| Black Agenda Report

by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
A Tale of Self-Serving Black Journalists and the Corporate Duopoly
17 Jan 2019
Diversity insulates the bosses from criticism by large elements of the oppressed classes, while posing little or no threat to capital and the rule of rich white men. “NABJ should forever be cursed and shunned as the most narrowly self-serving and cowardly manifestation of Black…
Eric Blanc
Billionaires vs. LA Schools
23 Jan 2019
A cabal of oligarchs has targeted Los Angeles public schools for hostile private takeover. “About 18 percent of Los Angeles students now attend charter schools, a rate far higher than in the rest of the country.” Unlike many labor actions, the Los Angeles teachers’ strike is not really about wages…
Vijay Prashad
America Has Its Gunsights on Venezuela
23 Jan 2019
The Trump administration brazenly calls for a coup in the oil-rich nation. “Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela face economic sanctions and embargoes, threats of annihilation, covert operations and war.” On January 10—Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for his second term as president of Venezuela. “I tell the…
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers
Beyond NATO: Time to Break the Silence, End NATO’s Militarism
23 Jan 2019
Dr King would be opposed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) because it is an instrument of US and European militarism. “King described how the US keeps troops in foreign lands to ‘maintain social stability for our investments accounts.’”
Michelle Alexander
Time to Break the Silence on Palestine
23 Jan 2019
If we are to honor King’s message and not merely the man, we must condemn Israel’s actions. “Israel has adopted some practices reminiscent of apartheid in South Africa and Jim Crow segregation in the United States.”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Darius Bost’s “Evidence of Being”
23 Jan 2019
With the face of AIDS having changed from white gay men to non-whites, it is wise to tap into an earlier radical tradition. “Racial and sexual trauma converged during the early era of AIDS.”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Amber Musser’s “Sensual Excess”
23 Jan 2019
The author examines the framing power of sexuality as an ideology of respectability and control. “Artists often work at the boundaries of the historical and the imaginary.”
Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
23 Jan 2019
This week we present readers’ thoughts on Kamala Harris, fact checking in the media, and possibilities for the Green New Deal.
by BAR contributor Danny Haiphong
Can the “Wretched” Rule? On Socialism, the State, and the Future of Humanity
23 Jan 2019
it is merely a fantasy to believe that the struggle to bring socialism in the United States will not involve a revolutionary struggle against the state. “Socialism certainly won’t arrive because a Democrat speaks its name.”
by BAR editor and columnist Ajamu Baraka
Arrest of Marzieh Hashemi Reveals Nature of Bipartisan Police State
23 Jan 2019
The only reason our sister is being held captive is to once again demonstrate how a runaway slave is treated. “Even the Bill of Rights doesn’t provide protections when you have been designated an enemy of the state.” Arresting PressTV’s Marzieh Hashemi on no criminal charges demonstrates by any…