African identity is much more than glamorizing our past. For proponents of Pan-Africanism it’s really a recognition that there are 2 billion Africans worldwide, living in 120 countries and in each of those countries we occupy the bottom of society. And, at the core of this is the continued subjugation of Africa. . . .
Theory Corner
The Limits of “Lived Experience”
The commonly retorted, “Listen to the people of [insert group]” statement is void of analyzing the class character of the people and voices being elevated. This places emphasis on individuals and not what is actually occurring, because the lens to view it through is blurred by varying interests. This is the exact issue with relying on lived experience as an analytical tool. . . .
Understanding Exploitation through the “Saweetie Meal”
Already underpaid, overworked, and disrespected, McDonald’s employees then begin to prepare for a flood of customers who expect them to deliver not just the Saweetie Meal itself, but the “Saweetie Meal Experience” that has been crafted. While many in the “diversity economy” created around the meal receive a material benefit (even if crumbs) from their participation in the event, the workers see no change in their material condition. . . .
Huey Newton, George Jackson & What They Mean to Us
This week is quite a historical week as it relates to the African liberation struggle within the confines of the colony known as the U.S. In August of 1971, George Jackson, who was incarcerated in California, was murdered inside prison walls there. As a response to his murder and oppressive prison conditions, incarcerated persons from all walks of life banded together at Attica Prison in New York and staged a rebellion that saw about 40 people slaughtered by prison officials and police. In August of 1989, Huey P. Newton, the co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, and . . .
A Scheme of Legitimation: South Africa’s Revisionism
Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) government is exhibiting the past in the present by forging narratives, images, metaphors and symbols to create a specific perspective. The purpose of that perspective is to make sense of the past in ways that render their actions in the present more plausible. . . .
Reparations: Why Paying Them in Cash is Throwing Good Money After Bad
African Americans won’t turn the tide by going on a shopping spree, or leaving it to whites to decide what we can and cannot teach our children, where we work, and for how much, whether we are free or imprisoned, or whether we live or die. We need power over our own communities just as the white working class needs it over theirs. . . .
Revolutionary African Culture for an End to Gender-Based Violence
ur focus must be on ideological and political development of the masses. The enemies of our people are in our midst and only mass, revolutionary African culture and organization can combat this reactionary behavior. We must collectively reconstruct not only the ethical and political foundation for a new African society but also reinvigorate revolutionary and principled people willing to build an ethical and principled society for the future of Africa and all our African communities. . . .
The Connection Between “No Pride in Genocide” and “FUCK the Fourth”
During the first week in July within the United Snakes, this side of the arbitrary colonial border, you will hear about a lot of events/demonstrations called, “FUCK the Fourth.” These events/demonstrations have historically been organized within Black Radical Tradition in true principled solidarity with the Indigenous people of the western hemisphere, their collective sovereignty, and their continued and consistent struggle against the active colonization of their land, since first contact with European pillagers. “FUCK the Fourth” events/demonstrations are centered around abandoning the practices of our oppressors, observing the traditions of our Ancestors, and celebrating ourselves as Africans forced into diaspora. . . .