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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.

The University of the West Indies (The UWI)

Statement from Sir Hilary Beckles — Irma-Maria: A Reparations Requiem for Caribbean Poverty.

By News & Current Affairs, Reparations

Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. September 23, 2017.  Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Professor Sir Hilary Beckles issues the following statement on the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria: “Hurricane Irma’s fury preceded Maria’s by a deadly Caribbean second. Together they constitute the familiar sound of death and destruction reminiscent of a colonial past that clings to the present and is determined to possess and own the Caribbean future.

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Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., speaks during a hearing of the House Judiciary subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 4, 2017.Alex Brandon/AP

America Has Never Truly Atoned For Slavery. John Conyers Has Pressed the Issue for Nearly 30 Years.

By Editors' Choice, Reparations

y Brandon Ellington Patterson — Last month’s torch-lit white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, a response to the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from a public park, kickstarted a national dialogue about how communities should address this nation’s centuries-long history of violence and discrimination against African Americans. Democratic politicians and others, pushing back against the old arguments about maintaining our “heritage,” have called for the removal of additional Confederate statues and monuments…

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Man stands in a ruined building after Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti. (photo: CNN)

In the Caribbean, Colonialism and Inequality Mean Hurricanes Hit Harder

By News & Current Affairs

By The Conversation — Hurricane Maria, the 15th tropical depression this season, is now battering the Caribbean, just two weeks after Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc in the region. The devastation in Dominica is “mind-boggling,” wrote the country’s prime minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, on Facebook just after midnight on September 19. The next day, in Puerto Rico, NPR reported via member station WRTU in San Juan that “Most of the island is without power…or water.” Among the Caribbean…

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Damaged by Hurricanes and "Vulture" Capitalism, Caribbean Islands Plead for Debt Relief

Damaged by Hurricanes and “Vulture” Capitalism, Caribbean Islands Plead for Debt Relief

By Editors' Choice

By Mike Ludwig, Truthout — Last week, just days after Hurricane Irma thrashed through the Caribbean with record-high winds, the Catholic bishop of the island nation of Dominica sent a letter to the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Bishop Gabriel Malzaire pleaded with the IMF to temporarily delay debt payments from Antigua and Barbuda and other islands left in ruins by the storm. “The few dozen small…

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Donald Trump meets with Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and other congressional leaders in the Oval Office of the White House, September 6, 2017. (Reuters / Kevin Lamarque)

How Corporate Capitalism Looted Democracy

By Editors' Choice

Democrats not only colluded with Republicans in the robbery—some may now be willing to allow corporations to evade hundreds of billions they owe in back taxes. By William Greider — The party of Trump is being torn to pieces by its own crackpot, bigoted leader, and Democrats are eagerly feeding on the carcass. But we can already see that the Democratic Party is astride its own contradictions.

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