Black Power Talks

Episode #120: The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin surveilled by COINTELPRO for 40 years; the arts are not refuge; African culture workers urged to get involved

Just months after the FBI's brutal assault against the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement, a report surfaced showing that the FBI surveilled the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin for four decades. 
In today's program, we will turn the spotlight on some of the popular African artists who have been surveilled, harassed and targeted by the FBI and other government police agencies over the decades.
We discuss the surveillance, harassment, and sabotage of the careers of African culture workers and entertainers such as:
Billie Holiday
Paul Robeson
Miriam Makeba
Hugh Masekela
Horace Tapscott
Nina Simone
Aretha Franklin
and More
We begin by hearing from Yusef Doucette of the JOKO Collective in Los Angeles, California who addressed the Black is Back Coalition’s Black Power Conference on Sunday November 6, 2022 in Washington DC.  Yusef spoke on the long history of US counterinsurgency against African culture workers, a campaign that dates back to the 18th century. 
Yusef Doucette is a member of the JOKO Collective, a college professor, and a doctoral candidate.  Prof. Doucette ends by underscoring the importance of the arts to liberation struggles.
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.

Episode #119: Russia releases Griner; Biden called to release Africans still in U.S. penal colonies on marijuana charges

In this episode, we talk with Angelika Mueller-Rowry about her husband, Robert Rowry, an African man who died chained, inhumanely chained to a prison bed in 2014.  This story is extremely relevant in conversation with contemporary discussions about mass imprisonment in the US.
On Thursday December 8, 2022, the Women’s National Basketball Association superstar Brittney Griner was released from a Russian penal colony where she had been held for a period of time following her conviction on drug charges.
Upon her release, President Biden spoke of the intolerable prison conditions in Russia.  Yet, the cases we chronicle in this episode shows the intolerable and inhumane conditions in the US.  In Mississippi, the African man Allen Russell received life in prison for 1.5 ounces of marijuana; a conviction the Mississippi Supreme Court has upheld.  Robert Rowry was imprisoned for only a few grams of marijuana and eventually died in prison over $50 of crack cocaine. 
In the United Sates, drug sentences commonly become death penalties for African people.
Our guest is Angelika Mueller-Rowry a resident of North St. Louis, Missouri, the wife of Robert Rowry, a working class African man.  Robert was a mechanic and a blues musician. 
In this episode, Angelika chronicles:
The life of Robert Rowry in North St. Louis
The shifting conditions in his community of North St. Louis following the US counterinsurgency war and the imposition of a drug economy on African communities;
The inhumane conditions that Robert experienced and the circumstances around his death;
Her struggle for justice for Robert and all other incarcerated people.
We will also hear excerpts of two of Robert's blues recordings, James Brown's "It's a Man's World" and Albert King's "I'll Play the Blues for You." In his early years, Robert toured with Albert King.
To support justice for Robert Rowry and people like him, visit missouricure.org.
Read more about Robert Rowry's case in the following article penned by Angelika Mueller-Rowry: Death Penalty for a $50 Crack Deal
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.

Episode #118: The Colonial Origins of Santa Claus

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 gifts, 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 Dexter Mlimwengu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.

Episode #117: Free Our Brothers! Wrongfully convicted Africans fight for justice

Today on Black Power Talks we examine the case of two wrongfully convicted African men and the organized pushback they are waging against the system that stole almost thirty years total from them. 
The US prison system plays a significant role in the colonial mode of production.  Chairman Omali Yeshitela notes that “Massive prison building projects were established all over the U.S. as white communities vied and fought for prisons to be able to provide colonizer nation white workers well-paying jobs at the expense of tens of millions of colonized African people stuffed into these concentration camps.”
In the United States, Africans are more likely to be incarcerated for the same crimes that whites might never see jail time for. The United States Sentencing Commission found that African men will get about 20 percent more time than white men when they are convicted for the same crime.  In states like Nevada, Black people make up 8 percent of the state and one-third of the people in prison.  White people make up 54 percent of the state, are 83 percent of the people arrested but are only 44 percent of the people sent to prison. 
This reveals the colonial nature of US prisons, whether they work a job or not, the incarceration of African bodies alone produces wealth for the system.
The very similar cases of our guests, two wrongfully convicted African men, evinces the measures through which the colonial state will go to maintain the status quo.  Their stories also show the commitment of the formerly incarcerated to clear their names and to fight for their brothers and sisters who are still locked behind bars.
Our first guest is LeRoy Jones.  In 2007, LeRoy Jones was arrested and later falsely convicted for a robbery he did not commit with not even any material evidence linking him to the crime he was accused of in the state of Nevada.  Leroy was released from prison in October 2022.  Leroy's story was recently chronicled in the The Burning Spear newspaper.
 
