The age of classical colonialism in Africa changed the course of history. Exploited trade agreements and pseudo alliances between African nobility and European merchants led to heightened warfare, looting, and genocide across the continent. No mineral or raw material was safe, from gold to palm oil to diamonds. The transatlantic slave trade emptied the continent of capable hands, bodies, and minds to the tune of 12 million Africans. The developing European capitalist class burned their way across Africa from all sides, exploiting every contradiction and weakness they could find. Then came the 1884-85 Berlin Conference, which was an exercise in . . .
AFRICOM
Ukraine, War Crimes and White Power
Neither Bill Clinton nor George W. Bush nor Barack Obama, Donald Trump or Joe Biden will be held to account for drone attacks on Somalia, or for continuing the destruction of the Somali state. In a just world the Obama administration’s destruction of Libya in 2011 and the ongoing humanitarian crisis would be prosecuted as a war crime. The Democratic Republic of Congo has the highest death rate of all, with some 6 million people killed when Uganda and Rwanda, U.S. proxies, invaded that country in 1996. NATO is far from the defensive alliance it claims to be. It is an aggressor and must be dismantled. . . .
Dis Naija na banana republic
“Dis Naija na banana republic”, is what the cab driver said to me during our trip. While the banana industry may not be the main benefactor of widespread and deepening corruption in Nigeria (it’s the oil), there is a general lack of class analysis and revolutionary consciousness owing mostly to decades-long imperialist propaganda and baked-in capitalist ideals across much of Nigerian society. The driver, a worker like myself, can point out these stark problems through generalizations e.g., ‘dis politicians dey benefit from how tings don spoil’, or can bring up specifics related to long fuel queues or poor power supply. . . .
NATO in Africa: Colonial Violence and Structural White Supremacy
Considering the public media attention and concern about possible expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it is worth reminding people about NATO’s bloody history in Africa. NATO was founded in 1949 after WWII at a time when African countries were still under the yoke of colonialism. In fact most of the original founders of NATO had been Africa’s principal colonizers such as UK, France, Portugal, Belgium, Italy and the USA as lead NATO organizer and dominant partner. The organization was established as a collective defense against the Soviet Union with the requirement (Article 5) that any attack on . . .
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. . . .
Imperialism: Unpacking The Primary Contradiction
It must be continuously reiterated that domestic and global imperialism are counterparts. It is what connects Africans in the U.S. directly to struggles against imperialism worldwide. . . .
Eritrea Versus AFRICOM
The rapid expansion of AFRICOM on the African continent should be a cause for concern as African nations are quickly surrendering their sovereignty to the US. As the only country without a relationship to AFRICOM, Eritrea bears the brunt of US vilification. We must salute Eritrea’s ongoing project of national liberation. . . .
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. . . .