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Denying Africa; DNA Tests & White Supremacy

3/7/2021

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The definition of a paradox are two things existing simultaneously that should not be able to co-exist at the same time.  For example, someone claiming to be an American while also claiming to be anti-white supremacy is a great example of a paradox because the concept of America as a nation is built on and maintained on the systemic oppression of African and Indigenous people, but we digress.

The example of a paradox we will focus on for this piece is this social media (Youtube) inspired confusion floating around the anti-study circles within our communities.  This school of thought by some Africans (people of African descent) who live somewhere within the Western Hemisphere, most prominently within the U.S., is that they have no historical connection to Africa.  Instead, these people claim that their heritage and linage has always existed within the Western Hemisphere for thousands of years.  The only evidence these people ever present to validate this position are ancient historical landmarks like the Olmec heads in Southern Mexico.  These heads, built thousands of years ago, clearly display African facial features, so to these Youtube PhD’s this represents evidence that Africans have always been here.  We won’t dwell upon the fact that these people completely ignore concrete research and analysis by noted scholars like Ivan Van Sertima.  In his classic book “They Came Before Columbus” Van Sertima, expertly argues with substantial scientific evidence that Africans and Indigenous peoples, as well as people from Asia and Europe, engaged in consistent trade long before colonialism.  In fact, Van Sertima and many other scholars like W.E.B. DuBois, Yusef Ben Jochannan, Cheikh Anti Diop, and John Henrik Clarke, make the same arguments that monuments like the Olmec heads represent symbols of honor that were either built by the visiting Africans as tribute to their Indigenous trade hosts or were built by the Indigenous peoples to serve as honors to their visiting guests.  I have been fortunate enough to sit down and talk to Van Sertima and Clarke so I was able to confirm directly from their lips that this was the intention of their scholarly work.  Not, to suggest that Africans were not Africans and have always been in the Western Hemisphere.  Another faulty claim these people make is the supposedly absence of physical evidence of slave ships.  This is such a weak argument its astounding that we even have to have it today with Africans.  Shipping experts have published analysis of the disintegration process sunken ships experience for decades now.  And, even if you don’t know about that scientific perspective, virtually all of us understand that anything submerged in water, especially harsh salt water, for a period of time is going to experience disintegration of its particles.  That is all true despite the reality that its not as if there have ever been any concerted efforts made to retrieve evidence of sunken slave ships.  That has never happened.

Still, its quite clear within this anti-intellectual, social media earned PhD environment that dominates today that these basic facts won’t matter much to these people.  So, I had an idea.  Since so many Africans are getting these DNA tests that trace your family’s genealogical histories, and so many people are spending money and believing in this process, it would seem like this phenomenon would provide the appropriate research to clear up this question once and for all.

In other words, all of these Africa-denying Africans who are getting these DNA tests, all you have to do is publish the results of your testing.  To validate your claims of absolutely no psychological and historical connection to Africa, from a scientific basis, there should be a significant percentage of you who are able to present test results that confirm no connection to Africa – right?  Since these people are claiming upwards of 50% of us here in the Western Hemisphere who have no connection to Africa, proving this based on these tests should provide us the evidentiary basis to put this argument to bed once and for all.  You are not Africans.  You are something else – right?

Of course, we are dialectical and historical materialists here which means we don’t operate within fantasy worlds.  We recognize and respect the historical and scientific laws of the universe we live in.  As a result, despite our sarcasm above, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that these people cannot produce DNA tests disconnecting themselves from Africa.  Certainly, we know the history of the Aboriginal people of Australia and the Dalit people of India (the so-called “Untouchables).”  These are African people, but their journey is different.  Unlike us, they did not leave Africa through the transatlantic slave trade.  They physically left Africa under much different historical circumstances thousands of years ago, but each of those peoples realize how they are.  They know they are Africans despite being removed from Africa so long ago.  The Aboriginal Rights Society and representatives from the Dalit participated in Pan-African Congresses designed to bring African people everywhere together so these folks have never advanced conspiracy and fantasy tales about who they are.  The related point of the Aboriginals and Dalit is that certainly, there will be a handful of our people who indeed do have histories that extend far beyond colonialism, but we refuse to sit here today and pretend that this is anything beyond a very small, negligible portion of our people in the Western Hemisphere.  We cannot carry on this travesty to appease Africans who are ignorantly ashamed of our actual history.

There are multiple reasons for this dysfunctional thinking.  First and foremost, when you find an African in the U.S. who is peddling this fiction, we will guarantee you that you will be dealing with an African who has absolutely no understanding of Africa’s history.  And, we mean a person who hasn’t read one book about Africa, not one.  This is a critical point because the capitalist white supremacy system has spent centuries perfecting its dehumanization of Africa and African people to justify the construction of the capitalist empire.  Consequently, when Africans and everyone else doesn’t study true and objective African history, its unavoidable to be swept into the anti-Africa propaganda that is designed to create a mentality among us of shame and resentment.  This is the design because if we respond this way we will never see our continued and future necessity to connect with Africa and our inability to see this will always prevent us from recognizing the methods in which this capitalist system continues to build its wealth on exploiting Africa while they keep us convinced that we have no wealth because we are not like them.  The shame at not being them has convinced us to avoid Africa and instead make up fantasy.  Or, to create a more palatable history instead of us seriously learning about our own true and proud history.  For us to connect ourselves to the Americas because it is in this country where “success” has been achieved.  Meanwhile, the glorious history of Africa’s great contributions to world civilizations, forms of spiritual worship, and our great resistance at all times to colonial intrusion into Africa is available for all who desire to learn it, but its always much easier to instead just watch Youtube videos and be entertained isn’t it?

Secondly, this fictional account of our history is so utterly disrespectful to the wonderful legacy of our African ancestors as well as that of the original and only true Indigenous people’s of the Western Hemisphere.  With the dire conditions our people face, its far past time for children’s games.  Its time to either put up or shut up.  You can’t produce mass test results proving no connection to Africa because no such proof exists.  You are Africans and its time to embrace that and challenge the backward thinking (reaped in ignorance and shame) that is represented by stupid statements by people like Kanye West when he said that slavery “sounds like a choice.” 
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I have no interest in obtaining a DNA test and more than likely, I probably won’t ever have that interest because I’m a Pan-Africanist which means I claim my mother Africa proudly and completely from Cairo to the Cape.  From Nairobi to Nigeria.  I love being in Africa around the Akan, Wolof, Mandinka, Ashanti, Kikuyu, etc., and having them claim me as one of them.  Its all true to me because I know my future and Africa’s future are inseparable.  And, I also know that no tests, snake oil salespeople, pretend reparations advocates (who only wish to enrich themselves), or fake profit driven Pan-African Black power pimps can do or say anything to change this ill-refutable reality.  I only want that for you, but like anything worth having, it requires you putting in the work.  There’s no pride in being ignorant, especially about our true and proud history.

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Why Radical Independent Organizing Work is the Only Solution

3/4/2021

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 In 1983 there was a popular poem that circulated throughout “conscious” events entitled “Africa is Burning while the Black Man is doing the Freak.”  In 2021 and beyond, Africa is burning at an even higher temperature.  Political unrest from Somalia to Sudan to Kenya to Zimbabwe to Ghana reflects the people of Africa’s fatigue at being ruthlessly exploited for cheap labor and mineral resources for the benefit of the entire capitalist world.  Don’t expect this to change.  In fact, these struggles will intensify.  Africa will become much more front in center as the image of struggle against oppression worldwide.  For anyone who knows anything about Africa’s ravaging from colonialism, this makes perfect sense. 

In response to these developments, Kwame Nkrumah – probably the most critical revolutionary African thinker of the 20th century – wrote the “Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare” in 1968.  The handbook is viewed by revolutionary Pan-Africanists as the strategic directive on how to organize the masses of people in Africa towards revolutionary Pan-Africanism i.e. one unified socialist Africa.

You won’t learn about it on BBC, NBC, MSNBC, FOX, or CIA networks, but this important work has been taking place consistently over the last 50 years since the handbook was written.  Organizations like the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau (PAIGC), Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG) and Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC – South Africa), are struggling to forge bonds to concretize their work as Nkrumah called for.  The All African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) serves as a critical component in continuing to develop this work.

For those of us within the A-APRP who have organized around this work for quite some time in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Canada, South America, Central America, and throughout the U.S., we have developed strong lived experiences that have consistently reaffirmed for us the correctness of Africa’s liberation being the key component for progress and justice for Africans everywhere on earth.  The question this reality has raised for us continuously has been what role the one billion Africans living outside of Africa will concretely play in contributing towards this revolutionary Pan-Africanist effort?

At this stage most of the work everywhere is political education around the need and value in fighting for one unified socialist Africa.  Obviously, this is a monumental phase.  We are battling 528 years of systemic anti-Africanism and 100 years of anti-communism.  Still, as this work continues, that burning question about the role of Africans outside of the U.S. rages on.  And, along with that, the question of what concrete work we can engage people in that will bring to life the studying element present in the political education work?  Finally, the continued decline of international capitalism has contributed towards the rise of white supremacist and fascist violence aimed against oppressed populations.  What can be done to address all of these very real problems?

One humble method that has been developed to attempt to address these questions is the 76 page manifesto entitled “A Guide for Defense against White Supremacist, Patriarchal, and Fascist Violence.”  Written over a three year period, this manifesto attempts to provide a work plan for Africans, specifically those located within the U.S., about how to get the communities they live in organized to resist oppression while linking that work to our revolutionary Pan-Africanist work taking place throughout Africa. 

