Black Power Talks

The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #72: Long Live Marcus Garvey!

Today on the People’s War Radio Show, we are celebrating the birthday of Marcus Mosiah Garvey.  Every week, the People’s War Radio show brings you an African Internationalist perspective of world issues.  African Internationalism, the theory of the African Working Class has its origins in the ideology and practices of Marcus Mosiah Garvey.   
Marcus Garvey organized one of the most important anticolonial African organizations in history.  Garvey’s revolutionary journal, the Negro World, had a weekly circulation of at least 200,000 copies.
Garvey understood the power in Africans reclaiming control of the historical narrative and embraced the African revolutionary tradition.
Marcus Garvey organized the largest African Revolutionary organization in history--the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).  The UNIA was formed in Jamaica in 1914 following Garvey’s return to the country of his birth.  Marcus Garvey brought the UNIA to the United States in 1916.
On this episode of the People’s War Radio show, Dexter and I will discuss the legacy of Marcus Garvey and our place in it.  We will share some of the music that has upheld Marcus Garvey, discuss his significance to political organization nowadays, and present excerpts from a speech given by Chairman Omali Yeshitela on the continued significance of Marcus Garvey.
This episode features the following:
Excerpts from Chairman Omali Yeshitela's speech to the 2020 InPDUM Convention on Garvey entitled "100 Years Later, It's Still Red, Black and Green"
A conversation between Dexter and Matsemela about the internationalist significance of the Red, Black and Green Flag that linked the African Nation to anticolonial struggles in the Middle East
A variety of cultural pieces such as:
Elikya Ngoma's "Liberate the Minds" featuring Marcus Garvey
Amy Jacques Garvey's "This Flag of Mine" performed by Michelle, Mayasa and Malika Odom
Bob Marley's "Redemption Song"
Lauryn Hill's "So Much Things to Say"
The People's War radio show 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.
 

The People's War Radio Show, Episode #71: Black August: Free our political prisoners!

Today’s episode is dedicated to the struggle for the release of African political prisoners, in honor of Black August. 
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.
Black August was started by incarcerated Africans in California in observance of the death of George Jackson. It’s now honored as 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.  
Black August is a month of Remembrance and Resistance, especially dedicated to our African warriors imprisoned for their heroic stance fighting for African liberation.
In this episode, we bring you excerpts from presenters at the 12th Annual Convention of the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations, held August 7th and 8th 2021.
The theme of this year's Convention was “Deepening the Resistance to Police Terror: Honoring our Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War, Black Community Control of the Police”. 
In this program, we hear from:
Omali Yeshitela, Chairman of the African People's Socialist Party and of the Black is Back Coalition.
Sekou Odinga, former political prisoner, released in 2014 after spending 33 years in prison. Sekou a was a member of Malcolm X's Organization of Afro-American Unity, a founding member of the New York chapter of the Black Panther Party and a combatant in the Black Liberation Army. 
Jaan Laaman, member of the Ohio 7 who was convicted of “seditious conspiracy,” along with other members of the United Freedom Front. He was released from McCreary federal prison in May 2021, after 37 years in captivity.
For more information on the Black Is Back Coalition, visit blackisbackcoalition.org. To request a free monthly subscription of The Burning Spear newspaper for a prisoner, visit theburningspear.com.

The People's War Show, Episode #70: Tribute to Glen Ford, African freedom fighter