 
 
Our second guest is Omar Gent. In 2008, Omar was arrested in Colorado for a robbery he did not commit.  The police broke all sorts of evidentiary procedures and the state ignored important judicial processes that could have acquitted Omar.  Omar was also released in October 2022.  Omar leads the "Free Our Brothers" Campaign.  You can find more about his campaign at freeourbrothers.com
 
 
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.

Episode #116: No Thanks to Colonialism! Celebrating African and Indigenous Solidarity and Anticolonial 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.

Episode #115: DOJ indicts China: African, Indigenous activists respond

On Monday, October 24, 2022, the United States’ “Justice Department” held a press conference to accuse China of breaking U.S. laws in its efforts to challenge U.S. power on the world stage. 
They charged several Chinese nationals with spying on behalf of Beijing and seeking to disrupt a U.S. government investigation into the Chinese technology company, Huawei. 
In New Jersey, the FBI charged two Chinese nationals with conspiring to act as illegal agents on behalf of China by using a “purported academic center in that country to seek sensitive information from U.S. academic institutions,” end quote, thus criminalizing working relationships between universities in the U.S. and China.
These indictments come on the heels of FBI raids targeting African and Puerto Rican organizers in the U.S., who are accused of acting as illegal foreign agents on behalf of Russia and of Cuba.
This episode presents excerpts from a Sunday, October 31st panel discussion with African and Indigenous activists, representing liberation Movements in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Haiti and the continent of Africa, responding to this current wave of aggression by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation targeting anti-colonial struggles. Hear from:
Benjamin Prado, UnderSecretary General of Union del Barrio
Dahoud Andre, organizer with Komokoda, the Committee to Mobilize Against Dictatorship in Haiti
Ana Lopez with the Frente Independentista Boricua
Luwezi Kinshasa, Secretary General of the African Socialist International 
Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the African People’s Socialist Party

Episode #114: Long Live Thomas Sankara, hero of Burkina Faso, ”Land of the upright people”!

In this episode of Black Power Talks we uplift the legacy of the martyred revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara, the president of Burkina Faso. Sankara was killed 35 years ago on October 15, 1987, at the age of 37. His assassins were tried and convicted in 2022.  
Sankara gave Burkina Faso its name, which means "land of the upright or incorruptible people." 
Sankara’s program challenged French colonialism and neocolonial policies in Africa with policies focused on preventing famine with agrarian self-sufficiency and land reform, prioritizing education with a nationwide literacy campaign and promoting public health. Sankara built schools, health centers, water reservoirs, and railways. He combatted desertification, redistributed land, eliminated poll taxes and rent. He created policies that overturned the oppression of women and elevated the role of women in the Burkinabe government and military. 
Sankara is loved by the African working class, affectionately known as the African Che Guevarra although his reach is even further than that.  Sankara’s legacy has fueled a generation of anticolonial activity on the continent and throughout the African world.
We talk with Cinque Brath, the co-founder and president of the Elombe Brath Foundation, about the work of his father to build African anti colonial resistance. As a young man, Elombe was a member of the African National Pioneers Movement led by Carlos Cooks, and understudy of Marcus Garvey.  Elombe co-founded the African Jazz Art Society and Studios, a significant front that re-claimed Jazz as an African art, and co-founded the Patrice Lumumba Coalition which organized a cultural boycott against apartheid in the 1980s and 1990s.
This episode of Black Power Talks is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom. The show is produced by Black Power 96.3 FM radio in St. Petersburg, Florida. www.blackpower96.org.

