African revolutionaries like George Padmore, W.E.B. Dubois, and most famously Aime Cesaire, declared that what happened in Europe was that colonial practices that were applied in the colonies were now being applied or were applied in Europe. . . .
Theory Corner
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. . . .
Feminism & Women’s Liberation Are Not Imperialist
In modern-day politics, figures such as Meghan Markle, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michelle Obama, and Kamala Harris are seen as heroes of our times who have overcome the odds in order to make the world a better place for women everywhere. By taking up space in male-dominated settings, they are sending the message that they’re a force to be reckoned with. Powerful. Commanding. In control. However, this doesn’t automatically mean that they’re making progress on behalf of women everywhere. . . .
Haiti: Black Despots and White Rulers
The horror story in Haiti since 2004 is not really about despotic Black government, but is the consequence and crime of global white rule. “Moïse is the product of a broader system blocking Haiti’s democratic path and sovereignty, a system that is built and maintained by the white rulers of the world.” The past week has seen growing protests against the contested presidency of Haiti’s Jovenel Moïse. An unpopular figure who has ruled without a mandate, and, increasingly, by decree , Moïse refused to relinquish power when his presidential term expired on February 7, 2021. While claiming that his term . . .
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. . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .