Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

White Supremacy Goes Back to the Crusades
Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
12 Nov 2019
🖨️ Print Article

The roots of western European anti-Blackness lie in the Middle Ages, in the Crusades to seize Arab lands, said Cord Whitaker, a professor at Wellesley College and author of “Black Metaphors: How Racism Emerged from Medieval Race-Thinking.” It was during this era that “you started to see the idea that darkness of skin, blackness, denoted potential evil,” said Whitaker. “It was still not the racial ideology we have today, but it was an important step in getting there.”

white supremacy

Related Podcasts

BAR Radio
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Black Agenda Radio September 11, 2026
11 September 2026
In this week’s segment, we discuss the 55th anniversary and legacy of the 1971 Attica prison revolt. But we begin with the history of W.E.B.
Gerald Horne
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Gerald Horne, "Black and Red: Du Bois and the Afro American response to the Cold War, 1944-63"
11 September 2026
Our guest is Dr.
Patriot Front in DC
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
Opposing Patriot Front and White Supremacist Groups
10 July 2026
Daryle Lamont Jenkins is founder of One People’s Project, which seeks to combat and exp

More Stories


  • Protest for Eritrea
    Dr. Fikrejesus Amahazion
    Eritrea's Defiance and Independence Remain Its Supreme Crime
    10 Oct 2023
    Eritrea has been the target of a media campaign orchestrated by the US and its allies who act in collusion with corporate media. These narratives demonize Eritrea and seek to weaken this country…
  • Kenyan High Court
    Dzyuya Walter
    High Court Blocks Deployment Of Kenyan Police To Haiti
    10 Oct 2023
    The Kenyan government has been temporarily blocked from sending a police force to occupy Haiti, a U.S. instigated plot to undermine the sovereignty of that nation.
  • Cover of "Thinking While Black"
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Daniel McNeil’s Book, “Thinking While Black”
    10 Oct 2023
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Daniel McNeil. McNeil is a professor in the Department of History at Queen’s…
  • Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the African People's Socialist Party
    David S. D'Amato
    The FBI’s Long History of Criminalizing Dissent
    10 Oct 2023
    The indictment of the Uhuru 3 is part of a long history of persecution and prosecution of the Black liberation movement.
  • Drawing of woman in front of a fire
    James Patrick Jordan
    Don’t Be Confused About Haiti
    10 Oct 2023
    The lies that are told about Haiti are so deeply ingrained that people who should know better believe that the next occupation will cure all of that country's ills. In fact, Haiti's problems are the…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us