.
Following way behind the ANC is the Democratic Alliance (DA) headed by Helen Zille, the former mayor of Cape Town, which gained 22 percent of the vote. This represents an increase of five percentage points since 2009 but leaving it one-third of the support earned by the ANC.
Perhaps the most significant development in the national poll was the performance of the newly-formed Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) led by Julius Malema, the ousted president of the ANC Youth League. The EFF won 6 percent of the vote and is now the third party behind the DA and the ANC.
Read more....
Much of Britain's wealth is built on slavery. So why shouldn't it pay reparations?
The benefits of slavery have accrued down the generations, so why are we so nervous about the responsibility for the slave trade doing the same?
By Priyamvada Gopal
New Statesman 23 April, 2014
“Should we be responsible for the sins of our fathers?” Any discussion about the deeply polarising topic of reparations for slavery, if it happens at all, takes place in these quasi-religious terms. Unfortunately, the language of the confessional immediately constrains, indeed skews, the debate. Turning a matter of material justice into one of proxy atonement does the question of our demanding relationship to history a profound disservice. It implies, wrongly, that historical events of such vast reach as slavery have no discernible material impact on our present, as though what happened to or was done by our ancestors doesn’t filter down and impact our present. This is a curious belief in a society which believes so passionately in inheritance. How is possible, at one and the same time, to believe deeply in the right to inherit wealth and property acquired by progenitors while insisting that we in the present cannot, in any way, be responsible for the mechanisms of wealth-making in the past? It’s convenient enough: my grandfather’s house is my house but how he came to own is none of my business.
“Say NO to paying for something that happened 100s of years ago,” screamed one meme that was doing the rounds on social media around the time tabloids began to claim that Caribbean nations were “suing” for reparations. They aren’t, strictly speaking, and nor can something which ended only in 1838 be compared, as it often is, with the Viking invasions or Roman conquest. The CARICOM group of nations, led by Barbados , is really calling for a wider dialogue about historical justice. Why should Britain – or any other former slave-trading nation – shy away from it?
Read more.....
By Priyamvada Gopal
New Statesman 23 April, 2014
“Should we be responsible for the sins of our fathers?” Any discussion about the deeply polarising topic of reparations for slavery, if it happens at all, takes place in these quasi-religious terms. Unfortunately, the language of the confessional immediately constrains, indeed skews, the debate. Turning a matter of material justice into one of proxy atonement does the question of our demanding relationship to history a profound disservice. It implies, wrongly, that historical events of such vast reach as slavery have no discernible material impact on our present, as though what happened to or was done by our ancestors doesn’t filter down and impact our present. This is a curious belief in a society which believes so passionately in inheritance. How is possible, at one and the same time, to believe deeply in the right to inherit wealth and property acquired by progenitors while insisting that we in the present cannot, in any way, be responsible for the mechanisms of wealth-making in the past? It’s convenient enough: my grandfather’s house is my house but how he came to own is none of my business.
“Say NO to paying for something that happened 100s of years ago,” screamed one meme that was doing the rounds on social media around the time tabloids began to claim that Caribbean nations were “suing” for reparations. They aren’t, strictly speaking, and nor can something which ended only in 1838 be compared, as it often is, with the Viking invasions or Roman conquest. The CARICOM group of nations, led by Barbados , is really calling for a wider dialogue about historical justice. Why should Britain – or any other former slave-trading nation – shy away from it?
Read more.....
Saturday, May 10, 2014
The Corporate Land Grab in Africa
"When Our Land is Free, We are Free"
by SILAS SIAKOR and JACINTA FAY
Counterpunch - May 07, 2014
Right now in Abuja, Nigeria, agribusiness corporations are courting African governments at the Grow Africa Investment Forum to“further accelerate sustainable agricultural growth in Africa”.
That sounds harmless enough, until you know what it really means. Corporate interest in agriculture in Africa has certainly accelerated corporate control of land, seeds and water. But it has done little to support agriculture that will feed the continent.
Rather than support family farming and smallholder agriculture, private sector investment in agriculture has resulted in grabbing land from communities – the land which they farm sustainably and rely on for their survival.
Read more....
by SILAS SIAKOR and JACINTA FAY
Counterpunch - May 07, 2014
Right now in Abuja, Nigeria, agribusiness corporations are courting African governments at the Grow Africa Investment Forum to“further accelerate sustainable agricultural growth in Africa”.
That sounds harmless enough, until you know what it really means. Corporate interest in agriculture in Africa has certainly accelerated corporate control of land, seeds and water. But it has done little to support agriculture that will feed the continent.
Rather than support family farming and smallholder agriculture, private sector investment in agriculture has resulted in grabbing land from communities – the land which they farm sustainably and rely on for their survival.
