20 years ago, the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command under George W. Bush began supporting warlords in Somalia to target and kill what the U.S. deemed to be ‘Islamists,’ escalating tensions in the area. 6 years later, the Bush administration began an undeclared war in Somalia launching airstrikes as part of the nation’s imperialist expansion efforts, popularly referred to as the “War on Terror,” starting in Mogadishu with reports claiming that the strikes eventually expanded to all parts of Somalia. These drone and airstrikes were, and are, conducted by AFRICOM (United States Africa Command) which was established in 2007 . . .
Are Urban Schools a Site of Occupation?
In the third season of Black Lightning, the fictional Black city of Freeland was living under a military occupation by the ASA (the quasi governmental organization occupying Freeland). Not only did the city have heavily armed troopers patrolling the streets, but also had troopers patrolling the schools– detaining anyone they deemed a threat – using violence if necessary. In episode four, students are in a classroom discussing similar military occupations in multiple countries around the world and their harmful effects on the people being occupied. Some students agree, but then others claim the ASA occupying their city might be a . . .
Joe Biden and the ‘Passive Revolution’
Though it appears that Biden has pulled off a revival of centrism amid an ‘organic crisis’, his honeymoon period will be short-lived as there is a crisis of legitimacy of the ideas, institutions, and coalitions that undergird U.S. neoliberal capitalism. During moments like this, the ruling class may attempt what Gramsci called a ‘passive revolution’ – implementing symbolic or limited change from above without fundamentally transforming social relations – to restore its hegemony and stave off challenges to its position within society. Key parts of this process include the co-optation of demands from below, new political coalitions, paying lip service . . .
Dhoruba Bin Wahad takes the CBC to School
The following is a snippet of a conversation from February 2010. Former Black Panther and political prisoner of 17 years, Dhoruba Bin Wahad, was at Walker Church in South Minneapolis giving a speech titled, “Political repression and state violence from Minneapolis to Palestine.” Where the audio begins, Dhoruba has just criticized the Congressional Black Caucus, and CBC member Keith Ellison is in the audience to hear it. He jumps in, and Dhoruba takes him to school. It’s a heated conversation that covers Palestine, neo-colonialism, and Power. Enjoy! TRANSCRIPT: Dhoruba: …more secular ideology had opened through a modern state and the CIA, . . .
The Unknown Relationship between Kwame Nkrumah and Malcolm X
February 21, 2021 marked the 56th commemoration of the assassination of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz aka Malcolm X in Harlem, New York. The 24th marked the 50th commemoration of the CIA (Criminals In Action) sponsored coup that overthrew Kwame Nkrumah’s democratically elected government in Ghana. The close historical proximity of the downfall of these Pan-African giants is not coincidental although the history of the relationship between these two men is largely ignored and/or unknown. March 6, 1957, marked the celebration of Ghana becoming the first colonized country in Africa to claim its independence from Europe. During his independence day . . .
“The First Black”
by Too Black “The First Black” the Clayface of the Black race — shape-shifted to fit the state’s mission Muddying the waters of slaughter A farcical marvel; built by white guilt Sculpted and welded to quell a rebellion “The First Black” is almost always the safe Black Raised as a docile rotwild Taught to bark down at its own breed, but rarely seems to bite the white hand that feeds “The First Black” the single needle conveniently placed within the colonized haystack Handpicked — personified as the proverbial reminder, “Hey, maybe now the evil empire might have a soul???” Or . . .
Pan-Africanism: The Silver Bullet in the Heart of Empire
The world today is dominated by capitalism and imperialism. Western powers such as the United States, France, and Britain have amassed vast fortunes through mechanisms of violence and terror that have displaced peoples around the globe. Namely, African people have been scattered far and wide by slavery and colonialism. Nonetheless, the African Diaspora maintains cultural and political connections to the homeland and each other wherever their communities are found. The material conditions, political traditions, histories, and cultural productions shared between the communities of African Diaspora have come to form the Pan-African Movement. Through Pan-Africanism, “the gather[ing] of the masses of . . .
Extending the Imagination of African Gender Thought
African women combat unique oppression. Cisheteropatriarchy, racial capitalism, colorism, and so forth. However, there are specific historical and cultural realities many African women exist within that are distinct to continental African women. . . .