The manifesto provides guidance on how to approach communities to initiate organizing efforts.  There are tactics provided on how to interact and engage people around the problems they see in their neighborhoods.  Then there are methods which when employed, serve to recruit people into doing this revolutionary community defense work.  There are tools to establish and maintain democratic decision making processes.  Guidelines how how to start political education programs that operate within neighborhoods.  There are tools designed to help develop the necessary resources needed to organize and proven approaches designed to help people learn how to address the inevitable contradictions that arise whenever people attempt to come together.  Also, there are arguments presented about healthy ways to engage the work and keep the work going.  And, there is a section dedicated on how to continue to grow the work while linking the work to others engaged in similar projects.
Another important element of the manifesto is despite being designed for the African revolution, the components of the manifesto are written and provided in a way that can serve as a model for organizing Indigenous people in neighborhoods/reservations.  Indigenous (so-called) Latino people in barrios.  Asian neighborhoods.  LGBTQ neighborhoods.  And, European neighborhoods.  And, the manifesto provides suggestions around how all of this work can be supportive among projects.

Everyone who has any experience with revolutionary organizing and struggle knows that no one who writes about revolutionary organizing is going to make money doing so.  What this means is that anyone who spends three years writing a manifesto such as this one is someone who understands and recognizes that their goal is to get the concepts contained within the manifesto in the hearts and minds of as many people as humanly possible. 

The rising level of violent attacks against Asians throughout the U.S., the continued gunning down of Africans by police and vigilantes, especially the targeting of African Trans women, the rise in attacks against all women identifying people and all LGBTQ people.  All of this, coupled with growing open revolt throughout Africa, brings into clear view the necessity for a manifesto like this one.  Anyone in 2021 and beyond who sincerely believes that our first line of defense against this oppression is relying on bourgeoisie governments and their apparatuses like police, etc., is someone living completely within a fantasy world.  These institutions are not only not designed to protect us, but they exist to subjugate and repress us.  What this makes clear is that the only solution for these issues is for people on the ground to start organizing to defend themselves the only way this can effectively happen, through collective organization.

Another important point for everyone to consider is that a major reason why mass organizing doesn’t take place is the absolute difficulty revolutionary organizers have in advancing their messages.  We previously mentioned hundreds of years of anti-Africa and anti-communist/socialist propaganda being institutionalized in this society.  As a result, there are no publishers lining up to help publish and promotes manifestos like this one.  Consequently, we ask that those reading this take on the assignment of bringing this manifesto to your organizations and reading groups to read and discuss.  If you don’t have an organization or reading group, we encourage you to start them.  If you need help doing so, we again offer our humble assistance in working with you to engage that work.
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There is this manifesto and multiple accompanying videos at the www.abetterworld.me site to help people understand more about this work and the manifesto in particular.  Also, we would love to speak to your group about the manifesto.  You can reach out to us at the site above.  Comrade Fidel Castro was correct when he said the only qualification for leadership is sincerity and that people are all the resources needed to solve all the problems we face on the planet earth.  Let’s get organized!
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Debunking the Controversy about Joining an Organization (Any Org)

2/25/2021

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Thirty-seven years ago, on a warm night in June, I attended an orientation meeting for the All African People’s Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) in Sacramento, California, U.S.  The persons leading up the meeting ended it by calling for the four or five of us present to “join the A-APRP or any organization working for our people!”

I wasn’t the only person to raise my hand to join the A-APRP that night.  In fact, I’m pretty sure that everyone present raised their hand to join, but none of the others ever participated in any A-APRP programs or work.  I’m still here, and the reasons why have nothing to do with me being smarter and/or more dedicated than any of the others.  I continue to maintain some level of relationship with a couple of the people present that night and they have each gone on to positive and productive lives.

I am convinced that the firm difference between me and those others is how I came into that room that night.  I had already made up my mind before I even entered the room about joining.  The meeting was simply a formality for me.  This is an important element because I had spent time before that meeting thinking through what would be involved with my deciding to join this organization.  I knew from studying about the organization and participating in events that I agreed with the ideas and objectives of the A-APRP.  On my own, even before becoming aware of the A-APRP, I had come to see Pan-Africanism as our solution, but I had a very watered down version of what I understood Pan-Africanism to be.  For me, working as a 17 year old in other Pan-African formations, I was operating under the understanding that Pan-Africanism stopped at recognizing that all people of African descent are Africans.  I didn’t have any comprehension of us waging a fight across colonial borders and I definitely didn’t see Africa as anything beyond some Chancellor Williams (my main text at that time) inspired, non-class struggle based African Kingdom from the feudal era.  The fact that the A-APRP had helped me develop and improve my understanding of the latter concepts helped solidify my belief that this organization was a good life choice for me.

The key there is the question of a life choice.  I had known individuals in the A-APRP.  I had watched their work.  Their contradictions in carrying out their work.  I understood on some level how to interpret all of this because I had my brief exposure to the mass contradictions that existed in trying to organize the Pan-African Student Unions I had belonged to along with the community based Pan-African formation I worked briefly with.  From those experiences I understood on some levels the challenges of resources, white supremacy, patriarchy, and class contradictions that all impacted successful organizing potential.  So, I didn’t walk into that orientation meeting that night under any pretentions and/or illusions.  I knew that if I decided to join that didn’t mean to me that I was signing up to have someone else teach me how to be free.  I wasn’t expecting anyone else to resolve all of the contradictions I mentioned and then “get to me when you are ready.”  I knew that by joining I was committing to become a part of those contradictions because those contradictions are a part of me.  I knew I had to join all in and that if I wasn’t willing to do that, I shouldn’t join at all. 

Thirty-seven years later I can look at my time in the A-APRP with pride.  I have made what I believe to be significant contributions to our Pan-African work over the years and I plan to continue to do so.  I have met and developed relationships with so many amazing people.  Some for extended periods of time that, in many cases continue.  Others for a brief – yet intensely inspiring – moment in history.  And, in this entire time I have had major challenges, disappointments, and anxieties, but not once, despite whatever challenges were being faced, have I regretted that decision I made in June of 1984.  I actually see myself as a much better organizer today than ever.  More experienced, knowledgeable, and steeled at dealing with the many, many challenges that come our way.  I’ve learned how to identify, develop, and maximize my skills so as to make my best contributions.  I’ve learned the importance and value of collective work. I feel like I’ve helped countless people learn how to recognize and make their best contributions, whether they acknowledge my role in their lives or not (and many, many times they won’t.  In fact, I’ve learned in true fashion the meaning of the phrase “no good deed goes unpunished”).  And, all of this has translated into my personal life as well.  I’ve learned the importance of focus on my internal and external operations as a human being.  It hasn’t been perfect by any stretch, but I can say that I’ve exceled in parenting and no one anywhere can tell you any tales about me exploiting them, taking advantage of them, or doing anything other than making my best effort to contribution to their lives.  All of this cannot be separated from the organizational work because its that work that shaped who I am as a person.

From my story I believe there are two main keys I hope will be helpful to you in helping you understand the critical importance of organization building.  The first point is that anything worthwhile in life that you pursue, you have to respect the process enough to take whatever time is necessary for you to determine that you are ready to show up and be present in developing that process.  No one outside of you can motivate you to do anything unless you have the desire to be motivated already.  I often experience(d) and am told now by organizers about the people who hear one thing they don’t agree with or have an experience they don’t like, and leave organization, blaming the experience, etc.  I’ve learned that most of the time (unless there is abuse involved), this happens because those people were never really committed in the first place.  They hadn’t taken that time for internal reflection to determine whether they were ready to be present in the process.  They were expecting others outside of themselves to prove to them the value of the organizational work.  That’s never going to happen.

The other point is the ill-refutable reality that collective work and not individualism is 100% what’s responsible for every single opportunity, resource, and skill that we each possess today.  If you have it, its only because someone before you, someone you don’t know, many people you don’t know, fought diligently for the conditions you are benefitting from.  Since you cannot pay those people back now, your responsibility is to carry that sacrifice forward.  This means that whatever job, income, house, car, money, resources you possess, can never be your personal property.  People who had more skills in their pinky finger than any of us possess in our entire existence today never had the opportunities that we take for granted.  The only difference between them and us is those who sacrificed for us.  So, do away with the egotistical perspective that you are where you are because of you.  That’s a complete lie.  You may be outstanding.  In fact, I’m sure that you are, but you still owe that debt.  So, the question of whether you should join an organization isn’t really even a question if you understand that you owe a debt because if you do understand that than the next question is simply how you can repay that debt.  Clearly, you cannot repay it on an individual basis.  You can tell yourself that you can do it individually all you want, but the inescapable truth is that you don’t have what you have today through someone’s individual actions.  Mass movement got you your education, stability, etc.  So without question, collective engagement is our best weapon to further our struggle.  Anyone who attempts to argue otherwise just isn’t serious.  And, collective struggle means organization.  It doesn’t have to be the A-APRP or any other established organization.  It doesn’t have to fit into a mold of any type.  All it has to be is two or more people working together for a collective goal.  Organizations can range from the Mafia to neighborhood/community clean up committees and everything in between and beyond that.  So, you define it whatever way suits you.  The only part of history you don’t get to redefine as you wish is the part about justice and all us having a responsibility to make some type of contribution to it.  Even what that contribution looks like you define.  One hour per week.  If someone approached me and told me they agree with the aims and objectives of the A-APRP and they have one hour per week to give, I would love that!  Benjamin 2X Karreim told Malcolm X when he helped him form the Organization of Afro-American Unity in 1964 that he would dedicate at least one year to helping build that organization.  Of course, Malcolm didn’t live another year, but if all of us made that type of serious commitment, our organizing capacity would be off the charts.  Imagine if we had no less than 20% of us committing to at least a year of consistent work.  Even at a rate of one hour per week.  And, that 20% was equally committed to avoid criticizing the organizational work (like you are somehow separate from the contradictions) and instead supporting it and/or making it better.  Think of that for a moment and tell me that if we did those things we would not advance significantly in our fight?
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Whatever organization.  Whether you start one on your own.  No one can effectively argue that a better organized people isn’t a stronger weapon for forward progress.  I’ve had zero regrets over the last 37 years.  I do often wonder how much more effective I could have been had I learned things years ago that I know now.  I also wonder how much more I can learn that I don’t understand today.  Either way, the main thing is I sleep well at night (at least most nights) because I feel strong that I contribute much more than I consume which is something I think we should all strive to achieve.  Also, that’s something all of us can control.  And, whatever challenges, problems, headaches, I’ve encountered in my organizational work over the last almost four decades, this work is essential in helping me become the person I’ve become.  And, my primary objective is just to ensure that whatever time I have left, when that time expires, that honest people will have to say mine was a life worth living.

