Black Agenda Radio for week of August 28, 2017
Oligarchs Cannibalize the Economy
At this late stage of capitalism, “there’s nothing that’s going to impede their cannibalizing for profit,” said veteran journalist and author Chris Hedges. The events in Charlottesville show “we’re certainly headed for some violent acts of disintegration.”
Sessions Stifles Dissent
In seeking the identities of 1.3 million visitors to a web site for protests against Donald Trump’s inauguration, last January, Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department is “trying to silence and chill and intimidate people from speaking out,” said Chip Gibbons, of Defending Rights and Dissent. Two hundred people face prison terms for the inaugural protests.
Prisoners Reject Slavery
The August 19 Millions for Prisoners Human Rights rallies across the country were highly successful, despite lockdowns in some state prisons. The rallies focused on the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which created an exception clause that made prison slavery legal, said prison abolitionist Brother Dee.
The “Curtain Falls” on Dick Gregory
Comedian and social activist Dick Gregory was targeted for surveillance and disruption by the COINTELPRO. “It’s chilling to note that the FBI regarded Gregory as as a ‘militant Black nationalist,’ and his file was under the name “Black Nationalist Hate Groups,” said said Mumia Abu Jamal, the nation’s best known political prisoner.
Israel Lobby Throttles the Constitution
The U.S. House has passed, and the Senate is considering, a bill designed to break the back of the Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions movement. “Here we have Israel’s proponents basically trying to carve out an exemption in the First Amendment that would imprison people for up to 20 years for supporting an international government boycott of Israel,” said Josh Reubner, of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.
Black Agenda Radio on the Progressive Radio Network is hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey. A new edition of the program airs every Monday at 11:am ET on PRN. Length: one hour.
The people of Ethiopia are understandably relieved that a peace agreement now exists between their government and the TPLF. But aspects of the agreement may allow the U.S. to continue the conflict…
The day known as Thanksgiving is an opportunity to remember how the settler colonial state began its genocide against both indigenous people and enslaved Africans.
Glen Ford wrote many powerful essays, but his unflinching analysis of the history of the holiday we call Thanksgiving endures nearly 20 years after he wrote it.
Glen Ford's posthumously published book, The Black Agenda, is a testament to the enduring power of his work.
The Ujima People's Progress Party is organizing outside of the duopoly in an effort to gain true political representation for Black working people.
