I have seen too many of us who wanted to be a “strong Black woman” so badly that we denied ourselves the pleasure of emotional acknowledgment, refusing to accept we needed help in the name of such “strength.” This fallacy of strength attached to Blackness diminishes our well-being and hurts us more than it empowers us. . . .
Opinion Pieces
City Planners and Revolution
What is the role of the planner in the revolution for Black liberation? Do regional and city planners even have a role? Community building will be necessary to life post revolution. Cities that are centered around love and meeting the needs of the people are vital. . . .
The Lullaby Aint Loud As it Used to Be
On March 29, around 1:30 PM EST, we realized that our Twitter account was suspended. Not just us, but an editors’ account was locked, alongside the accounts of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (AAPRP), and the AAPRP- New Mexico. No justification was given for the locking and suspending of any of these accounts, but we have an idea. Since the exchange of power between the Trump Administration and the Biden Administration, there has been an attempt to rock the masses back to sleep, singing the lullaby “things are getting back to normal.” But outside the home where babies were being . . .
African Women, Don’t Be a Mammy for Empire
All too often these days we are witnessing petit-bourgeois African women willingly taking positions of leadership, power, and influence within the political and military infrastructure of the United States. Positions that require, as part of their job descriptions, acts of extreme ongoing violence against the world’s most oppressed populations, including their own people. . . .
Africana Womanism vs. Black Feminism
Africana Womanism and Black Feminism are two different approaches that attempt to redefine and contextualize the experiences of African/Black women. Though both of these ideologies underscore Black women’s experiences, the principles and methods of these two approaches differ and sometimes conflict. . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
Black History Month: From Negro History Week to Pan-African Historical Context
Originally published on The Black Commentator in 2008 “Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.” – Carter G. Woodson “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots” – Marcus Garvey The need to once and for all embrace a reasonable and comprehensive interpretation of African history that inspires and uplifts Black people is evident when examining how Black History Month is celebrated in US culture. Like most other historic reflections, Black History Month is . . .