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Spoiler Alert:  A Critical Review:  "Judas And the Black Messiah"

2/12/2021

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For students of history, and participants within the African liberation movement, the flock of films that have depicted the realities of our soldiers for justice have consistently disappointed and enraged the majority of us.  All of them, from “Malcolm X” to “Selma, Harriet”, etc., have been littered with falsehoods and inaccuracies.  For those of you who respond to that by citing artistic expression as an excuse, we counter by expressing the ill-refutable reality that we cannot gauge these movies based on any artistic expression because the majority of our people who watch them are not watching them from an artistic standpoint.  The majority of our people unfortunately do slim to no actual study of our history and movements.  That same majority does not participate in our struggle for justice.  As a result, much of what people think they understand about our movements for justice comes from what they see in these movies, not from what they participate in with organizations for justice or from actual study.  And, since most of us are not involved in any organized struggle for justice on any consistent basis, what we think we see in these movies is distorted by the bourgeoisie lenses that this system works 24/7/365 to condition us with. 

We understand that most of the people who do not study and participate directly in our national liberation movement are the same people who could be offended by the opening statement here.  That’s why we always say people’s hurt feelings cannot and do not substitute for our objective reality as an oppressed people. 

That’s the context from which we waited, holding our breath, for the release of this movie; “Judas and The Black Messiah.”  We had some optimism because we knew Fred Hampton Jr. and Sister Akua Njere – the son and widow of assassinated Illinois Black Panther Party Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton – had played some role in the development of the film project.  And, we can now sigh with relief that we could find no serious issues with the general premise of the movie, the acting, and general portrayal of Fred Hampton and the Illinois Black Panther Party throughout the movie.  Hampton’s character, played by Daniel Kaluuya, was handled with the dignity and respect that Hampton’s courageous and principled real life existence demands.  And, the retelling of the key historical events (with the exception of the Chicago Panther shootouts with police), such as Hampton’s imprisonment, and of course, the fateful Federal Bureau of Investigation/Chicago Police raid on Hampton’s apartment on December 4, 1969, in which Hampton and Mark Clark were killed, and several Panthers, including Akua Njere (Deborah Johnson then) were injured, was carried out with alarming intensity and focus. 

I also completely enjoyed how the movie cleverly, although briefly, included the Illinois Panther’s efforts to work with African Chicago street organizations like the Blackstone Rangers (portrayed in the movie as the “Crowns”), the White Patriot Party, and the Puerto Rican Young Lords.  The scene depicting the Panthers working through a crisis with the African street organization brought moisture to my eyes.  This scene spoke to the potential of our movement once efforts like this are successful.

The creators of this movie are to be commended as the movie stands heads and shoulders above the other movie manifestations of real life soldiers for African liberation.  Only the ancestors know what challenges and obstacles the creators encountered in attempting to handle this story around Chairman Hampton with integrity, so their effort does indeed need to be heavily acknowledged.  Still, the movie was not without issues.  And, it should be said that to the casual observer, these issues will probably go completely unnoticed, but to those who have spent significant time learning and articulating this history, and building organizations based on the positives and negatives we learned from the Panthers, these issues must be discussed among anyone serious about our people’s liberation. 

The first issue is the aforementioned brief depiction of the Illinois Panther’s efforts to forge bonds with the Blackstone Rangers, White Patriot Party, and Young Lords.  It can be argued that besides the early police patrols in the Bay Area and the service programs, this work by the Illinois Panthers was among the most noteworthy from the Black Panthers.  This work certainly separated the Panthers from the traditional “Black Power” organizations (as well as other non-African so-called social justice organizations) by demonstrating the Panthers understanding (at least on a broader level than most radical organizations) of the connection of class struggle to white supremacy and the need to center the destruction of capitalism in our fight.  Beyond the Hampton character’s brief, but brilliant, articulation of this at the White Patriot Party meeting, and the ability of Hampton and the Panthers to stall out the previously mentioned FBI instigated effort to turn the Panthers against the Blackstone Rangers, this important work was quickly left behind in the movie.  This is a shame because we are convinced that it was this work that solidified the U.S. government’s targeting of Hampton for murder.  There was nothing then, and still today, that U.S. capitalist/imperialism fears more than a serious effort to create working solidarity between movements fighting for justice within their communities.  The capitalists understand clearly, even if most of us do not, that the day this solidarity comes into existence is the day their time in power is marked for destruction.  By quickly moving through this critical work, the subtle, even if unintended, result is that this work did not hold the monumental significance that it still holds today.

The absence of a serious core focus on the Panthers work to build with African street organizations and create revolutionary alliances (it was Jesse Jackson who eventually stole the Panther’s genuine “Rainbow Coalition” theme to coopt it with the petti-bourgeoisie/bourgeoisie version that represented Jackson’s presidential bid in the 80s) was a serious flaw of the film, but because movies can only be so long, in light of the movies strong points, I can live with that.  What was particularly irking was the confusing effort to portray FBI informant William O’Neil and FBI Field Agent Roy Mitchell’s characters (O’Neil’s character was also well done by Lakeith Stanfield) as somehow conflicted about their roles in setting up Hampton for murder.  Yes, we are aware that the real life William O’Neil allegedly committed suicide by running in front of a speeding vehicle in 1990, but that does not say to us that he was terribly conflicted about his role in setting up Hampton and Clark for murder.  For 21 years after the assassinations, he lived with and cashed all of the checks he received from the FBI and even in the “Eyes on the Prize” documentary he was interviewed for in 1989 (which the film makers suggested may have led him to supposedly take his life) O’Neil, even in the actual clip displayed in the movie, expresses his dysfunctional view that he made a contribution to the Black Panther Party.  This approach doesn’t line up for someone who is as conflicted and questioning of their role as the film portrays O’Neil.  Another flaw in how O’Neil is portrayed in the movie is along with his supposed moral crisis, the actual aggressiveness and militancy O’Neil displayed in attempting to get the Panthers to precipitate violent acts against Chicago police is reduced.  By all accounts, O’Neil was a mad dog who constantly instigated more and aggressiveness against the police, against the constant urgings of Hampton and others to rebut O’Neil’s efforts.

Even more offensive was the portrayal of FBI Field Agent Mitchell.  There is a disgraceful scene where Mitchell appears to question the need to push harder against Hampton once its acknowledged that Hampton will face further prison time for the FBI inspired frame up (for Hampton being falsely accused of stealing $71.00 in ice cream from an ice cream truck).  This is where creativity and art in the face of actual political history always seems to clash in these movies.  Perhaps the creators wanted to transfer their own humanity onto Mitchell in this depiction, I don’t know, but truth is truth.  FBI Field Agent Mitchell had absolutely no concern or moral dilemma behind his role in ensuring Fred Hampton was assassinated.  Mitchell had risen within the FBI by playing a consistent role as instigator against our struggle for justice.  He was a chief “investigator” for the murders of civil rights workers Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S. in 1964.  The FBI praised Mitchell for his work there, but no one was convicted for those savage murders until 1989, 25 years later.  And, those eventual sham convictions had nothing to do with anything Mitchell did.  The FBI role in sabotaging and dragging their feet on any of the investigations of terrorism against our people are well known and documented.  Mitchell should be seen for what he was.  A vicious terrorist who brutalized our people for standing up for our rights at every turn.  That devil had no second thoughts or moral conflicts about repression against us.  If anything, the evidence demonstrates that he felt it was his moral obligation to terrorize us.  Also, the reference in the movie to George Sams, a known psychopath and FBI informant who participated in numerous brutal beatings and the savage murder of Alex Rackley in the New Haven Black Panther Chapter, was sorely lacking.  In this instance, Mitchell is again portrayed as having some moral conundrum about being connected to Sams and his savagery.  In truth, Sams and his “work” was well known to the FBI and if anything, Mitchell wanted O’Neil to demonstrate the same type of brutality that Sams was known for within the Black Panther Party. 

