Black Power Talks

The People's War Radio Show, Episode #50: Free Mumia! Interview with Mike Africa, Jr.

66-year-old black political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal has tested positive for COVID-19, is having trouble breathing, has congestive heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver due to delayed hepatitis C treatment.
Mumia joined the Black Panther Party at age 14. By age 16 he was Lieutenant of Information for the Panthers. He served as President of the Philadelphia Black Journalists Association. When the MOVE Family Africa was brutally attacked and their house burned by Philadelphia police under the direction of the notorious mayor Frank Rizzo in 1978, Mumia was MOVE's most vocal defender. 
In 1981 Mumia was framed for the murder of a Philadelphia cop. He was initially sentenced to death, reduced to life in prison without parole in response to public pressure. People around the world continue to demand his immediate release. 
We talk with Mike Africa, Jr., son of Debbie and Mike Africa, two of the survivors of the 1978 police attack on the MOVE house. Debbie and Mike Sr. were among the 9 MOVE members framed for the murder of the Philadelphia cop who died on the scene of the attack. Debbie was 8 months pregnant at the time and gave birth to Mike Jr. in prison. 
The program includes statements in support of Mumia from former San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick and MOVE member Pam Africa, as well as a recording of Mumia from prison and Mike Africa Jr.'s 2020 release "Time to Rise".
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 #49: Justice for Kevin Desir who died in custody of Broward County, FL Sheriffs

On January 27, 2021, Kevin Desir, a 43-year-old black man, died in the custody of the Broward County (Florida) Sheriffs Department - a week after an "altercation" with jail staff had left him in a vegetative state with irreversible brain injury.
Desir had been arrested and charged with possession of marijuana despite the fact that he holds a legal medical marijuana card issued by the state of Florida.
He is survived by a loving family including two young daughters. His brother Mikco said Kevin had "dealt with mental illness for 21-22 years, but he didn’t let that define him. He worked full time. He was an entrepreneur. “
Desir's family has asked Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony to release the a video of the incident that resulted in Desir's death. Tony has so far refused, claiming the video is confidential and exempt under Florida law. 
We talk with Life Malcolm, longtime Tampa community organizer and legal assistant with the Tampa Asilia Law Firm that is representing Desir's family. 
We discuss the legacy of police violence against the African community across the state of Florida, the call for "Black Community Control of the Police" and Desir's family's efforts to obtain video recordings of the actions taken by Broward Sheriffs deputies that resulted in Desir's death.
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 #48: “Judas and the Black Messiah”, COINTELPRO and African martyrs, part2

In this episode we talk with African People's Socialist Party Chairman about the recently released movie, Judas and the Black Messiah, putting it in context of the far-reaching U.S. government counterinsurgency program that militarily defeated the Black Power movement of the 1960s.
Judas and the Black Messiah recounts the FBI COINTELPRO (counterintelligence program) responsible for the assassinations of Illinois Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton and member Mark Clark.
Chairman Omali Yeshitela is leader of the international struggle for the unification and liberation of Africa and African people. He is the founder of The Burning Spear newspaper and the Uhuru Movement, with branches and programs throughout the U.S., Africa and Europe. 
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 #47: "Judas and the Black Messiah", COINTELPRO and African martyrs, part 1

On February 12, 2021, Judas and the Black Messiah, was released in theaters and on HBO. The film recounts the FBI COINTELPRO (counterintelligence program) responsible for the assassinations of Illinois Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton and member Mark Clark.
We talk with L.A.-based activist, hip-hop artist, writer and student Honey Blu about the film and the legacy of the counterintelligence programs' war against the Black Power Movement of the 1960s.
Besides Judas and the Black Messiah, we also touch on Regina King’s motion picture One Night In Miami, 41st and Central and the HBO documentary film, Bastard of the Party.
This episode includes musical selections from former Panther leader Elaine Brown and from Honey Blu.
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 #46: "How the streets were made", interview with Yelena Bailey

In this episode we talk with Dr. Yelena Bailey, author of How the Streets Were Made: Housing Segregation and Black Life in America.  The hood, the ghetto, the streets, regardless of what we call it, in her new book, Dr. Bailey argues that the streets are not just a physical geographical space but that they are a “ sociocultural entity that has influenced our understanding of blackness in America for decades.”
Dr. Bailey explains the role of government policies, advertising campaigns, colonial social sciences, and popular culture plays in shaping the confinement of Africans within these urban spaces.  A tradition of domestic and settler colonialism that she ties to the death of George Floyd.  
She explains the impacts of:
Creation of the FHA and redlining in undermining black homeownership
“The Secret of Selling the Negro”, a 1954 marketing film created by Johnson publications the parent company of Ebony magazine
"Boyz in the Hood", "Snowfall", "The Wire"
She also talks about African resistance and the way African cultural production reflects that resistance. The program includes excerpts from and discussion of music by the Fugees, Nipsey Hussle, Kendrick Lamar and Buddy.
Dr. Bailey was raised in the Minneapolis area and earned her Ph.D. in literature at the University of California, San Diego.  She has taught at a number of universities and colleges including Seattle Pacific University.
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 #45: African women organizing collective childcare and resisting the colonial state