This episode of The People’s War show is dedicated to remembering the life and work of Glen Ford, heroic journalist and African freedom fighter, with commentary by:
Nia Ford, Glen's daughter
Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Founder of the No Fear Coalition and the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition
New York State Assemblymember Charles Barron
Efia Nwangaza, manager of WMXP radio in Greenville, South Carolina
Nellie Bailey of Harlem Fight Back Against War at Home & Abroad
Zaki Baruti, President General of the Universal African People’s Organization
Belinda Parker-Brown, CEO of Louisiana United International
Chairman Omali Yeshitela, African People's Socialist Party
Glen Ford was the son of the famed disc jockey Rudy “The Deuce” Rutherford, the first Black man to host a non-gospel television show in the Deep South – Columbus, Georgia, in 1958. 
Glen was reading newswire copy on-the-air at age eleven. His first full-time broadcast news job was at James Brown’s Augusta, Georgia radio station WRDW, in 1970 – where ‘The Godfather of Soul” shortened Glen’s last name to “Ford.”
Comrade Glen worked as a newsperson at four more local stations: in Columbus, Georgia, Atlanta, and Baltimore – where he created his first radio syndication, a half-hour weekly news magazine called “Black World Report” – and Washington, DC. 
In 1974, Glen Ford joined the Mutual Black Network of 88 stations, where he served as Capitol Hill, State Department and White House correspondent, and Washington Bureau Chief, while also producing a daily radio commentary. 
In 1977, Ford co-launched, produced and hosted “America’s Black Forum” (ABF), the first nationally syndicated Black news interview program on commercial television. ABF made Black broadcast history. For the next four years, the program generated national and international headlines nearly every week. 
Never before – and never since – had a Black news entity commanded the weekly attention of the news services (AP, UPI, Reuters, Agence France-Presse – even Tass, the Soviet news agency) and the broadcast networks.
In 1987, Ford launched “Rap It Up,” the first nationally syndicated Hip Hop music show, broadcasted on 65 radio stations. During its six years of operations, “Rap It Up” allowed Ford to play an important role in the maturation of a new African musical genre. He organized three national rap music conventions, and wrote the Hip Hop column for Jack The Rapper’s Black radio trade magazine.
In addition to his broadcast and Internet experience, Glen Ford was a national political columnist for Encore magazine; founded The Black Commentator and Africana Policies magazines; authored The Big Lie: An Analysis of U.S. Media Coverage of the Grenada Invasion; and served as reporter and editor for three newspapers.
Comrade Glen was a founding member of the Washington chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; executive board member of the National Alliance of Third World Journalists; and media specialist for the National Minority Purchasing Council.
In October, 2006, Ford and the former writing team of the Black Commentator launched BlackAgendaReport.com, a reliable and prolific source of information and analysis from the black left. He also partnered with Nellie Bailey to produce Black Agenda Radio, a weekly news program syndicated across the U.S. 
In 2008, Comrade Glen become a co-founder of the Black is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations. 
He had been an outspoken critic of Barack Obama from the beginning of Obama’s candidacy. He was in communication with the Uhuru Movement after our 2008 protest at Obama’s St. Petersburg, Florida campaign stop where our demand that he address the question “What about the Black Community?” drew national attention to Obama’s silence on black issues.
For 12 years, Comrade Glen delivered dynamic presentations to the annual Black is Back Coalition’s Marches on Washington, conferences and training schools. His thorough research and insightful analysis brought clarity to the political situation faced by Africans and other oppressed peoples in today’s world.

The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #69: Africans continue fight against COVID, Vaccine protocols issued

The Covid-19 Delta Variant has caused a new surge in the United States and other parts of the world.  The Delta Variant of Covid-19 was first noticed in India in December 2020. It subsequently spread rapidly through India as well as places like South Africa, the United Kingdom and Canada.  The first United States cases of the Delta Variant were found in March 2021.  
There has been widespread political resistance to Covid-19 vaccines.  Some opportunists in the colonial media have intentionally spread misinformation about vaccines even while being vaccinated themselves. 
Many Africans have remained rightfully skeptical because of the history of colonial medicine’s experimentation on African people. 
About 56 percent of the US population above the age of 12 have been vaccinated but reports suggest that many of the unvaccinated have no plans on getting vaccinated.
Project Black Ankh and the All African People’s Development and Empowerment Project has really risen to the occasion and provided the leadership the African Nation has needed over the last 16 months.  They have been a steady source of honest information in defense of the African working class.
In this episode, Dr. Aisha Fields discusses the updated Project Black Ankh Covid-19 Protocols and vaccine recommendations.  She places the vaccine recommendations into political context, discusses the deliberate misinformation that has been circulated to disarm African people, the role Project Black Ankh's fight against the Ebola Virus played in shaping their Covid-19 Campaign, Covid-19 and neocolonial misleadership in Africa, and the successes and future of Project Black Ankh.
Dr. Aisha Fields is a physicist who became the International Director of the All African People’s Development & Empowerment Project, a non-profit organization founded in 2007.
As the group’s Director, Dr. Aisha is responsible for coordinating African community-led health care, agricultural and educational programs throughout the U.S., on the continent of Africa, and in African communities world-wide.
They’ve built clean water systems, vocational and nursery schools, community farms, maternity centers and a variety of youth and adult educational programs.
They also established the Project Black Ankh to provide African community-based disaster relief, responding to hurricanes in Texas, Ebola in Sierra Leone and now, COVID-19 worldwide.
The People's War radio show 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.