Whether intentional or not, any effort to portray the FBI and their informants as anything other than what they are – coldblooded murderers – is an effort to humanize them because in humanizing them, we consciously and subconsciously do not see them as the enemy they are.  An enemy that certainly doesn’t deserve the humanizing that they have never provided to us. 
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We strongly recommend that you see this movie.  It’s a wonderful effort.  The shortcomings we mention are as much an issue with all of us as the filmmakers.  Its up to us to see it as our responsibility to study our history and understand it objectively.  There are numerous books about the life and contributions of Chairman Fred Hampton that most of us are completely unaware of.  This is a problem that is not the responsibility of these filmmakers.  Ward Churchell and Jim Vanderhill’s “The FBI’s Secret War against the Black Panther Party and American Indian Movement” was released in 1987.  “The Assassination of Fred Hampton” by Jeffery Haas was released in 2011.  There are many other books that we need to start seeing as our responsibility to study collectively and understand completely.  Any film should always be seen as an addendum of our actual studies of historical events.  In other words, if this movie is the primary source you experience about Fred Hampton, and you can read, you should be ashamed of yourself.  As Sister Assata Shakur correctly told us “only a fool lets their enemy tell them who their enemy is.”

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Zionism's Shrewd Manipulation of African Movements for Justice

2/2/2021

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The conscious African activist community is reacting today to the announcement that Alicia Garza – one of the original spokespersons for the rising Black Lives Matter movement in 2014 – has accepted an invitation to speak at a so-called “Jewish Values International Awards dinner during February of 2021.  To the untrained eye, it’s probably somewhat difficult to ascertain why anyone would be concerned about Garza’s (or any African) invitation to an event which claims to assert “Jewish values” and the promotion of “Black/Jewish relationships?”

The answer is there are many of us who understand the clear and undeniable difference between zionism the political movement and Judaism the honored and respected form of spiritual worship.  Judaism is an honored faith that has clear origins connected to Africa.  The original Jewish people were the Falasha Jews who existed in the Eastern region of Africa known as Ethiopia today.  It’s the Falasha who are the people referenced in the beginning of the Bible in the book of Genesis.  In the old testament, Ethiopia is called Kush or Cush which when translated to English references “burnt faces.”  The Bible, in its last book – the book of Revelations – confirms this history when describing Jesus as a person with skin of bronze and woolly hair.  None of this permits us to say exactly what “race” Jesus was, but this history certainly confirms that Jesus was unquestionably not a European.  And, the reason this fact is relevant to this discussion is because today, Ashkenazi Jews – European descended Jews – are perceived by most people in the world as the only actual manifestation of Judaism. 

None of this dominant and erroneous perception of Judaism and European Jews is by accident.  We want to make it clear that without question, there are plenty of Europeans who are honest and committed Jews.  Our point is to clarify that Jews, like Christians, Muslims, and all forms of honored spiritual worship, consists of people from all nations and all nationalities, races, etc.  The confusion has been generated by the zionist movement.  Despite the concerted efforts by zionists to convince you that Judaism and zionism are one and the same, we concretely and wholeheartedly reject this ahistorical and dishonest notion.
Unlike Judaism, which is an honored form of faith and worship of thousands of years which has unquestionable history and links to Africa, zionism is a strictly political movement which has a 124 year history of existence.  The zionist movement started with a conference in Switzerland in 1897 that was convened by people like Theodore Herzl who admittedly didn’t even believe in God.  The objective of these people was to steal a land base that they could utilize to create into a political and economic power.  The argument they advance today that the “Holy land” of occupied Palestine was always their objective is destroyed by the reality that Palestine wasn’t even the original focus these zionists laid their eyes upon to serve as their “Jewish country.”  These people had many choices; Venezuela and Uganda among them.  Eventually, they decided upon Palestine because of its clear geo-political strategic location in the Middle East.  Its location as a key route for international shipping and having a European country loyal to international imperialism in the middle of the Arab world were compelling reasons to refocus the zionist objective on Palestine.  The shield of Judaism was adopted to justify the theft of Palestine from the Palestinian people under the guise that Palestine needed to be returned to the Jews as a homeland after the Nazi orchestrated holocaust in Europe in the 1930s and 40s.

In 1948 and beyond, zionist Israel has overtaken Palestine, displaced large segments of the Palestinian people outside of Palestine, and relegated the remaining Palestinians to specific territories within the now occupied Palestine; primarily the West Bank, Golan Heights, and Gaza Strip.  And, the international community, meaning most governments, the United Nations, etc., in the aftermath of the world grieving the senseless loss of millions of lives in Europe from the holocaust, immediately fell for this ruse carried out by these opportunist zionists to support the establishment and upliftment of the zionist regime on Palestinian land.

And, a major portion of that ruse was the zionist movements calculated manipulation of African people all over the world to develop a support network for their illegal and immoral opportunism.  Its also important to recognize that these people have always demonstrated no problem with adopting opportunism whenever it serves their interests.  The World Zionist Congress (WZC), an organization that developed after the 1897 conference to carry out the objective of creating the zionist state of Israel, threw morality out the window in searching for traction to achieve its objective.  Its tactics included lobbying European countries to support the development of the state of Israel.  They did this by appealing to the fears of these countries.  The legitimate oppression genuine Jews experienced throughout Europe inspired many European Jews to relate to developing socialist parties throughout Europe after the success of the Bolshevik uprising in Russia in October of 1917.  Using the fear European governments had of the rising support for socialist parties throughout Europe in the early part of the 20th century, the WZC encouraged these governments to push their Jewish populations towards supporting the establishment of the state of Israel as a way for these European governments to rid themselves of their unwanted Jews. The “push” was intensifying oppression against Jews in Europe to facilitate them wanting their “own country.” Governments lobbied by the WZC included governments that brutally oppressed and murdered Jews before, during, and after the holocaust like France, Italy, and yes – Germany, including the Third Reich regime of Adolf Hitler. 

Clearly, a movement based upon justice can never cut deals with the forces that oppress their people, especially when those deals are designed to increase repression against the people in order to hurry along a political objective.  Yet that’s exactly what the zionist movement did and its what it continued to do by manipulating African movements for justice against white supremacy. 

In the 1920s, Claim Weizman had taken over the leadership of the WZC.  He played a significant role in linking the growing zionist movement to the racist apartheid regime in Azania, or the country widely known by its colonial name – South Africa.  This budding relationship evolved to the point where Jan Smuts, the Prime Minister of racist South Africa, appealed to Lord Balfour in Britain on behalf of Weizman and the WZC to have the good lord declare Palestine as Israel in 1917.  This immoral scam was certified by the entire imperialist world.  And, all of this was accomplished with a backdrop of the WZC claiming principles based on justice for all of humanity.  So, a movement structured on theft of land gathered international support through a lie of being based in principles of justice.  And, this movement utilized the declaration of the leadership of Britain, which held no moral and/or legal authority over Palestine, to claim just rights to Palestinian people’s lands.  Another element of work Weizman led the WZC through was to manipulate the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to organize and financially sponsor a national speaking drive for Weizman in the 1920s to travel around the U.S. speaking to African churches and community groups, fundraising for the zionist effort.  The basis of this manipulation was the shrewd methodology zionism used to appeal to the emotional desires of the African masses to achieve freedom.  Without question, the African masses, stolen from Africa and brutally exploited by white supremacy in the capitalist U.S. under Jim Crow segregation, etc., understood better than most people, certainly these zionists, the just meaning of the term zion.  It’s a Biblical term meaning “to return home.”  Who had a better connection to this concept than the kidnapped African masses?  Even if many of our people are still confused about this today, our point is the zionists understand this emotional desire and they exploited it ruthlessly.  They understood that even the Honorable Marcus Garvey had spoken of his support for the budding zionist movement due to his confusion in accepting them as a legitimate national liberation movement.  What we didn’t realize 100 years ago was that national liberation can never happen on stolen land.  Many of us still remain confused by this today.  And, a large part of why that confusion continues to manifest itself is because of the ability of the zionist movement to portray itself as a legitimate national liberation force similar to our quest to achieve one unified socialist Africa, Irish efforts to reclaim Ireland, and the just struggles of the Indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere to achieve self-determination.  This trick has been successful for over a century.  Besides manipulation of our emotions and our finances in the 1920s, zionist sabotage designed to use the African masses continued.  In the 1960s, zionism convinced the leadership of the African civil rights movement in the U.S. to form a group dedicated to supporting zionism.  That group was named Black Americans in Support of Israel Committee or BASIC.  Principled individuals such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., served as BASIC leadership.  It was not until Kwame Ture, as chair of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) articulated SNCC’s support for the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1967 war with Israel that the stronghold of zionist control over African interpretation of the zionist movement was broken.  SNCC was not the first organization.  It must be stated that even during the 1940s, the Nation of Islam was expressing anti-zionist views and it was in fact former Nation of Islam members, primarily Ms. Ethel Minor, who after leaving the Nation and joining SNCC, began to help SNCC develop its strong anti-zionist position that disrupted zionist manipulation of African movements.
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So, the groundwork that created today’s reality where Alicia Garza is speaking at an event organized by a clear pro-zionist organization is not new.  The fact zionism can turn around the thinking of someone like Ice Cube who rapped some of the best anti-zionist lyrics in any hip/hop songs in the 90s into having him speak at pro-zionist events in 2021 should not surprise anyone who knows this history of zionist manipulation of our people.  What’s important is that we recognize some ill refutable facts.  Zionism and Judaism are not the same.  Regardless of how much zionists try to tell you they are, they aren’t.  Judaism is historically linked in origin to Africa.  This is unquestionable and it clarifies that the people known as Jews today do not represent the entire history of Judaism as an honored faith and practice.  And, finally, the theft of Palestine to create the state of Israel is a crime against humanity.  The Palestinians and the holocaust are two completely separate realities that have nothing to do with one another.  If the descendants and survivors of the holocaust have a legitimate beef, which they unquestionably do, that beef is with Europe, led by Germany.  Not the Palestinians and their homeland in the Middle East.  Israel is an illegal settler-colony, no different than the illegal settler colonies in Zimbabwe, Azania (South Africa) Australia, and yes, the U.S. and Canada.  No justice can exist on stolen land.  Zionism, despite its continuous efforts to keep everyone confused, must be destroyed.  The Palestinian people, like the Indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere.  The people of Ireland, and the masses of Africans everywhere, must get their lands back!

