We’ve written this statement to express our complete opposition to any practice of abuse within society in general, and in political organizations and movement circles in particular. . . .
The Role of the Artist
ll my momma i’m up before 9am / plottin escape from the empire again / throwin rocks at a man-made sun . . .
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. . . .
The Western Left’s Collaboration with the Western Bourgeoisie
As the Western left has become more aligned with their imperialist bourgeoisie in the destabilization of the Global South, the radical Black tradition provides a clear approach to “turn imperialist wars into wars against imperialism.” Changes in historical conditions can elevate a secondary contradiction to a primary, and antagonistic contradiction, in an instant. The rightist collaboration with the Pan-European colonial/capitalist project on the part of the social-imperialist left in the United States and Europe did not occur instantly but has been evolving for decades. The contradictory nature of that relationship has sharpened as a result of the current crisis of . . .
“Candyman” and the Impact of White Supremacy
That long history of racist violence against Black men is told in cleverly laid-out shadow puppetry, which simultaneously removes the physical gruesomeness of the acts portrayed while delivering their inhumane brutality. Each shadow-puppet story relates to a different iteration of Candyman, and the collective trauma of centuries of violent racist brutality against Black men turns the Candyman figure into something other than a villain. Terrifying in his visage and actions, certainly, but the question emerges as the connections are made between this history and the urban legend come to life: Is Candyman the monster, or is the monster what created Candyman? . . .
Nicaragua at a Revolutionary Crossroads and in Imperialist Crosshairs
U.S. attack on Nicaragua targets its Black community. There is a page in the playbook for U.S. imperialist regime change in Latin America that includes exploiting the identity politics of Blackness. A recent example was the unrest in Cuba a month ago that included a sophisticated attempt to paint the Cuban revolution, its government, and anyone in solidarity with it, as ignoring the interests of Afro-Cubans. The legitimacy of neoliberalism or late-stage capitalism is so wounded that the socialist examples in the Latin American “Axis of Decolonization” (Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua) have to be regarded as even greater threats. . . .
Why the Pandemic Is Getting Worse in the United States
Skepticism abounds for good reasons. What passes for political leadership lurch between pretending that Covid-19 isn’t an issue until hospitals are full of patients or demanding that everyone be vaccinated without changing any of their living conditions. In any case the virus is now endemic, meaning that it isn’t going away. A nation that puts everyone on a knife edge of precarity cannot begin to address what this reality means for millions of people. Systemic change was needed before the pandemic and it is sorely needed now. . . .
African Athletes, U.S. Patriotism & White Supremacy
During the 2020 Olympic games (which due to the pandemic, are being carried out in the summer of 2021) gymnast Simone Biles suddenly withdrew from competition for the U.S. team. Biles, who has been so dominant in her performance over the last several years that she has earned the title GOAT, has been so outstanding that many judges have admitted being confused about how to properly evaluate other gymnasts in comparison to her incredible capabilities. Biles, apparently feeling pressure to justify her decision to withdraw, took the painful step of revealing publicly that she has struggled with depression and needed . . .