The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #68: Africans struggle for Bread, Peace, and Black Power in Southern Africa

From July 9 to July 17 Africans took to the streets of South Africa in protest of the neocolonial government and brutal conditions they live under.  As well, the African working class in the neighboring country of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, have also risen up in protest.
The colonial media has tried to explain the uprisings in South Africa as support for the jailed former-president Jacob Zuma.  South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has echoed the talking points of the former apartheid regime by blaming the unrests on agitation.
Covid-19, unemployment, and other immediate factors have also been pinpointed by some analysts as the cause for the unrest. 
Our guests in this episode identify the central contradiction that has defined the global uprising of the African working class over the last year--colonialism; the political and economic exploitation of African people by foreign and alien powers. 
Our guests place the uprisings in Southern Africa into the context of the global uprising of African people over the last year.  They identify the current uprisings in Southern Africa as part of the struggle to complete the Black Revolution of the 1960s and place the control of African resources into the hands of African people. 
Our guests talk about a variety of topic:
The South Africa Uprising
The ongoing protests in Eswatini
The history of settler-colonialism in South Africa
Neocolonialism and the ANC government
The culture, education and African Unity from South Africa to the United States; with a focus on the revolutionary use of hip-hop and reggae
The Bread, Peace and Black Power Campaign
We are joined by three organizers on the ground in South Africa: Tafarie Mugeri, Asa Anpu and Zakhele Mkhondo.
 
Tafarie Mugeri is the Chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party Occupied Azania.  Chairman Tafarie is also the Director of Organization for Africa.  Under Tafarie’s leadership, the African Socialist International has grown throughout various regions of Southern, Western and East Africa.  
 
 
Asa is the Secretary General for APSP Occupied Azania.  Asa is also the director of the Better Life Association, a non-profit organization, dedicated to solving the problems of healthcare, education, and skills development in the townships.
 
 
 
Zakhele is the President of the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement in South Africa. 
 
 
 
 
The People's War radio show 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.

The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #67: Haiti and the Global Black Revolution

On July 7, Jovenel Moise, the president of Haiti was assassinated at his home in Petion-Ville.  His wife, Martine Moise was critically injured in the attack and was transported to the United States for emergency medical care.  Moise’s presidency had been marked by mass protests and political crises.  Still, his assassination came as a sudden surprise to many.
This news came as a shock to the world and especially to the people of Haiti; even those whohad been demanding that he step down from office as well as those of us who recognized himas a puppet of the white power imperialists and ruling class were caught “off-guard” by thisnews.
People are asking: Who did it and why? Who had access to his house? Who took Martine to the hospital?  Likely, the biggest question is who will will succeed Jovenel Moise in running Haiti, who had ruled by decree since October 2019?
The assassination of Jovenel Moise is not an isolated incident.  It is instead part of a series of events that reflects the deepening crisis of colonial-capitalism.  From Haiti to South Africa to Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland), the African working class has risen up.
On today’s episode of The People’s War show we bring you excerpts from a July 12, 2021 webinar entitled “Haiti:  Global Black Revolution”, organized by the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) to address the current situation.
On this episode you will hear excerpts from Elikya Ngoma, Secretary General Luwezi Kinshasa, Penny Hess, Chairwoman of the African People's Solidarity Committee and Chairman Omali Yeshitela, head of the APSP and Founder of the Uhuru Movement.
Elikya Ngoma's family is from Haiti.  She is the Haiti Editor for The Burning Spear Newspaper.  She is also the author of our theme song "Colonialvirus". 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Luwezi Kinshasa is the Secretary General of the African Socialist International.   SG Luwezi was born and raised in the Congo and speaks multiple languages. He is now based in London and works as an educator and organizer in African communities throughout Europe and the continent of Africa.  He writes a monthly column in The Burning Spear Newspaper titled “The  Kinshasa International”.
Penny Hess is the Chairwoman of the African People’s Solidarity Committee.  Penny describes the legacy of European colonialism and the role of colonial expropriation in building white society. She calls for a self-criticism from white people in the form of reparations.  She is the author of Overturning the Culture of Violence.
 
 
Chairman Omali Yeshitela is leader and founder of the Uhuru Movement.  Over the past five decades, Chairman Omali has initiated campaigns to defend the democratic rights of the African community, to organize and raise up African women, to mobilize opposition to U.S. wars and to popularize the demand for reparations to African people.  He’s built the worldwide Uhuru Movement and the African Socialist International with branches in the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean and on the continent of Africa.
 
 
 
 
The People's War radio show is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Muambi Tangu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.

