In February 2022, the Hood Communist Collective commemorated African Liberation Month with four straight weeks of revolutionary African analysis. Here, you can find each of the pieces from that month, organized by the theme of each week. We invite you to revisit these pieces – or read them for the first time. We hope they will provide some guidance and clarity that will serve our people in our struggle for liberation. . . .
African Working Class
Prisoners of War
Our ancestors, our elders, our (New) Afrikan Liberation prisoners of war suffering the most heightened forms of bestial oppression in america’s concentration camps, deserve more than flowery tributes and toothless appeals to a conscienceless empire. Only the naive or willfully ignorant can not see the failure of the ‘left’ to truly acknowledge the existence of or work toward the release of our political prisoners and prisoners of war. . . .
The Indiana Prisoner Rebellion of 1985
On February 1st, 1985 guards at the Indiana Reformatory (now Pendleton Correctional Facility) sparked a rebellion with the brutal beating of defenseless inmate Lincoln Love aka Comrade Lokmar Abdul-Wadood. In a successful attempt to save his life, a politicized group of prisoners took several hostages including guards and a politician and occupied a cell block in the Indiana State Prison for 15 hours. . . .
The House Is Burning
As the African bourgeoisie gains more access to comforts and western privileges, the African masses continue to see a decline in their living standards. But Africa is a land that is ripe for revolution even when it can’t be immediately seen. . . .
Sowing the Seeds of Revolution
Each week of African Liberation Month, we will be offering something from the archives of the African Liberation Struggle as a centering piece of the theme. In keeping with this week’s theme “Organization is the Only Way!”, we hope that ancestor Samora Machel’s reflection on the necessity of using revolutionary organization to build true self-determination will help us reflect on the disorganization of the current moment, and how we can move collectively to overcome it. . . .
“Escaping” Capitalism Through Entrepreneurship
Recommendations to create one’s own business have been the go-to when discussing the exhausting and debilitating experiences of capitalism. For those who work in exploitative environments, there is the ongoing cycle of working under harmful conditions that are detrimental to their well-being and survival. In awareness of this many seek resolution in entrepreneurship, assuming that they will be free from the effects of capitalism. Despite the invasiveness of capitalism in every aspect of one’s life, viewing entrepreneurship as a means of escape can result in the cycle of exploitation for marginalized groups. Exploitation is a part of capitalism’s framework, garnering . . .
The Neocolonial Collusion of HBCUs and the State
The demonstrations at Howard and the AUC have drawn worldwide attention to these institutions projecting themselves as independent facilities in service to Black communities. The student resistance reveals the true aims of these institutions; which is to enrich private corporations and train another generation of Black and brown sellouts only interested in enriching themselves, while turning their backs on the needs of the people who fought and died to put them in school. . . .
Dave Chappelle and the Disposability of Poor Black People
The fact that Dave Chappelle grew up in a professional class setting and now holds millionaire status should cause viewers to interrogate the class components of his standup. Not having an intimate connection with the poor Black communities who may be harmed by his rhetoric is a feature of his class privilege. . . .