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Thank God that "Normalcy" Has Been Restored

1/20/2021

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 Trump is gone and Biden and Harris are the spokespersons for the bourgeoisie capitalist power structure now.  The world can rest with ease again.  We can all relax because we can peacefully go back to Flint, Michigan, U.S., and their large African and poor population having no clean water in silence.  We can return to the glorious quiet of Standing Rock being pummeled by oil drilling companies.  And, the crisis and turmoil that exists in every Central American country from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador on down – the very reasons so many of those folks are risking everything to escape those countries – can go back to where they belong, business and suffering as usual.

We are so excited to harken back to the calmness of the U.S. national budget spending over 50% of its vast annual resources on a military machine that torments and dominates the entire planet.  Its ok though, because we can eventually defeat covid and go back to worrying only about our Friday and Saturday nights while AFROCOM continues to build military installations throughout Africa (proudly with our tax dollars) that continue to terrorize the African masses.

Speaking of covid, fortunately, we have a great opportunity right now to give platitudes to the hundreds of thousands who have needlessly lost their lives.  We can use this wonderous time to quickly and decisively forget that socialist Cuba has all but eliminated covid by prioritizing people over profit while this country spikes towards half a million deaths.  No worries though because Joe has the plan and soon, we will be benefiting from it.  Besides, we desperately want to get back to a time when the U.S. can ruthlessly, violently, but quietly, sabotage Cuba and her quest for self-determination.  A socialist self-determination.

Now, we can go back to the calm and systemic mass incarceration that devastates communities.  We can continue to ignore the disaster being inflicted on the world through the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, driven by the U.S. which primarily finances those imperialist organizations.  We can return to the backward notions that white supremacy, patriarchy, and homophobia are simply individual acts that should always be viewed and treated as such. 

We have the chance now to land and thrive with the false narratives that pose as truth.  That the people who engage in anti-fascist work are somehow as bad or worse than the fascists who terrorize society.  We can go back to ignoring the planet and acting as if our individual needs are all that matters in assessing how we move on this planet.  We can continue to turn our backs to mass deportations and the locking up the original inhabitants of this hemisphere.  Xenophobia can happily exist in the background again, with no less effectiveness, but with complete application.

And, we can continue to pretend, as Jennifer Lopez – a descendant of the people who this land was stolen from – sang when she said “this land is our land.”  We can step right over the theft of this land from Indigenous people and we can claim any history we want for the African masses in the west.  Anything except the truth that we were viciously and brutally stolen from Africa in an effort that served to finance the development this empire.

Please, lets go back to pretending that European (white) liberals are our friends because those people are different than overt white supremacists.  That there is somehow something that is supposed to be better about being talked down to and disrespected than there is in just being overtly called the n word to our faces. 
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And, finally, lets return to the time when talk and work for revolution is just simply a pipe dream for those who refuse to accept the reality of the greatness of this empire.  Let’s continue to advance this farce that democracy defined is bourgeoisie power in force as long as that power has black, brown, yellow, and queer faces mixed in with it.  Lets pretend that all the problems in this empire are solved through one bourgeoisie election.  Or, maybe it’s the next election.  Or, the one after that.  Or, after that.  It doesn’t matter.  The point is now you can feel good.  You can feel accomplished.  You can feel calm and secure.  Instead of living and even dying violently fighting for your dignity, you have the benefit now, again, to live and die quietly, in your sleep, living in the dangerous fantasy world that many of you have always preferred.

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Discussing the Movie "A Night in Miami."

1/16/2021

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 “A Night in Miami” is a 2020 movie that was directed by Regina King.  Like a ton of people, I became an instant fan of Regina King (and Nia Long) after 1991’s “Boyz in the Hood” was released.  Still, as a lifelong and active participant within the African liberation movement, my first priority is always going to be ensuring that the historical perspective provided on our ancestors and elders who made their contribution to our people is displayed with honor and dignity.  This is especially true when it comes to El Hajj Malik Shabazz, better known as Malcolm X.  In many ways, I’m here today, doing whatever I do, in large part because of Malcolm’s influence on my thinking when I was a mere teenager.  From that time forward I’ve emulated many of his life practices i.e. working hard to develop a reliable level of discipline in everything I do.  Not smoking, drinking, or getting high.  Doing my best to ensure fear never stops me from doing what’s right.  Malcolm has always, and will always, mean an awful lot to me.  And, I’ve always honored his contribution to my life and the struggle of the masses of Africans everywhere by spending an awful lot of time studying his life.  That’s why whenever anything is written, spoken, or presented about any of our veterans of militant, independent struggle, especially when its about Malcolm, you can be sure that I will do my work to be out front and center with an informed perspective.

This film is a fictionalized account of the actual events which took place the night of February 25, 1964.  That night, Muhammad Ali, when he was known as Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke, and Malcolm X, spent time that evening together after Ali had won the heavyweight boxing title by defeating Sonny Liston earlier.  Malcolm had served as Ali’s spiritual advisor and mentor in preparation for that fight.  Ali had paid for what would turn out to be Malcolm’s only family vacation with sister Betty Shabazz and the children when Ali paid for all of them to visit Miami while he was training for the Liston fight.  Dr. Shabazz and the children stayed a while in Miami with Malcolm before returning to New York while Malcolm stayed behind to continue to guide the then Cassius Clay.  Malcolm of course was attempting to contribute towards recruiting Ali into the Nation of Islam.  We know of course that by the time of the fight, Malcolm was serving a 90 day punishment from Elijah Muhammad due to Malcolm’s comments about John F. Kennedy’s death being a case of the “chickens coming home to roost.”  In other words, we know that at that time, despite working to recruit Muhammad Ali, Malcolm had one fight inside and one foot outside of the Nation of Islam.  It was less than two weeks after that night in Miami that Malcolm officially broke with the Nation of Islam and most people know the history of acrimony between Malcolm and Elijah Muhammad after that.  Muhammad Ali sided with Elijah Muhammad in the dispute and ridiculed Malcolm up to and after his assassination on February 21, 1965. By some accounts, Malcolm was recruiting Muhammad Ali as a strategy to hold leverage over Elijah Muhammad since the conversion of Clay to Muhammad Ali into the Nation would be a large chip for Muhammad’s organization.  We tend to believe that the situation was much more complex than that.  There is no evidence to suggest that Malcolm’s recruitment work with Muhammad Ali was anything less than sincere.  In other words, there are no accounts of Malcolm trying to convince Ali against staying within the Nation of Islam after he was no longer a member.  Still, that night in February of 1964, what we do know is Malcolm was there as Ali’s mentor and advisor.  Ali, a former Olympic Gold Medal winner four years previously, was given absolutely no chance to best Liston.  Most accounts dismissed Ali as a clown due to his theatrical performance art leading up to the fight, making fun of Liston, making bombastic predictions, and doing so much to emulate the flamboyant antics he learned from wrestler Gorgeous George.  Even Elijah Muhammad had advised Malcolm earlier to avoid being connected to Ali because of the broad perception that Liston would end Ali’s career the night they fought.

Sam Cooke was as popular a singer as there existed in soul music during this time.  He had already produced multiple signature hits like “Chain Gang” and “You Send Me.”  He had also demonstrated a strong business acumen, purchasing his own record label at a time when doing was extremely rare for any entertainer, especially an African one.  Jim Brown was the poster child as the greatest running back in professional football.  Before there was Marshawn Lynch, Emmet Smith, Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, and O.J. Simpson, the model for the running back position was Jim Brown.  And, Brown’s outspoken attacks against racist segregation and the oppression of Africans within the U.S. made him larger than football in many ways.
What we know for sure is those four African men shared an actual friendship and mutual respect together.  What we don’t know is what actually happened in that hotel room that night after Ali became the boxing champion of the world.  Regina King’s movie attempts to provide us a glimpse into that night when four iconic figures in African sports, entertainment, and movement history shared a historic night together.

The acting was good and the movie, despite the absence of any action beyond the initial fight scenes, was very engaging.  For me the major appeal of the movie is its effort in portraying four very different African men, each with their own notoriety, who held a relationship with one another that was not burdened with jealousy and pettiness, but mutual respect. 

The challenges I observed with the movie were significant.  Unlike so many people who naively rely on capitalist Hollywood to educate them about our history, no matter the quality of the presentation, I can never forget that the objective of the movie industry is always to entertain and make money.  For them, it’s the story, not the truth, that they are selling.  Movies are not made to raise the political consciousness of the masses.  Unfortunately, this movie does little to escape that mold.  The characterization of that night is the characters portraying Ali, Brown, and Cooke, wanting nothing more than to go out, find women, and party.  Meanwhile, the Malcolm X character takes charge of the night and pushes all of them to subscribe to a Muslim inspired night where they would sit around, alcohol and drug free, and reflect on their place in this world where African people are fighting for basic dignity.  No women.  No partying.  Just reflection.  For me, I did truly resonate with this part of the movie because I guess that’s one of the things I learned from Malcolm.  The idea his character promotes for that night would sound pretty exciting to me. 

