Black Power Talks

While they say cut DEI, we say build Black Community Control of Education

In this episode of Black Power Talks, we explore “Black Education and the Struggle for Anti-Colonial Free Speech.” 
Upon his return to office, United States President Donald J. Trump amplified the attacks against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.  His administration has renamed institutions for confederate figures and overturned previous diversity initiatives inside government employment.  President Trump has threatened to withhold federal funding from educational institutions with DEI programming.  This is the fourth and most intense wave of attacks against African-led education initiatives in recent years.  
As DEI initiatives, Critical Race Theory and Black Studies come under attack, today’s guests agree the solution is to build power in the hands of the African community, to struggle for Black Community Control of Education.  The speakers make the appeal for African students, intellectuals and culture workers to become African working class intellectuals; to actively use their knowledge and intellectual abilities to challenge colonial capitalism.  The martyred Black Studies scholar Walter Rodney defined this as the process of being “grounded” and called such people “guerilla intellectuals.”
On this episode, we are joined by:
Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the African People’s Socialist Party
Betty Davis, Chair of the Black is Back Coalition Education Working Group.  Sister Betty is a veteran of the Ocean Hill Brownsville struggle.
Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly Associate Professor of History at Wayne State University, author of Black Scare/Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States
Dr. Robin Kelley, Professor of History at UCLA author of many books including Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination, Race Rebels and Our History Has Always Been Contraband
Dr. Yusef Doucet, poet, english professor co-leader of the JOKO Collective
This episode is the outgrowth a June 2024 webinar that was co-sponsored by the Hands Off Uhuru Fightback Coalition and the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations and co-hosted by myself, Dr. Matsemela Odom and Mwezi Odom, Secretary General of the African People’s Socialist Party and Chair of the Hands Off Uhuru Fight Back Coalition.
The complete webinar can be found at The Burning Spear TV Youtube Page.
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida.

African Internationalism and the Struggle for Reparations...from the halls of academia to the hands of the people

In 1982, the African People’s Socialist Party formed the African National Reparations Organization (ANRO).  ANRO was the first mass organization created to forward the reparations struggle and make reparations a household topic.  ANRO’s reach was wide and even garnered the support of people like Michael Jackson who signed an ANRO certificate demanding reparations. ANRO held twelve successive reparations tribunals.  The most recent reparations tribunal was in 2003.
The Party and ANRO succeeded. The reparations struggle moved from being solely a legislative and legal conversation.  The Reparations struggle has been taken up by the masses of African people in the US, and other parts of the African world.
Still, amidst these significant advances in the reparations struggle, Reparations activists have been targeted by the United States government for their work.  On July 29, 2022, the Uhuru Movement was attacked by the US government for their reparations work amidst slanderous claims that attribute the movement’s 40-plus years of leadership in the struggle for reparations to quote malign russian influence unquote.  WEB Du Bois, Paul Robeson and others suffered the same accusations. 
The same city governments of St. Petersburg, Florida and St. Louis, Missouri that have made news in the past years for their support for reparations plans also had their local police forces participate in these attacks.
 In today’s episode, we explore current conversations on Reparations amongst African Internationalist educators with excerpts from the
panel discussion “Reparations: Examining The Necessity of Reparations and Efforts To Heal A Political Genocide” as part of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists 2023 Annual Meeting.  
In this panel discussion, Dr. Matsemela Odom is joined Dr. Tiffany Caesar of San Francisco State University and Dr. Martin Boston of Sacramento State University. Both are previous guest on Black Power Talks.
Dr. Boston is the co-editor of the Third World Thematics Special Issue The Movement Resonated Deep in my Soul: New Perspectives and Pathways to International Research of South African Social Movements Past and Present.  Dr. Matsemela and Dr. Caesar are contributors to this special volume. 
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Solyana Bekele, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.

The Colonial Origins of the Santa Clause Myth

On this episode of Black Power Talks, we learn about the colonial origins of Santa Claus, also known as Sinter Klaas or St. Nick, the patron saint of shipping.
Colonial ideology purports the Christmas holiday to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus. In fact, the Christmas holiday season is centered around the obsessive pursuit and aspiration to purchase gxifts, central to this is the Santa Claus Myth.
The Santa Claus myth has its origins in Dutch traditions surrounding the characters Sinter Klass and Zwarte Piet, Black Pete in English.  These traditions are celebrated in the Netherlands, also known as Holland, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, and throughout the colonial Dutch world with blackface festivals.  Africans have organized organized a serious pushback against these festivals, yet they persist. 
To help us understand the colonial-capitalist contradictions of the holiday season and the colonial origins of Santa Claus, we share clips from Chairman Omali Yeshitela.  The first clip is an excerpt from a conversation between Chairman Omali Yeshitela and Peggy Burke of the Global Afrikan Congress, speaking direct from Amsterdam that took place on November 28th, 2004.  
The second clip is an excerpt from a presentation given by Chairman Omali 2 weeks later, on December 19th, 2004, to the regular Sunday community meeting at the Uhuru House in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Kondji Mlimwengu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.