Read more....
The Journal of Pan African Studies
The Journal of Pan African Studies is a trans-disciplinary on-line peer reviewed scholarly journal devoted
to the intellectual synthesis of research, scholarship and critical
thought on the African experience around the world. Since our inception
in 1987, we have provided an international forum for diverse scholars to
advance a host of perspectives and theoretical paradigms relevant to
the social, political, economic and cultural issues that impact the
African world community. Thus, the goal of the journal is to build a
transnational community of scholars, theorists and practitioners who can
ask questions and pose solutions to contemporary and historical issues,
based upon an affirmative African centered logic and discourse of
liberation.
The
complexity and dynamism of the African global community warrant
discussion and multifaceted engagement, hence, this journal represents a
resource for informed minds to address the challenges facing the
African world. We welcome your participation in this process, thus
contribute an article, or simply inform your colleagues of our presence.
Thank you for your support,
Itibari M. Zulu, Th.D.
Senior Editor
P.O. Box 24194
Los Angeles, California 90024-0194
Western intervention will turn Nigeria into an African Afghanistan
Counterfire - Tuesday, 06 May 2014
by Lindsey German
I t seems almost beyond belief that more than 200 girls can be kidnapped from a school in northern Nigeria, held by the terrorist group Boko Haram, and threatened on a video – shown worldwide – with being sold into slavery by their captors. The disbelief is compounded by today's news that, overnight, eight more girls have been kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram gunmen in north-east Nigeria. This tragedy touches the hearts of everyone, evoking a feeling of revulsion not only at the danger and loss of freedom itself, but at the assumption that for young girls their destination must be forced marriage and servitude, not education. There is rightly anger that so little has been done by the Nigerian government to find the girls, and that those who have demonstrated in huge numbers against President Goodluck Jonathan have themselves been accused of causing trouble or even temporarily arrested. But we should be wary of the narrative now emerging. This follows a wearily familiar pattern, one we have already seen in south Asia and the Middle East, but that is increasingly being applied to Africa as well. It is the refrain that something must be done and that "we" – the enlightened west – must be the people to do it. As the US senator Amy Klobuchar put it: "This is one of those times when our action or inaction will be felt not just by those schoolgirls being held captive and their families waiting in agony, but by victims and perpetrators of trafficking around the world. Now is the time to act."
Read more....
Chinesetakeaway: African Railway
C. Raja Mohan
Indian Express | May 7, 2014
On his first visit to Africa this week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has once again underlined the importance of high-speed railways in Beijing’s diplomacy. From America to Asia and Europe to Africa, Chinese leaders are offering technology, finance and project management in the construction of high-speed rail networks. In Addis Ababa on Monday, the first stop in a four-nation tour of what he called the “continent of hope”, Li outlined a plan to connect all major African cities through a high-speed railway network. The project is at the heart of a new framework for Sino-African partnership that Li elaborated upon in his address to the African Union in Addis Ababa.
In talking about the “Chinese dream” for a continent-wide railway in Africa, Li was not playing with words. He was invoking China’s enduring romance with railways. Sun Yat Sen, who led Beijing’s first republic in the early 20th century, believed railways would modernise and unite China. Sun’s rail strategy was not limited to the borders of China; he wanted to extend Chinese railroads to India, the Middle East and Africa.
Read more....
Indian Express | May 7, 2014
On his first visit to Africa this week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has once again underlined the importance of high-speed railways in Beijing’s diplomacy. From America to Asia and Europe to Africa, Chinese leaders are offering technology, finance and project management in the construction of high-speed rail networks. In Addis Ababa on Monday, the first stop in a four-nation tour of what he called the “continent of hope”, Li outlined a plan to connect all major African cities through a high-speed railway network. The project is at the heart of a new framework for Sino-African partnership that Li elaborated upon in his address to the African Union in Addis Ababa.
In talking about the “Chinese dream” for a continent-wide railway in Africa, Li was not playing with words. He was invoking China’s enduring romance with railways. Sun Yat Sen, who led Beijing’s first republic in the early 20th century, believed railways would modernise and unite China. Sun’s rail strategy was not limited to the borders of China; he wanted to extend Chinese railroads to India, the Middle East and Africa.
Read more....
Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?
By Farouk Chothia
BBC Africa - May 7, 2014
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.
This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education.
Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president.
Read more....
BBC Africa - May 7, 2014
Nigeria's militant
Islamist group Boko Haram - which has caused havoc in Africa's most
populous country through a wave of bombings, assassinations and now
abductions - is fighting to overthrow the government and create an
Islamic state.
Its followers are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase
which says: "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is
among the transgressors". Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.
This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education.
Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president.
Read more....
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