The course the movie takes is for conflict between Malcolm and Sam Cooke to develop based on Malcolm’s ridiculing Cooke for not producing more movement promoting music.  In essence, the entire movie takes on this theme of Malcolm forcing his values onto them despite the age old contradiction where his values are never actually explained.  When this happens, the unconscious result is movement people seeming to appear dogmatic and inhumane to the average observer.  This part of the movie was unappealing because it’s the same tactic that is often used to display radical and revolutionary Africans.  Whether its Killmonger in “Black Panther” being unhinged and ruthless or Malcolm’s character in “A Night in Miami” being inflexible, bullish, and insensitive, it’s the same old narrative that these crazy militants can’t just relax and be regular human beings.  Whether intentional or not, this is an extremely damaging narrative because most of our people don’t study our actual history, so these portrayals reinforce the belief that revolutionaries are really not people who know how to have fun, how to unwind, how to be human.  This of course, unconsciously drives people away from the desire to interact with and emulate people like this.  Who wants to become a robot?

Then, there was the always present, very subtle jab at those of us who decide to struggle uncompromisingly for justice.  That jab is that we are always the ones who end up losing.  That happened in the Black Panther movie where Chadwick Boseman (RIP) and even the Central Intelligence Agency guy come out on top while the Michael B. Jordan “revolutionary” character gets what he deserves in the end.  We lose, again.  Most of the time, these jabs are not even necessary or related to the plot which always leads me to believe their inclusion is never an accident.  For example, in “A Night in Miami” during the ending movie credits, meaning after the movie is definitely over, something extremely strange occurs.  As many movies do, the credits provide an update on what happened with each of the four men after that night.  For Ali it was of course, the continuance of his boxing career before his eventual refusal to accept the immoral draft into the immoral Vietnam war.  For Brown it was his surprising and early retirement from professional football.  For Malcolm, it was a quote he made two days before the credits indicate he was not assassinated, but “murdered.”  The use of that word instead of assassinated was interesting because murder seems to suggest a more sinister result, but that wasn’t the most insulting part of it.  The narrative provided for Sam Cooke spoke of his recording of “A Change Gonna Come” after that night which was clearly an anthem for the movement during the 1960s.  Then, his continued business accomplishments during that year.  What was strange is although you are made aware in clear terms that Malcolm was assassinated less than one year after that historic night, the movie makes no mention of the fact Sam Cooke, like Malcolm, was shot and killed on December 11, 1964, more than two months before Malcolm was assassinated.  This is significant because anytime you talk about someone’s life, and then demonstrate that they were killed for how they lived, which is definitely the story for Malcolm X, the unwritten and subtle suggestion for most people who are not well versed in struggling for justice is that if you fight against the oppressor, death awaits you.  Ironically, Malcolm was killed by the U.S. government due to his increasing and emerging political radicalization on an international and Pan-African basis.  Sam Cooke, all respect due, was killed under circumstances which at best have to be described as confusing and strange.  He was shot and killed by an African woman hotel manager who testified that he had kidnapped a young woman and had held her against her will.  The young woman also reported the same thing.  Whether that’s what happened or not, the point is that it was indeed odd that the movie would not report Cooke’s demise the same way they reported Malcolm’s.  In our humble opinion, it doesn’t happen that way because whatever the reason for Cooke’s death, it definitely wasn’t related to any fighting he was doing on behalf of the African masses so that usual dig suggesting that if you struggle, you die, wouldn’t be necessary.
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Its that last part which makes yet another movie that falls far short.  And, this isn’t shade against Regina King or any of the producers of the movie.  The truth is the only reason any of the things are even issues is because despite the fact information exists every where we turn in this information based society, most of us have no interest and desire to study any of it.  Hollywood will never educate us about our history.  Even if someone like King wanted to, the Hollywood movie industry will never see doing so as a sensible profit approach because we as a community never demand that.  So, to them, in order for anything to make money, even something presented about our historical figures, it must be done in an entertainment way as if we are pigs who only know how to wallow in filth to achieve satisfaction.  Under these conditions, even if King was the most conscious and conscientious director on earth, it would not be possible to do much more than what was done.  This is true because it is the masses of people who guide and direct the artists, not the other way around.  Cooke producing “A Change Gonna Come” was the result of his being pushed to do so by not only Malcolm, but the burgeoning movement of our people for forward progress.  People demanded more from the artists and they got it whether it was the Supremes, the Isley Brothers, James Brown, whomever.  The capitalist system, always alert to ways to confuse us, continues to teach that individuals make history.  As long as we continue to believe that and keep waiting for someone else to come along and do what only all of us are capable of doing, the best we will ever get is half stories and misguided confusion that further muddies the waters and keeps us from accepting our true responsibilities to ourselves, our families, our people, and our planet.

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The Untold African & Indigenous History of Leading ANTIFA Work

1/13/2021

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Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton posing in front of the original Black Panther Party for Self Defense office in West Oakland, Califonria, U.S. in 1966. Along with the American Indian Movement and other African and Indigneous orgnaizations that fought against state terror, there are no better examples of anti-fascist work
All over the world, especially within the U.S., the term “ANTIFA” is widely exploited today.  The European right in the U.S. uses the phrase as a default for everything wrong in this society so of course, we know that we can quickly and easily dismiss anything that they say about it,  and I mean anything.  If you had a one hundred dollar bill at a rally for the outgoing empire president and you offered that money to anyone who could legitimately reveal books on anti-fascist work that they have read, you would leave that rally with that one hundred dollar bill every time.

Meanwhile, even among the European (white) left, the perspective of ANTIFA isn’t that much more appealing.  Regarding the people who go out and do their absolute best to challenge white supremacists who are out and about all the time now, respect is due.  Still, its important that those people, as well as everyone else who has a desire for justice, understands that the definition of people fighting against fascism, or ANTIFA, isn’t just a 20 or 30 something white anarchist dressed in black.

The definition of anti-fascist fighters also isn’t participants within the U.S. military who fought in World War II against the Third Reich and Nazi Germany.  Those ex-soldiers are often used by the liberal bourgeoisie establishment as the poster child of anti-fascism, but within a logical context, this belief is incomprehensible.  At the time of World War II, the U.S. was a society legally segregated based upon race.  African people were relegated to unhuman treatment and Indigenous people were systemically removed from society and placed on reservations.  The realities for Africans and Indigenous people during World War II (just as it is today) was the living definition of fascism i.e. living in a police state where the political, economic, and social order is organized to oppress and repress segments of the population as policy.  This ill-refutable reality makes the capitalist effort to propagate the U.S. as being anti-fascist during World War II (the U.S. didn’t even see the necessity to enter the war until the Nazis had been in power eight years), as a joke.

What most people never think about when they hear the word ANTIFA is the African and Indigenous masses.  Since most people see ANTIFA today as white anarchists, and they seldom see us at the face offs with the racist fascists, we are probably never the people that anyone who hasn’t studied history thinks of when the topic is raised. 

We would suggest that there are concrete reasons why you don’t see multitudes of African and Indigenous people at the face offs with white supremacists.  In many ways, we are still reeling and recovering from the tremendous toll this government’s counter intelligence programs aimed at African and Indigenous communities has had on our ability to organize.  Whether we are talking about assaults against our organizations and/or systemic efforts to destabilize us through drugs, alcohol, etc., in our communities.  We are still dealing with the physical (mass incarceration), and psychological impacts of that systemic assault against us that exists along with day to day white supremacy of all variations. So, again, the people showing up today, largely white youth, are to be commended for doing so because its needed, but just because we are not in your videos challenging white supremacists as much as you see yourselves doesn’t mean we aren’t doing it, usually much more often and intensely than anyone else.

It can easily be said that we are the original ANTIFA because the first colonial domination in Africa, in the 1480s by Portugal, was met with resistance by the Ashantis, Akan, and many other Ethnic groupings of African people.  This represented the first definition of anti-fascist work because as was previously stated with the World War II example, anti-colonialism is the highest expression of anti-fascism.  That’s why by the same token, the crashing of Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) and his ships into the Dominican Republic and the subsequent resistance of the Arawak people against that invasion should be seen as the beginning of anti-fascist work in the Western Hemisphere.