Black August and slavery inside U.S. prisons

Black August is a month of remembrance and resistance dedicated to our African warriors imprisoned for their heroic stance fighting for African liberation.
It's also a month-long salute to the African liberation struggle, recognizing such historic milestones as the Haitian Revolution, the birth of Marcus Garvey, and the deaths of Jonathan Jackson and George Jackson.  
The roots of Black August are in the uprisings and rebellions of African freedom fighters who were imprisoned as a result of their political activity during the height of the Black Power Movement of the 1960s.
The tradition of recognizing Black August was initiated in the 1970s by incarcerated Africans in California in observance of the death of George Jackson. 
Some of our African freedom fighters such as Jalil Muntaqim, Janine Africa, Janet Africa, Mike Africa Sr., Charles Africa and Sundiata Acoli have been released from captivity.  Sundiata and Muntaqim both spent almost 50 years behind bars. Some of our political prisoners were released only when they were critically ill and then died shortly after. Many more remain in prison.
Today, we have a guest from behind enemy lines. Comrade Makandal Cinque is a regular contributor to The Burning Spear newspaper, a monthly Black Power journal in its 54th year of publication.
We discuss his recent article, "U.S. colonial prisons: the present day sale and trade of Africans.” We talk about the history of African slavery and the practice of forced labor inside U.S. prisons today. Support The Burning Spear newspaper's Mafundi Lake Sponsor-a-Prisoner program at theburningspear.com/donate
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. This episode was hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Solyana Bekele, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.
 

Black Music Month and the Revolutionary Music of Miriam Makeba with Dr. Martin Boston

June is Black Music Month.  On this episode of Black Power Talks, we uplift Miriam Makeba.  Miriam Makeba’s music played an important role in the African Revolution by building bridges across the colonial borders that divide African people.  
We discussed the role of Makeba's music and feature three of her songs: "Into Yam", "Pata Pata", and "Malcom X."  We talk about the importance of her appearance in the film Come Back Africa (1959) and the importance of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in her own political transformation.  Makeba had two uncles killed in the massacre.  As Makeba appeared on the international stage.  We discuss her shifts from the New African Movement and SophiaTown Renaissance to her All-African and anti-colonial position.  
On this episode, we are joined by Dr. Martin L. Boston, assistant professor of Pan-AfricanStudies and Ethnic Studies at California State University Sacramento.  Dr. Boston is the author of the doctoral thesis, “Be(Long)ing: New Africanism & South African Cultural Producers Confronting State Repression in an Era of Exile" and other recent articles on culture and the antiapartheid movement.
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom, Kondji Mlimwengu and Solyana Bekele, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.

February 21st is African Martyrs Day!

On this episode of Black Power Talks, we observe African Martyrs Day.  At the first Congress of the African People’s Socialist Party in September 1981, APSP designated February 21 as “The Day of the African Martyr.”  Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965 by agents of United States repression and counterinsurgency.
Amidst the historical importance of the Hands Off Uhuru Hands Off Africa counteroffensive that we have waged, this year’s African Martyrs Day takes on an even deeper significance.
We hear excerpts from a webinar organized by the Hands Off Uhuru Hands Off Africa Defense Campaign, “Long Live Our Fallen Warriors - Day of the African Martyr”.  In this episode we hear from: 
Akile Anai, Director of Media and Communications for the African People’s Socialist Party 
Luwezi Kinshasa, Secretary General of the African Socialist International
Tafari Mugeri Director of Organization for the ASI Africa Region
Jalil Muntaqim, former political prisoner and veteran of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army
And Chairman Omali Yeshitela, head of the Uhuru Movement
To view the entire webinar, visit The Burning Spear TV Youtube Page or the HandsOff Uhuru Facebook page.
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Solyana Bekele, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.

No Thanks to Colonialism! Celebrating African and Indigenous Solidarity and Anti-colonial Resistance

In this episode, we say NO THANKS TO COLONIALISM. We expose the colonial mythology of Thanksgiving as the ideological support for Manifest Destiny and European/White North American colonial-capitalist domination; namely but not only the project of settler-colonialism.  We speak with two activists and educators about the long history of anticolonial resistance and African and Indigenous solidarity. 
We discuss a variety of topics such as the colonial origins of the Thanksgiving holiday, created amidst the genocide of indigenous people, namely the mass lynching of Lakota people by the US military, the struggle for an America without borders, and the continued resistance of indigenous people. 
Our guest are Dr. Jimmy Patino and Ron Gochez.
Dr. Patino holds a PhD in Chicano History from the University of California San Diego and is a Professor of Chicano and Latino Studies at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Dr. Patino is the author of the book Raza Si, Migra No! Chicano Movement Struggles for Immigrant Rights in San Diego which chronicles the activism of Chicano movement activist Herman Baca and the Committee on Chicano Rights (CCR). 
Ron Gochez is the Undersecretary of Union Del Barrio in Los Angeles, California.  Ron is also a history teacher in South Central Los Angeles.  In 2013, he ran for Los Angeles City Council.  He currently leads work with the Association of Raza Educators and the Committees of Resistance.
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Dexter Mlimwengu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.

