“Amerika trips me and proceeds to ask me how I fell; whips me, then asks me how to stop the bleeding.” There is no conversation about the state of mental health in Amerika’s Black communities without discussing the violence wrought on them by racial capitalism—a term coined by Cedric Robinson. Robinson, a pioneer in the study of the Black Radical Tradition, argued that the “development, organization and expansion of capitalist society pursued essentially racial directions.”1 It is this pursuit that has helped shape many of today’s societal ills, including poor rates of Black mental health. Historical oppression, including slavery, sharecropping, . . .
black radical tradition
People(s)-Centered Human Rights & Malcolm X
Originally published on Pambazuka. There was something quite different with Malcolm’s approach to human rights that distinguished him from mainstream civil rights activists. By grounding himself in the radical human rights approach, Malcolm articulated a position on human rights struggle that did not contain itself to just advocacy. He understood that appealing to the same powers that were responsible for the structures of oppression was a dead end. Fifty-six years ago on February 21st, the world lost the great anti-colonial fighter, Malcolm X. Around the world, millions pause on this anniversary and take note of the life and contribution of . . .