Following the 1400s, the examples are endless.  C.L.R. James cites in his classic book “Pan-African Slave Revolts” that approximately 500 organized/mobilized resistance efforts against European colonizers took place from the African continent through the middle passage (the terrible journey from Africa to the Americas).  These anti-fascist actions happened from the 1400s through the end of chattel slavery in the late 1800s everywhere.  The high mark was of course the glorious Haitian revolution in 1804, probably the most successful slave revolt and anti-fascist action in human history.  The history here is overwhelming.  In concert with those African revolts were the Maroon revolts in the Caribbean and South America that were often unified actions between Africans and Indigenous people.  The Quilombos in Brazil are without question a manifestation of that phenomenon.  And, Indigenous people waged relentless anti-fascist struggle as well, all through the Americas, non-stop. 
The issue here is just one of people recognizing that anti-colonial struggle is anti-fascist struggle by definition.  Even the white anarchists should be able to see that if they are against neo-nazis and white supremacists showing themselves that should be because they recognize that those groups have the objective of oppressing and repressing colonized people.  That is the reason those organizations exist so by default, if white anarchists fighting them is ANTIFA, than the defining element has to be African and Indigenous people fighting them long before white people began doing it.  The courageous battle of Crazy Horse and his people at the Battle of Little Big Horn, anti-fascist work.  The Lumbee Indigenous people crushing the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi in 1957, anti-fascist work.  The Mau Mau resisting the British in Kenya in the 50s and 60s, anti-fascist work.  The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense organizing against police terrorism against African people, anti-fascist work.  The original Black Panther Party in Lowndes Country Alabama fighting against white supremacy there, anti-fascist work.  The American Indian Movement defending the Indigenous people on the Pine Ridge reservation from Dick Wilson and his armed GOON squads, anti-fascist work.  The taking over of Wounded Knee, South Dakota by Indigenous activists, anti-fascist work.  The mobilization of the Republic of New Afrika against the state apparatus in Mississippi in 1973, anti-fascist work.  And, the Black Lives Matter’s struggle against police terrorism in current times and the equally contemporary Standing Rock resistance to protect land and water rights for Indigenous people, anti-fascist work.  We can go on and on, but the main point here is that African and Indigenous people started the clock on anti-fascist work all over the world.  We have done serious anti-fascist work which by definition has to be defined as work that eliminates oppression against everyone, not pretending to fight fascism in the left hand while maintaining it in the right hand like the U.S. did in World War II

And, the white anarchist left, well intentions or not, needs to do an awful lot of anti-colonial study.  Speaking from an analytical position and lots of personal experience, much of that anti-fascist work is far from absent from white supremacist values and practices. 
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So, don’t necessarily look for African and Indigenous people at the confrontation events.  What you have to recognize though is that every movement we engage in is by definition a challenge to the status quo capitalist system.  As a result, whether we hit the streets and/or organize against police terror, land/water rights, etc., that’s core ANTIFA work even if we aren’t wearing all black and covering our  faces.  The reality that the only reason ANTIFA is such a commonly used word today, whether used correctly or not, is the result of the exposure white activists have received by participating in Black Lives Matter activities.  Yet another example of the mechanisms of systemic white supremacy where we do much of the groundwork, but never receive any of the acknowledgement.

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10 Word/Concepts that are Completely Misunderstood in the U.S.

1/8/2021

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 Mass confusion has always been and continues to be a primary weapon utilized by the capitalist system to ensure the necessary interference and distraction is always prevalent to keep people focused on any and everything except the corruption and oppression coming from that system.  A fundamental example that illustrates how common and normalized confusion is in this society is how little people are encouraged and/or required to study and present comprehensive analysis to support their opinions.  Instead, any half-backed theory with absolutely no prepared analysis is acceptable because truth and justice have absolutely no connection to material reality within the capitalist system.  In other words, according to capitalism, its perfectly fine for you to claim one plus one equals 40 because doing so is “your truth” and no one in this individualistic driven society has the right to invade upon “your truth.” 
To demonstrate the foolishness of this thinking, we will showcase 10 words/concepts here that are commonly spoken about in this society and we challenge those reading to think through what level of unquestionable understanding you have regarding these words/concepts.  What we already know is most people, as high as 85 to 90% of those reading, will truly have no concrete analysis to accompany not even 50% of these 10 words/concepts.  What this “experiment” should clearly reveal to us is how much work needs to be done because no human progress has ever existed when ignorance and arrogance are the foundation from which a society permits itself to function.
  1.  Capitalism
Regarding defining the dominant economic system in the entire world today, most people if asked could not provide even a plausible definition of what capitalism is, where it started, how it started, and how its mechanisms manifest themselves on a day to day basis today.  This is true for even the most rudimentary elements of capitalist operations i.e. what drives pricing for products in this society or how trade is managed internationally.
  1. Imperialism
Vladamir Lenin, a leader of the Bolshevick uprising in Russia in 1917, called imperialism the highest manifestation of capitalism in his classic book “Imperialism.”  Capitalist economies like the U.S., Canada, Europe, Israel, etc., are dependent upon imperialism to maintain their wealth and control internationally.  In other words, without imperialism, the U.S. would not have the wealth it boosts today, yet most people within capitalist countries would struggle to explain what and how imperialism operates, what its relationship is to people’s day to day lives within capitalist countries and exploited countries, and what life would look like in capitalist countries once imperialism is eradicated.
  1. Fascism
This term is being bandied about constantly in the capitalist media.  There is so much confusion around it that the surreal reality exists today where people are calling anti-fascist activists = ANTIFA (which is exactly what ANTIFA means – anti-fascist) terrorists, while the white supremacists attempting to discredit ANTIFA are openly wearing clear fascist messaging celebrating the holocaust and parading around with swastikas and confederate flags, the poster child examples of fascism.  Meanwhile, most of the people throwing the term fascism around couldn’t tell you what it means.  Even the most well meaning folks are using the U.S.’s role in entering World War II in 1941 (after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii – 8 years after Hitler first started instituting fascist policies throughout Europe) as anti-fascism.  How could that be true when the U.S. during the 1940s was and is today a fascist society.  During the time of that war, millions of Africans in the U.S. were subjected to racist Jim Crow segregation laws in the U.S., the epitome of fascism.  Indigenous people were subjected to being forced on reservations, an equal epitome of fascism.  Yet, there is so much confusion about this word/concept that most people see absolutely no contradiction with this type of paradox of analysis existing and thriving throughout the discourse in this society.
  1. White Supremacy
Despite repeated efforts by forces everywhere to properly define white supremacy as an institutional system of oppression, this term/concept as well as other derivatives like institutional racism, etc., are commonly thought to be defined by individualistic and unscientific interpretations.  For example, its very easy to find people who will tell you with a straight face that it is not possible for a European (white) person who is clearly subscribed to racist ideology to be racist because they have a partner from a colonized community.  This thinking is as absurd as my saying it would be impossible for me to abuse and oppress women because my mother and daughter are women.
  1. Patriarchy
Further from the last example, patriarchy is so commonly misunderstood that its difficult to find people who have the political understanding to separate patriarchy as a form of institutional oppression from traditional cultural practices.  For example, many African people are confused and believe practices like polygamy, forced marriage, the inability of women identifying people to divorce, etc., are traditional African cultural practices when in reality these practices are manifestations of the institutionalization of patriarchy as a dominant practice under the development of feudalism during that systems period of economic dominance.
  1. Scientific Socialism
Being the antithesis of capitalism, socialism is possibly the most widely repeated, yet most commonly misunderstood, term in the English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and all of the colonial languages that dominate communication today.  You don’t have to go far to find people who will tell you confidently that capitalist countries in Europe or Canada are socialist countries because those societies have social welfare programs brought upon because of the people in those societies pushing for socialist policies, even when those people don’t know it and consider themselves opposed to socialism.  An example in the U.S. is people who would commit insurrection if their postal service was eliminated or if their government healthcare was stopped while at the same time, those people will die on the cross in their denouncing of socialism.  No where within this confusion is there any requirement for people to at least identify the characteristics of the implementation of scientific socialism principles and practices.  Its as if its perfectly acceptable for anyone to give themselves a label and/or anyone to pin a label on anyone and anything.  As a result, its now acceptable for that label to become defined solely based upon what that entity tagged with the label is doing regardless of whatever objective criteria exists to define what that label actually should mean.  As incredible as this is, the basic history of economics in the world is virtually unknown and most people believe, in error, that capitalism has always been here and it will always be here.
 
  1. Organization and Mobilization
Most people, even those who consider themselves actively involved in activist work, cannot provide even a workable analysis of the difference between these two approaches.  In fact, many people don’t even understand that there is a distinct difference between the two concepts.  Anyone who thinks there is no difference or that the difference isn’t significant, is without question operating without a clear focus and we guarantee you that as a result, the efforts those folks make to engage oppression are consistently going to be met with frustration, confusion, and a further lack of productivity.
  1. Revolution
I can never stop chuckling when I remember one of my very favorite rollercoasters located at the amusement park close to where I grew up in San Francisco.  That rollercoaster was named “the Revolution” and what was intriguing to me about the title was the operation of that rollercoaster was to use high speeds to send the coaster circling up and down, multiple times.  In other words, the motion of that ride went nowhere, symbolizing going in circles and standing still.  Of course, the basis is the concept of revolutions which means a circular motion that generates speed based on circling over and over at an increased momentum.  Clearly, that scientific definition of “revolutions” has absolutely nothing to do with the correct definition of mass and organized efforts by humanity to replace one political, economic, and social order with another one, the actual political definition of revolution.  Yet, most people you encounter, if you simply ask them, a clear understanding and definition of revolution will be something that escapes you in frustrating fashion.
  1. Anarchism
Another word/concept that is thrown around constantly.  And, the sad truth about this term/concept is the majority of people’s understanding of it is based not on anything analytical, but how they understand the fictional television show about the motorcycle gang and similar focuses on people existing in a reality where there is no organization.  In truth, this is the opposite of what anarchism actually means, but good luck finding people who can provide you a comprehensive definition of it, including many of the people who claim this term/concept as an ideology and lifestyle.
  1. Nationalism
This term/concept is adversely impacted by white supremacy where the entire perspective of the world is defined through the experiences of Europe and its descendants.  Since nationalism in Europe has been defined by hegemony and oppressive dominance like that of the Third Reich in Germany, this has become the working definition of nationalism despite the fact born out through Sekou Ture’s analysis that the histories of Europe and Africa, the Western Hemisphere, etc., are uniquely different and complex.  Nothing is totally bad and nothing is totally good.  A more balanced and correct analysis is that everything has good and bad and what’s in question is what degree of dominance each phenomenon brings to the table.  Despite this being unquestionably true, and nationalism being a legitimate tool for colonized communities (something that even Lenin acknowledged in “Imperialism”), most people today could not decern the difference between the narrow chauvinistic and reactionary nationalism of white supremacy with the anti-colonial liberating nationalism of Africa, Asia, and Central and South America and the Caribbean.
 
