| Black Agenda Report

Abdallah El Harif and Vijay Prashad
A Universal Appeal for Humanity to End Militarism and Stop War
20 May 2020
A bloc of countries, led by the United States of America, is stubbornly persisting in using force to maintain and extend their global dominance. “While US and other imperial powers continue to ramp up militarization, the international movement against militarism is even more important.” On March 15…
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Cancel the Rent
20 May 2020
We have to reverse the strange alchemy where markets turn land, concrete, steel, and glass into money, while turning people out into the streets. “There is an inherent conflict between the human right to housing and making housing available based on what the market will provide.”
Ashton Rome
Pivot to Mass Struggle: A Lesson from Ferguson
20 May 2020
We are entering a terrifying and daunting time that requires a change in approach and tactics. “The situation calls for a shift from case work to mass politics, and a pivot away from the presidential race.”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Zakiyyah Iman Jackson’s “Becoming Human”
20 May 2020
Black people are without the shelter of rights and protection, whether invited into or locked out of ‘the human.’” “Black people are ‘recognized’ but only as a lesser human.”
Dan Berger
BAR Book Forum: Symposium on Sarah Haley’s "No Mercy Here"
20 May 2020
What Haley crafts about the lives of incarcerated women is astounding in its archival literacy, analytical sophistication, and authorial courage. “Haley immerses us in the daily rhythms of life.”
Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
Letters from Our Readers
20 May 2020
This week a Democratic Party exit, the role of Democratic Party sheepdogs, and the racial fallout of the pandemic in Chicago were on your minds.
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò
Identity Politics and Elite Capture
20 May 2020
The trouble is that identity politics is the victim of elite capture in the service of their own interests. “Elite capture of identity politics requires uncritical support for political figures without regard for their politics.”
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
War House hot spot: Infected West Wing
20 May 2020
Infector-in-Chief, Boss Tweet, Refuses to mask his lie hole. He insists on leaving out his snout— Normally affixed to CEO posteriors. He tests daily, garnering mostly False negatives. Having no taste, no smell, for bovine dung he dishes out; he goes on about the business of America—Business. A…
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Trump vs. Biden: The China-Hating Contest Is On Like Donkey Kong
20 May 2020
Trump and Biden promise their fans a roaring hate-fest this election cycle, as they vie for the honor of defending America’s right to full spectrum dominance of every corner of the globe. "I’m not eager to see how Trump might respond to Biden’s accusation that he’s 'all talk and no action on China…
Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
Neoliberalism, Intervention and Anti-Blackness: A Webinar* Presentation
20 May 2020
The elevation of anti-blackness as a kind of universal problem eliminates the basis for solidarity among the colonized and puts some African Americans on the side of U.S. imperialism. “The revival of racialism has been the death of genuine solidarity.”