The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #66: Indigenous People of Canada the genocidal legacy of colonial education

On May 27, 2021 a mass grave with the remains of 215 children was found at Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia Canada. On June 25th, Chief of the Cowess Nation reported that on June 2 they had embarked on a mission to search for unmarked graves, and found a mass grave of 751 remains in the southeast corner of the Saskatchewan province at the cemetery of the former Marieval Indian Residential School.
These discoveries have rocked Canada and soured this year’s commemoration of Canada Day, celebrated as Canada’s birthday, on July 1st.
The Indian Residential Schools was a network of boarding schools created by the colonial government of Canada for indigenous children and usually operated by Christian church organizations. Similar to the Carlisle Indian School in the United States, residential schools operated in Canada from 1883 to 1996.
In response to the discovery of these mass Residential School graves, a series of fires have been set at churches across Canada.
At the same time, we see a rash of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and a continued struggle of Native people in Canada against the foster care system and the prison system.
To discuss this with us today on The People’s War Radio Show, we have Darren Lathlin-Torpe and Xach Williams.
Darren Lathlin-Torpe is a member of the Cree Nation and lives in Calgary, Alberta. Darren has worked in the oil industry in Canada and the United States. Darren’s family has direct experience with the Indian Residential Schools and he and his family have spoken out against them.  Darren is an advocate for the return of Indigenous people to their culture.
Dr. Xach Williams is originally from Seattle WA. Dr. Williams received his PhD in Ethnic Studies from University of California San Diego in 2019 and before that completed a BA in Comparative Ethnic Studies at Washington State University in 2011. Dr. Williams’s dissertation titled Didn’t It Rain? explores the ways that material conditions of anti-black racism, segregation, and exclusion affect the development of the Pacific Northwest from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries.
The People's War radio show is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Muambi Tangu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.

The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #65: Black women athletes spark controversy at U.S. Olympic Trials

The United States Track and Field Olympic Trials were held from June 18 to June 27 in Eugene, Oregon.  The US trials are the first step for US athletes to compete in the Summer Olympic Games.  This year’s Olympic games are shaping up to be historic on many levels.  
African women athletes have taken center stage in these trials, creating a buzz and sparking controversy in both colonial and social media.  At the Olympic Trials, sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and hammer thrower Gwen Berry have made significant political statements in their performances and protests. 
Slanderous comments about Richardson’s sexuality and gender have been made.  Many critics have disapproved of the record-setting sprinter’s hair, tattoos, and body piercings.  Berry, who has been an outspoken critic of anti-African violence, publicly protested the US National Anthem at the Olympic trials.  We talk about this today and more. 
We place the Summer Olympic Games into the context of colonial capitalism and speak with three track and field athletes about the significance of the sport to the African community. In this episode we discuss:
Gwen Berry's heroic stance
Sha'Carri Richardson's impact on track and field
Covid-19's effect on track and field athletes
The struggles of African people, particularly African women, in Track and Field
The greater impact athletes can have on society
All of our guests challenge athletes, amateur and professional, to put their community first and make a difference outside of the arena.
Our first guest is Kundai Bajikikayi.  Kundai is the membership coordinator for the All African People’s Development and Empowerment Project.  She is also a former track and field coach and standout collegiate runner. 
 
 
 
 
Our second guest is James Boomer Harris.  Boomer was an all-american athlete for Florida State University and now competes professionally.  Boomer has competed for the US team in the past. 
 
 
 
Our final guest is Coach Charles "Chuck" Ryan. Coach Ryan works at the University of California Berkeley and was an all-american runner at the University of South Carolina.  
 
 
 
 
The People's War radio show is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Muambi Tangu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.
 

The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #64: Juneteenth Not Yet Uhuru: Africans fight for control of history, salute African heroes