I would jump up and do flips if anything stated in this piece could be proven inaccurate because doing so would mean we are much farther along on these critical topics/concepts than we actually are, but I know better.  If anything, the ignorance around these questions is understated in this piece.  And, although we only included 10 examples, we could easily include another 10, another 100.  Another 500, etc.  The solution to this is the institution of organized political education.  That means us moving away from the criteria for analysis being having internet access, a keyboard, and a subjective opinion, to where it should be; engaging in constant study of the history and conditions that impact us and working with each other to learn how to use that history to properly interpret those conditions so that we can work together to effectively make the necessary changes.  As Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) was fond of saying, “if you are sick, you take medicine.  Why when you are ignorant don’t you read a book?”  We would add why not read a book with others in a consistent and ongoing basis?  We assure you that if you do so, the rest will slowly, yet surely, begin to take care of itself.

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A Pan-Africanist Perspective of White/Right Terrorism in D.C.

1/6/2021

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 White/right terrorists decided to disrupt the bourgeoisie proceedings to validate the electoral college election of Joe Biden as the next empire president of the U.S. by storming and taking over the Capitol building, disrupting the congressional proceedings.  The irony is everywhere and overwhelming.  As I watched a European fascist sitting at and pillaging through the desk of one of the bourgeoisie lawmakers while resting their feet on that desk in the U.S. Capitol, I couldn’t help but reflect on all the irony.  What those fascists are doing in D.C. is reminiscent of a scene from the 1915 movie “Birth of a Nation.”  That movie, the calling card that served to popularize and normalize the Ku Klux Klan, had a scene where African legislators, elected as a result of the reconstruction period after the civil war, were sitting in the Capitol building, eating fried chicken, with their feet up on the desks.  Its interesting that these pro-Trump fascists, many of them who ally with the ideas and actions of the Ku Klux Klan, are actually personifying in real life the white supremacy displayed in that racist movie 106 years ago.

Another irony is the fact that the takeover could happen as easily as it apparently did.  News commentators on all the bourgeoisie stations, are repeating over and over how shocked they are at the reality of this takeover.  Anyone who has paid even the slightest attention to the last several years in this country has been predicting events like this for some time now.  Activists like myself ,who are greatly concerned about fascist violence being carried out against marginalized people in this society have been training and doing our best to prepare people for this terrorism.  I am not at all surprised by what has happened at the Capitol.  In fact, the only question I had was why it took the fascists as long as it did to give action to their grievances about the November election. 

A third irony is how unprepared the bourgeoisie police forces throughout the Capitol were for this takeover.  We know from history that these same police apparatuses know exactly how to secure those institutions.  We can provide the example of the original Million Man March in 1995 and the follow up march in 2015.  Organized by Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan, both marches attracted millions of participants.  Both actions were widely viewed (especially the 1995 march) as subversive activities despite the themes being peaceful pronouncements like “Atonement and Reconciliation.”  In comparison, these fascists announced their intention of taking over the Capitol and Trump himself called for people to march on the Capitol building while he spoke to his followers moments before the siege took place.  For those who still don’t get it, the irony there is that during the Million Man March events, the entire city of Washington D.C. was shut down before the march events even began.  As a participant in those marches, I can tell you that there was no public transportation, it was completely shut down.  Streets were reorganized by police to facilitate their ability to control the movements of people.  And, the police presence during those march events was overwhelming, even when entering the Capitol Mall early in the morning this was true.  Even congressional business during the day of the original Million Man March, which took place on a Monday, was suspended so that the buildings would be empty.  This was also true for downtown businesses.  The city actually encouraged businesses to close in the days leading up to the march event.

The reality of how peaceful African participants in those Million Man Marches were perceived and treated compared to the cuddling, patience, and respect for these terrorist white/right people descending upon the Capitol now says all that needs to be said about the mechanisms of white supremacy.  Still, despite the clear truth in that reality, people, please refrain from the tired analysis of “if it was Black people…”  When we stand up for justice, we challenge the entire U.S. capitalist power structure.  We do that because whether you know it or not, this power structure was built and is maintained on the oppression and exploitation of Africa and African people.  By comparison, these white/right terrorists pose no threat to the capitalist status quo despite the claims by bourgeoisie news pundits.  These people have been entitled and placated for the last several years.  That’s the reason they are so bold as to carry out the actions they are carrying out in D.C.  These entitled fascists don’t even have the political sophistication to hide their faces while they break federal laws.   These news stations are looping footage of several ignorant fascists.  It may take weeks, or months, but fascist police will definitely utilize their technologies to identify these fascist operatives so that they can respond to the sure to come political pressure from the liberal capitalist elements in this society to hold those people accountable.  The boldness is symbolic of their arrogance due to police previously showing absolutely no desire to stop their terrorist activities.  Police haven’t had that incentive because these non police fascists truly do not act against the interests of the international capitalist bourgeoisie.  Their actions like the D.C. takeover may cause some inconvenience for the power structure, but those people are not working for systemic change.  Consequently, they are never going to be the target of the fascist forces that pose as police, national guard, etc., in this country.  If you still don’t see this clear distinction and naively expect respect and justice from the organized forces of fascism (police) that the amateur Trump fascists emulate and imitate, we don’t have anything left to say to you.  And, further, there is very little that Rev. Al Sharpton says that I would agree with, but he was correct to raise the question of some police cooperation at best, or sympathy at worse, for these fascist terrorists as the only logical explanation to clear up how it was so incredibly easy for these people to gain such quick and complete access to the bourgeoisie Capitol building.

Finally, the references by the capitalist media to brand the Capitol takeover as “similar to banana republics” is yet another strong irony.  By banana republics, these people are referring to unstable government transfer practices throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean.  The same throughout Africa and Asia.  What’s ironic about this is that these pundits will never say, and most of you will never take time to study, is the efforts by U.S. imperialism to work overtime to undermine the governments and democratic processes in those countries labeled as “banana republics.”  The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA – criminals in action) played major roles in undermining democracy in the Congo, Ghana, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, and other places in Africa.  They have done the same in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Bolivia, Venezuela, and other places.  Indonesia, China, Laos, Vietnam, and North and South Korea have also been victimized by U.S. intelligence sabotage.  Anyone who has a sense of this history of repression knows that nothing happening at the U.S. Capitol now serves to justify some racist analysis of colonized countries.  Instead, what’s happening at the Capitol is exactly what Malcolm X spoke off after the assassination of John F. Kennedy when he said it was a case of the chickens coming home to roost.  If you initiate, facilitate, and carry out violence and destabilization against everyone around the world then eventually, that will come back to bite you as well. 
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Just to be clear, we have absolutely no dog in this fight.  We don’t claim the U.S. Capitol.  The entire U.S. government and all of its institutions are enemies of the African masses.  The majority of these non police fascists carrying out this takeover are racist and against the interests of African people and the bulk of humanity.  What we are shocked about is why it has taken the white/right so long to recognize the reality that this government does not represent their interests.  We are not in favor of fascists taking over fascist institutions.  Nor do we support police moving against them for doing so.  Nor do we see this incident as significant beyond the news cycle for the next several days.  What we suggest people take from this situation is that the naïve perspective of Trump as some sort of independent fascist entity that somehow has power over the capitalist power structure, is a fantasy.  And, the full forces of U.S. capitalist/imperialism will demonstrate that with their response to this takeover.  What people who are dedicated to justice should take from all of this is that although the white/right is erratic, racist, and in now way indicative and representative of any of the work we are engaging in for forward human progress, the fact the white/right has advanced to open attack and hostility against the U.S. capitalist system is noteworthy.  White revolutionaries, wherever they are, if they are serious, they will take this as a clear invitation to initiate and intensify work to organize the white masses with correct political education messages that crush the reactionary white/right, racist foundation of their current actions.  For the rest of us, instead of wasting energy lamenting why the police institutions don’t engage in the type of violent terrorism against white people as they use against the African masses, we need to wake up, get serious, and accept that this country is never going to treat us the same way they treat the masses of white people, no matter what they or us do.  In fact, we can organize a 100% peaceful action and it will always be met with state terrorism while violent white fascists will be politely escorted away as they are being escorted from the Capitol now.  Make no mistake about it, the capitalist system will regain this day, but the fascist white masses are not going to go away.  Your lives as colonized Africans, Indigenous people, LGBTQ (especially colonized people), women, etc.  You are in extreme danger.  We can expect these people to target us because they do not have the organization, courage, or commitment to wage any real and sustained attack against the U.S. government.  You should look at 2021 as a calling card to get prepared.  Join an organization and get ready.  Do work and continue to build capacity so that we can move to the point of being able to invoke the best interests of our people and communities despite whatever these fascist people and the certainly fascist government they are engaging with are doing.

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    I don't see disagreement as a negative because I understand that Frederick Douglass was correct when he said "there is no progress without struggle."  Our brains are muscles.  Just like any other muscle in our body if we don't stress it and push it, the brain will not improve.  Or, as a bumper sticker I saw once put it, "If you can't change your mind, how do you know it's there?"

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