Episode #113: The Woman King film review round table

This episode features a roundtable discussion about the 2022 film “The Woman King”, starring Viola Davis. The feature length movie premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 9th, 2022 and opened in theaters on September 16th. Panelists explore key issues raised in the movie's plot, including:
The impact of slavery and the colonial mode of production on African people and on the rise of the European colonial nation
Class conflict within the African Nation
The role of African women as leaders, warriors, makers and shapers of history
Unification of the African Nation through destruction of tribal or country boundaries
Hear from:
Dr. Matsemela, historian and newly appointed President of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement
Secretary General Luwezi Kinshasa of the African Socialist International. SG Luwezi was born in the Congo and joins this program directly from London where he lives and works in exile
Kalambayi Andenet, former president of the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement, who currently serves as the Midwest regional organizer for the African People’s Socialist Party, from her birthplace of St. Louis, Missouri
Tafarie Mugeri, Chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party in Occupied Azania, named South Africa by the colonizers
Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU, Black Power 96.3 FM radio in St. Petersburg, Florida. This episode is hosted by Solyana Bekele.

Episode #112: Defending the African Community! We are our own liberators!

From Friday September 2nd through Sunday September 4th, 2022, the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement held its 30th annual convention in St. Louis, Missouri.  
The theme of the convention was Defending the Black Community! We Are Our Own Liberators!  The theme for the 2022 InPDUM Convention had historical and immediate importance to the liberation of African people.
In recent months, colonial-capitalism, and its collaborators, have increased their assaults against Africans and other colonized people.  This includes the May 14, 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, the May 24, 2022 mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and the July 2, 2022 flamethrower attack on the Uhuru House in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The apex of this assault against African independence has been July 29, 2022 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) military assault against the Uhuru Movement.
At the convention, our very own Dexter Mlimwengu was renamed Kondji.  Kondji moderated the capstone panel Defending the African Community (African Community Defense and Survival).  In this episode, we present excerpts from that panel.
The panel included:
Amanda Wallace, former CPS (Child Protective Services) worker and founder of Operation Stop CPS, provides advice for African families dealing with CPS investigations that disrupt the lives of more than half of all black children in the U.S. today.
Chimurenga Selembao, African Peoples Socialist Party Director of Organization, details security protocols for dealing with encounters with police and FBI at home and while driving or bicycling, and cautions activists on dangerous uses of social media.
Dr. Aisha Fields, Director of the All-African Peoples Development and Empowerment Project, explains the need and role for independent African rescue and relief mobilization.
Chairman Omali Yeshitela, leader of the Uhuru Movement, explains the role of theory and knowledge of identity in successful self-defense.
Alderman Jesse Todd of St. Louis's 18th Ward, discusses how our security is in our work serving our community. 
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.

Episode #111: Now that you’ve seen ”The Woman King”, view the African Internationalist classic film, ”Bush Mama”

Now that you have seen The Woman King, revisit the anti-colonial and African Internationalist film, Bush Mama. 
On this episode of Black Power Talks we will be presenting to you a roundtable discussion on the 1979 film Bush Mama by Haile Gerima.  
Bush Mama is described elsewhere as the story of Dorothy and her partner T.C. TC is a Vietnam veteran who thought he would return home to a "hero's welcome." Instead TC is falsely arrested and imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. Dorothy’s life revolves around the welfare office and a community facing poverty and unemployment. As a result of the film's events, both the main characters develop revolutionary consciousness.  Bush Mama ends with Dorothy committing an act of revolutionary violence.  
In this roundtable discussion you will hear from some previous Black Power Talks guests, and some new voices.  Alongside Dr. Matsemela and Dexter, you will hear from Michelle Mwezi Odom, Denzel Draughn, and Parrish Davis of San Diego, California.  You will also hear from Themba Tshibanda of St. Louis.  
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.