In this week's episode we talk with Yejide Orunmila, President of the African National Women's Organization (ANWO) about:
Black Community Control of Childcare and the building of the Uhuru Kijiji Childcare Collectives in the U.S. and around the world
Struggles to defend African families and prevent Child Protective Services from taking African children from their homes
Critiquing "bourgeois feminism" and building African self-determination
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 #44: African workers of the world unite and organize.

African people on the continent, in Europe, in the Caribbean and in the U.S. are facing dire conditions of poverty, lack of healthcare during a pandemic, denial of quality education and housing, and suffering violent oppression from the police and military occupation forces.
This episode's guests are African Internationalists - leaders of the African People's Socialist Party -working to unify and liberate African and African people worldwide. They join us to discuss today's common experiences of Africans in the U.S. and Africa, and tomorrow's vision for the end of colonial capitalism. 
Chimurenga Selembao was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, he's is a lifelong member of the Uhuru Movement currently based in St. Louis, Missouri.  As the National Director of Organization for the African People’s Socialist Party USA, Chimurenga guides the work of Uhuru Movement organizations in the United States.
Tafarie Mugeri is the African Socialist International's Director of Organization for Africa. He's from Occupied Azania (South Africa) and organizes African workers throughout South, West and East Africa.  

The People's War Radio Show, Episode #43: All eyes on Louisiana, Justice for Reverend Errol Victor

Today's episode looks at the campaign for the release of Reverend Errol Victor, framed and imprisoned in retaliation for challenging the system in Louisiana. We talk with:
Belinda Parker-Brown, founder of Louisiana United International, Inc., and member of the Black is Back Coalition for Peace, Justice and Reparations.
Dr. Zena D. Crenshaw, Assistant Chief of Operations for Louisiana United International, Inc., legal scholar and human rights activist.

The People's War Radio Show, Episode#42: 60th anniversary of the assassination Congo's Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Lumumba was elected the first Prime Minister of the Congo and took power on June 30, 1960.  Within months, Lumumba was forced out of office.  On January 17, 1961, Lumumba was assassinated under the leadership of the United States and other imperial powers. 
The assassination of Patrice Lumumba reverberated throughout the African world.  In the United States, Africans rushed the floor of the United Nations in protest.  In Cairo, protestors surrounded the United States embassy and set an embassy car ablaze.  In Belgrade, the Belgian embassy was attacked.  In London, people took to the streets and marched in protest from Trafalgar Square to the Belgian embassy.  Argued by some to be the most significant political assassination of the 20th century, the murder of Patrice Lumumba was a critical lesson in the rise of neocolonialism.
We talk with Luwezi Kinshasa, Secretary General of the African Socialist International about the significance of the Patrice Lumumba and the future of the struggle for African liberation in the Congo.
SG Luwezi was born and raised in the Congo and speaks 7 languages. He is now based in London and works as an educator and organizer in African communities throughout Europe and the continent of Africa. 
SG Luwezi has come to be known as Mwalimu, meaning "respected teacher" in Swahili.  He writes a monthly column in The Burning Spear Newspaper titled “Kinshasa International” and conducts regular livestream broadcasts to the African nation on Facebook in English and in French.

The People's War Radio Show, Episode #41: Celebrate Haitian Independence Day, Vive Ayiti!

January 1, 2021 marked the 217th anniversary of the Haitian revolution against French colonialism. We talk with Elikya Ngoma, Haiti Editor for The Burning Spear newspaper and musical artist.
Elikya's family is from Haiti, she speaks Kreyòl and maintains a close connection to politics in Haiti. She is also a singer and musician who has just released an album "Freedom in the Mix" featuring freedom songs in various genres and languages.
In this interview we talked with Elikya about:
The African Revolution in Haiti, the first successful workers' revolution
Legacy and philosophy of Haitian General Jean Jacques Dessaline
Highlights of the Haitian anti-slavery constitution and promise
Ongoing French looting of the Haitian treasury
Review of the recent Haitian film “Douvan Jou Ka Leve”
Revolutionary culture and the process of producing "Freedom in the Mix"