Salute to the late Calypsonian Black Stalin with Trini Trent Part 1

On this episode of Black Power Talks we lift up the memory of late Calypsonian Black Stalin of Trinidad and Tobago. 
Black Stalin passed away in December 2022 at the age of 81.  Black Stalin was a five-time winner of the Calypso Monarch competition and was donned Calypso king of the world in 1999.  Still, Black Stalin was not merely a calypso singer, Black Stalin used his music to forward the liberation of African people specifically and all oppressed people generally.  Even after our struggle suffered crippling military defeats, Black Stalin used his music to challenge colonial powers and profess the never-ending struggle for African freedom.
This is Part One of a two-part episode with our guest Trini Trent.  Trini Trent is a video blogger and podcaster from, in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago.  For the past 11 years he has operated the YouTube channel Trini Trent TV where he has offered important political analysis of music and culture throughout the African world.
In this part we discuss the anti-colonial roots of Calypso and the revolutionary period that produced Black Stalin and his cohort of artists and African revolutionaries.
Trini Trent can be viewed on this Youtube page @TriniTrentTV.  He can also be followed on most other social media platforms.
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Solyana Bekele, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.

African Internationalists take the Revolutionary discussion of Reparations into the halls of academia

In 1982, the African People’s Socialist Party formed the African National Reparations Organization (ANRO).  ANRO was the first mass organization created to forward the reparations struggle and make reparations a household topic.  ANRO’s reach was wide and even garnered the support of people like Michael Jackson who signed an ANRO certificate demanding reparations. ANRO held twelve successive reparations tribunals.  The most recent reparations tribunal was in 2003.
The Party and ANRO succeeded. The reparations struggle moved from being solely a legislative and legal conversation.  The Reparations struggle has been taken up by the masses of African people in the US, and other parts of the African world.
Still, amidst these significant advances in the reparations struggle, Reparations activists have been targeted by the United States government for their work.  On July 29, 2022, the Uhuru Movement was attacked by the US government for their reparations work amidst slanderous claims that attribute the movement’s 40-plus years of leadership in the struggle for reparations to quote malign russian influence unquote.  WEB Du Bois, Paul Robeson and others suffered the same accusations. 
The same city governments of St. Petersburg, Florida and St. Louis, Missouri that have made news in the past years for their support for reparations plans also had their local police forces participate in these attacks.
 In today’s episode, we explore current conversations on Reparations amongst African Internationalist educators with excerpts from the
panel discussion “Reparations: Examining The Necessity of Reparations and Efforts To Heal A Political Genocide” as part of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists 2023 Annual Meeting.  
In this panel discussion, Dr. Matsemela Odom is joined Dr. Tiffany Caesar of San Francisco State University and Dr. Martin Boston of Sacramento State University. Both are previous guest on Black Power Talks.
Dr. Boston is the co-editor of the Third World Thematics Special Issue The Movement Resonated Deep in my Soul: New Perspectives and Pathways to International Research of South African Social Movements Past and Present.  Dr. Matsemela and Dr. Caesar are contributors to this special volume. 
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Solyana Bekele, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.

DOJ and FBI place economic sanctions on the African Liberation Movement

In this episode, we address current FBI and Department of Justice economic sanctions against African self-determination.
As Black History Month 2023 drew to a close, the U.S. government and its partners in the financial sector escalated its campaign against the right of today’s Black Power Movement to freedom of speech and association.
The DOJ and FBI have extended their efforts to stop the Uhuru Movement from continuing its 50-year history of work building African self-determination into the economic arena.
In early March 2023, Regions Bank notified the Uhuru Movement’s nonprofit African People’s Education and Defense Fund that their “relationship would be terminated”, including for accounts tied to programs of the Black Power Blueprint.   The Uhuru Movement has over 20 years history dealing with Regions.
The Black Power Blueprint is an Uhuru Movement project building economic development for the impoverished African working class community of North St. Louis. Thousands of people, including the white community have donated to these programs. 
To view the entire webinar, visit The Burning Spear TV Youtube Page or the HandsOff Uhuru Facebook page.
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Solyana Bekele, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.