On June 17, 2021 President Joseph R. Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act making Juneteenth a national holiday.  The establishment of Juneteenth as a federal holiday in the United States marks a particular moment in the African struggle over the power of history and remembrance in the US with international implications.  Some people in the mainstream have celebrated this as a historical landmark but many in the African working class masses have met this with a mixture of skepticism and outright rejection.  They see it as an empty gesture that avoids the meaningful political struggles waging. 
The colonial narration of history suggests that Juneteenth celebrates the bestowing of freedom on Africans in Texas by US Army General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865.  However, as today's guest notes, Africans were not given freedom, Africans took their freedom!
Juneteenth actually emerged from a long tradition of African holidays created in opposition to colonial-capitalist powers and as a direct antagonism towards the colonial slave holding class and their descendants.  There were a host of other celebrations. Africans celebrated the Haitian Revolution and in Virginia and the Carolinas, African flauntingly celebrated Surrender Day.  Africans were historically ridiculed, attacked, and jailed for their public festivals. This included the earliest of Juneteenth Festivals. 
In this episode we talk to an organizer of the Omowale Kefing Juneteenth Freedom Festival, also known as Juneteenth Not Yet Uhuru, from Houston, Texas, Chiwoniso Luzolo.
Some topics discussed are:
The 2021 Omowale Kefing Juneteenth Freedom Festival
The late African hero Omowale Kefing and his mother Gwen Archie
The meaning of Juneteenth Not Yet Uhuru
The continued struggle of Africans in Texas for Freedom including the problems of gentrification, food apartheid and Covid-19
The All African People's Development and Empowerment Project programs: Project Black Ankh and the Marcus Garvey Youth Programs
Education and history in the hands of Black people
In the spirit of Juneteenth Not Yet Uhuru, we also showcase some great music and a public tribute to Omowale Kefing.  This is the first public Juneteenth Not Yet Uhuru without Kefing. 
Chiwoniso Luzolo is a member of the African People's Socialist Party and serves as the Information and Education Coordinator and Secretary for the All African People’s Development and Empowerment Project.  She coordinates the Marcus Garvey Youth Program where she is developing a curriculum for African children and parents.  Chiwoniso works with the Gwen Archie Community Garden in the 5th Ward of Houston, Texas, the location of the annual Juneteenth Not Yet Uhuru festivals.
The People's War radio show is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Muambi Tangu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.
 

The People’s War Radio Show, Episode #63: To Protect, Preserve, And Perpetuate: Black Music and Black Power

June is Black Music Month.  Black Music Month emerged as a form of resistance to colonial domination of African people, African culture, and the African narrative.  It was created in the late 1970s by the famous music producer from Philadelphia, Kenny Gamble and the Black Music Association. The original theme of Black Music Month was to “preserve, protect and perpetuate black music.”  However, the narrative of Black Music Month has been depoliticized. 
Popular news sources have credited President Jimmy Carter with creating the observance.  As well, President Barack Obama rebranded the month, African American Music Appreciation month and noted that amongst other things Black music, allowed Black people in the US to "defend our country's enduring promise of freedom and opportunity for all."
Our guests on this episode, DJ Eddie Maultsby and Norman Jalali Richmond, give a different narrative.  They uphold the African music tradition as internationalist, anti-colonial, and a source of Black Power.
Some topics discussed are:
Black musicians during the Civil Rights and Black Power Movement
Fela Kuti, Peter Tosh, Aretha Franklin, Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, Eddie Maultsby and the Florida Spiritualaires, Sam Cooke and other musicians
The origins of Gospel Music as a form of resistance to colonial slavery
The guests also connect the significance of music to their own personal stories.
This episode includes some great samples of music such as:
Bob Marley and the Wailers "Burnin' and Lootin'"
Max Roach feat. Abbey Lincoln "Freedom Day"
Sam Cooke "A Change is Gonna Come"
Fannie Lou Hamer "Walk with Me" and "Amazing Grace"
Eddie Maultsby and the Florida Spiritualaires  "Ain't No Love Like Jesus"
DJ Eddie is known as Florida’s Blind Boy and the World’s Best Blind DJ, DJ Eddie is the Assistant Station Manager at Black Power 96.  He is born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida and spent over 35 years playing music for the community in downtown St. Pete.  As soon as he heard about Black Power 96 and its mission, he united with Black Power 96.  He has been with the station ever since. DJ Eddie’s musical specialty is gospel music.
Norman Jalali Richmond, was born in Louisiana and raised in Los Angeles, California.  He moved to Canada in the late-1960s where he became an early leader in the African Liberation Movement in Canada.  Jalali has dedicated his life to revolutionary cultural work. He has worked with a host of musicians such as Bob Marley, Abbey Lincoln, Hugh Masekela, and Fela Kuti.  Jalali is the host and producer of the “Diasporic Music” show on Black Power 96 FM radio in St. Petersburg, Florida. 
“Diasporic Music” provides an all-African mix of music and politics that is quote “made in the West but is not of the West” unquote.  “Diasporic Music” Airs: Every Sunday, 2pm to 4pm Eastern Time
The People's War radio show is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Muambi Tangu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.