| Black Agenda Report

C. Liegh McInnis
From Peoples to Bynum: A Brief History of Jackson State's Leadership Struggle
26 Feb 2020
Mississippi’s ability to sabotage Black public higher education is enhanced by the state’s power to choose compliant Negroes as administrators. “State college boards across the country continue to play musical chairs with HBCU presidents.”
Broke-ass Stuart
The Expanded Moms4Housing Bill Could Change the Whole Game
26 Feb 2020
Although the moms were evicted, their example inspired ground-breaking housing legislation for Oakland, California. “This bill has the potential to help thousands of Oaklanders not only to stay in our community, but also to build a stable and secure future here through a pathway to home…
Russell Rickford
Building the New Antiwar Movement
26 Feb 2020
Will a new wave of activism finally produce a real mass movement against “boundless” militarism? “An uncompromising antiwar campaign will indict the warmakers and their corporate cronies.” Is a genuine antiwar movement reemerging in the U.S., the citadel of military worship? Will we witness the…
Thad Baltimore
Is Joe Biden Really More Electable?
26 Feb 2020
Could it be that electability, as applied to Biden, is some form of racial dog whistle? “Biden’s record of anti-black legislation explains why he would also be appealing to Trump supporters.”
William C. Anderson
Let’s Not Glorify the Law: The Slave Trade Used to Be Legal
26 Feb 2020
The law is a shaky foundation to rest on, particularly for Black people and other marginalized communities. “An assumption that the courts will deliver ‘justice” regularly ignores the fact that Black people have never known such a thing.”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Marc Ross’s “Slavery in the North”
26 Feb 2020
The roots of racial differences have to do with the past treatment of enslaved people in the North as well as the South. “Most Northerners today have little knowledge of the prior history of enslavement and discrimination in their own region.”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: S.N. Nyeck’s “Routledge Handbook of Queer African Studies”
26 Feb 2020
The author provides a “queer” perspective on African identities, politics and economies. “The clash of perspectives on difference, inclusion, gender and sexual diversity is very much present on the African continent.”
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
26 Feb 2020
This week readers discussed the Bloomberg campaign. We share your letters for “Bloomberg Wants to Swallow the Democrats and Spit Out the Sandernistas” and “Freedom Rider: Bloomberg is Worse Than Trump.”
Dante James
Kobe Bryant Touched Many Lives, But Celebrity Worship is an Opiate
26 Feb 2020
Is big media really concerned for Kobe’s family, friends and community, or with Bryant’s corporate value as a black celebrity, an apolitical athlete and a commodity? “Black religious leaders, black media, academic and political leadership are failing the black masses.”
Howie Hawkins
Community Control of the Police: An Idea Whose Time Came and Never Left
26 Feb 2020
This policy paper makes the case for reviving the Black Panther Party program for community control of the police. “Pending transformation to a democratic society, community control of the police is an immediate reform we must demand.”