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IBW21

IBW21 (The Institute of the Black World 21st Century) is committed to enhancing the capacity of Black communities in the U.S. and globally to achieve cultural, social, economic and political equality and an enhanced quality of life for all marginalized people.

Empire Windrush migrants arrive at Tilbury in 1948.

‘There were Africans in Britain before the English came here’

By Commentaries/Opinions, Reparations

How Staying Power shook British history. When it was published in 1984 Staying Power vividly captured the struggle for black British identity. Nearly 35 years on it still has lessons to teach. By Gary Younge, The Guardian — “The very serious function of racism is distraction,” Toni Morrison argued in a lecture in Portland, Oregon, in 1975: It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and…

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Faith leaders from communities throughout New York City lead a demonstration and prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall in protest to the Staten Island, New York grand jury's recent decision not to indict a police officer involved in the chokehold death of Eric Garner in July on December 12, 2014 in New York City.

The Capitalism/Racism Partnership- The Basics

By Editors' Choice

Revulsion is building towards the smokescreens of hypocrisy, racism, and nationalism barely masking capitalism’s ongoing failure to provide the jobs and incomes people need. By Richard Wolff, Common Dreams — In the wake of W.E.B. DuBois ’s 150th birthday, his works offer a lens through which to assess US capitalism’s relationship to racism today. He famously wrote: “Capitalism cannot reform itself; it is doomed to self-destruction,” while adding…

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Julian Marley, son of late reggae icon Bob Marley, celebrates his father's 69th birthday at the National Stadium in Kingston, 2014.

UNESCO Adds Reggae Music to Global Cultural Heritage List

By News & Current Affairs

Reggae was often championed as a music of the oppressed, with lyrics addressing sociopolitical issues, imprisonment and inequality. By TeleSUR — Reggae music – whose calm, lilting grooves found international fame thanks to artists like Bob Marley – has won a coveted spot on the United Nations’ list of global cultural treasures. UNESCO, the world body’s cultural and scientific agency, added the genre that originated in Jamaica to its collection of “intangible…

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Neighborhood homes

Black Americans’ Homes Undervalued by Billions

By News & Current Affairs

By Teddy Grant, Ebony — Black Americans’ homes are routinely undervalued in the real estate market, according to a report by Brookings Institution and Gallup that was released Tuesday. In the report “The devaluation of assets in Black neighborhoods: The case of residential property,” homes in neighborhoods with a Black majority that are owner-occupied are appraised for lower prices, averaging $48,000 per home, writes Curbed. Such low appraisal prices translate…

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‘A reparative justice programme’ … Glasgow University has completed a two-year review of how it grew wealthy from the slave trade. Photograph: University of Glasgow

Reparations for slavery are not about punishing children for parents’ sins

By Editors' Choice, Reparations

Reparative justice, whereby communities are compensated for losses caused by the slavery or the Holocaust, is morally fair. By Julian Baggini, The Guardian — Justice requires a good memory, one that is both accurate and not self-servingly selective. But whether it is well-served by a long memory is more contentious. We know that many still pay the price for sins previous generations never paid for. But most agree with the…

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Pan Africanism, Marijuana Policy, Gentrification — December 3rd Edition of Vantage Point Radio

By Gentrification, Vantage Point Radio, Video/Audio

Topics: The 60th Anniversary of the All African People’s Conference, Ghana • The Marijuana Justice, Equity and Reinvestment Conference • Anti-Gentrification Campaign in Atlanta. Guests: Mwalimu K-Q Amsata (Coord., North American Pan African Federalist Congress, Flagler, FL), Kassandra Frederique (State Policy Director, Drug Policy Alliance, New York, NY) and Kamau Franklin (Founder, Community Movement Builders, Atlanta, GA)

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