‘At first I didn’t want to,’ says the author of this magisterial biography of the great abolitionist, ‘it was so daunting’ By Martin Pengelly, The Guardian — David Blight arrives…
Migrants are leaving not only because they fear gang violence, but because they are terrified of the brutal government. By Peter Tinti, Vice — Nineteen-year-old taxi driver Diego is not interested in politics. But his hometown of El Progreso—a transit hub in central Honduras, where everyone seems to have a friend or relative who has “gone north” to the US—has long been a hotbed of popular resistance. In 1954, workers…
By Dan Sisken, Occupy — In the mid 1990s, scholars of politics in the Arab world published a book titled “Democracy without Democrats?” It appeared in the midst of a…
Nearly two-thirds of Americans want cannabis to be legal — but marijuana arrests are going up, not down. By Paul Armentano, Otherwords — Over 60 percent of Americans — including majorities of Republicans, independents, and Democrats — believe that the adult use of marijuana ought to be legal. And an estimated 20 percent of Americans now live in a state where cannabis use by those over the age of 21 is permitted.…
By Daniel Mwambonu, The President of Global Pan Africanism Network (GPAN) — Percent of Population Practicing Indigenous African Religions (1900, 1970, and 1990), and Percent of Population Practicing Major Religions in…
The prospect of electing the state’s first black governor is expected to boost African American voter turnout. By Richard Luscombe, The Guardian — It has been nearly two years since Florida’s black voters mostly stayed home on election day and, in the eyes of some, gave Donald Trump a free pass to win the state and the White House. To Quiana Malone, it was a mistake that cannot be allowed to happen…
Talk of tax reform always seems to be in the air. By Anthony C. Infanti, The Conversation — Last fall, Republicans in Congress hastily pushed through the Tax Cuts and Jobs…
It’s Complicated: Why Some Afro-Brazilians Are Willing to Vote for a Racist Presidential Candidate Who’s Calling for More Police Violence. Kiratiana Freelon, The Root — Last week, Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s white, hard-right presidential candidate, received an unexpected American endorsement. “He sounds like us,” said David Duke, an unabashed white supremacist and former Grand Duke Wizard of the Louisiana Ku Klux Klan. “He is a total European descendant, he looks like any…
It is important that everyone understand how dangerous what Trump said is. By Juan Cole, Common Dreams — Trump proudly says he is a “nationalist.” He is, of course, saying this to shore up support among white nationalists. The Nazi sites on the web were all having wet dreams in the aftermath. From the 1990s, polling has found that about 10% of Americans support far right militias. These are the…
For more than 40 years, Atlanta has marketed itself as being on the forefront of radical social change – but its reality is much less progressive. By Maurice J Hobson,…
By Michael Fox, Truthout — Giovani Baffo is a poet and a street artist in Sao Paulo’s trendy Vila Madalena neighborhood. With a thick, unkempt beard and a red Nike…
By Aaron Mack, Slate — On Thursday, Republican Rep. French Hill of Arkansas condemned a racist radio ad running in support of his campaign for re-election. The ad features two women, clearly intended…